October 30

Waking up to the sight of her multicolored hair the next morning was like waking to a dream. The woman I loved was back in my life. The warm embrace we shared was a reminder of how much I truly loved her.

I pulled my hand off of her body and ran it through her soft, silky hair. She breathed a short sigh.

"You're finally awake." she said without moving.

"I didn't think you were up."

"I've been awake for a while."

"A while? What time is it?"

"I don't know."

"I didn't miss my alarm, did I?"

"I don't think so." She reached forward to my nightstand and picked up my phone. "It's still early. It's a shame you have to leave today, of all days."

"I know."

We laid together in silence. Just being with each other was more than enough. It was a long while before either one of us moved. Celestia turned towards me, meeting my gaze with a smile.

"I've missed you." she whispered.

"Yeah, I missed you too."

I wrapped my arms around her, resting my forehead against hers. One of her arms was stuck between us, but the other she draped over my side. We were just staring at each other. Even through her sleepiness, her eyes were so bright. I had no idea how much time we spent like this.

She chuckled. "I need to shower."

"I think we both do."

"Maybe you'd like to join me..."

"Maybe."

She waited for a short while longer before getting off my arm and pulling off the blanket. She sat up on the side of the bed, her long legs reaching to the floor. Her hair draped messily down her back. She looked back to me with a smile. "Come. Join me." She reached back and placed her hand over mine.

I returned her smile. "As you wish, my Princess."

She let out a short chuckle before standing and stretching her body, raising her arms. She stretched in just such a way that her bare, puffed out chest appeared far curvier than it's natural beauty.

I got out of bed after her, also lacking in the clothing department. Celestia didn't seem to mind my nudity. I certainly didn't mind hers. Where was our underwear? Nobody's allowed to be naked while moving through the house, even Celestia. I may have to make an exception for today.

"Hey, Celestia?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm... sorry."

"For what?"

"For what I said last night. About... Sarah. It was inconsiderate. I'm sorry."

"Thank you." She smiled at me. "I'm not worried. My butt is much cuter than hers."

It was hard to tell if my apology was necessary, but she seemed to appreciate it.

Our dirty clothes were strewn about the front room. Celestia didn't seem to mind, but I felt embarrassed, even in my own home. Thankfully, the blinds had already been drawn, but the risk of a friend barging in uninvited was all too real. I rushed us into the privacy of the bathroom. She giggled, finding my urgency amusing. I must say though, just seeing my love walk nude through the house was a spectacle in itself.

Celestia turned on the water, leaving me to prepare the bathroom. I set out towels as she stepped into the tub and closed the curtain, beckoning me with a finger. I joined her as soon as I was prepared to witness her beauty once more. It took a little while.

She stood underneath the water, letting it run down her curvy body. I got close, placing my hands on her hips. She responded with her hands on my shoulders. We gazed at each other for a short while before I raised my arms around her back. She did the same to me. We shared a loving embrace for a long while, our bodies pressing against each other in the shower. There were no words between us, even long after we pulled apart. We still held each other, but gazed into each other's eyes as our foreheads met.

"Can you wash my hair for me?"

She caught me off guard with such an innocent request.

"Wh... Your hair? But there's so much!" I complained.

She laughed. "Well, I don't want to do it."

"So? You're a big girl."

"Please? I like it when you do it."

I sighed. "Alright..."

She pecked her lips against mine before pulling away with a smile. "Thank you, Phil!" she said, almost as if celebrating an important victory.

"Yeah, yeah. Turn around."

"Ok!"

She turned as I grabbed the shampoo bottle. Her many feet of wet hair always took so long to clean. It wasn't the first time I've done this and I'm happy to say that it will be the last. Celestia began humming as I ran my hands through her hair. I didn't recognise the tune, but her humming meant that she was happy. After shampoo came conditioner. When Celestia's hair was as sleek and shiny as it could be with my mortal hair-care products, I stepped back and admired my handiwork. Among other things.

We left the shower together and moved to the bedroom to get dressed. While I put on my work clothes, Celestia gave up after putting on nothing more than a shirt and panties. She rested with her legs hanging off the bed, her wet hair sprawled out above her head.

"Come on, don't get the bed wet, honey." I said, crawling over her with a towel to collect her hair.

