Paradise
Chapter 33: Royal Meetings pt.2
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The fly over from Canterlot to South of Ponyville had been a great change of pace for Celestia. Rather than stuck in the castle dealing with entitled nobles, endless mountains of paperwork, and recently both foreign and domestic forces questioning of she was fit to lead a nation. She was in the sky with her sister, with a sword on her side and saddle bag on her flanks. It actually felt like she was doing… Something!
It was an experience she had forgotten how much she enjoyed, and from the smile on her face Luna was enjoying it as well. Both of the two sisters occasionally glancing at each other and laughing as their impressive wingspans carried them from Canterlot to Ponyville with hardly any effort. Course the magic they were casting that lightened the effect gravity had on them didn't hurt either.
It wasn't until they neared the landing zone that Luna was leading towards that Celestia remembered just why they had flown all the way from the capital and a pang of worry made itself known in her head as her chest tightened.
As they hovered above the intersection, the solar princess felt almost… scared about meeting the human face to face again, regardless of the well polished and sharpened sword on her right side.
Hooves meeting the hardened soil of the street Celestia nervously looked around for the human not finding him anywhere as she folded her wings. Her sister doing much the same, albeit lots calmer they both came to the conclusion that Hank was not there, or at least not visible.
Both of the two sisters waited a few seconds before saying anything, just taking in the pleasant weather, the sun warming their coats. Celestia turned to her sister, "You don't think he has stood us up do you?"
Smirking at the notion that Hank would not honor a plan he himself created, Luna shook her head, "No sister, he is here, we just can't see him."
Scanning their surroundings once more, even more on edge. Celestia was almost nauseous with nervousness, her jaw flaring in pain as she remembered their last encounter. It put her on edge that even with her above average eyesight she still could not find the human in the foliage around them, it wasn’t like his light skin tone was well suited for camouflage anyway, however it wasn't until Luna gently elbowed her in the side that she stopped trying.
"Sister, please stop trying so hard, you're not going to find him. You're just going to work yourself up worse." Luna pleaded with Celestia, wanting this trip to be as pleasant for her and her sister as it could possibly be.
"You're not worried that he's watching us and we have no idea where he even is?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that he’s watching us right now is a little disconcerting?”
Shrugging and looking around for a second herself Luna finally settled on a bird and smiled before looking back at her sister, “No, not really. I know Hank, he wouldn’t do anything malicious unless we did. He’s just not a trusting pony… er person, I believe is the terminology he uses. He’s sitting back and watching to make sure we didn’t bring anypony along, so on.”
Celestia didn’t know how Luna could be so calm about the fact that they were basically being stalked but she also couldn’t do anything about it herself. Fidgeting around for a few more moments Celestia could just see Hank enjoying himself as he watched her become increasingly more nervous, but she needed to get her mind off of that before it got worse.
“So do you think he can hear us? Do you think he’s that close?” Celestia asked, prompting Luna to turn her head to face her.
Sighing in exasperation at her sister’s continued nervousness Luna shook her head, “Sister you need to relax, it is going to be fine, you have been talking about how badly you wanted to get out of the castle and get your hooves dirty again like old times. Here we are.” Luna gestured to their surroundings.
Taking in the fresh air once again and enjoying the change in scenery, Celestia began to calm down once again before the sharp snap of a twig interrupted her.
Celestia snapped her head quickly to the noise as her ears shot straight up and her eyes quickly began looking for the human but found nothing as the crashing of the underbrush grew further away.
Luna on the other hand calmly turned her head to the noise, also expecting to find the human but instead only caught quick glimpses of brown and white what turned out to be a doe quickly made it deeper into the woods, making lots of noise as she did.
Watching the animal with a small smile on her face, Luna gave a quick glance to her sister, noticing just how on edge she was, her chest noticeably moving as she breathed very heavy.
“That is the first deer I have seen since my return.” Luna stated, both in plain observation but also in an attempt to calm her elder sister’s mind.
“R-really?” Celestia said as her face adopted a much more calm look as Luna nodded in confirmation of her statement.
“I must admit it is the first I have seen in a long time as well. Canterlot is not exactly a place known for its population of deer.”
“How many nobles do you think have ever seen a deer in real life before?” Luna asked humorously.
“I don’t think some of them know what dirt is.” Celestia said completely seriously before both her and Luna started to laugh at the nobles' expense.
"Perhaps when we are done with this little trip we should take a walk through the White Tail together. I always loved it there when the leaves start to change." Celestia suggested getting a hum in response from Luna.
"We don't see why not. Though Raven may be cross with you if you take any longer than you have already said." With a smirk Luna added.
"Inkwell…. That poor mare." Celestia shook her head. "She needs a break more than I do. She does more running the empire than I do some days." Celestia leaned in and whispered with a smile, Luna returning it.
