To Love A Non-Brony

Chapters

What?
Descent to Madness...
Denial to Acceptance
The Painfully Obvious
One Last Cup of Tea
Dead Wishes
Deal
Nights and Nuts
Nuttier Nights
Nighteist Nuts
Rise and Shine
Breaking Breakfast
How to Court a Non-Brony
A Clockwork Non-Brony
Give the Poor Guy a Break Already
Answers Without Questions
Pierce the Heavens with Your Love
When you Love Something...
TD and Celestia
Alicorns don't panic [Alternate Ending]

What?

“What?”

That was the first thing that came to mind when TD Harrison Powell asked me out on a date. The same TD Harrison Powell that was best known in Equestria for punching me, Princess Celestia, in the face. He was having a hard time keeping eye contact with me.

Strange.

“Yes or no? I don’t have all day, Celestia. I have foals to teach back in Ponyville.”

He arrived in Canterlot that very morning and demanded an appointment with me. When I received the news, I quickly put his appointment above everything else that day. If this was the same TD Harrison Powell I brought to my world by a sheer stroke of luck, then this was important. TD and I have never gotten along before, and we hadn’t left each other on the best of terms. He said he never wanted to see me again, so him coming all the way from Ponyville just to get an audience with me was astonishing to say the least.

“I’ll be honest TD, I can’t see where you’re getting at with this. Care to explain?”

He was obviously holding a blush. Being as old I am, I could read facial expressions like a book even if the being making them was foreign to Equestria.

“I don’t have anything to explain,” he said as he crossed his arms. His posture was defensive. He was nervous. “I want an answer. Are you gonna go out with me or not?”

It was just as surprising as the first time. There was an awkward silence in the throne room. I didn’t know what to say. A few words came to mind that I would rather not stoop down to saying. At first I thought it was TD trying to get back at me for getting his spine snapped by my dearest sister, but something was off. This wasn’t the snarky, sarcastic being I had occasionally found myself in opposition with. I could not sense any magic from him, so he wasn’t a changeling, and Discord was reformed, so he couldn’t be under his influence. This was indeed puzzling.

He struck his own face with the palm of his hand. “I’m not joking, Celestia. I’m being honest and... if you don’t believe me, I…” He paused before going into deep thought before sighing again and did something nopony would have expected.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

The Pinkie Promise.

He even performed each action of this ritual step by step. When he ended though, he accidently poked his own eye. I was at a loss for words. Me! Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of all of Equestria. I took the situation in and walked out of the throne room leaving a confused TD inside. Than with all the quiet dignity and grace I could muster, I ran as fast as I could like a panicking foal to the only pony I could talk to about this situation.

“LUUUUUUNAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I threw Luna’s bedroom doors open with my magic. Luna was asleep before I entered, so she was not pleased to see me barge in like that.

“Sister, Is there something thou would like to share with us?” she inquired rubbing her eyes. I was panting. Why was I panting? I'm an immortal alicorn goddess. I don't pant.

“TD… here… castle...” I managed to say out loud.

Luna’s pupils dilated. She sat up on her bed. She contorted her face into a scowl. “Art thou referring to the human that had the nerve to punch thee in the face? What brings the wretched whelp here?”

“That’s just it,” I replied as I paced around her room after locking the door shut. Pacing helped me think. That habit somehow rubbed off on Twilight though, “He came here to Canterlot to ask me out on a date.”

Luna was shocked to say the least. “WHAT?!” she yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice. A habit I am not fond of.

“Shhhh. I don’t want him to hear us.”

Luna thought for a moment. “Maybe he’s just getting back at us for snapping his spine.”

“I’m afraid not, dear sister,” I replied grimly “He Pinkie Promised, Luna.”

Luna gasped. “What do we do then, sister?”

I looked at Luna with a hopeless expression. “For the first time in a thousand years, I don’t know.”

A silence plagued the atmosphere of Luna’s room. None of us said a word. The eerie silence was broken by a knock on the door that shocked us back into existence.

“Who is it?” Luna called out.

“It’s TD. I’m looking for Celestia.”

I looked at Luna. It wasn’t like me to worry this much, but mother of me, it was TD we were talking about, one of the few beings in Equestria that was on par with me and my sister when it came to the battle of wits.

“Just a moment!” Luna called out.

“What do I do?” I whispered. By now my calm collected mask was completely gone. I was almost trembling.

Luna closed her eyes and went into deep thought and after a moment she opened them and looked at me with a stoic expression. “Here is our advice sister,” she said with a stern voice. I leaned closer to listen to her. “Go out with the human.”

I looked at her as if she slapped me in the face. “What!?” I yelled before covering my face with my hooves. But it was already too late. He had heard me through the door.

“Celestia? Is that you? Are you gonna answer me or not?” TD knocked on the door again, this time harder.

Luna continued despite the knocking.

“We suggest you go out with the human, sister. If you accept his offer and let him court you, you can make this a one-time date and end it there.”

I did not believe what I was hearing.

“Luna have you gone insane?! He is not like one of those nobles we have dealt with in the past. He isn’t in the pursuit of wealth and power like the Canterlot Elite. For all we know, he is out for my blood.”

Luna leaned in closer to me. Her face was as serious as could be. “Celestia, you are trying to avoid the problem here and judging by how adamant he is on getting thee on a date, we do not think he will stop unless he succeeds. It is not to our knowledge why he wants to court thee, but mark our words, we are in Equestria and you know as much we do that minor issues such as this have the tendency to escalate almost instantly. If we do not pluck the problem from its roots, than it will grow until it is a national issue for all we know. Do you want something like that to happen again?”

I looked at Luna, shocked. I wanted to deny what she said but she was right. Small problems like these could grow in short periods of time and this was no small problem. This was TD Harrison Powell. Luna’s expression softened, and she put her hoof on my shoulder. “We are not forcing you to do this, but keep in mind our past with problems of such delicate issues. If this continues, I can almost guarantee things will go from bad to worse. It is a sacrifice you must make for Equestria.”

I cringed as she pulled the Equestria card on me. I hate it when she does, but she had a point. I had to do this before things got out of hoof… again.

I sighed “Fine! If it’s for Equestria, it is a sacrifice I will have to make.”

Luna held back a sigh as she magically unlocked the door. “Good luck, Tia. May Faust guide you and have mercy on your soul.”

I nodded and swung it open with my hoof. TD didn't see it coming and his face took the full force of the door causing him to tumble back. I leaned closer to him until our faces were inches away from each other. I narrowed my eyebrows.

“Pick me up at five.”

Descent to Madness...

It was the day after TD asked me out. It was all I could think about the rest of the day. What angle was he working on? What nefarious plot did he have in mind? Time would tell. TD left after and booked a room in a Canterlot hotel. Luna was not what one might call enthusiastic about this whole situation considering the fact her sister was being courted by the same being that had a poor history with Equestrian Royalty. Luna always was the overprotective type.

The next day, after setting the moon, she didn’t leave my side. She accompanied me to breakfast, lunch and even my office where I did the most dreaded part of my vigorous routine: paperwork. Normally, I hated this part of my schedule more than Day Court. However, today I could make an exception. It was the best way I could keep my mind off my date with TD.

“Is it time?” asked Luna as I put a hoof stamp on the last of the plethora of documents. I swear, if I get another request from Blueblood to lower nobility taxes, banishment to the moon is the last thing he should worry about. I magically floated the denied tax reform document on a shelf and glimpsed at the wall.

“There’s still three minutes and fourteen seconds before five o’clock.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “That was rather--”

“Accurate? I know. I’ve been counting every second after TD left the castle,” I interrupted.

“Should thou not be busy preparing for the date?”

“I do not think that would be necessary.” I smirked. “If I’m lucky, he’ll find that offensive and call off the date.”

“And what about the media? What if they spot you with TD? I highly doubt the public would take your outing with an inter-dimensional species very likely.”

“Do not fret, dear sister. I had planned every obstacle out before the time of reckoning. The only thing I haven’t tackled is what TD is conspiring for our date.”

Luna was about to say something else but was interrupted by a stern knocking on the door.

“You may enter,” I called out.

The door opened and in walked a maid, Cob Web, if I remember her name correctly. She bowed before speaking. “Your majesty, the human from yesterday has arrived.”

It was time. My sight fell on Luna who watched me sympathetically. “If you don’t want to be a part of this, I could always ‘take care’ of him.” I mused for a second but denied it.

“No, sister,” I said as I put a hoof on her shoulder. “This must be done.”

She gave me an assuring smile and a nod before saying “Good luck.” I walked out of the door to my inevitable fate.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There he was waiting in the dining area waiting next to the unnecessarily long dining table. He was wearing the same suit he wore in the Grand Galloping Gala. He still had that unsure look on his face. In one hand, he was holding a heart shaped box of chocolates, and in the other hand, a bouquet of roses. I always was intrigued with how humans used their hands. I wonder how useful would they be in bedro- No! No. Professionalism, Celestia. Professionalism. I walked into the dining room doing my best to shake the putrid thoughts off my mind.

“Good afternoon, TD. Are you ready for our date?”

“Yeah, so…” He rubbed his temples. “Here. These are for you.”

“Thank you, TD,” I fumblingly replied. He handed me the box of chocolates and bouquet of roses which I floated towards myself using my horn and ran a quick magical scan on them just in case. His ‘gifts’ seemed to be normal, but I couldn’t be too careful. There was an awkward silence that he thankfully broke.

“We should get going” he gestured towards the door.

“Oh yes! Of course, but before that...” I forced some magic into my horn and enveloped myself in a golden aura. TD squinted because of the light. When the aura faded, I was pleased to find myself in my pegasus form with a white coat and pink mane and tail. My head hardly came up to his chest. I remember that one time I used this form to get out of the castle to take a break from work only to be kidnapped by a bunch of bandits and almost start a nationwide crisis. Good times...

“I’ll have to disguise myself to prevent media attention,” I said before looking up at TD. “Unless you have a problem with that.”

He tilted his head examining my new body before shaking his head. “Let’s just go. We don’t want to be late”

I raised an eyebrow, “Late? Late for what? ”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I have to say TD. Bringing a member of royalty to a downtown place like Doughnut Joe’s was a very bold move.” As I scanned through the various danishes. We were sitting next to the window. It was a clear sunny evening, and watching my little ponies go by not knowing they were so close to their princess was a little amusing. TD fixed his gaze from the menu towards me. “What, you don’t like it?” He seemed a little ill at ease. “No, I like it. Being a princess and all, I have to keep away from the simpler things in life to deal with all the complexities of royalty.”

“Well I know you have a sweet tooth, and I’m guessing being a princess means you don’t come to places like these very often.”

“No, but honestly,” I turned to the next page of the menu, “I’d prefer common cuisine like this over my royal chef’s cooking any day.”

After a few more minutes, Doughnut Joe arrived and we gave him our orders. I ordered slice of chocolate cake with a cup of tea while TD ordered a fruit danish with a side of coffee.

So far the date was turning out to be normal, which was I must admit, enjoyable, which further escalated my tension. The moment I stepped out of the castle, I waited for the worst to happen. Yet, it never came. If his plan was to psychologically torture me, it was working. It was time to ask what was in my mind.

“So TD, what’s with the change of heart? At the Gala you were ready to kill me and today you’re taking me out for a date. What’s the occasion?”

TD leaned against his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. “No occasion. I just woke up one day and thought I was taking my grudge against you too far. Hating someone this much isn’t very healthy. So I decided to bury the hatchet.”

I stared at him curiously. “Really?” I asked, more than a little skeptic at his sudden forgiving attitude.

“Really! I mean, how long did you honestly expect me to hate you so much?”

“A lot longer than this,” I half joked. “But that still doesn’t explain the date.”

“The date was a sign of good intentions. I mean what I say, trust me.” He smiled. This was the first time I ever saw TD smile wholeheartedly. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was… magnificent. His smile made me feel protected, like Equestria itself was facing annihilation and there was no more hope left for anypony. Yet, no harm could fall on me because by my side was a brave knight of the highest order, protecting me from the worst to come. It was sweet, it was welcoming, it made me feel warm inside and above all, it was contagious. I felt my lips curl into a smile. I must say if he was a stallion, he would be... No, Tia! Restrain yourself.

Doughnut Joe came just then and gave us our orders. Thank Faust.

TD cleared his throat to get my attention. He raised his mug in front of me.

“To new beginnings, Celestia.”

I levitated my cup close to his. I was still skeptical about this sudden change of heart but still smiled. “To new beginnings. Honestly, I don't know why I was so worked up about this date.”

Our cups made contact with a satisfying ‘clink’ sound.

…

WHY IN THE NAME OF MOTHER FAUST DID I JUST TELL HIM THAT?!

TD raised an eyebrow. “Worked up?"

I gulped and looked away. I couldn’t bear the embarrassment. I was so angry at myself (and TD for the heck of it).

“After you left, my sister and I were more than a little anxious about this date.”

“Why?”

“TD, you are one of the only beings known to ponykind who has ever openly hated me and Luna. You obviously aren't evil. But your out of nowhere request to take me out put us on high alert.”

“That so?”

“It sounds odd, but yes.”

...

“So" he couldn't help but chuckle "What do you think I would have done to you?”

I smirked sarcastically. “Snark me to death possibly.”

“I see. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not planning to usurp you and your sister just yet.”

We shared a laugh before realization struck me and I stared at him as he wiped the tears of his eyes, confused. Why was TD acting this way? This was not the TD I knew. He was polite, cheerful and forgiving. He was basically the opposite of the TD from the Gala.

And I loved it.

I loved everything about this new TD. Then I came to a horrifying realization. This date was turning out to be the best date I had in what feels like eternity and I was trying my level best not to enjoy it. One side of my head told me to let go of all my worries and relax and dare I say, have fun. But the smarter part of me denied it and told me to be vigilant at all times. It told me not to trust TD, not to succumb to his nefarious plans. I had to fight it. I had to stay headstrong I had to… I had to…

…

To Tartarus with that side of me.

I released a breath that I did not even know I was holding back, and TD and I had a nice conversation about a topic none of us could care less about. Thinking back, I still don’t remember what we talked about. All I remember was we were chatting and smiling.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The date continued perfectly after that. TD somehow obtained two tickets to the Phantomare of the Opera. They weren’t front row seats, but the fact that he obtained these tickets was a feat itself. Even Luna and I have a hard time getting tickets without pulling a couple of strings. The play was breathtaking, and all the ponies were watching the performance in awe all the while my attention was fixed on TD, who apparently fell asleep after the first fifteen minutes of the play. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, so calm. He was cute! I might just hug him like a- STOP, Celestia! STOP!

Why was this happening to me? Was I honestly falling for TD? No… I was just… enjoying the date! That’s it! Just then I spotted TD’s hand on the hoof-rest of the seat. I gently placed my hoof on it and took delight in the rest of the performance.

Yes! Just enjoying the rest of the date.

When the play ended, I nudged TD awake. He jolted up and almost fell off his seat as I giggled at his goofy behavior.

“What’s next?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A simple walk in the park was not what I expected, but then again, it was very enjoyable. We talked some more and laughed some more, all the while savoring each other’s company. It was precisely ten o’clock and Luna had given me the courtesy of setting the sun and lifting the moon. As I saw my sister’s calm luminous orb in the sky, I realized how late it had gotten. Luna was probably worried about me. I turned my attention towards TD who was enjoying the sight of the moon himself.

Maybe a few more minutes…

After another half an hour of strolling and chatting later, TD took me to the entrance of the castle. I thanked him for the wonderful date and we parted ways.

I was wrong. This was the best date of my life.

Denial to Acceptance

I trotted through the hallways towards my bed chambers with my eyes closed and a smile plastered on my face like the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, remembering all the fun I had on my date with TD and giggling as I recalled the better moments. I had reverted back to my alicorn form after stepping inside the castle. I skipped into my room, closed the door shut, hopped onto my bed and giggled some more like a filly who was excited to open her presents for Hearths Warming Eve the next day. The guards were stationed outside on duty, and the servants were in their quarters asleep. Nopony on the planet could possibly tarnish my moment of sheer bliss except--

“TIA!!!”

I was tackled into a hug by Luna. If not for my immortality, she would have definitely squeezed the life out of my body. “We were so worried about our sister! Art thou alright? Did the human bring thee any harm? Why--?”

