Celestia's New World

October 30

Distant shouting broke my slumber. I recognized Celestia's voice, but couldn't make out the words.

I was laying on the basement floor. The carpet was digging into my chin, leaving an itchy imprint. I pushed myself over to my back and stared up at nothing, still dazed.

As I came to my senses, I could feel an annoying headache. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any other side effects. None that I could see, at least. I slowly stood, bracing myself on the desk. It seemed like it was wearing off. If Celestia was yelling at Red, then it must be the same night. Doesn't seem too useful a drug if it wears off in less than a few hours. I must not have taken a full dose.

I really thought things had been going well with Red. Guess not...

Well, time to confront reality.

With my contaminated water jug in hand, I made my way up the stairs. If I didn't deal with it now, I'd forget about and take another drink later. The arguing died down as I neared the closed door. They must hear my footsteps. There was nothing but silence on the other side as I grabbed the handle.

Celestia stood above Red who was sitting on the couch. There was a noticeable red mark around her left wrist. Both of them stared directly at me. Red's eyes were wide. She briefly glanced at the jug in my hands before looking back up to me. Both of them were taking in slow breaths. From what I could see, Celestia must've chased after Red after she left. What happened after must've left them both out of breath. I can only hope they didn't cause too much commotion. The last thing we want is for the police to be involved.

Celestia didn't say a word. She had a strange look on her face. I didn't know what it meant. Maybe she was just worried about me.

I didn't understand. Why did Red do this? Why did she feel the need to do this? Did she not like me? She said I was nice. She was nice, too. I just can't wrap my head around it. I didn't know what to say to her.

"D-Don't hurt me!" she squeaked.

I blinked. What? Did she think I would? Is that who she thought I was? I made sure to keep my distance from her so I didn't scare her, though I didn't back away.

"Phil, what should we do about this?" asked Celestia. She sounded worried. I didn't know if the worry was for me or for Red. She's never encountered this part of me before. She's never seen me angry.

I didn't have any answers for her. Celestia asked me what we should do... Why would she ask me? She rules an entire country, punishing criminals is part of the job. And yet she asked me what we should do.

"Phil?" she asked again.

"I don't know." I replied. It was the truth. I didn't know how to react to this. I'm still at a loss for words. I thought about lashing out at her. Verbally, of course. I had a good reason, I knew that very well. Red knew it too. Not even Celestia knew what I would do. I think the thought frightened her. After all, Red was her subject. It was Celestia's duty to protect her.

They had nothing to fear. I would never hurt Red. It just wasn't in me to punish her like that. Celestia might want to punish Red, but she wouldn't condone violence under any circumstances. None of this felt right to me. I wanted to go back to sleep and forget this ever happened. But I couldn't ignore this. There was no way. This is not a normal situation by any means. At the very least, I didn't want to hurt her.

I looked to Celestia. She didn't offer any words of support. Maybe she just wanted to see what I would do. I let out a long sigh as I focused my gaze on Red. "I don't know what we should do with you."

"I-I'm sorry."

"I know... I know. I'm just... I'm not happy that you've put me into this position." I wasn't as angry as I could've been. I think I was just... disappointed. Like a parent would be disappointed at a child who misbehaved. "I thought things were going well, Red. Why would you do something like this?"

She looked right at me. "I wanted to get away. I thought about it, I really did. I weighed my options and I was really considering staying... but... anything is better than prison, even this world. With you... unable to follow me..." She looked down. "I thought I could get away."

"So you came with us just to leave?" I asked.

"I didn't! It wasn't a decision I made lightly. It was a risk, I knew that from the start. It was a risk to come with you and it was a risk to... to leave."

Celestia had remained quiet. She's usually very talkative around me, so I felt a little lonely as I spoke with Red.

"Stay here for a moment." I said to Red, remembering the jug in my hands.

She didn't respond as I stepped into the kitchen to empty it. It was a simple matter to pour it into the sink. When it was empty, I set it onto the counter. Footsteps. Celestia, no doubt.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I don't know. I don't feel alright. None of this feels right at all. What would you do, Celestia?"