"She is quite the mare. She's the best assistant I've ever remembered you having." Luna said, praising Celestia’s assistant, having watched her work alongside her sister on the few occasions she was awake during the day. It hadn’t taken long for her to fall right back into her night owl ways after her return, she couldn’t help it, it had always come naturally.
Celestia, not being able to agree more, smiled as she thought of her trusty assistant, “Her family has a long and honorable history in serving the crown. She really has no idea how much she and her grandmother are alike. It’s uncanny really.”
“I take it that stubbornness runs in the family as well?” Luna asked with a raised brow.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Celestia answered with a laugh.
Both princesses enjoying each other's company and conversation in the wonderful weather let their guard down and hadn’t noticed Hank slip out of the brush behind them. They also hadn’t noticed him as he stood there behind them just watching and listening as they spoke.
He hadn’t truly planned to get out of the woods without being noticed, but that doe running off and making all that noise had given an opportunity that he decided to take, he had really just wanted to see how good he was at staying concealed after not really using that skill too much recently. Apparently he was better than he thought, he’d honestly expected to be noticed moving through the brush at which he would expose himself but that hadn’t happened so here he was, ten feet behind the two sisters and they had no idea, or at least he presumed they didn’t, they could be acting and scheming something as they spoke, but he doubted it.
As the pair continued to joyfully talk and laugh about someone named Inkwell and other such things Hank slowly walked forward, keeping his moving foot light until it touched the ground and then transferring weight onto it to move the other, making his way closer to the regal pair.
The two sisters that were unknowingly subject to the stalking human were none the wiser that he was steadily approaching their rears. Luna was just about to turn around and call out to Hank, slightly annoyed that he had taken so long.
She didn’t get that far though before the sound of two heavy footfalls from right behind them made themselves known and a tremendous weight plowed into them as a large arm wrapped around both of their lower necks.
The impact had startled both princesses immensely, borderline panicking Celestia as her heart almost jumped into her throat just from hearing the two quick footfalls before being interrupted by being nearly tackled from the human.
“So. Who’s this “Inkwell” we’re talkin’ about?” Hank asked with a crooked smile, looking at both princesses as he spoke. Both of them still recovering from the absolute shock of the situation.
“Hank…” Luna huffed as she breathed deeply, calming herself, “That was extremely rude and foolish! What if we had drawn our swords and cut you down?!” The night process yelled, angry at the man while trying to pull away.
Holding both of the princesses in place with his arms over their necks as he kneeled, Hank smiled, “That’s why I have my hand on your sword, and why I have your sister pulled so tightly into me.”
Her head instantly snapping to her side she realized that Hank did indeed have his right hand tightly wrapped around the hilt of her sword, holding it in the scabbard and preventing her from drawing it.
He was even smarter than she thought, he’d really thought it all out.
“Could you please let go of our sword now?” Luna asked, annoyed.
“Are you gonna cut me down?” Hank replied with a laugh.
Looking at the human unamused, Luna shook her head, “Neither of us want to actually hurt you. But do that again and We cannot promise anything!”
“Yeah Yeah I gotcha but dunno about that, she sure tried to pull it.” Hank motioned to Celestia with his head.
A slight look of surprise on her face, Luna looked over to her sister to which Celestia returned eye contact.
“Did you really try to pull your sword?” Luna asked.
Still struggling to pull away from the human Celestia grunted, “Of course I did! We were ambushed! It's the correct response!”
“Fair enough.” Hank nodded as Celestia continued to struggle to get away from him to no avail other than irritating him, “If you don’t stop that I will choke you.”
Stopping for a second only to harden her gaze at the human who continued to stare at her blankly, his arm tight around the base of her neck, “What do you gain from this?” Celestia sneered, “We come here in good faith and this is how you treat us? You make us wait, watching us from the tree line, and then you ambush us!? Nearly tackling us and giving me and my sister both heart attacks?”
Tiny pupils snapping around as the human apparently took in every feature on Celestia’s face he eventually smiled and looked forward which relieved the subject of his stare who was getting very uneasy as she was scanned over by his small eyes.
“For amusement.” Hank answered simply, his tight grip on both mares never wavering until he suddenly let go and stood to his full height, which was greatly appreciated by both princesses as they sighed while working the tightness out of their necks.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering this is you we are talking about.” Celestia quipped as she rolled her neck.
A hearty laugh coming from deep within Hank’s chest, both princesses were surprised, never hearing such a genuine laugh from the man.
“That’s a lot of lip from a person whose head I ‘bout caved in the last time I met.” The human said with a chuckle as he walked in front of the two sisters and turned around to face them.
Heavily exhaling, Celestia rubbed the side of her head while looking at the dirt, "Hank-" she said eventually but was immediately cut off as her head was forced upward by the human's hand.
"You don't get to say my name." Hank growled, roughly letting go of the side of her head and taking a step back.
"My jaw constantly pops out of place and clicks because of you." Hank raised his voice, "You have an awful… awful lot of nerve using my name when you called me "it" up until I knocked your head off."
