Celestia rubbed her hoof over to her face. She reached over and licked profusely. The draconequus had chosen a different flavor this time. It's... tarty raspberries... Oooooh, wow... The sun goddess shifted a little bit backward-- her bottom hooves now poking out from under gigantic pile of ruby red sheets. She curled her head down and felt the perky grey ears rubbing against her chin.

Discord's sloppy kisses moved across her chest. Celestia reflexively out coo after coo-- so under control from his touch that she might as well have been a toy. He stopped at her neck. He then nudged himself a few inches to her side. His horn scraped against the sheets as he lined up their eyes. Celestia couldn't help but smile. Those... those soft yellow eyes, and whenever you get like that... You always make it sparkle like gold jewelry. Discord's deep red pupils looked so much like little hearts.

The draconequus suddenly stepped upwards. Celestia's smile faded a little at his now devious expression. "Well, well, well..." he muttered. He crossed his arms and tapped his paws on his sides in faux-concentration. "A little birdie told me you've been a bad, bad princess. Haven't you?"

"Yes," Celestia replied. She curled her body over closer to him and help up her front hooves in supplication. "I've been a very naughty princess."

"You've been..." Discord repeated. He tapped his paws even faster.

"I've been such, such a naughty, cruel, and despicable tyrant of a princess-- my master," Celestia went on, putting on a lot of melodrama. She dug her face into Discord's long grey neck. His soft fur tickled all across as he magically fluffed it a little like a power puff. "Please, master..." She curled her eyes up and gazed at Discord's face. "Punish me."

The draconequus brought his right paw up onto Celestia's head. He grinned from ear to ear. He then calmly and deliberately pushed her body down flat on the sheets. The sun goddess took a breath. Suddenly, lines of the sheets burst out in the air in front of her.

"D-d-discord..." she stammered. The sheets promptly tied her up as good as a fly in a spider's nest. She gazed back at his hungry and confident expression. "Oh, oh my goodness..." She breathed in the wonderful scent, and then she leaned down to take a bite of the strands covering her.

Oh... red licorice... The magic candy wrapping over her pulsed with a light glow. She smiled as she had some. It seemed to grow two times thicker for every nibble. She quit after a few more bites. She focused her eyes back on the draconequus.

"Yes, you've been a tyrant," Discord said. Celestia's smile immediately melted. The draconequus stepped even farther off of her. She traced along his body with her eyes, and she saw this blackish magical tingle appearing all over him.

"But... I..." she muttered. Her eyes darted across the room. They were the only ones inside the massive regal cathedral. The arches filled with delicate glasswork seemed to stretch to infinity above them. She looked back at the draconequus. His eyes had narrowed to glowing red little orbs. His teeth clenched.

"Tia... Tia..." a weak, abused voice sounded besides her. No! NO! What's going on!

"Oh, I see that somepony's been having... some... difficult... 'Medical Issues'!" Discord called out, making obnoxious air quotes with those last two words. He swung his hooves along his side, and Luna teleported at Discord's side out of nowhere.

Celestia's eyes flew all around her sister's body. Thick black bruise after thick black bruise littered about every inch of the goddess of the night. Celestia struggled. Every little move seemed to only spread the licorice strands thicker. She concentrated, and her horn lit up. She stared at Discord's contorted face.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?" Celestia asked. She prepared to rip the draconequus into pieces if she didn't like his response.

"My love, I have to tell you," Discord said, saying those words without a hint of irony or sarcasm, "I haven't laid a paw on her. You did this." Luna silently nodded. Celestia glanced down along her sister's side. Dozens of little shiny spikes almost like metal thorns had been shoved into the ends of her hooves.

I... I... I... No. NO. He can't do this to me! He can't say that! Celestia shut her eyes. She screamed, "Lies!"

"You hurt her," Discord calmly went on, "And, of course, you had your own reasons. I won't get into them right now. You're also going to hurt her again and again as well... Very soon." Celestia opened her eyes. She thought about ripping his jagged horn off and cramming it down his throat. Yet her magic just seemed to fade. She felt something like an invisible thick wool blanket over her hoof. "I can assure you. This is your hoofwork. I haven't put a paw on her..." He let out a snarl. "Yet."

