LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME

Chapter 28: Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

Staring out the window, Blueblood tried hard to admire the beautiful day, but just could not muster up the will to do so. The bright sun, fluffy clouds, singing birds, even the foals playing in the courtyard could not bring a smile to his face. He sighed sadly and tried to read the magazine in his hooves, but gave up when he realized that he had just read the same paragraph for the third time. He tossed it to the end table next to him with a snort of disgust.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a small colt watching him fearfully the next chair over. He looked familiar, and it took him a few moments to figure out why. The foal wore the same expression Blueblood used to when his father was angry or disappointed with him. The stallion would glare, but the only thing he would say would be, “I'm so disappointed in you, boy,” or something similar. There was nothing more devastating he could have said to the developing colt. Even now, just the memory of those words sent a chill knife through his heart.

Blueblood was determined not to make the same mistakes, so he offered the colt the magazine, holding it out with his magic. Nervously, the colt took the proffered article and returned to his mother's side on the other side of the room.

A nurse walked into the room and said, “Mr. Blueblood? Your father's ready to receive you.”

With a sigh, he stood and walked to the room's exit, but paused to smile when he saw the colt wave to him. Returning the gesture with a nod, he walked out into the hospital proper, following the nurse as she walked up to a door with an electronic lock. She keyed in a code and the door buzzed as it unlocked. They walked through the mental health wing in silence until they came upon his father's room.

Before she could open it for him, he laid a hoof on her shoulder and asked, “How has he been lately? Any changes, good or bad?”

The nurse shook her head sadly. “I'm afraid not. If you want to talk to his doctor before you leave, I can ask him to stop by to get a better picture.”

Blueblood nodded and walked into the private hospital room. It wasn't hard to spot the old stallion, but it was very difficult for Blueblood to look at him for long. He sat on the floor next to the window, toys and dolls scattered around him. He listlessly moved around a pony doll, having it smash down repeatedly onto another pony doll.

Walking over, Blueblood sat down on the floor and tried to look into his father's eyes, but the other pony refused to look away from his project. “Good morning, Father. How are you feeling?” Golden Bit said nothing, and kept slamming one doll into the other in a lackluster way. “Is... is that fun? It certainly looks like it.” Again, no response.

Blueblood looked back at the nurse who had just returned. He silently mouthed a question at her, “How long?” and mimed slamming his hoof down like his father was doing.

The nurse came up and whispered into his ear, “About a half hour or so, now. We tried to stop him yesterday, but he started screaming and throwing a fit, so we leave him to it as long as he doesn't hurt himself or anypony else.”

With a nod, Blueblood returned his attention to Golden Bit and tried his best to reach him, to no avail. Eventually, the new Duke of Canterlot had to leave so that the patients could be fed. He managed to avoid crying, but only with the help of several deep breaths and a calming exercise commonly taught to unicorns.

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Blueblood walked into his office, and was surprised to find his wife sitting on his desk. “Cherry? What are you doing in here?”

Cheery Jubilee sauntered up to him and kissed him. “Waiting for you, my Blueberry. I thought you might need some cheering up. You always do after your visits.”

Blueblood kissed her back and smiled weakly at her. “That's very sweet of you, but I'm not really in the mood for...”

“Sexual healing?” Cherry Jubilee offered.

The Duke sat on the small couch, pulling his wife onto his lap. He smiled- a real one this time- and kissed the top of her head. “That. But, I'll take some snuggles, if you have any to spare.”

Cherry nuzzled into his embrace and sighed contentedly. “I always have those in stock, Sweetie.” They laid there like that for a few moments before Cherry broke the silence. “You know, I think I have some news that will cheer you up even more than just snuggles.”

“Oh? Do tell,” the unicorn replied.

“You're gonna be a daddy.” Silence met her declaration, and the longer it stretched on, the more scared she became. Cherry knew that her husband still had many issues with family to work out, but this situation had arisen much sooner than either had expected. She looked up, terrified to discover what she would find. To her great relief, she saw a stunned, but happy look on Blueblood's face. She reached out a hoof and poked him gently in the ribs. “Hey, there. This is where you jump for joy or say 'Yippee' or something.”