I interrupted Luna with a raised hoof. “Everything is alright, Luna. The date went normally without any problems.” Luna looked dumbfounded for a moment. I couldn’t blame her, honestly. Nopony could have seen that coming, so I gave her a minute to process this newly acquired information.

“Art thou positively sure nothing out of the ordinary happened?” she asked.

“No, Luna. I’m sure.”

“We are still having a hard time believing this entire ordeal passed without anything happening. It is TD we are talking about.”

“Perhaps the both of us were over-exaggerating. Our imaginations were getting the best of us.”

“Perhaps. Art thou absolutely sure the whole date went normally without thee being subjected to any physical or psychological torment?”

“Yes. Believe me, Luna, I’m surprised as you are.”

Luna thought about it for a moment. “Alright.” A relieved smile spread across her face. “As long as the issue has been resolved, We don’t have to worry about any more courting courtesy of TD.”

I cringed at that last sentence. “Well…”

Luna raised an eyebrow curiously. She wasn’t catching on. “Well what, dear sister?”

“I may or may not have enjoyed the date myself.”

“Come again?” She laughed before continuing, “Our ears aren’t what they used to be. We almost heard thou didst enjoying thyself.”

“Well, TD can be a very calm and gentle stallion once you get to know him; implying he actually is a stallion, and--”

I was the one to be interrupted this time when Luna slammed both her hooves on both sides of my face, puckering my lips as a result. “Tia, look at me.” She even dropped the Royal “We.” This was serious.

“Um… Very well?” I was having a hard time forming words with my face in this position.

“Art thou with me?”

“Yes? I don’t see where this is--”

“Shhhhhhh…”

“Luna, what are you--?“

“Shhshhshhshhhshhh.”

Luna activated her horn and placed it on mine. In an instant I saw the entire date fast forward through my vision: the chat we had in Doughnut Joe’s, me putting my hoof on TD’s hand in the opera, our stroll through the park, watching the moon set, everything played out in my head. It was embarrassing, considering the fact Luna was obviously using her mind reading spell on me. The only being that can break an alicorn’s mind safeguards that prevent any mental assault from befalling on them is another alicorn. When the spell wore off, and my vision cleared, Luna looked at me emotionlessly.

“Luna? Is everything alright?” I inquired. She kept staring at me, emotionless. I waved my hoof in front of her face in an attempt to snap her back into consciousness. She stayed silent for another moment. Finally, she spoke.

“Sister?” she asked in a concerned tone.

“Yes, Luna?” I replied.

“Hast thou fallen for TD Harrison Powell?”

“What makes you say--?”

“HAST THOU FALLEN FOR TD HARRISON POWELL?!” she repeated in her Royal Canterlot Voice. Thank Faust my room was sound proof. The last thing I wanted was for somepony to hear that.

I couldn’t say a word. I looked down at the floor. I felt like a filly being scolded by her mother. What made it more shameful was that my own little sister was scolding me.

“HE IS PLAYING YOU, CELESTIA!”

“Well you see...”

“ANSWER ME!”

“YES!” I paused for a moment. “I’ve fallen, fallen hard. I have no idea how it happened, but it did. The time I spent with him was the best I spent in years! I just kept telling myself I was having a nice time with TD, trying my best to convince myself TD’s presence was not the reason this date went so perfectly. I hate TD for making me feel this way. I hate him for making me fall for him so quickly!”

I breathed heavily after. Luna all the while kept silent and looked at me sympathetically. She sighed and put a hoof on my shoulder.

“Tia?” she spoke. I looked at her before speaking.

“Yes Luna?”

“We are not the one to stop thee from liking or dare We say loving, whoever thou chooses, but We want you to ask thyself if it is really safe for you to do so. It goes without saying he is one of the only beings in Equestria who can defy the both of us.”

“That’s just it, Luna. He isn’t like one of those nobles constantly trying to court me for my power or wealth. When I was with him, I could feel he liked me not for what I was, but who I was. He doesn’t want status or titles. He’s above that. He looked at me like I was an ordinary pony and not an alicorn princess.”

Luna stared at me for a moment. “Alright, Tia. We understand.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I smiled and hugged Luna before my eyes went wide open as I realized something. I didn’t even ask TD for a second date! And he had to go back to Ponyville sooner or later. I had to make arrangements for that too!

“I almost forgot to ask TD on another date!” I stopped hugging my sister before getting off my bed, “I’ll be be back in fifteen minutes. So--”

Luna interrupted me with a hoof to the face. “No, Tia, thou needs to rest. The sun cannot be raised with a tired mind, and it is already late. Let Us deliver your invitation to TD.” I stared at Luna. I was about to say no to her, but she did not look like she was going to take no for an answer.

“Alright. Tell him we’ll meet at Doughnut Joe’s at five.”

“Understood.” Luna activated her horn. “Sweet dreams sister.” And just like that she teleported out of sight. Something told me that I should not have let her done that. Regardless, I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, excited for tomorrow.

BONUS

TD was brushing his teeth in his hotel room’s bathroom, getting ready to go to bed himself.

Suddenly, he felt himself being engulfed in an all too familiar aura and slammed against a wall. Before he could question what could happen, Luna appeared in front of him.

“Listen up thou ungrateful whelp. My sister has taken a liking to thee. We don’t know what dark pacts thou hast made to achieve this, but mark Our words. If we get intelligence that thou art plotting against our sister, We will bend thy spine into a pretzel and yes...” She levitated TD closer to her. “We will keep a closer eye on thee. Clear?”

TD scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I figured that was a given, yeah?”

“Good” Luna said before dropping on the ground. Suddenly her expression turned joyful and she smiled. “Meet her at five o’clock at Doughnut Joe’s”

Her horn fired up before her expression changed to grim again.

“Or else.”

And just like that, she teleported out of sight.

The Painfully Obvious

“I had a wonderful time, TD.” I said to him as we trotted to Canterlot castle sometime around eight at night. Honestly, it only felt like minutes ago we met at Doughnut Joe’s for the date. This time, I was the one who showed him around Canterlot. First we went to the Wonderbolt Derby, and after that the Canterlot Art Gallery. The date would have been even better if it were not for Blueblood, who had apparently taken a liking to my Pegasus form and tried to court me. Honestly, if TD wasn’t there to put an end to him using his sarcasm and wit, I might have sent him to the moon.

Either way, the day was over, the sun had set, and Luna had raised the moon. When we reached the castle gate, we said our farewells, but before we could part ways, I mustered up enough courage to fly up to him eye level and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. That left him emotionless for a few seconds, after which he half opened his eyes and smiled a goofy grin. It was adorable, to say the least. I flew back into the castle all the while excitedly giggling. After entering the castle, I reverted back to my alicorn form and trotted to my bed chambers all the while keeping a nostalgic smile plastered on my face.

When I reached my bed chambers, I opened the door and let myself in. As amusing as the date was, tomorrow was another day and I had duties to perform. I closed the door and lied on my bed, yawned and closed my eyes to wait for the soft embrace of sleep. I was almost about to go to sleep, but was immediately awakened by the sound of light knocks on the door.

“Who is it?” I called out with a slight hint of annoyance in my voice for being interrupted from my rest.

“It is I, sister,” I heard Luna say in a concerned tone from the other side of the door. “We have a problem.”

“Whatever it is, we can discuss it tomorrow. Right now, I would like to sleep, dear sister.”

The bedroom doors opened revealing Luna who was levitating something on the other side of the door. “The matter is most urgent.”

“How urgent, Luna?”

The item she levitated inside the room was a scroll, and judging by the seal on it, I could immediately tell it was from my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. I opened the scroll and from it, a vial full of a red transparent liquid fell on my bed. I levitated the vial closer to my face to observe it.

“What is this?” I inquired.

“Read the contents of the letter,” Luna answered. She was sounding nervous for some reason, which was as a result, starting to make me feel unsettled. Something was off. I brought the letter closer to my face to read its contents. As I read it, my pupils began dilate from pure shock.

Dear Princess Celestia,

We are facing a very serious problem. I didn’t think it was a matter that would require your assistance, but we have run out of options. TD is in grave danger, and it’s my entire fault. It all started when Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came to me with a bottle half full of love poison. They wanted my help to get rid of it, so I took the bottle from them and promised them I’d dispose of it. I was going to get rid of the bottle, I really was, but curiosity got the best of me. I just wanted to do some tests on the love poison and make some observations. I mixed it with some poison joke herb and added some water. The mixture took on a gaseous state and spread throughout the laboratory.

Lucky for me, I wasn’t affected because I was wearing a hazmat suit, so at that time the only living thing that was affected was a pot of flowers I put on the shelf for another experiment, but wasn’t something to worry about at the time. Just then, TD arrived to get his laptop device back from me. I borrowed it for a few days to study it and I and he inhaled the chemicals. I don’t know why, but for some reason after inhaling it, he didn’t go into a love frenzy the second he saw me because I was the first pony he saw. He just calmly asked me to give his laptop back to him and I did. After that he went home without doing anything unusual. I didn’t think it was anything serious that time so I just thought the poison joke neutralized when it came into contact with the love poison, but I was wrong.

The next day, TD disappeared without a trace. After doing some searching, I learned from Rarity that he went to Canterlot. After asking her why, she said he wanted to make something right. I don’t know what he meant by that, but I didn’t care because I thought I could ask him later. It’s been three days and we haven’t heard from him at all, and to make matters worse, the flowers that were affected by the love poison have withered into dust. After doing some analysis, I found out the love poison poisoning them on a cellular level. The love poison is now literally a poison and TD is either dying or he may be dead right now.

I’m sorry, princess, but I am begging you to find him as soon as possible. I was able to make an antidote. It is in the vial that came with this letter. When you find him, give him the antidote, and hopefully that will cure him before the poison takes effect. I hope you succeed, princess, because you’re the only one that can help him. I know you and he don’t have the friendliest of relations, but this is a matter of life and death. I hope you make the right decision.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

I stopped reading the letter. I gazed at the vial with the antidote in it. Than I turned my gaze towards Luna. Back to the vial, then back at Luna and just like that, the horrendous truth reality had to offer to me was revealed. At that moment, I felt truly helpless. But then I realised I was feeling something else.

Anger.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. All the while, Luna stared at me with sympathy painted all over her face.

“Tia?”

“WHAT?!” I lashed out, startling her. She hesitated before continuing.

“You know what must be done.”

I didn’t speak. This anger inside of me just kept building up. What was I angry about? The next course of action was obvious, yet I was still so infuriated. And to make matters worse, I was lashing out at my sister. Years of meditation and restraint had taught me how to control my emotions so I wouldn’t lose control and break something or somepony.

But this…

This was NOT FAIR!

“Leave…” I hissed. Luna raised an eyebrow.

“Tia, I know these are not the best times for thee, but-”

“LEAVE!” I cried. She stepped back, alarmed. Just then, I realised how I was treating my sister. She was not the reason this was happening to me. She was just the messenger. My cold rage melted into sorrow and tears began trickling down my face. I looked at my sister, her concerns growing.

“Please, Luna,” I said in a trembling voice. “Please leave.”

She opened her mouth and stepped forward to object, but stepped back and nodded in acceptance and walked out of my bed chambers. I walked to my bed, lied down on it, magically levitated a pillow my way, and proceeded to cry on it for the rest of the night.

One Last Cup of Tea

“Good afternoon, TD,” I said to the human in front of me in the throne room. The same human who was dying slowly, blissfully unaware of the poison that was taking his life, making any breath he took, his final breath. He was the reason I cried myself to sleep last night for the first time since I banished Luna to the moon.

I kept my expression neutral, keeping my inner turmoil from revealing itself. I had cried all I needed to cry last night. When I woke up the next morning my tears had departed along with my sorrow leaving nothing more than a soulless look on my face, and a new resolve, to cure TD Harrison Powell.

“Hello, Celestia,” he said in his cheerful demeanor. “Where are we going this time?”

I managed to fake a smile, “Actually I was hoping we would talk over a cup of tea. I have a lot on my plate and I don’t have the time to go on another day. I hope you understand.”

“It’s ok. I understand.”

I stood up from my throne. “Follow me” I said, before walking through the open throne room door, TD not far behind. We walked in silence, and I tried my best to keep my eyes off of him, but every now and then, I’d steal a glance in his direction. He walked without a care in the world with that charming smile still on his face. It was contagious as always and I found my lips curling into the same smile. This was the last time he would show me that beautiful smile.

We reached the terrace on the second floor of the castle. There was a round table with two comfy seats all accompanied by the spectacular view of my statue garden. I had already ordered the royal chef to prepare tea for the both of us, and I ordered him to slip the antidote in TD’s cup.

We sat and waited. I kept my gaze off TD at all times and instead stared at the garden instead. I just wanted for this torment to end so I could get on with my life and never think of this again. I’d also have to bury my new feelings for TD. My heart was already shattered. The only thing that consoled me was the silence, and yet TD broke that too.

“Is something the matter, Celestia?”

I sighed. “I’m fine. TD.”

He was not convinced. “You’re normally never this quiet.”

“I said I’m fine.”

TD raised his eyebrow in concern. What was taking that tea so long? He remained silent for a moment before speaking, “Celestia, I know why you’re silent.”

I doubted it, but he continued anyways. “You’re upset about the time I hit you in the face.”

“I’m not upset, TD.”

“Yes you are. You’re avoiding eye contact and you barely said a word to me since I got here. What’s the deal?”

Just then the butler trotted in and placed the steaming beverages on our table. My cup was the one with decorated a decorated sun on it while TD’s was plain white. Knowing his simple nature, I knew TD would pick that cup to drink out of. It was the one that contained the antidote. I levitated my tea cup and took a sip. TD didn’t drink his tea. Instead had crossed his arms and looked at me as if waiting for something. I looked at him, eyes only half open, “Drink your tea, TD.”

“Not until you tell me what I want to know.”

My eyebrows slightly narrowed yet the rest of my facial expression remained neutral. Knowing his stubborn nature, he meant what he said. I sighed and slammed my cup on the table. Not hard enough to let any tea spill out, but hard enough to make an audible THUMP. He wanted an explanation? I’d give him one.

“No, TD.” I said in a dead tone. “This isn’t about the Gala or the first time we met. Yes, I didn’t really appreciate it when you assaulted me in front of the Elements, or the time you embarrassed me in the Gala. I’m upset that you will do it again in the future.” My voice began to tremble as my volume began to rise. “Who’s to say that the feelings you have for me right now aren’t temporary and that one day, you’d wake up and realize how irrational you’re being.” A tear began to roll down my eyes and my emotionless mask began to crack. “And you would be so angry at yourself and me for sharing these feelings that you would hit me again.”

By now my calm demeanor had completely shattered. But I still had one last thing to add. “But this time TD... This time, it would actually hurt. It would hurt so much and there is nothing I could do about it... Because of what you have given me." I paused for a moment, inhaled and exhaled. "You’ve given me more love than any of my subjects in a thousand years.” I put my hooves on my face and cried into them harder and harder. “I don’t want you to hate me" I looked at him "Please don’t hate me TD”

By the time I was done, TD was staring at me, his eyes were wide open and his eyebrows were raised higher than I thought was anatomically possible for him. He frowned in deep thought before he got up from his seat and walked up to me, pulling me into a tight hug. It was hesitant to say the least, but after a few moments, I wrapped my hooves around his shoulders to return the gesture. It was comforting. We stayed like that for a while after which, TD pulled himself away and looked directly into my eyes. He had a sad smile on his face.

“Celestia?” He said in a soft tone.

“Yes TD?” I answered curious to hear what he wanted to say.

“We need to break up.” Silenced reigned over us before I broke it.

“What?”

“We need to break up.”

“Why?”

He sighed, “Tell me. How long do ponies live?”

I didn’t know where he was going with this, “one hundred and thirty on average. Why?”

“Celestia, humans up to live seventy five years on average.”

Considering the fact, human technology was far superior compared to that of Equestria that was somewhat shocking.

“So where I’m going with this, compared to ponies, I don’t have long to live, and if you’re worrying about our relationship now, then how would you feel if I died one day? I don’t want you to feel any pain after I pass away. That’s why I think we should break up. So you don’t have to deal with that pain and with time, you’ll move on faster this way.”

He wiped a tear away from my face with his hand, while I stared at him dumbfounded. “But TD, don’t you have feelings for me?”