She giggled. "Phil! That tickles!"

"So, did you ever figure out how you got here in the first place?" I asked, finishing the hair-wrapping

"Hmm?"

"When we first met. Did you figure out how you got to this world?"

"It was Discord, as we suspected. One of his many pranks. Why do you ask?"

"I... I guess I was curious. I was... thinking about the time we first met."

She smiled. "I'm glad it happened."

"Yeah... Back then, we didn't even know each other. Now here we are."

"Isn't that how relationships are supposed to work?" She chuckled.

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just didn't think it would get like 'this'."

"I'm quite surprised, myself."

"We just... seem so different, you know?"

"We're more alike than you may think. Why do you think I kept you all this time?" she said with a small chuckle.

"You kept me, huh? You know, Luna said I was more like her than I thought, too."

"Did she, now? I wonder what she could have meant."

"Oh hey, before I forget! I have something for you."

She sat up with a wishful, "I like things."

She watched as I reached into the drawer of the nightstand to retrieve the small, red flip-phone inside. She examined it in my hand as I held it out for her.

"Oh, what is this?" she questioned, taking it from my hand and looking closer.

"It's a phone. You can use that to get ahold of me when I'm not here."

Her eyes lit up with a small gasp. She cradled the phone against her chest, staring at me. After a short while, she looked back down to it, then began opening and closing it before looking at the screen. I sat next to her on the bed to teach her how to use it.

"This is wonderful. Thank you." she said with a smile. Her special smile.

I wanted to be with her all day. I should've taken the day off, I wasn't thinking. Still, she would be here for the whole month. We would have time. The world wasn't going to stop turning for us. After finishing my preparations for work, I went back to the room. She had laid back down, though perked up when she saw me. I joined her on the bed.

"Are you going to invite her over today?" she asked.

"I'll try, yeah."

She sighed.

"Celestia, it's alright if you don't want me to go."

"I know, I know. I've been... thinking about... when I left. I know that you didn't have a reason to think I would ever come back. Even my sister doubted it was possible. But... You... You didn't have any faith in me. You didn't... think I could get back."

"Celestia, I... Y... No, I... guess I didn't."

She sat up again and looked to me. I joined her. "I'm sorry that I'm being so difficult, Phil. I don't want to say no. I don't want to prevent you from spending time with your female friends, but I just... I don't want to... to... to risk anything." Her eyes widened. "I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Celestia, if you're really worried that something is gonna happen, then maybe you don't have faith in me, either. If it was a guy, you probably wouldn't care."

"If it were a man, you wouldn't have looked at his butt."

"I don't care about her butt! Your butt is the only butt I care about! I already have someone whose butt I love."

"Enough with the butts!"

"Sorry."

"Thank you, though."

"It's nice."

"You've mentioned."

"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I love you, Celestia. If I didn't wait long enough after you left to find someone else, then I'm sorry, but it is how it is."

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe this. I'm jealous of a woman that I don't even know."

"A little jealousy is normal in a relationship."

"I know. It just... It doesn't feel like you've 'cut things off' with her, so to speak. If I'm the woman you love, you... you shouldn't be... spending time with other women in such a private manner. I just... I'm jealous, Phil... I don't know what else to say. Idon't want to just say no. If you want to spend time with other women as friends, I shouldn't have a right to get mad."

"So you're mad?"

"No, that's not what I meant! I'm not mad! Oh, I finally get to see you again and it turns out that you were trying to get close to another woman! What else am I supposed to think?"

"Celestia, you were gone. I didn't know what to do with my life at that point. When she showed up and offered to help, I accepted. I was trying to move on. While you were fighting to get back here, I gave up." I grumbled to myself.

There was nothing in her beautiful eyes that suggested she was angry or upset anymore. Maybe she had accepted my apologies. Maybe she understood the situation enough to forgive me. I keep forgetting who she really is. She's far older than I am, even if she doesn't look it. She's had years to contemplate her own definition of love. Maybe she's even experienced something like this before.

She let out a short sigh as she leaned against me. "I just got here and you're already scaring me."

"I'm 'scaring' you?"

"Yes! Quit it."

"You're the scary one around here."