Blueblood looked down at her and with a wide grin, calmly said, “Yippee.”

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*(“)(“)

Stepping off of the flying chariot and on to the familiar palace grounds, Twilight calmly looked around at the guards. She had always known their purpose- the reasons they were there, but knowing that she had similar guards really drove home their presence. Before her meeting with Plain Sight, the guards were more like stern uncles or guides to her. They had names (many of which she knew personally), families, hopes, dreams, likes, and dislikes. Foibles. Lives. But now, all she could see when she looked upon them were the holes in families they would create should they make the ultimate sacrifice in the course of their duty, namely protecting the Princesses or their guests.

She shook her head in confusion and fear that she would be the cause of one of them not coming home to their family someday. Twilight gathered her thoughts as one of those same guards came forward and bowed to her. “Milady,” he said with profound respect before rising again. “I hope your trip was pleasant. Her Highness will see you in her parlor directly.”

Twilight nodded respectfully to the guard. “Lieutenant Gleaming Shield. A pleasure to see you again,” she said, giving his rank the same pronunciation that the Princesses did.

Gleaming Shield blushed a little at her remembering his name, but returned her smile. “Likewise, Milady.”

They started walking into the palace proper, Twilight asking, “If it's not too intrusive, I'd like to ask you a question, if I may, Lieutenant.”

“Of course, Milady. I'll answer as best I can, security clearance allowing, of course,” the stallion replied.

Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. “Oh, it's nothing secretive, just perhaps a bit... personal. I was wondering why you do it.” She saw the confusion on his face and realized her non sequitur. “I mean this,” She waved a hoof at his armor, “Your job. Why are you a guard instead of a doctor like your father, or a metallurgist like your mother? You like gardening, so why not follow that passion instead of something dangerous like this?”

Gleaming Shield almost paused his stride, but his training kept him going on auto-pilot. He smiled at his charge and gave a small chuckle. “You always did ask the hard ones, Milady. To answer your question, I have to say that I do this for a variety of reasons. To be honest, gardening, medicine, and metallurgy are just interesting ways to spend my free time. They don't appeal to me enough to make a career out of them.

“As to the danger, there is a certain amount of danger inherent in almost every profession. A doctor exposes himself to contagious diseases, dangerous X-rays, unstable or panicked patients, not to mention lawsuits from unscrupulous lawyers looking to make a bit off of a malpractice suit. A metallurgist often is found working around red hot, if not molten metals, dangerous fumes, exposed flames, corrosive acids, and clumsy assistants. Gardeners are subject to heatstroke, dehydration, allergic reactions to plants or insect stings, and zoning laws. Compared to all that, facing down the odd irate citizen looking to make a statement by pelting the Princess with rotten vegetables or paint, or at the extreme end of things, somepony looking to seriously hurt or kill them is a walk in the park. It's all about what you consider to be acceptable risk,” he finished with a smirk.

“But that's not what you asked, is it?” Gleaming Shield said. “Why I do this and not any of those other things comes down to two things. Do you remember when the weather ponies lost control of that storm about fifteen, sixteen years ago?”

Twilight nodded after a moment's thought. “I think so. Do you mean the one that flooded Baltimare? I think I read later about it. Wasn't almost the entire weather bureau there fired over it?”

Gleaming Shield nodded. “That's the one. There was a huge call out for medical aid, and my family all went to respond to that plea. I was just old enough for my parents to take me instead of leaving me with my aunt like they normally would have. Seeing all that devastation was... sobering. But more than that, seeing all the ponies working together to help those hurt by the storm made me feel proud to be a pony.

“And then, She showed up. The Princess flew down from the sky in her largest chariot like a Goddess descending from the heavens to inspect the damage first hoof, but she could not just stand by idly, or make speeches. She told the pegasi pulling it to use it as a makeshift ambulance, and take the doctors out to gather up the wounded. Then she took off most of her shoes and crown, and got into the mud to help the rescuers.” He chuckled to himself and lightly shook his head. “She even had her guards working down there with her, leaving her regalia unattended- not that anypony would touch it uninvited, not after seeing her do that. She didn't ask for praise or recognition, she didn't take over the operation, she didn't even bring any reporters with her. The only reason the story got out at all was that there happened to be somepony there with a camera taking pictures of her.”