He laughed a bit and smiled that beautiful smile though I could tell he was holding back tears. “Of course I have feelings for you, Celestia. This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done ever since I came to Equestria.” He was on the verge of crying.

I stared at TD for a while. Many things ran into my mind at that moment. TD was more selfless than I ever was and I couldn’t help but smile. Was it because of what he was doing for me? Or was it his contagious smile, I could not tell. “Alright TD,” I said.

“So that’s it then?” asked TD almost tearing up.

“No.” I levitated his tea cup in his direction. “We can still have one last tea as a couple”. TD took the cup and neared it to his mouth to sip, but before he could, I stopped him with my hoof. “Wait.” I stated.

“What?” asked TD startled. I leaned close to him and kissed him. It was the least I could do for him. When I pulled back he had that same goofy smile as the time I kissed him on the cheek.

I sat back on my seat and took another sip of my still warm tea.

“Now you can drink.”

Dead Wishes

“Greetings your majesty; you look radiant as ever,” said another noble as he kissed my hoof.

“Thank you, and welcome to the Gala,” I answered, begging the stars to end the line of guests arriving at the Gala. It had been half an hour since I told TD we would catch up later. I was eager to meet him again and spend some time with him. I looked behind the noble and almost sighed in relief. Only three more ponies left. I wanted to make this quick.

Ten more minutes later, the line ended, and I eagerly turned towards TD. Good, he was still there, but before I could make my way towards him, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned around to see my sister. She had a neutral expression on her face, but I could tell she was anything but pleased.

“We know what thou art thinking sister,” she said in a low, yet somehow strong tone, making sure nopony heard us. “Thou knowest it will not end well.”

“Do not fret, Luna,” I replied. “I just want to have a chat with him, nothing more.”

Luna’s eyes brows narrowed ever so slightly. “Do not act foolish. To the both of us, TD is your ex-coltfriend. To everypony at the Gala, he is the being who punched thee in the face twice. Think before thou acts, sister.”

I gazed at my sister. To anypony eavesdropping on our conversation, it was a neutral sideway glance. But to me and Luna, it was daggers. “Correct me if I am wrong, dear sister,” I returned in a harsh, yet quiet monotone voice, “but if I remember, you broke his spine, and everypony at the Gala remembers that too.”

To Luna’s credit, she was not the slightest bit fazed. “Be honest with me, Celestia. What dost thou think they would remember more hatefully? The fool who punched their beloved princess in the face? Or the sister who wanted to take revenge for her?”

I was about to retort, when we heard a commotion coming from TD’s direction. I prayed to Faust it wasn’t what I thought it was. I almost facehoofed when I turned around to see a small crowd gathered around TD and Blueblood. Blueblood was verbally assaulting him in his usual Canterlot high class demeanor. TD, on the other hoof opted to ignoring Blueblood, much to his chagrin. The situation was beginning escalate.

I would have to continue my conversation with Luna on another day. I flew up and gracefully landed between TD and Blueblood, abruptly halting their conversation. I turned towards Blueblood, who suddenly straightened his posture in my presence.

“Auntie Tia!” Blueblood whined, “how could you let this mongrel sit in the Gala, much less let him exist? I demand you end this debate now!”

I sighed and maintained my regal pose. “Yes, Blueblood. I should end this now.” I almost burst into rage when I saw his smug smile, but still kept a composed posture. This “nephew” of mine had been playing with my patience since he could walk. Honestly, I was always grateful towards TD for putting him in his place.

“So you are finally going to banish his ungrateful hide?” Blueblood laughed in a manner so annoying, it almost made my eye twitch. “Good”

“No, Blueblood. I am here to make sure TD is having a pleasant time at the Gala without being harassed by anypony.”

“But Auntie! He--”

“Punched me in the face? I know, Blueblood. Don’t you think he was punished enough when he had his spine broken by Princess Luna?”

Blueblood’s straight posture faltered “Y-yes, but-”

My eyes narrowed the fraction of an centimeter. “Don’t you think he’s been put through enough as it is?”

“B-but he didn’t even show any remorse for his actions!” Blueblood whined.

“Yes he did. He even took the time to come all the way to Canterlot from Ponyville just to apologize to me. Don’t you think that’s enough?”

Blueblood bit his lip, and his ears wilted. “I er… yes?”

“Good, so will you bother TD Harrison Powell again?”

“But--”

“But nothing, Blueblood, I don’t want you to look at TD, I don’t want you near him.” I came close to him and looked him dead in the eye. “I don’t even want you to breathe the same air he breathes. Clear?”

By now, Blueblood’s high class demeanor was completely destroyed, reducing him to a stammering colt. “Yes Auntie…” he whimpered.

“Clear?” I repeated a bit louder this time.

“Yes Auntie!” he cried, and ran away to Faust knows where. I almost smiled in relief, but had one more thing to do. I turned my gaze towards the crowd of ponies.

“That goes double for everypony at the Gala.” I declared. “TD Harrison Powell is not to be bothered anymore. Any objections?”

When I was greeted with a satisfying silence, I gave a warm smile to the crowd.

“Now disperse. And enjoy the rest of the Gala.”

And just like that, the ponies scattered. I took a deep breath and gave the tiniest hint of a smile which grew when I heard TD slowly clapping at my spectacle from behind.

“My, my, Celestia,” he said, “you bashed Blueblood better than I ever could in years. What’s your secret?”

“Thousands of years worth of experience, TD.” I turned towards him. “If you have been involved with foreign politics as much as I have, dealing with Blueblood is as difficult as blinking.”

I looked around at the crowd of ponies and spotted Luna giving me a “don’t you dare” glare, which I promptly responded with my “watch me” smile. I looked towards TD. “TD mind if I sit next to you?”

TD smiled and gestured towards the seat next him. “I’d be insulted if you didn’t.”

I sat next to him and we ordered some cider from the bartender who, to his credit, looked remarkably neutral in the presence of his princess.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So then my roommate pops out of nowhere, and hugs the poor bastard so hard, I swear I hear a rib crack.”

“But wasn’t that the thief stealing your belongings?” I asked, trying to hold back a chuckle.

“Yes! That’s what makes it so funny!”

We both broke into laughter. By how TD described him, his roommate was an eccentric fellow, yet his heart was always in the right place. It was getting late, and most of the ponies had left for home, leaving only me and him. Even the Elements had left, and the only pony besides us was the bartender who was casually cleaning a glass with a rag.

“I have to say, TD, your life wasn’t very adventurous, but it was most interesting.”

“Yup,” TD said as he downed another cider. This was the ninth cider he had emptied by now, and he was barely drunk. He was about to order another, but checked his wristwatch first. “Huh, would you look at the time? I should have been asleep hours ago.”

The smile I wore deflated a little. “But TD, the night is still young. Why not stay a little while longer?”

My question was answered by his long yawn. “I’d love to stick around Celestia, but I need my rest, and I have to get back to Ponyville tomorrow.”

I sighed in defeat and looked at TD. “Yes, you are right. Maybe we can meet again some other time?”

TD got out of his seat and stretched his leg. “Yeah, sure. It’s been fun catching up with you, Celestia.”

“Yes it has.” I got off my seat to see him off. “Allow me to escort you to the gate.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I led TD to the castle gate, where we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I began to make my way towards my bed chambers, all the while remembering the conversation I had with TD. My mind then began drifting back when we went out as a couple.

“Those were wonderful times,” I said to nopony in particular. I missed those days, and as much as I’d love to get them back, I couldn’t. TD only loved me because of a concoction that almost ended up killing him. I smirked at the thought of him genuinely loving me, as I decided to fly towards my chambers instead of teleporting there. Fate was never on my side for as long as I can remember. Fate made me the ruler of a nation and put all its responsibility on my shoulders. Fate took my sister away from me. My facial expression was dull by now.

Fate made me tear an innocent human away from his friends and family. I remembered that day as if it were yesterday. Fate introduced me to TD Harrison Powell. Fate made me fall in love with TD Harrison Powell, and just when I thought it didn’t try to torment me any longer; it shattered my hopes along with my heart.

Just then I felt a familiar sensation taking over me. I could here a piano play from out of nowhere.

'Hot dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life

Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time.'

I do love singing.

'Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends

A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again'

Mother Faust really knows how to pluck on my heart strings. I felt a tear fall down my cheek.

'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need

Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why

It was going to be one of those songs.

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

I was almost thankful nopony was there to listen to me.

Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends

It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense

Don't speak as I try to leave 'cause we both know what we'll choose

If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you

'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need

Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?

Why are you my clarity?

Why are you my remedy?

Why are you my clarity?

Why are you my remedy?

If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?

If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?'

I ended as I landed in front of my chamber doors. My expression was dull, but tears were flowing down my cheeks freely

“Tia?” I heard my sister’s voice from behind.

“Not now, Luna.” I wiped the tears off. “I’m tired.”

“It’s just that--”

“Another time Luna.” I turned towards her, eyebrows slightly narrowed.

“I understand sister,” she answered.

…

“Luna, remember when you apologised to TD for breaking his arm?” I asked, looking at the doors to my chambers, my horn giving an unnoticeable faint glow.

“Yes sister,” Luna grumbled a hint of a glare on her face. “How many times dost thou need to bring it up?”

“Funny.” I suddenly levitated Luna off the ground and slammed her at the wall. “Because the last time I recalled, you broke his spine.”

Luna stared at me and grinned maniacally. “My, my, Celestia,” she said in familiar voice that did not belong to my sister. “You’ve grown wiser from our last encounter.”

Just then, a green flame engulfed her and by the time it was gone, I was not looking at my sister.

“You should not have come here,” I almost hissed, “Queen Chrysalis.”

Deal

“Why are you here Chrysalis?” I demanded, keeping my magical grasp on her firm.

“Oh no reason, really,” she answered calmly with a smug smile on her face, “just wandering here and there, feeding on pony love. Speaking of which…”

Her horn glowed a bright light and, to my shock and horror, she cancelled my levitation spell almost effortlessly. She dropped on her hoof. “You’re a bigger feast than Shining Armor!” I channeled energy into my horn and sent a volley of projectiles her way which she blocked easily with a magic shield.“This ‘TD’, what is so special about him that he made you of all ponies fall in love with him?”

“What do you know about him?” I lunged at her and she swatted me out of her way like a common house fly with the flick of her hoof.

“Oh nothing much,” she said, smiling wryly “Just that a certain princess has a schoolfilly crush on him.”

I got on my hooves and channeled a large amount magic into it. Chrysalis did the same thing with her horn and we fired our magical blast at each other. They collided and the rest was a battle of will; whose magic would run out first. I was putting all the force in the blast that I could but Chrysalis seemed like she was not even trying. She overpowered me almost effortlessly and I was slammed at the nearest wall.

She smiled a smug smile and put a reverse shield around me. Meaning things could go in the shield but could not come out. I rubbed the side of my head with a hoof. That was going to leave a bruise. “So much power. How long have you been feeding off of me?”

“Since the Gala. You’d be surprised how easy you can let your guard down near that… ‘human’ you call it?” she replied as she engulfed herself in green fire. When the flames died, the bartender stepped out. “You gave out more love in mere hours than the Shining brat could in weeks.” She changed back into her real form. “And that’s saying something.” She channeled energy through her horn and blasted me. “I haven’t been this powerful since the wedding, you know.” Her smile widened displaying her sharp, carnivorous fangs. “I could kill you right here and now.”

Her horn glowed brighter and the shield began to shrink. I tried to break it, but the attempt proved to be futile. Chrysalis’ smile fell into a frown, but she continued, “When my plan to take over the Canterlot wedding proved to be a huge failure, I was banished by my own people. All because two foolish ponies defeated me with what I and my race feed off of. Poetic irony, isn’t it, Celestia?” By the time she was done with the last sentence, the shield was shrunk so much that I had to lower my head so I wouldn’t hit it against the top. It became increasingly difficult for me to breathe. I tried desperately to blast my way out of the shield, but nothing I did helped.

Suddenly the shield disappeared and Chrysalis blasted me so hard, I fell to the floor. She walked over to me and held my face in her hoof and smiled ominously. “You should consider yourself lucky, Celestia. If you weren’t my source for all this power, you would have been a bloody mass of alicorn meat on the floor by now.” I channeled energy into my horn to attack her, but she interrupted by slamming her hoof on the side of my face. “So you’re probably wondering, ‘why did you reveal yourself to me, Chrysalis?’ Well the answer is simple, really. I want to propose a deal.”

“What deal?” I inquired. I couldn’t take her head on. She was too powerful.

“It’s simple, really,” she answered. “I will make the human fall in love with you. It won’t even be fake, just… unnatural. The spell I’ll use on him will take a passive effect on him. He will still be the same being in personality.”

My eyes went wide for a moment. “What?”

She laughed, not loud enough for the guards to be alerted, but loud enough for me to hear her. “It seems I’ve peaked your interest. And in return, you don’t even have to do anything! With you constantly supplying me with love energy, I’ll never starve!”

“Why are you telling me this? You could have just kept yourself in hiding and stolen love from me--” She blasted me again and I fell over. I couldn’t believe how strong she was right now.

“You would have found me eventually. So, Princess Celestia, do we have a deal?”

I spat blood and tried to get up. I tried in vain and, quickly fell over. I didn’t have to look at myself in the mirror to know I was in bad condition. But to my surprise, I was aided by Chrysalis’ levitation. “Think about it Celestia,” she said. “You get your boy toy, and I get all the love I want. What’s not to... ehe, love?”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you plan to do with all the love energy?”

She looked to the side with venom. “Squash the changelings who banished me, for starters. I can’t take on Equestria since that wretched insect Cadance can turn my own energy against me.”

“And what will you do if I refuse?”

She looked at me unimpressed and struck me with a magical blast again this was the hardest blow yet. “That’s a bit self-explanatory, don’t you think?”

I tried to get on my hooves again, but cringed in pain as I realized my foreleg had been injured severely. She had me in a corner at this point and if I did not agree with the bargain, she would end me on the spot.

However, to my extreme guilt, I could not help but think of the prospect of having another chance with TD. Even after all this time, I knew I was going to regret doing this instantly, but I did not have a choice in the matter, and the worst part? The worst part was I might have actually considered her bargain if I did. I’d still be willing to sell my soul to the devil to fulfill a selfish desire and be in the arms of he who I loved the most.

“Alright,” I said regretfully and yet somehow, shamelessly. “Do what you must to get TD to fall in love with me.”

Chrysalis smiled maniacally “It’s good you’re seeing things my way Celestia.” She said before blasting me so hard I was sent flying towards the wall. The last thing I saw before being passed out was her ominous smile.

Nights and Nuts

I was awakened by the mental alarm clock that I spent centuries meticulously setting to wake me up a few minutes before I had to raise the sun. I sat up and noticed two things: Queen Chrysalis was nowhere to be seen, and I was on my bed.

I got off my bed, but as my front touched the floor, I fell over and cringed in pain as I remembered the beating Chrysalis gave me last night. Chrysalis was stronger than ever, and she would continue to grow stronger unless I stopped her. But for now, I had to put that aside. The sun needed to be raised.

I limped my way to my room’s balcony and saw my sister on her room’s balcony waiting for me so we could begin our daily duty. She glanced my way once and her eyes went wide in horror. I was almost afraid to look myself at the mirror at this point. For now, my physical appearance was only second priority. I channeled magic into my horn and gestured towards to the moon.

She nodded understandingly and activated her horn. The process of raising and setting the sun and moon is large and complex. Luna and I have to take into account the gravity of the celestial objects, the radiation levels of the sun, the phase of the moon, and that is barely scratching the surface of how tedious this process is. However, millennia of practicing this art made it second nature for me and my sister.

After the courses of the celestial objects was set, and Equestria saw a new day, Luna turned to gaze back at me and flew at my direction. When she landed in my room, she eyed me up and down.

“Who? How?” was all she could come up with as she inspected my wounds.

“Chrysalis, last night,” I answered as I limped my way to the dresser, opened it and levitated a hoof mirror out. “She has been feeding on my love for TD since the Gala, and apparently, she is stronger than me now.”

“Since the Gala? but that was--”

“Only hours long? I know.” I gave out a single, grim chuckle. “It seems my feelings for TD are stronger than I originally anticipated.” I looked at myself in the mirror. Chrysalis had certainly done a number on me. I had a black eye, there was a streak of dry blood on the side my mouth, a cut on my lower lip, and a number of bruises, and that was just my face.