Obviously maddened at Celestia’s usage of his proper name. Celestia herself didn't know how to go forward, but wanted to nonetheless. She was just about to open her mouth before her younger sister stepped forward and addressed the human.
"Hank. Please let my sister speak. I know you have bad blood between the two of you but please use that understanding side of yourself I know you have.”
Being awfully personal in front of Celestia, Hank opened his mouth to say something to try and cover his and Luna’s tracks but the night princess cut him off with a shake of her head.
“She already knows about us Hank, and it is okay. Please though, let her talk.” Luna again asked, very politely, her eyes wide and compassionate.
Still hung up on the fact that Celestia had somehow learned about them being decently close, Hank pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh before looking back to Luna, “How?”
“How what?”
“How did she find out!?” Hank raised his voice not angrily but in confusion as he pointed to Celestia.
Averting her gaze from the human and her sister Luna but her lip, a barely visible blush consuming her cheeks, “She...smelled you.”
“What?”
“She could smell you on me and then when you two… met in Ponyville she put two and two together!” Luna rushed the sentence out, more than a little embarrassed.
“Jesus,” Hank shook his head, “What is it with you ponies and fuckin’ smelling everything? It’s fuckin’ weird!” Exclaimed the human before waving his hand, “Forget it. Just get to it.”
"Please… Hank…" Celestia began gently, pausing to gauge the human's reaction to her using his name.
Staring right at her, his chest heaving once before he closed his eyes and calmed himself down Celestia gave a small smile and continued, seeing that Hank was cooperating.
"I know that my previous behavior is inexcusable and I’m not asking for you to accept my apology, but I want to offer my most sincere apologies anyway.” Celestia said truthfully, her face softening, eyes sad as she thought about how she had mistreated the stallion in front of her, “I feel truly awful for how I treated you and what I ended up doing to you, it is one of my largest regrets of current memory and believe me, live for how long I have, you have plenty.” Celestia finished as she turned her head toward her sister and gave a sorrowful smile thinking about what had happened between them a millennia ago.
Understanding the look on her sister’s face, and knowing what it meant she was thinking about, Luna took a few steps and nuzzled her sister, making sure she knew there was no bad blood regardless of what had transpired in that dark time.
Still silent as he watched the two sisters embraced, Hank looked away for a few seconds, flexing his jaw as he thought about the previous events and trying to figure out what he should say in response to Celestia’s, seemingly, genuine apology.
Still thinking, as if on cue, a grinding pain followed by a loud snap came from his jaw as it popped back into place. Growling and holding a hand to the rear of his jaw Hank shook his head and turned his attention back to the two regal ponies in his presence who were now both looking at him, Luna with concern, and Celestia with shame, the ladder averting her gaze as the human looked back at her.
“You know,” Hank started gaining the attention of both ponies, “A large part of me wants to cave your skull in right now, cause I really… just really, dislike the fuck outta you Celestia”
Hank said harshly but visually got no response out of the target of his ire.
“Your apology won’t fix my jaw Celestia, and it’s not the pain or discomfort it causes that bothers me. I mean look at me!” Hank gestured up and down his body, “I deal with a lot of it everyday. I’m more than used to it and accept it. What bothers me is that after all I did that day, for your subjects mind you, you thank me by blowing my jaw out of socket?! All because I hurt the people that were hurting YOUR ponies?! Who gives a shit if I brutalized them? They were rapists and slavers… and... and there were kids there! What the fuck is your problem?!”
Ears flat against her head now as she looked at the dirt in front of her hooves like a scolded filly Celestia slowly raised her head until she was looking back at Hank who had a look of confusion on his scarred face.
“Hank, I know it is hard for you to believe anything I say to be true, which from your perspective is more than warranted, but I truly regret everything I did that day, magnitudes more than you know, and I am more than willing to cover any and all medical bills it takes to fix your jaw personally. I want to do my best to fix my misdoings.”
Shaking his head at the princess, Hank bit his bottom lip and hummed in frustration. He was already about to tell the princess to drop it and actually get started on what he wanted to show them but now the urge was nearly overpowering, he was more than fed up and done with the conversation and the pony he was having it with.
“Celestia, I don’t want you to care about me, I want you to care about your own fucking people. The disconnect I saw that day made my stomach churn. You, or anyone in your chain of command, didn’t even know they were fucking gone! There was no plan to even look for ‘em on your part but they thought you were coming for ‘em! They had faith in you, and you fucking neglected it!” Hank nearly yelled, the memory of the condition of the ponies down in the cave angering him greatly, even after he had freed them and massacred their captors.
Surprised at the real source of his anger, Celestia swallowed hard and turned to her sister for a moment to comfort herself before turning back to the irate human, the veins on his arms starting to pop out from under the skin while his chest heaved greatly with his deep breaths.