With a sigh, Gleaming Shield looked to the ceiling, a tear of pride threatening to spill from his eye. “It was then I realized that I would follow her anywhere. She truly cared about us, and didn't just rule from on high. She wanted what was best for us, and didn't care about the glory or the personal price to her. She was worth following. Worth protecting. If I can do that by keeping the thankless masses at bay, falling on an enemy's sword, or even just escorting her guests around the palace grounds, then I'm happy to do so. Of course, I'd rather keep on living so I can continue to serve her, but if it comes down to that, I'm quite ready to do so.”

He shot Twilight a sideways glance and smiled. “But I also do it because I love her, and being around her brings me joy, and allows me a chance to try to brighten her day even a tenth as much as she does to mine. It doesn't matter if she ever returns my feelings or not. Just knowing that I'm doing something for her is enough.” He stopped, and Twilight realized that they were standing in front of the door to the Princess's richly appointed parlor. He knocked and announced in a loud, clear voice, “Countess Twilight Sparkle, Your Highness.” He opened the door, and bowed to Twilight once more.

Twilight walked in, staring in surprise at Gleaming Shield until the door closed behind her. It was with a little surprise then, that she walked into the couch on which Celestia sat, and tumbled to the floor. The unicorn regained her hooves, rubbing her head. Looking up, she saw the amused look on the alicorn's face, and couldn't help but smile to see her. “Morning, 'Tia.”

“It's a much better morning for seeing your smile again, Twilight,” Celestia replied. “What was it you wanted to discuss? Your letter sounded rather urgent last night.”

Twilight's hoof migrated to the back of her head where it scratched nervously. “Ah, well. It may not have been as urgent as I had made it out to be last night. I was rather... agitated when I had composed the letter, you see.”

Celestia patted the space on the couch next to her. “Come tell me about it. I'm sure that between the two of us, we can work out any problem.”

Settling onto the couch next to her mentor, Twilight hesitantly replied, “I sure hope so. I'm sure you're already aware of a pony named Plain Sight and her, uh, job?”

Having already been warned the previous night by from Plain Sight what had transpired, Celestia was hardly surprised by the nature of the visit. Deciding to lay more of her cards on the table, the alicorn opted to forgo feigning ignorance any longer. “Indeed I do. I received a report from her just last night to expect you to want a talk with me rather soon-ish. Is it safe to assume that this concerns her?” Her query was met with a nod, so she asked, “What has happened to change the urgency since last night?”

“Um... well, several things, actually,” Twilight replied. “I talked with my herd last night after... our discussion, and while they agree with the decision to leave things as they are now, they told me a few stories of how she was helping me from the shadows without my knowledge.”

Celestia was disappointed, but tried to not let it show. “So you aren't going to accept her into your herd, then?”

Twilight shrugged and watched her hoof as it started doodling idle circles on the pattern of the couch cushion. “I dunno. Even they're sorta ambivalent about the whole notion. They see the merits of bringing her in, but like me, they're worried about disturbing the delicate balance in the dynamic we've achieved.” She snorted in amusement and added, “Not to mention the fact that we know next to nothing about her.”

“Then don't you think you should give her a chance before saying 'No' outright?” Celestia asked. “You might be missing out on something exceptional.”

Twilight sighed and laid her head on Celestia's cutie mark, an action that caused a swell of emotion for the unicorn from the elder mare. “Moot point now,” Twilight replied. “She took the decision out of our hooves by bowing out of the way.”

Celestia's head perked up at this revelation. “She did?”

“Yeah. She said some stuff about not being good enough, and not wanting to ruin the good thing I had going with my herd, then practically ran out of the house. I was too stunned by all that information to do anything but sit there.” She turned her head to look up at Celestia without lifting it from its comfortable spot. “Am I a terrible pony for wishing that she had never come forward at all? Just kept it to herself? It feels like a genie has been released, and you know how hard those are to put back in the bottle.”

Leaning down, Celestia kissed Twilight on the forehead. “Wishing for continued happiness does not make one a bad pony, but refusing to deal with new information will not return one to blissful ignorance. You know this as well as I do, 'Sister'.”