Luna put a hoof on her chin buried, in deep thought and worry. “This is most troublesome.”

“I know,” I said as I activated my horn and engulfed myself in a healing aura to speed up the healing process. “What’s worse is that she issued an ultimatum to me last night.”

Luna frowned and tilted her head. “An ultimatum?”

“Yes. She would put a love spell on TD so we could spend more time together, giving her more magic to feed off me. If I refused, she would have most certainly killed me on the spot.”

“So what dost thou intend to do?”

“For now? Stay away from TD at all cost. If I spend time with him, Chrysalis would only grow stronger, and I don’t think I would want her influence on TD to end.” I took out some makeup and began concealing my wounds.

“And what about Chrysalis?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Despite my current condition, I grinned challengingly. “Dear Luna, you don’t give me nearly enough credit.” A small cloud of makeup formed over my head as I continued hiding my cuts and bruises.

Luna eyed me questioningly. “What?”

“I learned a lot from my last encounter with Chrysalis.”

“And?”

“And I know two facts about Chrysalis. One, she is not the brightest of tacticians, and two, she never thinks of a plan B.” The cloud disappeared, and I looked myself in the mirror, satisfied at my face that looked good as new. “Chrysalis, thinks she has me in a corner, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well.”

Luna was about to ask me a question but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I called. The door opened, and a guard stepped in. Comet Burst was his name, if memory served me well.

He bowed. “Your highness, the human from the Gala is here to seek an audience with you.”

“Thank you for informing me. You may leave.”

When the guard exited and closed the door, I turned my gaze towards Luna. “Luna, you are going to have to handle TD. Make sure he does not come near me.”

Luna nodded “Understood, sister,” she said before teleporting out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts. I had some planning to do. Chrysalis may have caught me off guard, but I would be more careful from now on.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TD was asked to wait for the princess in the dining hall. He leaned on the long dining table, wondering why exactly he wanted to talk with Celestia. It was oddly like that other day. He woke up from bed and some unknown force compelled him to speak with the sun princess. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Princess Luna.

“Good morrow, TD Harrison Powell. We trust thou art doing well,” she said, smiling widely, something that TD mused seemed rather out of character for her.

“Uh… hi?” TD answered, raising an eyebrow at Luna’s odd behaviour. “I wanted to talk with Celestia. Why are you here?”

“Oh, er… we just thought the two of us should… catch up! Yes! That’s it. We should most definitely catch up!” She smiled unconvincingly placing her hoof on the back of her head.

TD raised an eyebrow both in suspicion and in confusion. “Why?”

“Because… we are such fast friends?” Luna claimed, leaning slightly towards the human.

“We aren’t really fast friends… or actual friends for that matter.” TD crossed his arms skeptically.

“Oh pish posh! What makes thou think we are not the friendliest of friends?” she asked restlessly.

“The last time we met you threatened to snap my spine,” TD answered, unconvinced.

“That was only one time!” She said stomping her hoof on the floor.

“And before that, you really did snap my spine,” TD said, rubbing a hand on his neck.

“Um, ehe… semantics?” Luna squeaked an unconvincing grin.

“Where is Celestia, Luna?” TD asked. “ I’m not in the mood for small talk.”

“She um… you see…”

“Ok I know what this about.” TD crossed his arms.

Luna’s eyes widened “Thou knowest?”

“Yeah, I mean sure, you’re looking out for your sister right? And it only makes sense that you would want to keep me away from her, given my previous track record with her, right?”

The princess of the night did not expect this, but the human was right. Luna wanted to make sure her only family was well and safe from any harm and of all the ponies who could have brought it up, it had to be the human who punched her sister in the face. She frowned.

“I…” she spoke dropping the royal ‘we’ in her speech suddenly finding the ground more interesting than TD’s face “just don’t want to see my sister getting hurt, and when I found out my sister was being courted by you of all stallions, I did not know what to think.”

TD placed his hands on the dining hall table. “And that’s why you were so much against the idea of her dating me.”

“I just could not see what my sister saw in thee. After what thou didst to her, it… it just felt… wrong.”

“So that explains our last encounter,” TD said, raising his eyebrows in realization. Luna shifted her gaze towards TD and smiled faintly.

“Yes, and when she came home from her first date, she was ecstatic. I hadn’t seen her so happy in ages.” Luna’s smile fell. “And the fact that you of all ponies made her so joyful confused me.”

“I can’t say I blame you. I have a sister back on Earth too, you know.”

Luna’s eyes widened in surprise “You do?”

“Yeah, that night in the Gala, when Celestia told me I couldn’t go home, I couldn’t see my family, my sister…”

Luna’s frowned sympathetically “I didn’t know.”

“Yeah so anyways, if my sister would date a guy who would dare hurt her, I’d be pretty upset. So I know where you're coming from. But if it makes you feel any better, I want you to know I wouldn’t even thinking of hurting Celestia.”

There was a moment of silence. Luna realised she and TD were the same in many ways. Maybe he and Celestia were alright together. The only reason they broke up last time was because of the influence of the love poison. But even after the effects were gone, Luna wanted Celestia to stay away from TD to keep her sister safe. But now she realised TD was a good being at heart. That night, TD was going through her worst nightmare: losing his family. If him and Celestia spent some actual time together, they could actually develop a genuine relationship.

Luna smiled. “You really are the stallion she deserves, aren’t you?” she said to herself.

“Uh… what?” TD asked, slightly disturbed by that last statement.

“Oh, nothing, nothing!” she said, facing away, mentally facing hoofing herself for actually saying that out loud.

“Right, can I talk to Celestia now?” TD asked.

“No,” Luna answered, slightly annoyed they were back to that again.

“C’mon why not?” TD asked, growing impatient.

“She is busy.”

“Fine!” TD said raising his arms to the air and crossing them immediately all the while looking away from Luna. “I’ll just wait until she’s free.”

Luna sighed placing her hoof on her forehead. “Thou are not going to take ‘no’ for an answer art thou?”

“Nope”

“Very well, we shall switch to plan B,” Luna said as her horn began to glow.

“Wha--” was all TD could say before everything went dark. The last thing he felt was a familiar sensation around his neck.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I rolled up the letter I wrote, put the royal stamp on it and sent it away. Hopefully the letter would reach her without any interference, and just to keep it safe from Chrysalis’ grasp, I casted an enchantment over it.

Just then, I heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” I called.

The door opened and Luna walked in with a suspicious smile on her face that I didn’t bother to notice at first. “Luna, I trust everything went smoothly with TD?”

She dragged her hoof along the ground in a small circle. “Ah… define smoothly, sister.”

I turned my gaze in her direction “What did you do, Luna?”

“We may or may not have put him in a sleeping spell,” she said keeping her gaze on the ground.

My eyes widened in shock “What?”

“Do not fret, sister! He did not hit the ground with too much force.”

“Luna, we talked about this!” I groaned, rubbing my temples with my hooves; a habit I adopted from TD.

Her gaze turned towards me “It had to be done. He was persistent on having an audience with thee!”

“Oh dear Faust, where is he now?”

“In the castle’s infirmary. He is unconscious, but safe.”

“I must go see him.” I stood up and walked towards the door only to have Luna’s hoof blocking my path.

“We would advise against that, sister.”

“Why?” I asked, eager to check up on TD.

She looked at me seriously. “You love him, remember?”

I groaned frustrated by my sister’s antics, but she was right. “Send Twilight a letter and tell her TD is going to be staying in Canterlot for a while.”

“But of course, Tia,” Luna said, levitating a pen and parchment her way.

I sighed. I might as well begin my daily activities.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was about an hour before I would end yet another tedious day. All my daily duties were finished. The paper work was stacked in a neat pile, and Luna was busy dealing with the night court.

I didn’t have anything to do besides go back to my room and sleep. I didn’t know when would Chrysalis come and absorb the love energy from me. She could have at least given me that small yet crucial detail. Oh well, I might as well have packed up and went to bed.

I walked out of the room and began walking towards my bed chambers. My wounds were now completely healed and my gait was back to normal. I walked by many rooms as I made my way towards my bed chambers. The dining hall, the servant quarters the infirmary.

…

The infirmary? That was the room where TD was resting if I remembered correctly. Maybe I should go visit him. I dismissed that thought. ‘‘No,’’ I told myself. That would be wrong. I have to distance myself from TD. But then again, he was hurt and I should go check up on him. ‘‘That would be falling into Chrysalis’ trap.’’

I kept telling myself it was a bad idea, but at the end, I lost to my desire to not see TD. “Maybe a quick visit won’t hurt.” I said quietly to nopony in particular. I peeked inside the infirmary. The room was dark and nopony was there except for TD resting on the bed. He was sound asleep. I made my way towards him and as I saw him in the peaceful state of sleep, couldn’t help but remember the time he fell asleep in the fantamare opera. Soon I found myself remembering the good times I had with TD.

Ah yes, the dates. Our first time at Doughnut Joe’s, the conversations the walks, It was splendid. I was ripped away from dreamland as I heard TD waking up.

“Celestia?” he called in a weak, yet annoyed voice.

“Yes TD?” I answered holding his hand in my hoof.

“I hate your sister.”

“I know TD.” I smiled. At least Chrysalis kept her end of the bargain.

Nuttier Nights

Luna sighed, bored out of her immortal mind as her shift at night court was coming to an end. Not that she cared. After all, almost nopony would show up at night court because they were too busy sleeping. She could always enter the dreamscape, considering the fact there was nopony in sight. However, that would mean she wouldn’t be conscious in the event of a pony actually showing up, no matter how minimal the chances of that happening might be. There was one instance where that actually did happen. The events of that evening were strictly classified, and the princesses only referred to it as ‘The Pineapple Incident’.

Luna slightly shuddered at the memory but was brought back into reality by the giggling of a mare she knew all too well. She face hoofed, not believing she didn’t take into consideration the fact that Celestia could waltz into the infirmary at any time just to see TD.

“Oh for the love of Faust,” she muttered to no one in particular.

She stood up from her throne and walked towards the infirmary, all the while mumbling why she didn’t put him in the dungeon instead. As she approached the closed doors, she could hear what was going on inside the room. Celestia was giggling. Grunting, she magically slammed the door open, earning TD’s and Celestia’s attention. She was sitting on an armless chair next to the bed TD was resting on.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Sister dearest,” Luna said, grinding her teeth, less than pleased at the fact TD was holding my hooves, “may We have a word with thee?”

I raised an eyebrow at her less than graceful demeanor before remembering the promise I had made to myself and Luna. I sighed at my own stupidity and looked towards TD. “I must take my leave, dear,” I said as Luna’s eye twitched at ‘dear.’ “You need to get some sleep too.”

TD, who was still under the influence of Luna’s spell, did not argue and nodded in agreement. Luna and I exited the door, and I gently closed it shut. Luna gestured me to follow her to the throne room. When we got there, she slammed the large doors shut.

“DEAR?!” she roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“I can explain,” I implored.

“Please do! I mean, We hope We did not interrupt thy WEDDING PROPOSAL!”

I rubbed the back of my head with a hoof awkwardly “It sounds good with darling?”

Luna’s began breathing heavily, her frustration showing “You call him darling too?”

I half chuckled uncouthly. “He… calls me darling.”

Just then I swore I heard glass break in Luna’s head. She sat down on her haunches in silence. “You two are inseparable,” she admitted emotionlessly.

“Luna-” I tried to answer before she shut me up with a hoof in the mouth.

“None of it.” She moved close to my face, displaying the bags under her eyes and slightly frazzled ethereal mane. “No excuses, no apologies, no cover-ups. I have reached the end of my patience with you two.” Luna said, placing her hoof slightly above her head for emphasis “There is something wrong with thee Celestia. Thou art not in love with TD Harrison Powell, thou art obsessed with him.”

“I don’t think you’re being-” My speech once again was interrupted by her. Something else that was happening all too frequently.

“None of it!” She narrowed her eyes. “If I have to foal sit thee just to make sure thou stays the Tartarus away from him, then as Faust as my witness, I will do so till the end of-”

Luna was interrupted by a knock on the door. She turned towards the door. “This best be important!” I was beginning to worry about my little sister.

The door opened to reveal a pink alicorn with an eyebrow raised in concern. “Am I interrupting something?” she inquired.

“Nothing of great significance,” I answered as I walked towards her and greeted her with a hug, “It is delightful to see you again, Cadance. How is life in the empire?”

“Boring,” she said, gently breaking away from the hug. “Shining Armor is too busy to spend time with me, and there is nothing to do except for the occasional paperwork. I was honestly excited to do something when I got your letter.”

Luna who had done a surprisingly well job in fixing her composure walked towards us. She looked at Cadence with a raised eyebrow, then looked at me. “Is there something We are missing?”

I smiled. “Luna, this is our plan for stopping Chrysalis.”

Luna narrowed her eyes in confusion before raising an eyebrow in understanding. “I see.”

“Its simple, really,” I began. “Cadance will be staying in the castle with us without anypony knowing she is here. She will stay hidden from sight, and when Chrysalis comes to feed from me...”

“I’ll take her down with my love magic,” Cadance finished for me.

“Is that it?” Luna inquired. Somewhat taken aback by the simplicity of the plan. “Thy plan sounds a bit simple, and what of the Crystal empire?”

“For the time being, this is the best course of action. And as for the Crystal empire, Shining Armor is more than capable of maintaining the system until Cadance’s return.”

Luna nodded and looked back at the throne for a moment before setting her sights on Cadance and I again. “Would thou and our guest retire to thy chamber? Our shift at the night court is coming to an end soon. We will catch up with our niece later.”

Cadance and I nodded before we left for our chambers. I was relieved that Luna had calmed down considerably. When she was out of sight, Cadence turned towards me as we walked.

“So Aunt Celestia,” she began eagerly, “you must tell me about your new coltfriend.”

“But Cadence, you know his love for me is completely fabricated, right?” I inquired, eyebrow raised.

“But you’re in love with him aren’t you?”

I smiled. When it came to love, Cadence was as excitable as Twilight if you put a new book in front of her.

“Fair enough,” I said as we walked. “Where should I begin?”

Cadence smiled widened. “I want to know everything. Start from the beginning. How did you two meet?”

She raised an eyebrow at my visible cringe.

Nighteist Nuts

The door to my bedchambers had been shut closed, and the room illuminated by a bedside lamp. I, along with Cadance, was sitting on the bed. Cadance stared at me with eyes wide open, pupils so dilated they were barely visible. I didn’t blame her. After all, the story about how I met TD wasn’t what most would consider being “heart warming.”

“So let me get this straight,” she began. Though she sat motionlessly, her shocked facial expression told a whole different story “Your new coltfriend is a creature not from this dimension whom you brought here by accident.”

I nodded, trying to keep a straight face as she continued. I honestly didn’t know what I should have been feeling.

“In your first meeting, you told him you didn’t know how to send him home, so in response to that, he punched you in the face.”

“Correct,” I stated somewhat embarrassed.

“And in response to that, the elements, including Twilight, gave him a beating”

“That indeed sums it up,” I said, placing a hoof on the back of my head.

There was a long and very much awkward silence in the room. When Cadance opened her mouth to speak, I smiled awkwardly expecting the worst possible comment.

“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!” she squeed, holding the sides of her face with her hooves. Curious joy was etched on to her face. “That’s beautiful!”

Alright, that may have been literally the last thing I expected her to say. I tilted my head questioningly. She looked like she was lost in her own world of joy as if she had read another one of her romance novels.

“Um… what?”

“Think about it, Aunt Celestia,” she said, pulling me close to her side with a foreleg around my shoulder, the other foreleg extended into space pointing at nothing in particular. “Two inter-dimensional star-crossed lovers, separated by racial difference.”

“Racial difference?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. She either didn’t hear me in her excitement or didn’t care, letting go of me and striking an exaggerated pose with forelegs grasping her chest tightly. Her eyes closed and displaying overacted sorrow. “Their first meeting met with confusion and rage; a result of the fear of his new surroundings.”

She then extended one hoof, craning her head backward slightly. “Yet destiny brought our two lovers again for its own mysterious design. The destination to their romance unclear and unknown, yet as they struggle to break the foul shackles of fate, they will--”

I put a hoof on her mouth almost forcefully out of share humiliation before she quoted any more lines from her romance novels. My face was practically red from blushing. “I think that would be enough, dearest niece,” I said through a pained smile.