"I would lock her in the basement to prevent her from escaping again."

"She won't try to leave again."

"How can you be sure?"

"I trust her. She won't leave."

"Do you really?"

I thought about it for a long time, staring at Celestia as I did. "I do."

"You've trusted her before. How can you trust her again after this? She poisoned you, Phil... Don't you care?"

She was getting upset. Maybe I could calm her down. "I was talking with her just before she left. She's scared, Celestia. She's scared her life will end if she's sent to prison. At least, that's what it felt like. Getting angry about it isn't going to solve anything. Even if I got angry, yelled at her, locked her up... It wouldn't accomplish anything. She isn't from my world, she's from yours. I can't. I just can't."

"I..." She hesitated. "I understand. If you're choosing to forgive her, I'll respect your wishes."

Celestia didn't trust her. There was no way she did and no reason she should. I don't blame her. Red doesn't deserve her trust. Even so, I won't turn my back on her.

Is it naive of me to think that everyone from Equestria is trustworthy? My Little Pony is a kid's show. Then again, I've never seen Red Shadow in the show.

Red stared at me as I entered the front room. She hadn't moved at all.

"Go downstairs. I'll deal with this in the morning." I said, pointing to the basement door.

She nodded, and without a word, stood and moved downstairs, keeping her distance from me. I closed the door behind her. I took in a deep breath before moving to the couch where she was sitting and collapsing onto it.

Celestia stepped towards me. There was a short hesitation before she sat next to me, a concerned look on her face. "Are you alright?" she asked again.

"I feel..." I paused. "Empty."

"Empty? What do you mean?"

"I just... I don't feel anything."

"Anything?"

"I feel trapped. Like I can't do anything."

"Why?"

I shook my head. "I can't get angry at a frightened stray that snaps at people that get too close. I don't want to be angry at her. But I am. She doesn't deserve any extra punishment. I can't do anything with these feelings. I can't bring myself to really be angry at someone who had no intention of hurting me. I can't just send her to a corner, she's not a child. I wouldn't even know where to begin with her."

"Perhaps... if you are looking for an outlet... you could turn your anger towards me." she offered.

"You? Celestia..."

"I know that you are being kind to her for my sake. You don't want to worry me by feeling anger towards my subject. Perhaps I could take your aggression in her stead."

"Celestia... I could never be angry at you."

The corners of her mouth turned up in a tiny smile as she bashfully looked away. "Yes... I know."

I'm sure it wasn't her intention to make such a cute face, but just seeing her smile brightened my mood.

She sighed. "I have mixed feelings about this as well. I don't want to unduly punish one of my subjects, but doing this to someone I love... Doing this to you... I don't want to sit on the side and do nothing."

"I know, Celestia. I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"Maybe. Maybe not. How about you, Celestia?"

"Hmm?"

"How are you feeling? I know I'm putting you through a lot right now. I'm making a lot of dumb decisions."

"No, no, no... Don't say that. You aren't a child, you don't need to ask me every time you want to do something. You have just as much of a right to make your decisions as I do mine. I don't want to change how you think. I don't want you to value yourself any less than you value me." Like a hawk, she pinpointed the source of my doubts.

It makes me so happy to hear her say that in her sweet voice. "I'm sorry, Celestia. You know I'm only saying that because I love you."

"You mean a lot, Phil. You mean a lot to me. Are you sure we should just leave her down there?" She changed the direction of the conversation at a good time.

"It'll be fine. She's not going anywhere."

"Ok, if you say so, honey... You know, we'll just have to find her again if she does leave."

"I know. You look tired."

Celestia leaned back against the couch. "I had to use magic to stop her. It certainly took its toll on me. Using magic outside of my pony body is exhausting. I'm impressed Red Shadow managed to hide herself for so long."

"You should rest."

"What about you? What are you going to do? Are you coming to bed, as well?"

"I don't know. I think I wanna keep an eye on the front room tonight, so I'll sleep out here."