Twilight started at the mention of their relationship and gave a rueful chuckle. “I suppose so, 'Sister'.” She sat up right and looked her in the eye for the first time this whole visit. “So what do you suggest we do?”

“My suggestion to you would be to talk with your herd about her, and see if she ever could have a place in it, then let her decide if she feels like she deserves a place or not. I'm sure you've noticed that she can be rather, ah, stubborn about some things,” Celestia noted with no small amount of mirth. “Plain Sight needs to work out in her own mind, her personal worth as a pony, and there is nopony more blind than one who refuses to see. She must come to this realization on her own, unfortunately. Rather ironic, considering her name, don't you think?”

“We are our own harshest critic,” Twilight replied with a nod. “I know that more than most, I suppose. Alright, I'll talk with them, but I doubt we'll change our minds. Trixie especially is very... ah, delicate when it comes to relationships, and I'm not exactly the best example in the world of self-confidence.”

“Glass houses?”

“Indeed,” Twilight replied. “I suppose I should start investigating to find out what kind of pony she is, to see if she would even fit in with us. Could I ask you about her?”

Celestia nodded. “So long as you don't ask me to betray any confidences, I'd be happy to tell you. I take it then, that you don't object to her being your unseen guardian, then?”

Twilight let her gaze drift off to the side. “Well, I'm still a little iffy about that, actually. Just knowing that there's a pony out there who feels that way about me and is watching my every move is very... off-putting, to say the least, though I can see the value in having a guardian as low-key as her.”

“I can certainly relate,” Celestia said with a nod. “It takes some getting used to, but over the millennia, I've found that ponies who guard me out of love and respect do a better job than those who do it because it's a good paycheck; even if they can sometimes cross a line they shouldn't. If you like, I can tell you how I deal with that as well.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought for a moment before replying, “I think that might be a good idea, all things considered.”

(\ /)
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Sunny walked into the candy shop, letting her shield dissipate as she did, leaving the rain behind her. She looked around, but was unable to spot her objective. She walked up to the counter and tapped on the glass case to get the attention of the mare behind the counter. Looking over the edge, Bonbon smiled down at the little filly. “Hello there, Sunny. What can I do for you today?”

“Can Twist come play?” The filly asked, trying her hardest to look cute. She had discovered that the most powerful weapon in her arsenal was her eyes, but she tried not to overuse them.

Bonbon smiled sadly at her. “I'm sorry, Sunny, but our Mom would kill me for letting her out in this kind of weather. Besides, she still has to pay me back for all that sugar she used last week, making candy for her whole class.”

Sunny looked to the floor, dejected. “Okay. Thanks anyways, Missus Bonbon.”

As the filly turned to leave, Bonbon couldn't help but call out to her. “If you like, you can help Twist in the kitchen, but you have to promise to follow all directions, and be extra careful.”

Sunny turned around, a million wut smile on her face. “Thanks, Missus Bonbon! I promise we'll be real careful!”

As the filly dashed into the kitchen, Bonbon was beginning to have doubts about what she did. This doubt only increased when she heard a cacophony of falling pots and pans, followed by a shouted, “Sorry, Missus Bonbon!”

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Twilight walked into her home with an exhausted sigh. “I'm home!” she called out.

She was answered by a squeal and a, “Oh no you don't! Get back in that tub, Missy!”

Recognizing the exasperated voice of Trixie, Twilight walked over to the bathroom from which the noise was emanating, she found the expected mare trying to force a struggling blob of brown, gooey caramel with eyes into the tub. The caramel looked up and impossibly smiled at the unicorn. “Hi, Mom!” it cried out in Sunny's voice.

Unable to tear her eyes away, Twilight calmly asked, “Trixie, what's going on?”

Trixie looked up without relinquishing her firm grip on the wriggling mass of candy. “Oh, good. You're back. It seems our eldest went over to Bonbon's and tried to 'help' with the candy-making. I'm just trying to deal with the aftermath of the event.”

Twilight stared on in shock. “You mean to tell me that... that is our daughter?” She watched incredulously as the blob was finally lowered into the water. “How did this even...”