She pushed my hoof away with hers and giggled. “Just joking, Auntie. Nevertheless, I’m very happy for you.”

I almost huffed in frustration at Cadance’s behaviour, but instead opted to give a gentle sigh. “Much appreciated, Cadance.”

She nodded with a smile on her face. Just then the door opened, and Luna walked in with stern pose. “And just like that, our shift has finally come to an end.” Her pose then deflated as she sighed. “It took long enough.”

“Long night?” asked Cadance as Luna walked over to the bed.

“Thou hast no idea,” she groaned as she sat down.

“Aunt Celestia was just telling me about her first encounter with her coltfriend,” Cadence said, still giddy with her excitement.

Before Luna could question her less than predictable reaction, I interrupted with a hoof. “Don’t ask.”

“So Aunt Luna,” Cadance asked “How did you meet TD?”

Seventeen Long Minutes Later

“On the chair?!” Cadance gasped, dumbfounded after an excruciatingly detailed recall of that night’s memory. Honestly, who in the right mind would use the words ‘sickening crunch’ while elaborating the story about how they almost brutally murdered someone?

“‘Twas not one of our brightest moments,” Luna muttered, finding whatever was in the corner of her eye quite interesting.

I interjected before things got out of hoof. “But that is all in the past. TD has forgiven the both of us and is willing to move on.”

Cadance seemingly calmed down. “I see.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chrysalis wiped the green blood of her former subject off her face, giving a content sigh as her rage finally subsided. She had crushed, burned and mutilated the majority of her swarm. It didn’t really matter to her. They were just bodies to take over if she happened to stumble upon an untimely demise, which is what made their betrayal all the more surprising. Still she made sure not to kill all of them, just in case, trapping them in cocoons. These contingencies would come in handy sooner or later.

She nonchalantly gazed at the cocoon, marvelling at her work as if it was some kind twisted form of art. “And that is why,” she said with a deceptively gentle smile, wiping her hole covered hoof across the green stasis, “mother knows best.”

She turned away and began to walk through the carnage she had brought upon her people. The inside of the giant hive was eerily quiet. Without the buzzing of millions of membranous wings, everything felt dead figuratively as well as literally. She kept wandering until she came across the room she was looking for. There was nothing in it but a greenish black mass twisted and turned to look like a throne and objects resembling small lamps giving ominous green glows on all four corners of the room. Lucky for Chrysalis, she preferred quality over aesthetic appeal, sitting down on the structure with a contented sigh.

“Much better,” she said, laying her head on the armrest and her body on the seat leaving her back legs to freely dangle in the air over the opposite arm rest. She thought back to that night when she made her “agreement” with the wretched witch Celestia. Oh how magnificent it felt having the upper hoof on her, being the stronger of the two.

This was the best plan she had in a while, completely foolproof; all because she was head over heels for the human. She smirked at the prospect of the Princess Celestia having a schoolfilly crush. Honestly, what was about that scrawny little Minotaur thingy that she adored so much?

It didn’t matter; she had all the love she needed. This called for a nice long nap. Chrysalis closed her eyes, letting the Luna’s magic do her work. Life was good.

…

Her eyes snapped open and she sat back up. What was it about the human that she found so tantalizing? She was genuinely curious. That thing didn’t seem very charming, nor was it particularly smart. So what was it? She put a hoof on her chin in deep thought. No answer came. “What is your secret?” she thought out loud. It didn’t have magic, which made her all the more interested. Having nothing better to do for the next several hours or days, she decided to find out. Getting on her hooves, she made her way out of the hive stomping on the head of a changeling that managed to cling onto life on the way out. Exiting the hive through one of the many holes on the structure, she was greeted with cool air.

Spreading her insect wings, she flew into the night sky. If she was going there again, she might as well have another helping of love from Celestia. She smiled as she sped through the air with speeds rivalling the Element of Loyalty. Life wasn’t just good; life was great.

Rise and Shine

Luna and I had once again completed our daily ritual. Early birds tweeted a cheerful melody and rays of light bathed the room through the window drapes, begging to be opened to reveal the magnificent dawn. Yet that could not be done because Luna and I were locked in a stare competition of epic proportion while Cadance stood behind my dearest sister, not sure whether she was the audience or referee. It was not like this a few seconds ago.

“Please?” I asked like a filly begging for more desserts.

“No,” Luna answered sternly looking like she was ready to pounce on me.

“Pretty please?”

“No,” she repeated.

“Pretty please with cherries on--”

“Dost thou listen to thyself speak?” She interjected in a slightly higher tone.

I pouted. “I just need to wake him up.”

“He is capable of awakening himself on his own,” Luna said with a huff. Cadance didn’t know what to make of this situation, so she opted to keep quiet and listen. Smart girl.

I bit my lower lip craning my neck slightly forward “But I have to--“

“Another step Celestia,” Luna once again interrupted before she charged up her horn. “See what happens.”

I gave a small gasp. “What are you planning to do Luna?”

“Another step and TD gets a certain dream,” she said, keeping her pose. My pupils dilated until they were barely visible.

“What kind of dream?” I demanded and instantly regretted as Luna grinned maliciously.

“We are thinking a romantic evening complete with flowers, chocolates and wine.”

I gulped. “With whom?”

Her smile widened “Blueblood.”

Hearing that name I backed up several inches until I hit my back against the wall. I was sweating bullets. That was literally the last name I wanted to hear and she knew it. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me.”

No one said anything for almost a minute before Cadance broke the silence. “I ship them.”

“Can you not?!” Luna and I roared at her in unison. She awkwardly smiled with an unintended squeak.

I turned my head towards Luna. “Alright, sister, you win.”

Luna gave a relieved smile, her posture relaxed and she sat on her haunches. “Much better.” I on, the other hoof, was still tense.

“Now get rid of that spell this instant!” I demanded desperately.

“Alright fine.”

The tension in the room died with the magical glow. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Is it gone?”

Luna smiled. “The spell has been taken care of.”

Thank Faust.

Now that the commotion was finally over, Cadance decided to speak, “Alright since all of that is finally over with, we can all just calm down and re--”

A knock on the door interrupted her speech. “Who is it?” Cadance called. One of the doors opened slightly to reveal one of the female night guards. Angel Beats, I think.

“The human has awoken and would like to know if he should be taking his leave.”

“Alright, you are dismissed.” The guard nodded. As she closed the door, only one thing was in my mind, as if all semblances of logic and meaning were replaced by the letters ‘T’ and ‘D’. Luna and Cadance were all too aware of this, and the door closed with a dramatic click. Luna tackled me to the ground as I struggled to get loose. MY COLT FRIEND WAS WAITING FOR ME!

“Sister,” she spoke through clenched teeth, “we have already been through this.”

Cadance looked at me with concern. “You really are obsessed with him,” she said.

“I’m not obsessed. No really, I just want to say good morning to him,” I said while struggling to be released, “and maybe have breakfast, then walk in the garden, than dance in the ballroom, then--”

Luna pointed her face towards Cadance. “We have lost her! Cadance, we must deal with TD Harrison Powell post haste.”

Cadance stood her ground, though she looked visibly worried. “Shouldn’t we let him leave?”

Luna shook her head. “No,” she said. “If he leaves, Chrysalis might grow suspicious of his departure and catch drift of our plan. Thou must make sure he stays within the vicinity.”

“But wasn’t I supposed to remain in the shadows until Chrysalis arrived?”

I managed to break free from Luna’s grasp, but just before I could run to the door, she clenched my ethereal tail between her teeth. “Chryshalish ca’ wait,” she said, her speech being rendered slightly incoherent by her struggle to hold her ground. “dao shalt wa’ind him in ye infa’mawy.”

“But what about--?”

“Cadansh, way’o should dao bwee?”

“The infirmary?”

“Yesh, the infa’mawy.”

Just like that, Cadance dashed out of the room leaving me and Luna with our struggle.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

TD sat upright on the infirmary bed. Whatever Luna did to him left him stiff. He stretched his arms accompanied by the satisfying pops of his joints. He could now add sleep spells onto the increasingly long list of spells that had been cast on him; a list he was not particularly fond of. Just then, he heard the sounds of fast paced hoofsteps coming his way, which screeched to a halt when it neared the infirmary. The door opened to reveal the most cringe inducing pony he had seen to date, and seeing as though he lived in a world full of candy colored horses, that was saying something.

“Oh good grief,” he said, holding his head from a growing headache he didn’t know he had until now. “Pinkie’s name had the word in it. What’s your excuse?”

The abomination of glittery pansyness raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Never mind, who are you supposed to be?”

Cadance straightened her posture with regal elegance, “My apologies, I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but everypony calls me Cadance.”

TD’s eyes snapped open. “There’s more of you?”

Cadance’s head craned backwards in confusion and a hint of shock. Normally when a pony found out he/she was in the presence of a princess, they would bow without a moments worth of thought. Even griffins and minotaurs would act more formal. Indeed, that was not what she expected. Still she had a duty, “I-is that a problem?”

TD’s body relaxed ever so slightly. “No, it’s just that whenever I’m near a princess, pain ensues, usually courtesy of said princess.”

Cadance smiled. “Well rest assured, I don’t want to cause you any harm.”

TD didn’t believe her, but decided to humor her. “I’ll take your word for it. So what brings you here? I was about to leave.”

Cadance panicked. “No! You can’t leave,” she said in a voice high enough to warrant suspicion.

“Um… what?”

Mentally slapping herself in the face, Cadance rephrased. “You can’t leave… without… having a properly nutritious breakfast.”

TD raised an eyebrow at her insistence, but the rumbling in his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten in a day. “Alright, I’ll stay for breakfast. Will Celestia be eating with us?”

“No!!” she screamed in panic, but quickly corrected herself. “She’s out on royal business.”

TD sighed, disappointed “Oh, ok…”

Cadeance felt sorry for the human. It wasn’t his fault Chrysalis was playing with his mind. Nonetheless, she decided to put on her ‘smile and wave’ face and led him to the dining hall.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Luna tightened the sheet around me making sure I wouldn’t break loose. I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to tie me to a chair with the bed sheet. She was panting hard, but she kept a determined face as she let go of my restraints, lying down to catch her breathe. Why was she even panting? Alicorns don't pant. She eyed me up and down, making sure I wouldn’t be able to move. I may have acted… rashly for a moment or two, so I picked my next words carefully, played it safe.

“Alright Luna,” I said slowly, “I‘m better now. There is no more need to worry. Really, I learned my lesson, so you can let me go now.”

Luna didn’t buy it for a second. “Why should I believe thee? Thou almost ran over me in an attempt to escape!” She showed me the underside of her wings. “Hoofprints, Celestia! I have thine hoofprints on my wings!”

“And I am sorry for that,” I said as calmly as my voice would let me. “I’m also sorry for biting you, hoofing you in the face, and laughing like a deranged psychopony while doing that. But now I’m fine. And you can let me go.”

Luna was not convinced. “How do I know thou art not trying to deceive me right now only to seek another audience with TD Harrison Powell?”

I was about to answer when suddenly, something caught my eye. Tiny tear drops were formed on the corners of Luna’s eyes. She was doing a good job hiding them from me with that stern look, but I could see through her facial expressions. Luna was being brave for my sake. She wasn’t just worried for me, she was afraid for me, of what I was becoming. I didn’t blame her, after acting like a deranged sociopath; she deserved better, much better. When I told her to keep me away from TD, I didn’t take into consideration what she was feeling at that moment. How could I put such a burden on her shoulders so insensitively?

“If I was lying to you Luna,” I said with a voice calm enough to soothe the most rambunctious of beasts, “I would have used my magic to take off these bedsheets.”

Her eyes widened in shock as she couldn’t believe she overlooked such an important detail. My horn glowed and my restraints fell off me instantly. Instead of doing anything that would add to my beloved sister’s stress, I gracefully walked towards her and wrapped my wings around her in a hug.

“I’m sorry Luna. I shouldn’t have put you through all this without thinking of your wellbeing. I’m a foolish pony. Forgive me?”

Luna after a moment sniffled and rested her head on my shoulder.

“Don’t ever scare me like that ever again.”

“Never again. I promice”

After a few more moments of letting her quietly sob on my shoulder, I gently broke away from the hug.

“Now,” I said, “you are going to take the rest of the day off, okay?”

She didn’t speak, just nodded.

I continued. “For now, all this stress must be making you hungry. Let’s go get you some breakfast.”

Breaking Breakfast

“Enjoying your breakfast TD?” Cadance asked the human sitting opposite to her on the ridiculously long dining table. TD nodded while taking another spoonful of cereal. Despite her distractingly garish appearance, TD and Cadance were getting along surprisingly well. Cadance took interest in human culture, while TD loved how it wasn’t Twilight Sparkle levels of obsessive, or any kind of obsessive for that matter.

"I never thought cereal could ever taste so amazing,” TD said after he gulped another mouth full. “Though I can’t help but get the feeling it tastes familiar. What’s it made of?”

“Oh nothing special,” she said while grabbing the cereal box and showing off its back contents as if she was in a TV commercial. “Except all the essential ingredients needed for a properly nutritious meal.”

TD wanted to raise an eyebrow at that but decided against it. He was too hungry to care about anything but his meal.

Just then, a paler than usual Blueblood lumbered into the dining hall, his mane and tail surprisingly unkempt, his eyes bloodshot, and his teeth yet to be brushed. In his less than spectacular state of mind, he sat right next to the non-brony, not even noticing his presence. He did however, notice the pink alicorn sitting in front of him.

“Oh Cadance,” he said in a tired, yet miffed voice. “I thought I told Auntie Tia to ban you from entering the castle.”

Cadance rolled her eyes. “You do know Aunt Celestia won’t do everything you tell her to do, right?”

Blueblood narrowed his eyes slightly. “The only reason I did that was because you embarrassed me in front of everypony in the Canterlot Garden Party.”

Cadance smacked the table with her hooves as memories she wasn’t very fond of began resurfacing in her head. “Embarrass you?! You were the one who decided to court me in front of Shining Armor!”

“Shining Armor…” Blueblood groaned. “I can’t stand to think of that scum. I’d rather spend my valuable time thinking about that nightmare I had last night where I shared wine with TD Harrison Powell.”

TD stopped pouring milk into his fifth bowl and stared at Blueblood, very much disturbed. “Um… what?”

Blueblood’s eyes shot open and he turned his head in the human’s direction so fast, his neck almost fractured. He proceeded to fall of his chair while squealing like a little girl. “What is he doing here?! The likes of him should be denied entry on Canterlot soil!”

“TD is a guest in our castle,” Cadance said with a scowl. “He doesn’t need to be harassed by a spoiled brat like you.”

Blueblood returned her scowl. “Save your lies for somepony who would believe you. What gives him the right, staying in my castle, sitting in my seat, eating my Hay Bits?”

TD silently ate and watched from the side lines, not bothering to speak due to his lack of energy. But as Blueblood used the words ‘Eating’ and ‘Hay’ in the same sentence, he paused, and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. He grabbed the Cereal box to check the brand. Sure enough, the words “HAY BITS” were printed in big red letters. To add salt to the wound, above the brand was a picture of Cadance smiling and winking at him.

TD began to hyperventilate. “Uh… Cadance?”

Cadance kept her eyes locked on Blueblood, who kept his eyes locked on her. “Don’t worry TD,” she said in a determined voice, not aware of what was happening to the non-brony. “I got this.”

He tried to speak again but couldn’t find the strength to utter a word. As his head fell on the dining tables, he mouthed something inaudible. If one could read lips, he/she would know he said.

“I hate alicorns.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Luna and I walked through the hallway of the castle to the dining room. The night guards had ended their shifts, and it was an hour before the day guards replaced their posts, so the hallway was empty. Luna had dried her tears and was back to her original self, if a little down. Yet our roles were reversed as I was the one who was keeping an eye on my sister.

“How are you feeling, Luna?” I asked in motherly voice.

She sniffled, but cracked a smile “We are faring better, sister. Thank you for asking.”

“Well good,” I said with a nod. “You know, if keeping me in check was that difficult Luna, you could have told me sooner.”

Luna shook her head “We would not dream of disappointing our beloved sister. Thy pain is our pain. We would never let personal gripes come in the way of making sure thou remained safe and sound.”