"Not with me?"

"Not tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be lonely without you."

"I'm sorry, Celestia."

She reached out to me and squeezed my hand as she leaned against me. She sighed. There was a pause. "I want you to promise me something, alright? It's about Red Shadow."

I looked to her.

"She might not have made the best decisions, but I want you to promise me that you won't hurt her, alright?"

"Don't worry, I promise."

She gave me a small smile. After a while, she reached down to the side of the couch and retrieved the blanket that had been pushed aside. With it, she covered our laps. I just smiled at her.

"I didn't want you to go to bed alone." she said.

I gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. She smiled her special smile. In just a few short minutes, she managed to lift my spirits. It wasn't long before the two of us were snuggling on the couch. My back was against the couch while my chest was pressed against her, my arm draped over her side. Sleeping next to her is so much better than sleeping alone.

I cracked my eyes one last time to glare at the basement door. The only sound I could hear was Celestia's gentle breathing. Red wasn't going anywhere.

With Celestia in my arms like this, it was difficult for me to think about anything else. Her hair still smelled like strawberries.

I still had on my work clothes. And we forgot to brush our teeth.

October 31 - Halloween

My alarm woke me up today. Seems like forever since that's happened. Celestia grumbled as I reached for my phone on the table in front of us. I couldn't tell if she woke up. Eventually, after poking her shoulder enough times, she stirred awake.

A small smile replaced her tired look as she turned her head to greet me. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes with a hand, then giggled as I poked her again.

"Come on, I can barely feel my arm." I joked.

"You're so warm." she replied, snuggling against me.

I gently squeezed her in my arms. "Are you hungry?"

She smiled. "You know me so well."

Food was the only way to get free. Still, it was a short while before she finally got up.

Sleeping on the couch... I had an unpleasant crick in my neck. As I lifted myself, I stretched out, then gave my head a twist in both directions to crack it. I felt a little better, but not much. Celestia watched as I stood up, a gentle smile on her face.

I yawned. "Cereal?"

"Perfect."

I smiled at her before walking into the kitchen to make the two of us breakfast. All I had was Frosted Flakes. Celestia loved Frosted Flakes. They're really sweet, just like her. I brought the bowls into the front room and set them on the coffee table, then made a second trip for the cereal bag in case we wanted more. Celestia always wanted more.

The clinking of our metal spoons against the glass bowls and our breathing were the only sounds we made for a long time. Celestia soon poured herself a second bowl of cereal, then a third. I had to get more milk for her. When I came back, she was eating out of my bowl. She didn't have a care in the world. This was nice. It was peaceful.

I needed to talk to Red. Not right now, though. Celestia was too happy. We have time. Celestia probably wasn't even thinking of her right now. She had food to keep her occupied. When she was finished, I cleaned our bowls and put them into the sink.

Celestia smiled as I returned to her. We leaned against each other without a word. I wrapped my arm around her. We were just sitting together. This was nice.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" she asked after a short while.

"Yeah."

She sighed. "This facade was nice while it lasted, don't you think? It's not healthy to be kept waiting like this. Go speak with her."

"Alright. Be right back."

I stood and approached the basement door. "Coming down." I called, knocking.

No response. She'd better be down there.

I opened the door and walked down. The light was on. I stopped on the bottom step. Thankfully, she was still there. "Red?"

She looked to me.

"You don't look too good." I stepped to the ground. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"I don't know."

"Look, Red..." I had to say something meaningful or I'd never get anywhere. I didn't exactly have a speech prepared. Guess I'll just wing it. "If you're worried that I'm going to do something to you, you can stop. I'm not planning to punish you for this."

"Really?" It didn't sound like she believed me.

"I'm sure you were listening to us while we spoke to each other up there."

"I heard some of it."

"So you know why I'm telling you this."

"What if I had lied?"

"Lied?"

"I told you why I did what I did. What if I lied? What if I didn't care about going to prison? What if I was just toying with you? You don't know me. You don't know anything about me." She started to stand. "And I seriously hate how you're going on about how you don't want to 'punish' me. You're acting like you're better than me because you're ignoring what I did." She closed in on me, furious.