"YET!" Celestia hollered. Her eyes popped open wide. Discord produced a surgical mask, hat, and a long metal scalpel out of nowhere. Luna stood at his side-- as helpless and motionless as a potted plant.

"Ready for the operation, Lulu?" the draconequus asked. He snapped the mask on. Celestia stared at the thick, rusty metal tool rolling about in his paw. He turned. He then traced it along the blue alicorn's side with the scapal just inches above her skin.

Celestia beat her hooves around in all directions. "DISCORD! YOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" She screamed her lungs out.

*Crash*

Celestia's eyes suddenly opened. "It's... it's..." She thrust her body upwards. "Another Dream!" UGH! She looked about at the plain, blank study room around her. She nudged her hooves around the soft white table where her head had been. She glanced down between her legs. An ugly chip stretched across the glass bowl below her.

The sun goddess stepped back from the chair and moved over to the door. She then moved her head straight up. The... the sculpture is... is... She remembered falling asleep as she moved through the horrible stack of financial receipts. Yet something about the room was... off.

"Where!" Celestia called out. She focused her eyes right on the empty spot on the wall above her. A perfectly symmetrical line of large marble heart after large marble heart stretched out from one corner of the room to the other. In the center of the room should have been a large golden heart with a small baby dragon-like carving leaning out of the top. Celestia's eyes narrowed. In that one spot, she saw... an empty spot upon the wood.

"DISCORD... no... it's just... TOO..." Celestia alternated between shouts and pained moans. She paused. She panted.

Celestia thrust her hooves upon the table. She blasted them to the right. The little glasses and plates flew onto the ground besides her. The little glass shreds danced across the floor around her hooves.

"Where are you? What are you doing?" Celestia moaned. I'm... I'm... I'm just losing my mind, aren't I?

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

The drool poured upon the glossy magazine page. Strawberry paused, and then he licked his lips again. His eyes traced the soft, supple curves of Luna's body-- curves that might as well have been miles and miles long-- for the twenty-third time. He looked down at the little biographical snippet of Photo Finish on the other page. Strawberry had contributed several filmy white stains to the black print over the past few days.

The unicorn pressed his face even deeper. He locked eyes at the middle of the picture-- that seductively flowing mane. "You've... You've... You've been a bad, bad girl," Strawberry moaned, "Haven't you?" The picture didn't answer. Strawberry panted for a little bit, and then he plopped the magazine back upon the kitchen counter.

I didn't think I'd ever go back to... Well, this... Ever since I had the real thing... He rubbed his front hooves upon the counter. He nudged his head over and gazed at the pile of Pinkie Pie's scones beside him. He felt so numb all over.

"You've been a bad girl..." he whispered, and he slid the magazine over across the counter. It tumbled onto the pile of clean dishes. "A bad girl... Flaunting yourself in front of all of Equestria like that, showing your charms, and all of that to everypony... Since you're mine. Mine." Although that had to be the best-selling royal Canterlot bulletin in the past four thousand years!

Of course, Luna had had excuses. She had comittments to fulfill with Celestia. She had apparently gone through all of those rinky-dink royal events with extra vigor over the past week. Every time I send a blasted message for us to get together, it's always 'But Ace's semi-final tennis competition will' or 'But Ocativa's recital has' or 'But the Night Court's appeal decision has' or... Goodness knows what!

That wonderful aroma of Mr. Cake's new white chocolate cupcakes snuck up behind Strawberry's head and danced across his nose. The unicorn jumped off of the counter and then headed back to the ovens. I just... I just can't take it. Day after day with her. Day after day consumating our love. And even last single time, it was like I died and was reborn. he reached down and magically nudged open the biggest oven.

She's like a chemical. She's like some kind of bad medicine. Every little second with her is feels the same as an entire lifetime. And I can't handle the pleasure... or the pressure. It drives me insane. Tray after tray littered the top of the oven.

*Ding, ding*

Strawberry sped across the kitchen and then stuck his head outside the window. He didn't see a thing. He glanced left and right. He then threw his head down. Nope... He got up a little to head back to the kitchen, but then he paused. He collapsed against the windowsill. Oh, oh my goodness... Seriously, even the memory of her makes me lose it.