“I slipped and fell onto the candy table when they were rolling out the caramel!” Sunny replied, much too happily for either mare's liking. “I tried to get it off, but that just made it spread everywhere.” Then, in the king of all non sequiturs, she added with a beaming smile, “I got to kiss Twist again!”

Twilight made her displeasure known with a glare and a frown that stopped Sunny's squirming, much to Trixie's relief. “What have I told you about forcing yourself on other ponies?”

“But Mom, she didn't even pull away this time! I swear!” the filly answered desperately. “She even tasted really sweet this time,” she added absently.

“Like caramel?” Twilight ventured.

Sunny put a hoof to her chin in an uncanny imitation of her Mom. “Actually, she tasted like sour apple candy. But that might be because she was making lollipops at the time of the spill. In any case, she didn't pull away this time, and didn't even seem upset at all.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Regardless, I want you to put a leash on those touchy-feely impulses of yours around others. Not everypony is as... affectionate as we are in this house, understand?” Sunny nodded, and Twilight had to stop herself from attempting to ruffle her candy- filled mane. She looked to Trixie and said, “Where are the others? There's an important matter we need to discuss.”

Trixie looked up at her from the corner of her eye, and asked, “What about?”

“Probably about Missus Plain Sight,” Sunny said, her attention centered on pushing her rubber ducky under the water and letting it pop up again.

Both mares stared at the filly in astonishment. “W- what do you know about her, Sunny?” Twilight asked carefully.

Sunny kept on playing with the ducky as she replied. “I know that she watches us to make sure we're safe, and that she really, really, really likes Mom. Like likes her. The way I do Twist.” Her matter-of-fact manner surprised the mares with her how honest, insightful, and concise a filly her age was with a matter that adults many times her age could not be.

“What do you think about her, Sunny?” Twilight asked.

With a shrug, Sunny replied, “I'unno. She's a nice enough pony, I guess. Not sure how'd she'd work out though.”

Trixie finally found her voice after swallowing hard. “What do you mean, Sunshine? 'Work out', how?”

“I'm just not sure. Letting her live with us could be good or bad. 'S just hard to see,” the filly said.

Further conversation was interrupted by the front door opening and closing, followed by Cheerilee's singsong voice calling out, “I'm home.”

Sunny tried once more to escape, but Trixie had a firm grip on her with her magic this time. Twilight walked out to greet the newly arrived with a kiss. “Welcome home. How was the meeting with the mayor?”

Cheerilee swooned dramatically with the back of a hoof resting on her forehead. “Oh, dear, me! The bureaucracy!” She put all four hooves on the floor again and smiled at her alpha. “We managed to eke out the money for a budget for another year at least. We had to cut back on the annual field trip, but at least no classes will be canceled. It's a very narrow thing, too. If you hadn't offered to do your magic class again gratis, we'd be in real trouble.”

“No field trip? Now that's a shame,” Twilight said with a moue of sadness. “Perhaps we could try some things they do in the larger cities. There's plenty of fund raising techniques we could attempt. Bake sales, arts and crafts sales, cart washes, walk-a-thons, or failing all that, door-to-door sales.”

The teacher looked less than excited at the prospect. “I suppose we'll have to. I wanted to try to avoid that if at all possible. The last thing I wanted was to turn them into little Eqway ponies.” She put on a fake smile and a squeaky voice, and said, “Hello, Sir! Would you like to buy some wrapping paper?” Her expression dropped once more into a glower. “Ugh. Just the thought of it makes my stomach churn. Maybe I can turn it into a lesson on economy.”

Twilight nuzzled her with a poorly concealed smirk. “Well, cheer up, Cheery. We got serious business to discuss later on after dinner tonight.”

Cheerilee rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Lovely.”

(\ /)
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“So, what was it you wanted to talk to us all about, Twi?” Spitfire asked. She was sitting on the bed behind Trixie, running a brush through the unicorn's mane, and smiling at the purr of satisfaction coming from her; tonight being her night to be pampered. She leaned forward so that the majority of her weight was placed on the Trixie's back, practically mounting her from behind.