"I'm not scary, you are. Look at you. You're so much bigger and stronger than me. It wouldn't be hard at all for you to just..." She paused. "How could you be scared of little ol' me?"

I think her mind was wandering. "I... am having trouble figuring out what we're talking about."

"How am I scary, Phil? What do you mean?"

Ok, so we're pretending she didn't just say that? "It's just that... whenever I'm with you, I'm scared that I'm going to say something insensitive, or insulting, or that I'll do something you just won't like or approve of. You can do whatever you want, but I don't know if I have the self-control."

"Phil, I feel the same way. I don't know how I should act around you. I'm... so different in Equestria. I don't act like this in my castle. I don't act like this in my world. I'm a Princess! You know how I feel about this life, Phil. You know how much I love this... how much I love you. Our relationship has been working because we've changed for each other. You don't know how much you mean to me. Just because our relationship just began doesn't mean I don't feel as strongly about it as you."

"Celestia... if I ever... made a mistake... If I said or did something that came between us... I would do anything to fix it. I just don't know if you feel the same. You're so much better than me. You've got so many responsibilities."

"Did you think that I wouldn't want to spend my life with you because of who I was, because of what I was? Living with you, in this little house of yours, has been a paradise. My paradise. I don't care where I am. As long as you're with me, I'll be happy. Isn't that what you want? For me to be happy?"

"Of course it is, Celestia."

"Well, I am happy. I don't understand why you're saying these things, Phil."

"You know what I think, Celestia. You know that I think you're perfect."

"I'm not, Phil."

"You are. At least to me. I don't deserve someone like you."

She pulled away from me. "You do deserve me! Stop saying things like that! You know I don't like it."

"I'm sorry, Celestia. Ever since Luna got here, I've been questioning it more and more. I just still can't understand why someone like me can get someone like you."

"So what if you're not perfect? I love you, that's all that matters. Saying that you didn't deserve me or my love... It hurts, Phil."

I blinked a few times, looking at her. To my surprise, I felt myself tear up. "You have no idea how much it hurt when you left me."

I didn't know why now of all times I felt such a strong wave of emotion. My sudden voice crack caused her to recoil in shock. She did have an idea. She understood how I felt all too well. Her own pain brought her back to me after this long month. But out of nowhere, I had teared up and uttered this. It brought our argument to a stop.

"I just... I wanted to... I... I don't want you to leave me. Not just leaving for your home, but leaving my life. I couldn't take it again. No matter what you do, I'll always want to be with you, but I'm scared that if I step out of line, you'll be the one leaving."

She didn't respond right away. She's a kind woman, I'm sure she wanted to reply with more kindness to ease my stress, but sometimes kindness just isn't the solution. "Phil... That's exactly how I feel... Exactly how I feel. I don't know how I should act around you. I know that you're... a patient man, but at times I feel like I'm taking advantage of this. Like I'm taking advantage of you. Every time we speak, I question what I thought I knew about you. I just want to be with you, Phil."

We gazed at each other for a long while before falling back onto the bed.

"All this over a single woman." She breathed a small sigh. "I'm not usually this jealous, I promise."

"It's alright, Celestia. I want you all to myself."

She smiled. "I would still like to meet her."

"I'll invite her over today. Hopefully she's free after work. I don't wanna drag this on if I can avoid it. I'll call ahead to make sure you're fully clothed by the time I get home."

"Fully clothed?" She found this amusing.

"Yes, honey. Fully clothed."

"Honey... I like it when you call me honey... It still feels so strange hearing it, though."

"Maybe another name would feel better. How about sweetie?"

"I like sweetie. It's still strange."

"Baby?"

"No, that's too strange."

"Cutie-pie?"

"Now you're just listing off names for fun."

I couldn't help but to smile. She was totally right. "Snookums?"

"That's a made up word!"

"All words are made up. Love-muffin?"

"No, not that one either. I prefer cupcakes anyways

"Love-cupcake?"

"You can't just add 'love' as a prefix to things."

"Love-you?"

"I... I love you too. That isn't a name, though." Her face was turning a cute red. "Enough with the names, Philly. You're embarrassing me..."

We stared at each other again. I didn't know what to say right now. I think I just liked staring at her.