The anger on display coming from the man more than worried Celestia, and even Luna, who had yet to see Hank get so irritated. Worried that the violent tendencies that resided within the man would make themselves known if she said the wrong thing Celestia didn’t want to say the wrong thing and damage the already shattered relationship her and the human had further.
However, the princess of the Sun also knew Hank would smell a lie or even a half truth a kilohoof away and would only serve to anger him further, as such the princess took a deep breath and decided to tell the full truth.
“You are absolutely correct Hank,” Celestia admitted much to the surprise of the human and her younger sister, “My inaction that day and days prior to your operation was and is inexcusable. I am partial ruler of this land and it is my foremost duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of my subjects especially within the domestic borders of our great empire,” Celestia said calmly looking Hank in the eye as the human returned a more relaxed gaze and the vascularity in his extremities started to subside, “I have been far too focused on the bureaucratic and political side for far too long and as result I let the base needs of my and my sister’s subjects fall to the wayside, especially when it seems more and more threats appear and worsen every week.”
Stepping closer to her sister Luna couldn’t help but say her two cents as well, “Sister you’re being much too hard on yourself. We’ve seen the workload you’re under. It is simply impossible for you to be everywhere at once.” The smaller alicorn said feeling her sister was being too hard on herself.
Small smile on her lips while her eyes still held the sadness she felt for failing her subjects, Celestia felt very grateful that she had her sister with her once again and that she was much her same old caring self.
“I know sister, I know. But he is right, I haven’t been involved like I used to be and should still be, I need to shift focus,” Celestia explained herself, turning her head back toward Hank as she did so, “And I intend to do just that. However there is one thing I cannot stand for.” Celestia said, suddenly hardening her gaze and stepping toward the human who looked at her in interest.
“I will not have you saying I do not care about my and my sister’s subjects! I know I made a mistake but that does not change how much I care and how much I have done in service of my subjects!” Clear anger in her tone despite the princess doing her best to mask it, her face also broadcasting her emotion to the human who could tell that she was PISSED about what he had said the last time they met.
“You may be an extremely gifted fighter, and I know that you will have had to have been through awful things to be capable of what you are, but you weren’t around when my sister and I established this empire through endless battles and then defended our newly established empire through a three front war! You have no idea what I have done for my ponies! No idea what I have done to those who wished to harm them and our empire!”
Celestia’s voice raising, she also stepped forward as she continued in her unexpected but very passionate speech, “And I will not have you, a newcomer into this world and OUR empire tell me how much I care about MY people! I was wrong for what I did to you and especially wrong in the disservice to my subjects but I will not allow you to insult my conviction in running this empire and safeguarding its citizen’s prosperity!”
Fiery passion burning behind her magenta eyes as she confidently strode toward Hank she pushed herself onto her rear legs and put her front hooves on his chest in a repeat of the last time they met.
Newfound respect for the princess pushed to the rear of his mind in an instant as she overstepped her thin boundaries by a thousand miles Hank expected another hit to his jaw and pulled back only for Celestia to follow, her natural height on her rear legs letting her easily keep up with the man’s back step.
“If you don't get the fuck off me I’m gonna put your sword right through your god damned throat.” Hank said with a growl looking the solar princess in the eyes as she looked right back at him.
Standing just a little over eye level with the human due to her nearly completely upright position Celestia didn’t even offer a flinch in response to his words and confidently looked back into his small eyes.
Thinking she had the human figured out for the most part she knew that she would have to take a leap of faith of her own to make the man trust her. No amount of apologizing would ever matter to the man, she would have to show that she was able to trust him for him to trust her and hopefully settle this issue between them that had been wearing on her for far too long.
In a lot of ways Hank was like a wild animal. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted. He was territorial, untrusting, and dangerously protective of those he saw as under his charge. He may be a loose cannon but she also knew that under all that anger and violence was a person who cared deeply about the ponies around him. He would have never gone into the caves to save ponies that didn’t even know him for the most part, risking his own life in the process if he didn't care about them. He wouldn’t have made her go into that hospital and comfort them after being assaulted by her if he didn’t care about them more than his own desire for revenge, and he wouldn’t have been furious with her over the neglect he saw instead of his own personal issues if he put himself before others. No, there was something about Hank that had caught her attention, he reminded her too much of somepony she had known when she could have truthfully been called a young mare. It was a mix of traits that was rare of ponies even back in those tumultuous days, and nearly impossible to find in the long running peaceful times they found themselves in today. It was desirable.
However just like how you had to show trust to get it when it comes to wild animals, you could also get bit. Celestia just hoped that her leap of faith wouldn’t be her last,
“Then I guess you’ll have to kill me.” Celestia said simply and calmly while confidently moving her hooves, one under and one over Hank's shoulder in an attempt to embrace the man.
Not a second after she made her move she felt the man’s right arm shoot around the back of her neck and pull her in with tremendous pressure, holding her against his shoulder while simultaneously his right foot impacted the front of her left rear leg sending it back and knocking her off balance as he lifted up and started to spin to the right where she couldn't brace herself.