Cheerilee tugged her pink socks up and looked over at the pony pile forming on the bed. “Yes, you mentioned something about it when I came home as well. If this is about sending the kids to an academy again-”

Twilight stopped combing the fur on Trixie's forelegs, and waved a hoof in negation. “No, no. You all made very cogent points about that, and I agreed with them. Besides, I don't think I could bear to part with them for so long anymore. No, this actually concerns Plain Sight.”

All three of her mares stopped what they were doing and looked at her; Trixie with a sour expression, while the others were obviously just confused. “What about her?” Spitfire asked.

“I thought we came to a consensus about her,” agreed Cheerilee.

Twilight looked to the side as she said, “Well, that's true, but 'Tia has brought some new information to my attention. Knowing this may change how we feel.”

“What can she possibly say change what we've already decided?” Trixie asked with a petulant tone. “I am not keen on bringing another mare into our bedroom.”

“Believe it or not, nor am I, when it comes right down to it. I've been exceptionally fortunate in coming to love and be loved by three extraordinary mares such as yourselves,” Twilight replied, surprising them all. “But like I said, when new information comes into light, it must be considered carefully before a decision can be made. I won't go into everything the Princess said, but I will break it down into a few salient points. The first point is that she's been protecting me for many years now, and so knows me very well. Well enough, in fact, to accurately predict my movements and likely courses of action in a given situation.

“Point two: she has had unrequited feelings for me, longer even than Spitfire and I have had for each other. Lately, those feelings have begun to interfere with her ability to operate as my guardian, but Limnear seems to have stabilized that to an extent. This actually leads into point three: Limnear herself. The two of them had a relationship in the past, but broke up over a difference of opinion over me, actually. I'm not sure of the specifics, but the gist of it is that Limnear wanted a bigger part of Plain Sight's heart than she was willing to give back then. That seems to have changed lately, but Limnear is still pushing for that bigger share.”

Twilight sighed and fidgeted her forehooves in front of her. “That's all the relevant data. There's some other things she said, but they aren't pertinent to the discussion; mostly things my family has said of her over the years.”

Trixie was first to voice her opinion. “I say we let the two of them get together and leave us out of it. It sounds like this griffon has a good grasp on her, and if that happens, then she'll have a better chance of getting over our Twilight.”

With a roll of her eyes and a sigh of exasperation, Spitfire said, “That's rather cold, Trixie. What would you have done if Twilight rejected you because she chose Cheerilee or myself? Or the both of us, but not you?” The unicorn looked down at the sheets, tears brimming in her eyes. Spitfire leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “I'm sorry, Trix, but it was needlessly callous; not the words, but the tone and feelings behind them. That being said, I actually agree with you, to an extent.”

Looking over her shoulder at the pegasus, Trixie gasped, “What?”

Spitfire nuzzled her and threw her forelegs around Trixie's neck. “Silly mare. Whether you meant any malice behind it or not, you hit on the thing that could maintain the status quo. Limnear could capture her heart entirely, so that Plain Sight might not even want to join our herd.”

“But there's one thing we need to consider that we haven't yet addressed,” Cheerilee said solemnly. They all turned to her, and she in turn, looked to Twilight. “How do you feel about her joining the herd, now that you know her a bit better?”

Twilight closed her eyes and considered the matter carefully in her mind. It took only a few moments before she opened them again and said, “I think I'd like to wait and see what happens with Limnear, first. If it comes to pass later on that she wants to join, we should sit down and talk it over with them both.”

Spitfire gave her a sly smile. “And you say you'd make a poor politician.”

Author's Notes:

Well, I'm back from Tennessee. Nice place to visit, but it's good to be back home. Sorry about the break, but these things happen now and then. Lots of good stuff happening this chapter. Hopefully, it makes up for lost time. I was going to tack on a sex scene at the end, but ran out of time. Maybe next update. For now, I'll leave you with this mental image: Sunny Days pulling a wagon filled with boxes of cookies and her sisters, all dressed up as Girl Scouts. Just a bit of diabeetus for my readers. ^_^

The usual disclaimers go here. I own the arrangement of the words, Golden Bit, Gleaming Shield, and Sunny Days. All else belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.