She let out a short laugh. "Any time I'm scared that I've acted out of line, I find myself in bed with you. It... It puts me at ease. Not all of my lovers were... active in bed with me. At times, it makes me feel lonely. I... I like having someone that I can connect with on a more personal level."

"I don't think sex should be the answer to our arguments."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, it just... doesn't seem healthy."

"Honey, you don't believe that."

"Maybe not. Do you?"

"Why can't it be?"

"Well... It just... Look, just because I can't answer that doesn't mean..." I stopped as she started to laugh. I let out a short sigh.

"It's alright, Phil. I think I understand. I just hope this doesn't interfere with our love life."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to stop having sex."

"Oh. Yeah, that's...Are you a succubus or something? Like, did I get the wrong Princess?" I tapped her forehead with a finger. "Is this still Princess Celestia?"

She brushed away my hand with a giggle. "Of course it's still me." She paused, smiling. "I may be thousands of years old, but I am still a woman. I don't use this phrase often, but I have needs, too. I like being able to talk about sex with someone. It's not as if I had any friends to listen to me. I can't tell anypony in Equestria, but you're my boyfriend. I can tell you anything."

"I'm glad I can help, Celestia."

She let out a relaxed sigh before turning to look at the ceiling. I looked up as well. I reached my hand out and grabbed hers. Her thumb rubbed against my hand. She was smiling her special smile again. This was nice...

"You know what, Celestia? You're mine, you don't get to leave me."

"I don't have a say in the matter?"

"Absolutely not."

"That's a tad abusive, don't you think?"

"You're the abusive one around here." I retorted.

"I'll abuse you if you keep this up!" she threatened.

"You're an abusive man." I said.

"You're an abusive... woman!" She didn't know where this would lead, but she happily played along.

"I'm more of a woman than you are."

She turned over and faced me. "You most certainly are not."

"Yeah, I guess my boobs aren't as big as yours are."

She chuckled before looking down to her chest. "You guess?" She proudly puffed out her chest.

"Big ol' tiddies, in the hearts and minds of every man and woman on this planet."

"Man and woman?"

"I truly can't imagine a world where man and woman alike aren't equally fascinated by a big ol' set o' bouncin' boobies."

"It's actually somewhat painful when my breasts bounce. I have to hold them in place when I walk downstairs." She chuckled again. "I suppose that's just an issue with being human. My wings would never hurt like this just from moving."

"Your wings?"

"Did you forget I had wings?"

"No, but why'd you bring them up? Are they... sensitive?"

"They... can be. Not as... much as my breasts, though."

"So... your one complaint about this world is that... your boobs are too big? Well, I for one like women with big boobs."

She giggled. "I know."

"Some women would kill to have a chest like yours."

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Then they'd kill again to have their gift taken away. It can't be an enjoyable existence carrying those around all day."

"I didn't say I didn't like them. It's more of me for you to love."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

We laid together for as long as we could before I had to leave. When I finally got off the bed, Celestia sat up to face me with a look of sorrow

"Is it time?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Aw..."

"Sorry. Our first full day together, too."

"It's alright, I just don't like being alone."

"I know."

She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll manage."

I bent down and met her lips with a brief kiss. "I'll be back soon, my little sunflower."

"Sun... flower?" At first, she seemed a little confused, but her smile returned quickly. "I kind of like that one."

"Not just any sunflower. My sunflower."

She nodded. "Right. Your sunflower."

I smiled at her one last time before getting off the bed. I reached into my pocket and retrieved my phone, then shook it in my hand, drawing her attention to it. "Don't forget to call if you need anything."

"Can I call if I just want to hear your voice?"

"Of course."

"I might not be able to help myself."

I smiled again, then turned and opened the door. I retrieved my things from the front room and made my way outside. There was a briskness in the air. Thankfully, it was a comfortable chill.

Sunflowers aren't little.

Today, I needed to let Sarah know what was happening. I wonder how she'd react to meeting Celestia. She can be kinda intimidating at first. Not as much as her sister, though. Thankfully, Sarah would not be meeting Luna. We greeted each other as we met at work, but I elected to tell her at lunch when we had time to ourselves. Like I had done before, I sat across from Sarah as she ate. She immediately looked away.

"A-Any news?" she asked.

"My girlfriend showed up last night." I reported.

"Oh... Th-That's nice. Wh-What's her n-name?"