Clenching her eyes tight, thinking it was the end, she heard Luna scream as she felt her body go weightless as she and Hank spun heading for the ground before they suddenly stopped, Hank stumbling a little as he fought against his and Celestia’s downward momentum.
Cautiously opening her eyes Celestia saw blue sky and the tops of trees as she was held aloft in the air squeezed against the man as he held her in a hunched over position. With the world no longer spinning and her mind realizing she wasn’t dying Celestia could feel the stinging pain just under her right rib.
Craning her neck she could finally she the knife pressed to her side, ready to impale her liver with a small push from the human. Not a second later, seeing the blade retract, a single red droplet of blood falling from its triangle shaped point Celestia was roughly brought back into a standing position as Hank righted himself.
“what are you doing?” He asked quietly, still administering the vice like pressure with his right arm.
“Showing that I trust you.” Celestia responded as the pressure from her neck left as the human let go of her.
Still hugging the man as he stood there still he realized he’d just been beaten, she pulled on him exactly what he had pulled on Shining armor and he had fallen for it. The second he had realized she wasn’t pulling her sword, trying to tackle or choke him, lighting her horn or anything, he stopped, and here he was still letting her hug him uncontested.
She knew he truly didn’t want to kill her now, she knew that he didn’t hate her THAT much after all.
Cursing himself internally Hank had to admit to himself that he was impressed. Celestia wasn’t who he had previously thought she was, that or she was one hell of a good actress. Either way no politician would risk their own lives just to show their trust in a person who in the grand scheme of things was a nobody. It really did seem like she was sorry for what she did, both to him and in the failed response from her and her administration to protect her citizens and an Element of Harmony.
He hated to admit it to himself but he couldn't help but feel a little respect for the pony after what she pulled, he never would’ve expected her to do such a thing.
However, even with this newfound respect for his adversary Hank didn’t want to be hugged anymore and pushed the princess off of him with a firm left hand to the chest.
Letting go of the man and falling back to all fours, suddenly feeling much smaller than the man who she was previously taller than, Celestia wore a genuine smile on her face as she looked up at Hank who was staring off blankly.
After collecting himself from the shock he was in from what had just happened the human looked to Celestia seeing the smile on her face and shook his head in disbelief.
“Why would you do that? I just about killed you!” Hank yelled, just as Celestia expected.
“But you didn’t.” The princess reminded, the same smile still gracing her lips, “I was right about you.”
“What do you mean right about me?” Hank asked, still very weary of the solar princess, his instincts telling him that someone with so much power must be plotting something.
“I was right that once you realized I wasn’t trying to hurt you, you’d stop. And that hopefully by trusting you with my life you can trust that I don’t want to hurt you, and that I never truly did… until my temper got the better of me that is.” Celestia explained softly and with as much care as she could.
Hearing a sword re-sheath from her right, Celestia turned somewhat surprised at her sister while Hank looked at her stoically.
“Sister… you didn’t. Did you?”
“Yes!” Luna cried, “Thou talked about the correct response to being ambushed earlier! Well that is the correct response to seeing Our sister nearly killed!” Luna said hysterically looking between Hank and Celestia quickly, “The second We saw him pull the knife We pulled Ours! Why would you do that?! You don’t do that kind’ve thing to a stallion who has been through what he has! We…I was about to run him through! And Hank,” Luna said, switching her attention to the man who was still standing a few steps away, “Why…just why would you do that?! Why couldn’t you just listen to me when I told you that my sister didn’t want to hurt you?!” Luna stomped the impact actually causing a vibration to go through the soil.
Seeing the genuine hurt in Luna’s face Hank’s expression softened a degree, “Luna I… Celestia, I’m sorry. It’s just that… well… it’s just all programming up there now and I can’t control it. My body acts before my mind thinks sometimes.”
The usage of her proper name not going over her head Celestia also took her turn to excuse her behavior, “Sister I’m sorry that I didn’t let you know of my plan before hoof but, I felt it was the only way to properly communicate what I was trying to say with Hank. I should have clued you in. That was my mistake… I’ve been making a lot of those lately.”
Offerings hug to her sister Luna quickly accepted, “That was so foolish.” the midnight purple pony finally said once she was over her initial panic, her tone more than a little upset.
“Why couldn't you two just talk and work it out like sensible ponies?! You both have to be the most bullheaded, and I don't care if that is insensitive to minotaurs now, stubborn, stupid ponies I have ever known! You two think you’re so different but you’re exactly the same! You just don’t see it!” Luna stomped her hoof a few times kicking up a small cloud of dust in frustration at her sister and friend.
Looking at each other and sharing the same look of regret both human and solar princess looked back to Luna as she went on with her lecture on just how foolish they had been. “And Hank I am sorry, I consider you a close friend, one I value dearly even if I haven't visited recently, but even if my sister had clued me in on her plan, if you would have seriously hurt her I would have guided my sword through you and made sure to kill you where you stand.”