“Thank you Luna.” I wrapped a wing around her as we walked “I really appreciate your help. And now that Cadance is here, we can finally breathe a sigh of--”

I was interrupted by what sounded like a heated argument. We quickened our pace and it was apparent that the two voices belonged to Cadance and…

“Blueblood…” I almost hissed “I swear to Faust, the only thing that can set off my temper more than that colt is if somepony fed TD hay.”

We reached the dining hall and as I gazed through the door frame, I had the sudden urge to slap myself in the face to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Blueblood and Cadance were quarrelling among themselves like school yard fillies while TD was lying with his head on the table unconscious with a box of Hay Bits next to him.

Horrified, I levitated the box close to my face. Thank Faust, it only contained a minute amount of the advertised product. I would have breathed a sigh of relief if the atmosphere wasn’t so chaotic.

“BLUEBLOOD!” I roared, earning their attention.

He squeaked in fear. He should have been afraid. “Aunti--”

I practically slammed a hoof in his mouth to silence him. “No, I’ve had enough of your insolence for one day.” I pointed towards TD. “TD is suffering from an allergic reaction from the Hay Bits. Get him to the infirmary and give him an allergy shot.”

He gasped as if he were offended. “Why should I--?“

I brought my face close to his until it was only an inch apart. “Finish that sentence, Blueblood. See what happens.”

He nodded reluctantly and levitated TD’s unconscious body out the door. As he did so I turned my attention to Cadance, who smiled awkwardly with an audible squeak.

“Ehehehe… Oops?”

Luna coudn’t decide whether she should facehoof or shake her head. So she did both.

How to Court a Non-Brony

I placed my hoof stamp on the final document and levitated the stack of papers on a shelf.

Paperwork: check

I exited the office and made my way to Luna’s chambers. I opened one of the double doors and peered through the opening to find Luna sound asleep on her bed. Despite telling her to take the day off, she volunteered to watch over TD to make sure this morning’s dreaded events didn’t repeat. After some debate, I convinced her to get some rest despite her protests. Bless her.

Luna’s Day off: check

I gently closed the door with a soft click and trotted to the infirmary. I took a deep breath to strengthen my resolve and opened the door. TD was once again asleep on the same white bed. He looked slightly paler from a few days prior. Poor thing, I made a mental note to get him something to eat after he woke up; something that didn’t have hay in it. I didn’t want to put him through any more trouble.

TD’s wellbeing: check

Speaking of trouble. Deal with Blueblood: check

I trotted back to my own bedchambers and closed the doors behind me with my hooves rather than levitation uttering a well-postponed sigh of relief. For once in what felt like eternity, there was some peace and quiet. I made my way to my bed and appreciated how soft it was before turning to the wall clock, slightly surprised at the time.

“Only 5:30?”

“I know right?” Startled, I turned my head to the left and almost jumped in surprise when I found Cadance hanging upside down from a rope in some kind of skin tight jump suit staring directly at me with a pair of curious looking goggles. I hadn’t seen her since the ‘Hay Bits’ incident, so I assumed she was watching me from the shadows since. Still, I expected she kept her distance with a tracking spell, not blending in the shadows like one of Luna’s elite night guards. When did she even learn how to do that?

“That will be enough sneaking around for one day Cadance,” I said to my niece. “You can come down now.”

She nodded and hopped down the rope. She took off her goggles and flicked her hair. “I scouted the entire area while you were doing paper work,” she said before sighing. “No sign of Chrysalis or anything unusual for that matter.”

I nodded and smiled. “Well done,” I complimented. “You have earned a rest.”

She smiled, stretching her wings to release the tension in them. “So now what do we do?”

“It’s too early to call it a day,” I answered. ”What would you like to do?”

Cadance sat on my bed with an eager expression on her face. “You could tell me how you’re going to ask out TD on a date after all this is over.”

My eyes shot open, “Right… ehehe.” I smiled awkwardly. Cadance caught on quickly.

“You haven’t thought of asking him out after all this is over?!” she questioned loudly, slamming a hoof on the side of her head in disbelief.

“Well,” I said, circling my hoof on the bedsheet, “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to approach him. Normally he would come to me and we would hit it off from there.”

“But he won’t approach you after all this is over. You have to ask him out on your own.”

I craned my head backwards. “But I haven’t courted a stallion in centuries.”

Cadance shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. “This is unacceptable. How do you expect TD to fall for you when you don’t even know what to say?”

I narrowed my eyebrows in deep thought. “Well I could use the traditional Canterlot Courting Dance.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow. “The what?” I got off my bed and flared my wings.

Three minutes later, Cadance stared at me flabbergasted. “Bad idea?” I asked.

“How is that still legal?” was all she could say.

I sighed. “So maybe the courting dance isn’t the best idea.” I rubbed my chin with a hoof in contemplation “Maybe if I descended from the sky in a chariot--“

Cadance interrupted me with a hoof to the mouth, her facial expression quizzical. “Aunt Celestia, this isn’t just any pretty froo froo play date.” She giggled slightly before her eyes narrowed. “THIS IS LOVE!”

“Ok, so what do you think I should do?”

She smiled. “We practice.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Sneaky sneaky sneaky sneaky.” Chrysalis recited the mantra in a low voice as she snuck past another guard. Killing them would be easy as crushing a breezie, but for the time being it was best to avoid conflict. After all, she had her fun back in the hive. The infirmary was conveniently in the first floor of the building, and even more convenient was the fact there was a window that lead to that same room.

Lifting the bottom rail, she placed her hooves on the sill and hoisted herself through the frame, repeating her stealthy mantra. Closing the window shut, she looked around the dark room until her eyes fell on the bed occupied by the non-brony who was fast asleep.

She smiled maliciously and hid within the shadow so no one could interrupt her handy work.

“Alright human,” she whispered. “What are your secrets?”

Her horn glowed. Connecting her mind to TD’s, she closed her eyes and opened them seconds later. “Huh…” she commented as she raised an eye at what the mind of the human looked like.

Now, a pony’s mind is very different from a human mind. Chrysalis knew that being in the minds of countless beings. Pony thoughts were a cluster of ethereal strings connecting to the cutie mark that was their being. Minotaur minds would be a series of cubes orbiting around a central hub. Changelings would be nothing more than chords connected to her mind. But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next.

She was in a small room that resembled a waiting room. In fact, it was a waiting room. It even had a version of TD sitting behind a large oak desk typing on a flat book-like typewriter. She walked towards him and rang the desk bell placed on the edge of the table. He stopped typing and looked at her with a stern look, eyeing her top to bottom before making direct eye contact.

“Do you have an appointment?” he asked.

Chrysalis tilted her head confused. “Who, me?”

“No, my imaginary friend Carl. Of course you!”

Chrysalis craned her head back, startled at the response. Not knowing how to navigate through a human mind, she decided to play along. “Um… no?”

TD raised an eyebrow in an unamused look and opened a drawer pulling out a pen and a document from the desk before handing it to Chrysalis, who levitated the items next to her. “Fill these out, and remember...” He clenched her throat with a hand and brought his head close to hers. “Don’t. Steal. The pen.”

Chrysalis nodded resisting the urge to incinerate him at the spot. Instead she walked to one of the seats and began to go through the fill out form.

“College? The heck is a college?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Now Auntie,” Cadance said, levitating a bipedal dummy in front of me, “show me what you have learned.”

I nodded with a determined smile on my face before approaching the dummy. “Hello TD.”

“Celestia?” Cadance said in a poorly disguised voice. “What brings you here?”

“Oh I was just strolling about when I saw you wandering around ehehe...” for some reason I was having a hard time keeping eye contact with the dummy, “and decided to strike up a conversation.”

“Is that so?” Cadance telekinetically crossed the dummy’s arms. “Well, I have time.”

I took a short breath and smiled, twirling a lock of my ethereal mane with a hoof. “So, I was wondering if you wanted to go for dinner sometime”

“Dinner?” The dummy rubbed it’s not chin with an arm.

I nodded. “Yes, dinner. We will have a marvellous time.”

“We are sure thou wouldst,” Luna said between snickers leaning on the door frame. Startled, I hid the dummy behind me.

“Luna!” I began smiling awkwardly, “How long were you standing there?”

“Long enough to know our sister has courting sense that outdates ours,” She snickered walking in the room “The traditional courting dance? Really, Celestia?”

I huffed finding whatever was in the corner of my eye more interesting than Luna’s face. “I liked the choreography.”

Luna took a contented deep breath before looking at me reassuringly “Do not worry sister. Thou hast dealt with dragons, manticores, tyrants and the like. We are certain thou art most capable of courting a human.”

“Just be yourself,” Cadance added. “Do that and you’ll be golden.”

“Thank you.” I needed the confidence boost.

“Now,” Luna said, nudging the dummy with a hoof,“”where will thy date be?”

I smiled. “The Royal Canterlot Library, of course.”

Cadance and Luna facehoofed in unison.

A Clockwork Non-Brony

“I have lived a long and beautiful life,” Chrysalis mused with a sad smile. “I have seen sights leaving the average being speechless. I have seen majesty that would leave the richest noble on the planet envious. I have seen horrors that would make Nightmare Moon herself quiver in place. I thought I had seen it all. But this...” Chrysalis rested her head on a hoof in defeat. She was sitting on the cold floor while the fill out form rested on the seat in front of her. “I can’t do this! I have been in the minds of griffons, tatzlwurms, and on one occasion, butter toast.” She lifted the cursed piece of paper telekinetically to show it to help desk TD who was busy texting away on a phone “But this. This… this…”

“Fill out form,” help desk TD finished without taking his eyes off the phone.

“Yes, thank you. This fill out form, such a small and deceptively simple piece of parchment is the single greatest mental defense mechanism I have come across in my life.” She marched over to the imaginary human and slammed the paper on the desk. Curiosity and fear of the unknown etched on her face. “What chronic state of cruelty has your race endured to establish such horrifying mental discipline? I must know!”

Help desk TD shrugged. “I stubbed my toe once.”

Chrysalis sighed in defeat. “It doesn’t matter,” she said and looked at the ceiling in hopeless melancholy. “I have been bested by a piece of paper, for the first time and last.”

Hearing that, help desk TD stopped texting. “Wait,” he said, turning towards her, “this is the first time you’re filling out this form?”

Chrysalis nodded.

He groaned. “Good grief, you haven’t even been to the orientation yet have you?”

…

“What?” was all Chrysalis could say before help desk TD face palmed, and stood up and walked over to a door which she hadn’t noticed for some reason and opened it. He stepped aside and waited for her to enter.

“Well what are you waiting for, an invitation?”

Chrysalis looked deep into the mystery room. It was dark and there was no light in sight, even if she squinted. “You want me to go in there?”

Help desk TD raised an eyebrow. “The others didn’t have problem stepping inside.”

Chrysalis not wanting to attract suspicion, decided it be best if she complied. As she stepped inside the darkness, help desk TD slammed the door behind her receiving an audible squeal from the other end.

“Trainees…” He complained walking to the desk. “For once I wish they weren’t so hopelessly stupid.” He sat on his chair and leaned back. “Especially that one. But for some reason, I can’t help but think there was something off with that--“ He paused before his eyes snapped open in sheer horror “No…” was all he could whisper from his quivering lips as realization struck him like a lightning bolt. “No.” he stated as he ran to the door only finding it locked. “NOOOOO!” he yelled with all his might collapsing on his knees in front of the door. His eyes going bloodshot for not blinking in his state of shock, he roared as he raised his hand to the heavens with might great enough to make the gods cringe.

“YOU STOLE MY PEN!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I don’t think we should be doing this,” I told dearest Luna and Cadance who were huddled up near the high-tech contraption eyeing it curiously. “It is an invasion of privacy.”

“Nonsense, sister,” Luna replied. “Privacy has never been an issue when keeping our subjects safe and sound.” She gently ran a hoof along its smooth surface.

“And since TD lives on Equestrian soil,” Cadance continued, “he is technically an Equestrian citizen and therefore, one of our subjects.”

Their reasoning may have been sound-ish, but I doubt it made a difference. Luna had found TD’s ‘labtop’ that he had brought along with him to Canterlot. Luna and I had always been intrigued by human technology, and Twilight’s letters about this mysterious device added to our curiosity even further. Apparently, Twilight had been sending these letters to Cadance as well. As much as I would have killed for the opportunity to examine this piece of the human race’s ingenuity closer, I respected TD too much to touch his belongings behind his back, hopelessly in love with him or not.

“I don’t think that applies to TD,” I insisted, though my eyes were on the laptop.

Cadance slowly and gently opened the device’s screen with her hooves, “It flips opens like a book! What a clever design choice, and look at all these keys!”

Luna stared at her reflection in the black screen. “Tis like a Griffonian typewriter from the future. Celestia thou must come and see this. There might never be such an opportunity ever again!”

I stared at them with great envy, but looked away, “It would be too demeaning,” I told myself as I heard the artificial welcoming melody play almost as if it was calling me towards it, “And besides, I’ve read all of Twilight’s reports on it. What’s there left to learn?”

Of all times, Cadance chose now to answer me. “Ooooooooh! Aunt Luna! Get the popcorn; TD left a movie playing.”

…

Ok, technically speaking, it wouldn’t be a morally wrong idea if I kept my distance and maintained a steady observation on the laptop. Someone needed to make sure Luna and Cadance didn’t damage it in any way. Right?

“Bring me some as well!” I called out to Luna as I sat next to Cadance, my calm smile betraying the inner filly doing somersaults in my mind, giddy with excitement and curious to learn about the human film industry.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“This is… interesting.” Chrysalis said to herself as she found herself teleported from dark foreboding abyss, to a room full of TDs walking to and fro. Some were carrying around large stacks of paper, some were arguing with other TDs on cellphones, and some were in cubicles furiously typing away on computers.

“And just who the heck are you?” Chrysalis turned her head to the left and found a TD with his arms crossed, tapping his foot furiously on the tiled floor waiting for an answer. “Well?”

Completely lost, Chrysalis answered, “I’m here for the orientation?”

“That was hours ago. Where the heck were you?”

Chrysalis shrugged, causing this TD to facepalm, “Trainees…” He groaned. “Alright, you’re gonna have to wait until the next orientation. Until then...” TD gestured her to follow him which she did.

He led her to a vacant cubicle holding an old PC. He knelt down, fiddling with the wiring before the screen lit up. “Alright, you can use this to get a gist of how things work around here, but you don’t have the authorization to make changes yet due to new protocols.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, “New protocols?”

Exposition TD sighed. “A few months ago, Luna hacked into the system and started snooping around. The boss wasn’t very happy about that and we had to set new protocols to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid… again. For now, you can only look through memories originating from Equestria. Is that clear?”

Chrysalis nodded and exposition TD gave her firm pat on the back. “Welcome to the system.” He said before walking away leaving her alone. Chrysalis waved farewell with a hoof, confused and thankful for his help. She then turned to the PC browsing around until she eventually found a file labelled ‘Celestia’ “Now,” she said to nopony in particular, smiling. “What do we have here?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The room was dark.

…

Why was the room so dark?!

“It’s just a movie. It’s just a movie. It’s just a movie,” I repeated several times in a low voice with eyes wide open. For a being that lived for millennia, it may have been degrading to be seen in such helpless demeanour.

“I am the night. I am the night. I am the night. I am the night.” Lucky for my dignity, another being in the room that lived for more than a thousand years was reciting her own prayer several times. Luna was hugging me tightly from the side, shaking more than me. Her eyes were also glued on the screen playing the movie. I may or may not have hugged her back for the same reason.

We finally reached the last scene where the silhouette of the despicable, spine severing villain fades into the distance, and the credits roll. Silence reigned in the room for almost a minute before yet again, it was shattered by Cadance.

“That was amazing!” she cheered stomping her hooves on the floor in excitement.

Luna and I looked at each other, then at her. “Amazing?” we asked in unison.

She nodded excitedly, “Of course! Can’t you feel the blood pumping? The adrenaline flowing? Your spine tingling?” She hugged herself, uttering an excited squeak. “Human movies are so cool! There’s still lots of time before bed. I’m going to put on another.”

I looked at the clock. It was 7:30. Luna nodded as if she read my mind and we left to raise the moon and lower the sun. Both of us had the movie fresh in our minds. “Luna,” I asked my sister “in case I have nightmares tonight…”

She smiled “We have thee covered Celestia.”

“You’re a good sister Luna,” I smiled.