He shut his eyes tightly. I'm so over my head, and it isn't even funny. It's like throwing a canteen into the ocean and then trying to fill it wider and wider. It's like putting Scootaloo in charge of the Wonderbolts. She's... she's destroying me from the inside. And I couldn't want it MORE!

"Hello, there... I'm here to... ask something," the familiar voice of a yellow pegasus asked, "Sorry, I had to step out a second after ringing..."

"Hey, Fluttershy," Strawberry said, blinking his eyes, "What's going on?"

"That's not my name," another voice said. Strawberry blinked again. He suddenly saw...

"Luna!" Strawberry called out. She smooshed the sides of his face.

"Not too loud, please," she said, and then she made a huge grin, "What do you think of that new illusion spell? It fooled Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and the Mayor so far..." She curled her head in satisfaction.

"I'm... so happy to... see you..." Strawberry muttered. His face seemed to melt. He paused. Well... I'm not waiting!

He jumped half-way out the window and kissed her. The alicorn immediately threw her hooves around Strawberry's neck. They rubbed their faces together, and his lips seemed to dance across hers. Luna rubbed her tongue all along the front of his teeth, and she clearly felt rewarded by the sweet white chocolate taste. Strawberry buried his hooves into her mane, and he pulled it forward all over their heads.

The alicorn suddenly stopped. She pulled back. Strawberry shifted away from the window, confused. The alicorn scrunched up her face. Strawberry closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Luna had teleported right besides him inside the kitchen. He smiled. He then moved back in to kiss her again.

"Please, Strawberry," she said. She held her hooves up against her face. Strawberry then tried to put on a sad 'puppy dog' like expression. "I need..." He tensed up as he surveyed her suddenly nervous, chill face. "To tell... you..." She looked as if she wanted to cry.

"Whatever it is," Strawberry said, and he curled his hoof along the side of Luna's beautiful face, "It won't change how I love you. I don't care if it's good news, bad news, or what. If Celestia sent you back up to the moon for another century, I'll be right here at your side." His words seemed to wipe the few little drops under her eyes right away. She locked eyes with him. "I love you, Luna."

"I need to tell you that," she began, "That..."

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Celestia disliked eating alone in the best of circumstances. Then, at that evening, she had had to deal with hours upon hours of inter-agency arguing that almost almost came to blows amongst her staff coupled with a nightmare-fueled lack of appitite. She glared at the empty chair across from her. She then nudged her fork against the inky green smattering of hay casserole.

"Well, I suppose..." she muttered, "At least I don't have any..." She didn't even want to finish her sentence. There's no draconequus in sight.

"Tia!" Luna suddenly called out from the side door behind her.

Celestia curled her head around. The blue alicorn had such an odd mixture of dread and happiness across her face. Luna twriled her mane out of her face for a moment, and then she trotted over to her spot.

"It's pretty cold by now," Celestia muttered. She picked at the casserole, and then she eyed her sister. "By the way, glad you could be here."

"I have some... had some..." Luna stammered. She clearly didn't even know where to begin. She rubbed her front hooves upon the top of the table. "Oh, I'm really sorry. I thought that we were going to the other dining room on the east section by that study... And then I had to..."

"Forget it," Celestia said. She locked eyes with her sister. You've got that... That look. THAT ONE. The sun goddess braced herself for news-- for news of the variety that Luna could only share with her and her alone. Alicorn business...

Luna stepped off of her seat, and then she walked over to Celestia's spot. The sun goddess edged herself over. Celestia gazed down at her little sister's body. Luna couldn't help wiggling a bit in fear.

"I love you," Luna said-- basically out of nowhere.

"I..." Celestia said. Lulu, what have you done now? She leaned forward. Celestia gazed at her sister's beautiful eyes, her wonderful nose, her soft smile, her delicate cheeks, and every other part of her pretty face. With full motherly grace, Celestia kissed the top of Luna's head. "I love you too, of course. I always have. I always will."

"I'm... I'm..." Luna whispered.

"Yes?" Celestia asked.

"I'm pregnant."

(To Be Continued)