Nodding his head in understanding, Hank accepted the truthful threat, “There’s no need to be sorry Luna, I understand completely, I wouldn't expect you not to.”
Shaking her head, heart still racing, Luna wanted to scream at the pair for their combined stupidity but was more happy things didn't end up going tragically like they very nearly did. She couldn't believe she almost used her sword for the first time in a thousand years on someone she called a friend. But Hank left her no choice and she was truly about to do it. Having to consider doing something so horrible really put a lot of stress on the lunar princesses mind she was not prepared for.
"You know this isn't the first time you've tried to kill me, or thought of it at least." Hank laughed, a grin across his face as he tried to lighten the mood.
"Don't say that!" Luna snapped at the man angrily, the event reminding her of what she had done to those that trusted her before making tears well up in her eyes. Quickly, Luna turned away and started to walk away from the man and her sister as she tried to hold back her sobs.
Quickly realizing that he had hit an open wound from Luna’s response, having seen it before back on his original world, Hank immediately sprung into action and started pursuing the alicorn, just beating Celestia in her own response.
“Hey hey hey hey hey-” Hank said, gaining on Luna as she continued to walk away from the man, speeding up once she realized he was coming after her, “Get back!” Luna snapped.
Leaping forward with a push off from his left leg, Hank reached out and grabbed what was available to him to stop Luna’s advance, the base of her tail.
Gasping in surprise at the sudden pull on her tail, Luna whipped around while rising up to Hank’s level enough to slap him straight across the face, the impact connecting firmly with the same spot her sister had struck him more than a month prior with an audible crack.
With all the stress she was feeling inside her head trying its best to bust her skull at the seams, the offense of having her tail pulled and the connotations with such an act compounded to make the lunar princess act before she even knew what she had done. The realization that she had just struck Hank sending her even further into the pit of self hatred Luna openly cried as she tried her best to pull away from the man who was turning his head after the sudden hit.
A hand on the back of her neck stopping her from escaping and flying far away Luna still tried her best to break free.
“Let…go. Please!” She cried before Hank brought his forearm down on the top of Luna’s arms that were pressed to his chest causing her to instantly collapse into his chest due to the pressure he was pulling with on her back.
“I’m Sorry. I’m sorry,” Hank said gently as he held her in place, “I didn’t mean anything by it Luna. It was just a bad attempt at lightening the mood, I’m sorry.”
“Let go! We’ll hurt you! We don’t want to hurt anypony anymore!” Luna screamed as a full fledged panic attack tore through her. All the previous memories of what she had done to those that trusted her when she became the nightmare flooding back at once.
Pushing Luna’s hooves off his chest with his right hand towards his left Hank held onto the princess as she tried her absolute hardest to break free and run as he slowly lowered her and himself to the ground, ending in a kneel beside her with his arm over the back of her neck and his hand pressed on the right side of her tear stained face.
“Straight ahead, how many branches on the small sapling?” Hank forcefully asked, getting no response from the princess other than her panicked movements.
Patting the side of her head with the hand on the side of her face rough enough to push through the over stimulation of the nervous system Hank used his other hand and pointed to the sapling in question.
“How many branches on that sapling?” Hank asked again, the same amount of authority in his voice as before.
“F-five.” Luna finally answered, her breathing still fast and out of rhythm.
“What kind of bird is that?” Hank asked next, using the hand on the side of her head to push her head to where he wanted her to look, his other hand pointing as well.
“I, it’s a bluejay…. A bluejay.” Luna answered more quickly this time, her breathing starting to slow as well.
Feeling her pulse under his arm wrapped over the top of her neck, Hank could tell it was stabilizing and that Luna was starting to come out of it but also knew he had to keep her mind occupied. This meant more complicated questions.
“Cumulus clouds straight ahead high,” the human guided her head and pointed the same as before, “What’s their heading?”
The clouds moving very slowly, but moving, he knew that it would take time for Luna to see which direction they were heading, that meant more time not thinking about what sent her into a panic and more time letting her mind and body equalize out.
“They’re headed toward Canterlot. North, North West.” Luna answered, taking in a deep breath through her nose and slowly letting it escape her mouth, now also consciously attempting to calm herself down.
Smiling, knowing that Luna was for the most part out of the woods, Hank gently patted the side of her face a few times and retracted his arm.
Hank didn’t get very far however before Luna’s left wing uncurled and wrapped around Hank keeping him in place and Luna rotated and wrapped her front hooves around the human’s neck in a hug.
“Thank you Hank.” Luna smiled and sniffled one last time.
“Of course… moonpie.” Hank whispered causing Luna to blush and shake her head, “And I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“We know.” Luna said quietly before breaking the hug and taking a step back allowing Hank to stand to his full height.
“And W- I am sorry for slapping you.”
“I deserved it.” Hank replied simply, with a genuine smile before both him and Luna turned to face Celestia who had gotten much closer than they realized.