She smirked playfully “We know.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Flowers and chocolate,” Chrysalis whispered, baffled, as she witnessed Celestia’s first date in TD’s perspective end. “You won over a princess of Equestria who you punched, not once but twice with FLOWERS AND CHOCOLATE?” She leaned back in her seat holding back a scream, not believing how much time she had wasted. “THIS IS… This is... This is,” she sighed in defeat and admittance. “Genius...”

Chrysalis let out a sigh as she sat there, staring into space for a few moments before she hopped off the seat, exiting the cubicle. She wandered around the room looking at every TD she came across. “You have got to be kidding me…” She said to herself as she lowered her head in shame. Eventually she made her way back to where she started in the waiting room.

Help desk TD was waiting for her. “You…” he hissed standing up and slamming his hand on the desk. “YOU STOLE MY--” He was interrupted as Chrysalis telekinetically froze him and levitated him near herself. She grabbed his face with a hoof and turned it to the left, then right observing it with humiliation and rage written on her face.

“Well played, Powell,” her horn grew brighter and brighter causing help desk TD to shield his eyes. “Well played.” The light died down and when he opened his eyes, she was gone.

There was a pen left in her place.

Give the Poor Guy a Break Already

Chrysalis opened her eyes. The room had grown considerably darker during the time she was in the human’s mind. Said human was still sound asleep in his bed, the sight of whom made her seethe and blush in rage and embarrassment at the same time. She clenched her teeth and lightly stomped over to the non-brony so she wouldn’t wake him up. The fact that she was taking his slumber into consideration only added to her growing levels of shame.

“You…” She hissed craning her head forward not because she wanted to look at his face, but because she REALLY REALLY wanted to crane her head forward. “You you you you you you you… You! You! You…”

He yawned and mumbled some incoherent words and something about a pen before shifting his face in Chrysalis’ direction. Then just for a moment in Equestrian history they say, Chrysalis' small heart grew three sizes that day.

“D’aawwwwww,” she drawled before physically and mentally slapping herself back into reality and her heart shrunk back to normal changeling size and she groaned frustrated.

“This can’t be happening,” she began to bite down on her hoof in a quiet state of panic “Not here! Not when I have it so good.”

Just then, fate decided to mock the changeling queen as TD began to stir from his sleep. In sheer dismay, Chrysalis turned into the first pony she could think of. TD sat up and yawned before he noticed the pony staring at him, smiling awkwardly.

“Luna?” TD inquired, his smiling face betraying deeply disturbed feelings.

“Y-yes?” the disguised changeling queen replied.

“Were you watching me in my sleep?” TD’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

She let out an uncomfortable giggle, “Maybe.”

TD shifted away from her. “Alright,” his face showing slight concern “Do you do this often?”

“Noooooooo…” Chrysalis’ heart beated rapidly.

…

“Luna?”

“Yes TD?”

“Did your eyes always glow green in the dark?” TD clenched his bed sheets.

She mentally slapped herself in the head. “Tis an alicorn thing,”

…

“Luna?” TD said through clenched teeth.

“Yes TD?”

“Why are your hooves perforated?” It didn’t take a genius to know TD was unsettled.

Not Luna’s face ached from awkwardly smiling so hard. “Fridays?”

….

“Luna?” TD’s eye twitched doing his best to conceal his sheer horror.

“Yes TD?”

“When did your teeth get so… carnivorous?”

“Well... l… you see… er- OK, SCREW IT!” Chrysalis readied her horn to fire a sleep spell on TD, but this time he was ready. As she fired, TD jumped out of the bed and dodged the magical bolt.

“Ha!” TD gloated. “I ain’t falling for that again!”

Chrysalis smiled maliciously as her horn glowed “Feisty, I like it.”

Before TD could raise an eyebrow, he was hit in the head by a levitating urinal. He fell to the ground with a thud. Chrysalis changed back to normal. She levitated him on the bed and gently raised the covers to his chest. Her face was red with embarrassment; she begrudgingly gave him a peck on the cheek before proceeding to the nearest wall and banging her head against it repeatedly.

Life was… good?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Sister,” Luna said as we walked through the halls, “thou needn’t escort us to the courtroom. We can make it there on our own.”

I shook my head, “Nonsense Luna, you have been through too much. It’s the least I could do after all the trouble you have gone through.”

Luna smirked “We fear our sister has grown somewhat overprotective of us since the events of the morning.”

I smirked back before we stopped dead on our tracks. “Luna? Do you hear… thumping?”

Luna nodded, “Let us investigate.”

We flew through the hallway searching for the source of the noise. The thumping grew louder and louder until we reached the source. It just had to be the infirmary. I stepped in front, my horn glowed preparing for the worst. Luna stepped to the side and she nodded towards me. I signalled her ready and she magically swung the door opened. I hopped inside the room and found… Chrysalis banging her head against the wall? She callously gave me a glance to acknowledge my presence before continuing to bang her head against the wall.

“Chrysalis,” I stated in a cold voice, “So you finally show yourself.” She turned towards me and opened her mouth to speak, only to close it and continue face-walling. Luna entered the room and noticed Chrysalis’… unusual behaviour.

“What happened to her?” she asked in an inquisitive demeanour.

She hit her head against the wall one last time hard enough to crack the concrete. “Flowers and Chocolates. That’s it,” she sighed “I’ve made up my mind!”

There was a brief silence. “And?”

“The human is coming with me,” she said in a shameful rage.

My eyes widened in shock and confusion, “What?!”

“I said the human--” She was interrupted as TD began to lightly snore in his sleep, causing me and Chrysalis to ‘awwwwwwww’ in unison. Luna realized it almost instantly. “Really, Chrysalis?” she stated almost as if she was disappointed in her. “You too?”

Chrysalis sighed, frustrated. “I should have never taken that stupid pen.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter!” she yelled, mindful of his sleep. “He’s coming with me to my hive as my new coltfriend.”

“What?!” I responded angrily, “He’s my coltfriend!”

Luna’s eye twitched not believing what she was hearing. “Am I seriously hearing this?”

Chrysalis smiled mockingly, “Don’t worry Celestia, I’ll take good care of TD. He will make a fine king.”

I narrowed my eyes positioning myself for a fight, “What makes you think I will let you?”

Luna blinked, “No seriously, is this really happening?”

“Ha!” Chrysalis challenged, “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Well Chrysalis,” I smiled audaciously, “It seems there is something I can do about it. Cadance! Now!”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened in shock. The room was shrouded in silence for a moment… and then two… then three. Figuring she didn’t hear me, I repeated. “I said, Cadance now!” Still no response.

…

“Um… Cadance?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The pink alicorn sniffled.

“Don’t let go Rose.” Cadance whispered as she witnessed a rather famous scene from a rather famous movie. “Never Let go.”

The female human tried to shake the male awake as the lifeboats rowed towards them. ‘They’re here Jack.’ she said, yet her lover ceased movement long ago. She continued shaking him, but she soon realized that it was futile, and she pulled her hand out of his lifeless one. ‘I'll never let go, Jack.’

“Jack! Nohohoooo!” Cadance bawled. “There was room on the bohohoard!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“This is really happening.” Luna muttered as I facehoofed. Chrysalis took our state of dismay as an opportunity and quickly grabbed TD’s shirt in her jaws and flew and opened the window flying away into the night sky. I followed, but before flying after, I quickly turned towards my sister.

“Luna! Cadance! Now!”

She nodded and dashed out the door. I spread my wings and flew out of the window, matching speeds that would put Rainbow Dash to shame. I soon caught up to Chrysalis who had evaded all my guards. I groaned in frustration at their lack of usefulness. Priorities, Celestia…

I kept tailing her. I couldn’t blast her because I might have shot TD in the process only adding to my rage. Chrysalis noticing she couldn’t outrun me decided it was time for a final confrontation. We landed on a lush meadow and levitated TD out of harm’s way. The night sky was crystal clear. Cool wind blew against my face and made the tall grass sway. I stood stoic, not muttering a word. I kept a calm face, yet the stare I was giving Chrysalis would have made armies crumble. I cracked my neck ready for the fight.

“Prepare yourself Chrysalis.” I said in a regal strength in my voice. “This. Ends. Now.”

Answers Without Questions

I jabbed Chrysalis in the gut hard enough to send her flying back. She managed to gain her footing land on her feet and panted.

“Alright,” she said, coughing, “in hindsight, using most of my love energy killing the hive was not the brightest of ideas.” She coughed some more,. “The trip to Canterlot wasn’t cheap either.”

“Had enough?” I panted. She had managed to bruise me here and there, but I was faring much better.

“You were overflowing with love a few days ago,” she barked. “You don’t have a fraction of what you were carrying in the Gala. Where is it?!”

I smirked, much to her chagrin, “After our last encounter, I noticed losing to you had become a trend and decided to fix it. I managed to ward off any love energy you could feed off of me by staying clear away from TD at all costs.” I sighed. “But you know why I really don’t have any love for you?” I began walking in her direction. “I’m more crossed than anything right now, Chrysalis. A lot of things happened after you left. I lost my mind for a few minutes in a TD obsessed stupor, I danced like a pure idiot in front of my niece, and I had the daylights scared out of me by the human film industry.” I narrowed my eyes showing more than a little rage. “But that fails to even come close to what your actions caused not to me, but to those around me.”

I hoofed her square in the jaw, sending her flying. She managed to get a hold of herself midflight. “I hadn’t seen my sister weep since the Elements dispelled the darkness from within her heart, and I never thought I would have to ever again. However, because of you…” I charged my horn aiming it at her, “LUNA CRIED!”

I sent a volley of magic blasts her way. She managed to dodge a few, but was hit by the rest, causing her to come crashing down. I walked towards her sending magical energy to my horn until it glowed a brilliant light. “Submit, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis wheezed, but gave a malicious smile as she shakily got back onto her hooves. “At this point I would, but I still have one last trick up my sleeve, Celestia. After all, I can do what a love poison can do much more efficiently.”

I paused and the magical energy in my horn dispersed, “How did you--?”

“You and TD shared such delightful memories,” she said as her horn began to glow. “Doughnut Joe’s, the park, your terrace, but you know which one was my favourite?” Her wounds began to heal and she grinned showcasing her carnivorous teeth, “The Phantomare of the Opera.”

I hesitantly took a step forward, “W-what do you know about the Opera?”

“It’s hard to score tickets to the Opera you said.” She flicked here mane. “Ever wondered how TD came into possession of them, and why he asked you of all ponies?”

I narrowed my eyes gritting my teeth. My stoic façade was shattered the moment she mentioned my times with TD. “Where are you going with this, Chrysalis?”

She engulfed herself in green fire; when the flames vanished, I saw TD standing in front of me with two familiar looking tickets. “Great,” he said with a frustrated sigh. “You’re busy with that little science project of yours, Cheerilee is out on a trip to Manehattan, Rarity has a huge order to fill, everyone else I know is either busy or doesn’t care about this kind of stuff, maybe I should just junk one of the tickets.”

TD then changed into my faithful student, Twilight. “It took you three months to get a hold of those tickets, TD, and one of them cost half your monthly wage. You can’t just get rid of one.”

Twilight changed back into TD. “Then what am I supposed to do?”

TD changed back into Twilight. “Hmmm.” She placed a hoof on her chin pretending she was in deep thought. “Do you know somepony in Canterlot? Somepony you want to catch up with?”

She changed back into TD who remained silent and stared at the tickets with a guilty sorrowful look in his face. “Yeah…” he said ruminating. “There is…” He sighed almost as if he was regretful. “Alright, I need to get my suit back from Rarity; I’ll pick up my laptop tomorrow.” His suit materialized onto his body in a green flame as he stared at me with that very same wonderful smile and malicious intent in glowing green eyes. “I was always sorry for punching you, Celestia.”

I stepped back, shock of realization etched onto my face. “No,” I said through quivering lips, “Y-you’re lying!”

“Au contraire,” he said as he walked towards me. My legs suddenly felt weak and I fell on my haunches. “The night after the Gala, I was pretty friggin wrecked. I mean, one of the reasons I went there in the first place was to apologise for our first encounter, after all. But after what happened, after what you told me, I couldn’t help getting mad.” He stood before me, kneeled to my height, and gently ran a thumb over my cheek causing me to blush profusely, as he stared at me with a sympathetic look in his eyes, “I’m sorry, Celestia.”

My pupils were dilated and my eyebrows drooped. My heart beat was so fast, my chest hurt with every pulse. “I… I forgive--”

He placed a finger on my lips. “Shhh… not a word.” His face came close to mine and his lips connected with mine. We remained like that for moments that I couldn’t decide fled too quickly, or felt like eternity, “Now that hits the spot,” he said in contentment as he pulled away. Tears were running down my face by this point. He walked behind me, gently massaging my shoulders. I couldn’t move. I was in a state of emotional paralysis. “Thank you, Celestia,” he said in a soothing voice as I felt magical energy build up behind me. I just kept looking forward at the meadow, “That was very generous of you. Which is why what I’m about to do is going to be all the more--”

THWAK.

I hesitantly turned my head around, I found TD, the real TD, standing above me. His hand was extended outwards, curled into a tight fist and he did not look pleased.

Pierce the Heavens with Your Love

About five feet away from us was the fake TD. He jumped back with power that was not possible for regular human beings until he was a good twenty feet away from us. He rubbed the side of his face and his eyes were wide open in anger and shock. “You? I thought I dispelled the love you had for her. Why did--”

“Can it.” He said in a low threatening voice. He looked down at me in my pitiable state. “What did you do to her?” he said with venom.

Fake TD smiled a smug smile. “My my, aren’t we rebellious? No matter, after I’m done, everything will be total bliss for you.”

TD narrowed his eyebrows more than before, “I asked you a question.”

“It was simple really,” he gloated, walking towards us, cracking his knuckles. “I exploited her little weakness until she was reduced to nothing more than the shaking little filly you see before you.”

“You just told her where I got the opera ticket from,” TD stated, holding his ground even though a lack of nourishment left him more than a little shaky.

“And it was all I ever needed,” fake TD continued. “That pony princess maybe ancient, but she's still a pony. Say the right words to them, and they'll be reduced to a pathetic pile of tears."

As fake TD drew closer, TD desperately worked his head for an idea. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as a solution formed in his mind.

“Celestia, throw up a shield,” he stated desperately.

He managed to get my attention, but I was still in shambles. “Wha…? I…”

“I SAID THROW UP A FRIGGIN’ SHIELD!”

I complied almost impulsively, and a thick magical barrier formed around us, ridding fake TD of his smile and replacing it with an annoyed look. He stood in front of it and began punching it with unimaginable force. The shield began to crack. I felt so helpless. Why did I feel so helpless? This wasn’t like me. I felt myself go back into my emotional trance but was snapped back by TD.

He held my shoulders firmly,.“Celestia, I want you to look at me.”

“But… He… You--”

“I said look at me! Forget about everything and just look at me!”

I nodded and stared at his face. He somehow didn’t seem worried. He just smiled that same magnificent smile to reassure me. His smile made me feel protected. Even though we were facing complete annihilation, I felt no harm could fall on me because in front of me was my brave knight, protecting me from the worst to come. It was sweet, it was welcoming, it made me feel warm inside and above all, it was contagious as I felt my lips slowly curl up. An elegant yet powerful melody began to play from nowhere.

“We’re gonna get through this. Got that?”

I nodded but I wasn’t sure. “But TD, what can I do? She’s too powerful now.”

“It doesn’t matter! You raised the sun and moon for a millennium for crying out loud. You’ve dealt with Blueblood more than I have. Twilight never shuts up about how you’ve taken on hell and back!”

“But what if that’s not enough? What if--?”

I was interrupted as TD grabbed the sides of my head, and with all the quiet dignity and grace he could muster, he firmly planted his lips into mine. Everything in the world went silent except for the melody. Even the assault on my barrier was halted. After what felt like a minute, he pulled back gasping for air.

Fake TD gawked at us. “Well that was… graphic.”

With his kiss, I felt confident in myself. I felt re-energized; the strongest I had felt in centuries. TD had done it. His kiss fuelled me with the power of love!

“Take’m out,” TD said in between breaths.

I nodded grinning as my eyes glowed, and I crackled with power. Chrysalis, seeing my newfound strength, turned back into her original form for a fight. I took down the barrier and attacked her head on.