"It's Celestia."

"It... s-sounds foreign."

"She wanted to meet you."

"M-Me?"

"Yep. She wanted to see you herself before she made a decision, so I told her that I'd invite you over tonight if you'd be willing."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I mean... I..." She stopped.

"This is getting kinda complicated, Sarah. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

She nodded. "M-My dad is a very... um... a very 'influential' man. H-He even helped get me th-this job. H-He never said that he did, b-but I kn-know he did. So I d-don't want him to think you're a b-bad person. I lied... I lied and I-I'm so sorry for all this. I appreciate the effort you're going through to help me."

"So... your dad. Is he... nice?"

"Yes. He's nice to me. H-He j-just doesn't like... the m-men I... I spend time with."

That seems pretty normal for a father.

I was distracted by a vibration in my pocket. I reached in to retrieve my phone. Celestia was calling me. "I gotta... take..." I pointed to it.

"Is that her?" she asked.

I answered the phone, and without waiting for a response, I heard, "There's a problem." There was an uncharacteristic panic in her voice.

"Problem? What do you mean?"

"There's someone else."

"Someone... else?" I stood up, on edge. Was someone at the house?

"Someone else from Equestria came to this world."

"What?" I asked, relaxing a little. Nobody from Equestria was dangerous. She got me worked up for nothing.

"My sister just informed me. We need to find her before she gets into trouble."

"What? Trouble? Alright, alright... What does this mean, then?"

"I don't know. Luna's working on it."

"Alright... We'll leave her to that, then. One problem at a time. Do you know who it is? Is she in any sort of danger, do you think?"

"I do know her, yes. She's very bright, and I think that she's still safe, but I'm still worried."

"That's good. Look, I'm gonna come home and we can talk more then, alright?"

"Alright."

"I'll be there soon. Love you." I closed the call and put my phone back in my pocket. I sighed a soft expletive.

"Is... everything alright?" asked Sarah, starting towards me.

"Mmm... Kinda. I gotta head home though. Gonna have to postpone our little meeting, sorry." I grumbled as I left the table. I walked over to Timmy and said, "Hold the fort, I gotta take off."

"What? You're leaving?"

"Family emergency." I lied.

"Oh, damn. Alright, hope everything's ok."

I left as soon as I was able and jogged home. Celestia said this... 'whoever' was pretty smart, so she should know enough to keep herself out of trouble. I just didn't want Celestia to worry.

Celestia stood up in a rush as I entered. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I..." It wasn't important. "So who are we looking for?"

"The one who has entered this world is a notorious thief known as Red Shadow. She followed me into this world in order to escape capture."

"A thief?"

"That's right. She is, although I would not like to admit it, incredibly crafty and talented. She's evaded my guards for many months."

"Kinda smart to come here. They can't follow her. How'd she even know about this world?"

"We don't know. Luna's assumption is that she was merely looking for an escape route and found the crystal mirror."

"What was she doing in the castle?"

"I... I don't know. We don't have time to discuss this now, we must find her as soon as possible." She reached up and grabbed a handful of her long hair. "If she's anything like my guards and I, her hair will be a deep crimson and she will have a diamond on each of her shoulders. Unfortunately, she has been concealing herself from our view using magic. The most my sister could provide is a general location. We must find her on our own."

"Magic? I thought you couldn't use magic here."

"The spell I used on the crystal mirror has created a stronger connection to Equestria."

Interesting, though I didn't really understand. "So... where do we need to go?"

"When I last spoke with Luna, she said that she has been heading east. She can't have gotten too far and I doubt she'll leave town."

I nodded. "East..." East from where I lived made up the rest of the town. I had no clue where to start. "Maybe she's looking for someplace to stay. Her options are limited. I have no idea where she could be."

"Being careful is one of her strong points. Thankfully, her own skills will be her undoing. As long as she keeps using her concealment magic, I can find her. If we get close enough, I'll be able to sense it. I just hope she doesn't get into trouble before we find her."

"Yeah. Come on, get your shoes. Let's go."

I really need to talk to Celestia.

Author's Note

Removed 6/11/19
All meaningful content in this chapter have been placed into other surrounding chapters. If I were to delete this chapter, it could risk deleting comments associated with it.