Looking at her sister first with concern, Celestia walked to her sister and nuzzled her, which Luna returned happily, “Are you sure you’re alright sister?” breaking the nuzzle Celestia asked.
“I… yes. I’m okay now, I was just overwhelmed in the moment is all. Nothing more serious than that. I promise.” Luna replied, appreciative of her sister’s concern.
"Are you sure sister, I've never seen you that panicked before." Celestia pointed out much to Luna's displeasure.
Small frown coming across her face Luna responded in a more flat tone, "Yes, I am sure of it."
Noticing the change in tone Celestia knew it was best not to press, "Very well sister, I'm just glad you're okay."
Not one to forget just exactly who it was who helped her sister Celestia looked away from her sister to address the human, “And thank you Hank, I don’t know how you knew that would work so well but I am very grateful you did. Where did you learn that technique?” Curious, Celestia asked the man who was now running his fingers through Luna’s hair much to Luna’s apparent pleasure as she leaned into his motions.
“Lots of experience.” Hank said with a smile as he looked down to Luna and then back up to Celestia, “When a person starts falling back into past experiences grounding them back in reality is the best way to get them out of it. Just gotta do it fast.”
While Celestia was long familiar with similar ways of getting somepony out of a spiral she was still curious to see what the man would say concerning how he learned it. She wanted to learn more about the human’s past as she knew something substantial must have happened where he came from but she didn’t know what. That bugged her as she was more than a little fascinated with the man.
However, ready to get on to the reason why he asked for the meeting Hank stopped petting Luna, much to her chagrin, and took a few steps forward looking over at the stream.
“Now, before we go any further and get into why I actually wanted to see you both, I think we should just start over. Blank slate, just move on from all that has happened, sound good?”
“I- Yes.” Celestia nodded, not wanting to stop questioning the man but also wanting to learn what the real reason they came out was.
“That sounds good.” Luna agreed after her sister with a smile.”
Nodding, the human first made his way to Celestia and offered his right hand, slightly bending over.
“Celestia. Thank you for trusting me with your time and treating this matter with the haste it deserves.”
Equally surprised with the sudden professionalism Hank was uncharacteristically showing and the gesture she decided the best course was to mirror the human and offered her right hoof which was promptly tightly grasped by the human’s hand and curtly shook up and down once before being released.
“Of course Hank, I’ve gathered that you’re not one to over sensationalize things.” The princess nodded with a smile, “It’s… good to see you?”
“Don’t push your luck fat ass.” Hank laughed, giving Celestia a rough pat on the shoulder to show he was joking before turning to Luna while Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head, a smile on her lips.
There’s the human I’m familiar with. Celestia thought to herself watching as Hank gave his professional greeting while offering forth his right hand, the same way he had with her, to her younger sister, only for Luna to disregard the gesture and jump up, hugging the human after scoffing at his formalities.
Shaking his head at Luna’s friendliness, Hank reciprocated her hug and held it for a few seconds before he loosened his grip same as Luna and took a step back to address the two sisters who were standing side by side.
“The reason why I asked for you both to come here today is becau-”
“Oh!” Celestia suddenly exclaimed coming out of her thoughts and cutting off Hank, “I’m sorry, but before we get started I have something for you.”
Raising an eyebrow Hank shifted his attention to the saddlebags on Celestia’s flanks as her magic enveloped them and lifted them off her rear and she brought them forward until they were floating in front of her.
Looking from Celestia's horn to the bags to the sword on her side Hank's body tensed as his mind prepared for an impending attack.
"In these bags are…. Oh," Celestia began with a smile on her face before noticing Hank's change in posture, his hand on the weapon that was always across his chest, her smile falling Celestia realized the magic she was using had startled the human.
Tracing his glare the solar princess looked to her right side where her sword sat before turning back around and facing the man who was now staring right into her eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt you Hank. Please trust me." Celestia said gently, “Here, what’s in these bags belongs to you.” She brought the bags within the human’s reach, making him tense a little while slowly reaching out and grabbing onto the bags.
Cutting her magic Celestia gave a small smile while Hank looked between her and the bags one last time to make sure she wasn't up to something.
Looking at her sister to see if she was still so sure that the items would make Hank happy Luna picked up on Celestia’s facial expression and replied with a smile and nod before motioning back toward Hank with her head as he gave the bags a shake and heard the all familiar sound of brass casings bouncing off each other.
Knowing in an instant what was in at least one bag the human undid the two buckles to reveal a bag full of .308, .50 and even a few pistol casings, all covered in various amounts of grime and dried blood.
A quizzical look on his face as he looked up from the bag full of casings, Hank looked between Celestia and Luna, looking for an explanation, “Why did you go in the cave just to get my spent casings for me?”
“It’s not just the little brass things, look in the other one.” Luna said excitedly.