“How?!” she screamed as our horns wrestled. “I broke you!”

My confidant smile didn’t falter, much to her chagrin. “TD fixed me.”

We exchanged blow for blow, but I kept the upper hoof. TD remained the only spectator, watching us from a safe distance. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We took flight, trying to one-up each other with complex aerial manoeuvres. Every time we collided, the shockwave would make the grass sway. I managed to tackle her midflight and she crashed down on the meadow. She got onto her hooves. Her horn glowed with great power. I replied by charging my horn with unrivalled power as I landed several yards away from her.

“I WILL END YOU!” she roared, winded from the battle as she fired a beam strong enough to incinerate a mountain.

“I’d like to see you try,” I answered calmly, panting as I too fired my own energy blast. We collided and once again, it was only a battle of wills. Lucky for me, will was not a department I was lacking in. My blast pushed through her blast and she was sent flying back a considerable distance. She rolled a few meters before skidding to a halt, unconscious.

I had won.

I shakily walked towards TD who had collapsed onto the ground due to fatigue. “I’ll admit,” he said, “that was pretty friggin awesome.”

I collapsed onto the ground next to him. I was tired and covered with bruises, and yet, I was smiling. “Yes,” I said panting, “that was most ‘awesome’.”

…

“Oh, it sure was.” Our hearts skipped a beat as we looked in front of us to see Chrysalis still standing. “And not that your little ‘moment’ is over, things can go back to the way they were, or should have been.”

I looked towards TD who was frozen in shock. I was tired; I knew I could not possibly win if I fought now. But TD was in no condition to defend himself. Somepony had to protect him. I steeled my resolve and shakily got on to my hooves facing her. I didn’t know how, but I’d keep him safe.

“Now now Celestia, no need to fret,” she said almost playfully as her wounds healed. “You’ve fought a decent fight and, honestly, I’m very impressed, impressed enough to spare you.” She then turned towards TD. “But he’s coming with me.”

“Never.” I stated firmly. “You can take him over my dead--”

“Celestia, that’s enough.” TD somehow mustered enough energy to get to his feet and walked next to me, wrapping an arm around my neck for support. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret.”

“I’m not going to let her take you away, TD.”

TD smirked, earning a raised eyebrow from both of us. “Why? She already lost.”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, “What are you…? Oh no.”

Chrysalis was bombarded with magical blasts from the sides courtesy of Cadance, with Luna not far behind. Chrysalis was sent flying to the side. She got on her hooves and began to fly away in a desperate attempt to flee. Cadance landed on the ground charging her horn with powerful love energy.

“Yippie-Ki-Yay!” she cried, firing with all her might, grinning like a trigger-happy maniac. It was a direct hit, and Chrysalis’ body began to crack away as she was engulfed in an aura of pure love. By the time the aura dissipated, Chrysalis faded away. “Motherfucker.” She blew the smoke off her horn.

Luna landed in front of me examining my wounds. I couldn’t have been more relieved. “Luna, how did you find us?”

She smiled. “We followed the light show. A most impressive display of your power, sister.”

I smiled back. “All thanks to TD.” I nudged him to answer, but none came,

“TD?” Still silent. His arm slipped off my shoulder and he fell on the grass. Worried, I placed a hoof over his head. “Oh no, oh no.” It was worse than I thought. “Luna, he has a high fever.”

Luna quickly motioned over to Cadance who came rushing next to her. “Take him back to the infirmary and treat him. He has been through much abuse in the past few days.” Cadance nodded obediently and levitated him on her back before teleporting away to the castle.

My horned glowed in preparation for teleportation. “I need to go--”

“Thou need’st rest.” She interrupted my teleportation with a hoof, as her horn begun to glow.

I wasn’t ready to sleep “But TD--”

“Is in safe hooves, sister. Cadance is no fool. She will administer proper aid to him.”

“Luna, I can’t just sleep while TD is in such state.”

Luna smiled. “We can help with that.”

I was about to question her before she hit me with what felt like a sleep spell and everything went black.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When I woke up, I was on my bed. I never thought I’d want to sleep in but given how much energy I expelled last night, I think it would have been ok just this once. I closed my eyes letting sleep embrace. Nopony would have to worry about Chrysalis anytime soon, and TD was safe.

…

My eyes snapped open, “TD!” I jumped out of the bed and dashed to the infirmary. As I reached the room, Luna and Cadance stepped out. Luna noticed me approach them and smiled.

“We were heading to you room sister,” she said. “He is good as new.”

I looked at the infirmary door, and then at Luna. “Can I?”

She nodded. “You deserve it.”

They walked away to heavens knows where and I didn’t care. I took a deep breath and opened the door. TD was sitting on the side of the bed contemplating.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure,” he replied.

I sat next to him and remained silent for a while.

“Interesting night, huh?” he said.

I nodded. “It was an experience.”

TD rubbed his temples; he seemed unsettled for obvious reasons, “So what was that thing? And what did it want from me?”

I sighed. “I believe an explanation is in order.”

He deserved one.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“That was… a lot to take in,” TD said quietly through a shocked expression. I explained everything to him, from the love poison to Chrysalis’ hoof in the story. He just kept staring at me in shock as I told him the story from start to end.

“I’m sorry, TD.” I hated that I found the floor a lot more interesting at the moment. “I didn’t mean to cause any harm.”

“Yeah,” he answered.

We remained silent for a few moments. I decided to speak. “So what will you do now?”

He remained silent and contemplated before giving a long sigh. “I’m going back to Ponyville.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Just like that?”

“I’m tired, Celestia.” He stood up and stretched his arms. “I miss the foals, Twilight and company must be worrying their plots off over me, and I haven’t slept on my bed in ages. I just want to go home and put this whole ordeal behind me.”

I nodded understandably. “At least let me get your things.”

I levitated my horn for a long distance levitation spell. TD’s suitcase came floating in along with his laptop which Cadance was being dragged with.

“Oh.” She smiled, embarrassed. “Right.” TD grabbed the handle of the suitcase and held the laptop in his am.

“Well, I’ll be on my way then.” He began to walk away. Before he exited the door, he turned to me. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

I smiled, grateful he wasn’t as upset as he could have been, and waved farewell.

When you Love Something...

“Maybe we should come back some other time.” I said anxiously, disguised as a white unicorn with a orange mane.

“No,” Luna, who was disguised as an emo looking dark blue pegasus with black mane, stated firmly. “Thou hast taken three months to build enough courage for this day, and we will not let thee flee out of sheer cowardice.”

“But after what happened that night...” I looked down at my cake, not finding the appetite to eat it. “How do I know he won’t just yell at me for having the gall to court him?”

“He will not. TD is.. Oh for Faust’s sake.” Luna facehooved. “Cadance, the food goes in thy mouth, not all over thy face.”

Cadance, ‘disguised’ in an overcoat, hat, sunglasses, and moustache that somehow deceived everypony, looked up at us and smiled awkwardly. “Sorry Auntie.” She telekinetically rubbed the frosting off her face with a napkin. “Pre-date pep-talk makes me peckish.”

At least I know where Twilight learned her table manners from. When Cadance heard I would attempt to court TD again after three months, she spared no time in flying all the way from the Crystal Empire to Ponyville to give me support. We sat down in Sugarcube Corner for a bite to eat before I searched for TD to ask him out. She turned to me. “Aunt Celestia, you can’t find the answer to your problem by sulking over it. You have to do this sooner or later, so why not sooner rather than later? And besides, even if TD rejects you, he won’t yell at you.”

“And how do you know that?” I kept my eyes on the cake as I telekinetically poked it with a fork.

She smirked. “Love is my specialty, Auntie. I thought you knew that.”

“But she is right,” Luna added. “Thou shalt not find answers to any questions by dwelling on them.”

I sighed. “You’re right. I need to get answers.”

Cadance grinned excitedly “And maybe if you two become an item, he’ll let us borrow his laptop and we can watch another one of those horror--”

“NO!” Luna and I shouted in unison. I rubbed my temples with my hooves. The nightmares we had that week…

Luna pulled out her purse and paid for the food, seeing that I wouldn’t eat mine. “Alright, tis time to take our leave.” She smiled warmly at me. “T’would be unfair to keep thy future coltfriend waiting.”

I smiled back. Her words gave me the confidence I was searching for. Before getting up from my seat, I levitated my plate close to my face and downed my cake in one mouthful, leaving Luna and Cadance to stare at me aghast. “What? Nopony here knows who we are.”

Just then, the bell chimed and the door opened. Luna, out of habit, glanced at the entrance once before her eyes widened and she gestured us to turn towards the door. We did so and were surprised by TD’s arrival. He walked inside Sugarcube Corner. His face said his mind was in different places. Searching for an empty seat, he sat down on a table with two chairs. Luna craned her head forward. “Why is he here?”

“Cake?” Cadance answered bluntly.

I began to hyperventilate. Why was I hyperventilating? I’m an immortal alicorn. I don’t hyperventilate. Luna patted me with a hoof to calm me down. “Do not fret,” she said reassuringly. “This is a good thing. It saves us the trouble of finding him.”

“You got this,” Cadance added. “You know what to say. You know when to say it. So just go ahead and say it.”

I nodded and took a deep breathe to steel my resolve. I was about to get off my seat before the bell chimed again and the door once again opened to reveal a magenta mare with three smiling flowers for a cutie mark. She looked around the room before her eyes settled on TD, and she trotted towards him and sat on the seat opposite to him, gaining his attention.

I lightly groaned in annoyance. Oh well, I’d talk to him after she left. But she didn’t leave. They had begun a conversation. I shrugged and figured I would have an opportunity later and turned back to Luna and Cadance. The latter of whom stared at the two with a facial expression I knew all too well.

“Aunt Celestia...” She turned to me, with an apologetic expression. “I’m so sorry.”

It took me a full five seconds to get where she was going with this. My pupils dilated and I looked back at the two. They displayed all the signs: leaning forward to be close to each other, gazing into each other’s eyes without the slightest bit of hesitation, listening attentively to what the other was saying, it was all there. One did not seem to be aware of what the other felt, but it was inevitable.

“He seems so happy,” I whispered to nopony in the room.

Luna noticed tears beginning to form in my eyes and immediately tried to console me. “Do not fret sister.” She smiled, trying to get me to the same. “Tis most probably a misconception on thy part. It does not seem what they have will last long.”

I shook my head. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better Luna,” I said. I turned towards them and smiled. “It is better this way.”

“What?” she said in sheer astonishment. “But after all thou hast been through--”

“If TD is content with that mare, I don’t see a reason why I should interfere.”

“But thou hast been through too much to just--” She was interrupted with a hoof by Cadance, who looked at me with concern.

“Aunt Celestia, are you certain you’re sure about this?” She asked seriously.

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

Luna was about to say something, but Cadance nudged her to keep quiet. “So what do you want to do now?” she asked.

“Head back to Canterlot, of course.”

“Now?” Luna asked.

I shook my head. “You two can fly back. I’d like to take the train home.”

Luna looked at Cadance, who gestured her to follow. She gave me one last look before sighing and nodding. “We will be waiting for thy arrival back home, sister,” she said before they made their way out of the door. As soon as they left I sniffled before going to the counter and ordering another slice of cake.

When you love somepony, you would give anything so that pony would return it.

As I relished my dessert, I looked at TD every now and then and my lips would curl up when I would see his smile.

But you would give even more for their happiness.

I gave a rather generous tip before making my way back home. I walked about a dozen metres away from the building, before I stopped and realized I had left my purse back in the shop. I sighed in frustration; I was not in the mood for this.

“Hey you,” a familiar voice said. I turned back to see TD standing a couple of feet away from me “You left this back in the bakery.”

I smiled to hold back my tears. Some managed to break free and roll down my face, much to TD’s confusion. “Something wrong?”

I shook my head. “I’m fine, thank you.”

He bent down to hand me the purse. I walked to him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you,” I repeated with more sincerity in my voice.

“You’re… welcome?” he answered, not sure how he should have responded.

I broke away from him and took my purse back from his hand. At this point, my tears were now freely running down my face.

“F-farewell.” I said trying my best not to choke.

“Uh… bye?”

I nodded and turned away, not daring to look back as I walked to the train station in fear of him not being there anymore. He was happy; I was happy. I knew I was because I was smiling brightly, so I had to be happy even though the tears never stopped. My smile never faded even as I returned home and was met with a consoling embrace of my sister with Cadance watching sorrowfully.

I was happy...

I was so happy...

TD and Celestia

I remember what happened after TD drank the antidote. Or rather, what didn't happen. He didn't show any signs of anger. No surprise, no resentment. Maybe it was because the poison took a passive effect on TD because it was different from the original. Maybe TD did a good job in hiding his emotions. I honestly don't know. We chatted some more after that and he left for his hotel to pack up and leave for the train station.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Six Months Later

“Sister, art thou ready for the Gala?” Luna asked as she walked into my room.

“Yes Luna, I am ready,” I replied.

“Is everything alright? Dost thou need anything?”

“No Luna, I am fine. Thank you.”

Seeing I had nothing to ask for, Luna walked out of the room. It had been half a year since our break up yet she was still looking over me as if I was heartbroken. True, even though my relationship with TD ended on a splendid note, I still cried that night after he left the castle. Getting over him took months, but eventually I was back to myself.

A while later, I was at the Gala hall, watching ponies walk in side where I greeted them. The Elements of Harmony were already here, and Twilight was by my side as we greeted each guest. The process of greeting ponies was repetitive and boring. I soon found my mind drifting off to other places. I remembered the time I spent with TD, the dates we went to and the laughs we shared. I was snapped back into reality by a familiar voice.

“Hello? Earth to Celestia. Anybody home?”

TD was in front of me in a suit. The guests stared at him in shock remembering the stunt he pulled in the last Gala. Even the Elements of Harmony were surprised by his unsuspected appearance. Before anypony could interject, I smiled brightly at TD trying to hold my inner filly from running loose. “Welcome to the Gala, TD.” I said in my rehearsed tone.

“So you’re probably busy now,” he said, “but maybe we can catch up later?”

“I will be looking forward to it.”

“Great. Catch you later.” And he walked to the bar wearing that same cheerful yet contagious smile on his face.

Alicorns don't panic [Alternate Ending]

'Alright I can do this.' Celestia thought as she stood in front of the TD's humble abode (disguised as a white pegasus with pink mane and tail). 'Just have to knock and he'll open it. I can do this.' She raised a hoof to knock the door only to retract it. "Right after a slice of cake," she said and turned around only to have her view blocked by the non-brony's chest.

"TD?" She said, just realizing how small she felt in this form in front of him. "What brings you here?" she smiled awkwardly

"This is my house." He said raising an eye brow adjusting his grip on his grocery bag, "What are you doing here?"

Seeing it was now or never. Celestia took a deep breath to gather her courage. She cleared her throat and looked at him straight in the eyes with fiery determination.

"TD, I have come here to ask you something." she stated sternly.

TD tilted his head curiously "and?"

"you out me go with will?"

"Um... what?"

Celestia mentally cursed and tried again, "Out me with you go will?"

"Come again?"

Celestia began to panic, "You...would... me... ddd.... da... da-"

"It's Saturday." He finished to what he thought was her question.

Celestia shook her head violently, "No! I mean... I"

As much as TD wanted to stay and watch Celestia do... what ever the hell she was doing, his grocery bag was feeling heavy and he wanted to take a nap. He walked by her stammering form and began searching for the keys in his pockets. "You try to remember whatever it was you wanted to tell me, Celestia. I'll talk to you later." He opened the door to his house. As he stepped inside, Celestia's ancient mind went into overdrive thinking of what to do. Finally, it reached the one and only logical conclusion.

"WAIT!" she yelled causing TD to stop and turn towards her.

"What?"

Celestia looked left and right to make sure nopony could see what she was about to do. She took a deep breathe and flared her wings.

Three minutes later, she finished panting holding an elegant pose. TD just stared at her flabbergasted, "What did I just watch?"

"TD Harrison Powell," Celestia asked sternly while blushing profoundly, "Will you go out with me?"

TD didn't say anything for what felt like an hour, but not long after, he slowly turned around and stepped inside his house closing the door behind him. Celestia lowered her head in failure and would have begun making her way home if not for the door slightly opening and TD stepping out half way. "Pick me up at five." he said smiling as he saw her face light up and stepping back inside, closing the door.