“....Alright.” Hank said going to the other bag and opening it with little fuss revealing his missing buck knife and a very fancy looking bottle of what looked to be wine with a neatly tied note on its side.
Surprised to say the least, Hank reached in and pulled the knife out, inspecting its cleaned surface. While he wasn’t wild about someone else handling his knife he did appreciate they cleaned it to keep the blood from rusting it irreparably, plus he did leave it in a cave unattended so he was lucky to get it, or any of the brass back at all.
“Why are you doing this?” Hank asked with a raised eyebrow as he put the knife back in the bag and started to re-buckle it.
“Well they are your items are they not?” Celestia asked with a grin.
“Obviously. I’m just more curious about why you would go into the cave and pick up every little bit of brass to give to me.”
“Oh, we didn't go into the caves.” Celestia chuckled while Luna nodded, “I ordered a team of our finest forensic scientists to go into the caves and document what they saw and pick up any and all evidence. They’re very thorough so I doubt you’re missing many if any of those little brass things.” With a smile Celestia finished.
“I see.” Hank nodded, throwing the bags over his left shoulder, “ I won’t lie and say I don’t appreciate it, but I am a little confused why you went through all the trouble and then gave me it back.”
“Again, they're all your belongings.” Celestia said simply.
Sighing Hank shook his head, “I get that but there’s a reason why you gave it back other than kindness. That’s what I want to know. Going from wanting to kill me to giving me back the items I used in my mission that made you teleport a hundred miles and sucker punch me is giving me some serious whiplash here.”
Her happy demeanor deflating, Celestia hung her head, “I’m doing this because I have a lot to make up for, and I want you to trust me. It’s nothing more than that.”
“Okay, but why? Why do you care what I, of all people, thinks?”
“Because Hank,” In an exasperated tone Celestia dropped her mask letting herself be vulnerable, “I don’t know exactly what your rulers on your home world were like, but I can figure they weren’t great. I want to prove to you that I’m not like that, like my sister. I want to know that I never wanted to hurt or… kill you of all things, maker no.”
A silent few moments passing between the three Celestia looked at Hank sorrowfully before sighing and dropping her head for a second.
“Do you remember the day you came into the bakery while my sister and I and all of the Elements were there?” Raising her head up Celestia asked.
“Barely.” Hank shrugged.
“Do you remember what you said to me?” Celestia asked, the hurt visible in her eyes.
Thinking for a few seconds the only thing Hank could recall from that day was having to get out of the woods on his busted leg, “I lost a lot of blood that day and I was more than half a bottle of Jack in. I don’t have a damn clue.”
“Well you talked about how you thought I would go about killing you, and when I tried to reassure you that I wouldn’t do such a thing you pulled away from my hoof like it was covered in poison.
The events of that meeting starting to come back to him Hank continued to listen to Celestia as the fog started to lift in his mind.
“Now I don’t know what an “infected” is or why it would rip your flesh off but the fact that you thought I hated you so much that you would rather go through that than be touched by me has stuck with me. I don’t want you to be afraid that I’m plotting to destroy you at any given moment. I’d like to at least be friendly with the stallion that has done so much in service of my ponies.”
“You understand why I ain’t quick to believe you right?” Hank asked with a huff and a small chuckle, not believing what he was hearing.
Sad to hear the human’s skepticism, Celestia slowly nodded her head nonetheless, “Yes. Yes I do.”
Stepping forward while looking at Hank Luna Interrupted her sister before she could continue, “Hank I know your experience with my sister has been… unsavory at times and all of this may be hard to believe but she is being truly sincere with you.” Pausing to give a reassuring smile to her sister Luna then continued, “She’s very regretful for what she has done and said and wants nothing more than to have a friendly relationship with you.”
Listening to Luna quietly once he was sure she was done speaking Hank nodded, “She’s made that plenty clear Luna but you and especially you,” Hank emphasized by pointing at Celestia, “need to realize that respect and trust is earned not given. I don’t want to kill you either Celestia so please don't betray this small bud of respect I have for you and give me a reason.”
After pausing for a few seconds Hank raised a hand to stop Celestia before she could say something else, “I’m done talking about this, let’s please get on to the reason you both are out here.”
Closing her mouth and nodding her head Celestia gave a small smile to Luna as Hank turned away and started walking toward the stream, “C’mon follow me.”
Obeying, Luna and Celestia set after the human on the short walk to the stream, their hoof steps being silenced by the grass as they approached Fluttershy's house, the sweet smell of flowers filling their noses and the sound of birds filling their ears.
Turning around smoothly, switching to walking backwards in an instant, Celestia and Luna were impressed by the agility of the large man but were cut short in their musings when Hank spoke.
“So what was the final count? How many of those fuckers did I put in the dirt?”
Looking forward at the man as he continued to walk backwards unfazed Celestia answered, “A hundred and nine.”
A smile crossing his lips Hank nodded his head a few times before pumping his fist and turning around, “Fuck yeah.”
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