"Hey, I came down here to say that I forgive you. The least you could do is pretend that you care."

"So what? I don't want your forgiveness. What, I'm supposed to stay here and go to jail like the good little pony I am because I'm your 'friend'?"

"I'm not in control of that." I replied, irritated that she would rebuff my forgiveness.

"So the bad guy goes to jail and everybody gets a happy ending?"

"Red come on, you're not a bad guy."

"Yeah, so what? You don't even care about me. You just wanna get rid of me so you can be alone with your Princess."

That... is an entirely different matter. "That's not true, Red. I don't know how this must feel for you, but you do not belong in this world."

"And she does? What's so special about her?"

"Uh..."

"Don't answer that." She scowled. "Why did we talk like that if you only cared about me going back?"

"Why did we talk like that if you were going to knock me out and run off anyways?" I shot back at her.

"I..." She paused for a short while. The ferocity started to drain from her face. "I don't..." Her voice was starting to shake. To my surprise, her eyes started to water. "I... I don't... I don't wanna to go to jail." She sniffed. "I don't want t-to go t-to jaa-aiil!" she wailed..

She took a step towards me before her body collapsed against mine.

"Geez, Red..." I let out. I wrapped my arms around her in a sympathetic hug. It certainly wasn't enough to hold her in place, just enough to let her know that I was there. She broke down at the first sign of aggression. Is she lying again? Did she ever lie at all? It doesn't matter to me. I couldn't turn away a crying lady.

"I was... I was having fun being a thief. Kinda... sounds stupid, right? But it was so exciting. I'm too young to go to jail. I'm sorry, Phil... I didn't mean for this to happen to you. You're really nice and..." She sniffed. "And you went through the trouble of forgiving me and all I did was get angry. I don't deserve your friendship."

It seemed like she was trying to stop crying, but only managed to quiet her wailing into sobbing against my shoulder.

I think it's time to take a page from the book of Pinkie Pie. This seems to work a lot in the show, so maybe it'll work here too. "Oh come on, that's not true. Everyone deserves a friend. You just made a mistake, is all." To try to cheer her up, I spoke in a cheerful tone.

She sniffed again. "You don't really think that."

"Of course I do, Red. If I'm willing to be your friend after all this, then it's up to you to be willing to be my friend, too." Too pushy. Still, I said what I wanted.

She chuckled. Her arms lifted around my back. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it. You know Red, you might be here for a while. I bet if you tried enough, you could make friends with Celestia too."

"I don't know. After what happened, she might not think too highly of me."

"She'll come around."

"Phil, what is going on down here?" I heard my girlfriend's unmistakable voice from behind me.

Red let out a shocked squeak and pushed me away. "Nothing, Your Highness!" she exclaimed, clearing her eyes with her hands.

I turned to Celestia. I thought perhaps she would be mad or otherwise upset at me for getting personal with Red like this, but it just seemed like she was... confused. I didn't understand.

"Looks like you two have finally made up." she said.

"Y-Yeah." Red got out.

"That's good."

She stared at us for a short while longer before turning around and walking right back up the stairs.

"Uh... Sorry." Red whispered to me.

I sighed. "Well, this could lead anywhere."

"Good... uh... Good luck." she encouraged.

Celestia could very well be upset with me. Not something I was happy to say. She had lots of reasons to be angry right now, my poor decision making being the cause of all of them. I walked upstairs and closed the door. Celestia was in the kitchen with her hands on the counter, leaning over it. I joined her.

"Um... Celestia?"

She looked to me, then back down to the counter, avoiding me.

"You ok?" I asked, a little more concerned about her odd behavior over my own situation.

Her head popped up and turned to me. "Do you have any idea how it felt to see that as I walked down? Any idea at all? I couldn't believe my eyes." She got off the counter and stepped towards me. "At first I thought that there was no way you were holding her. Then I got angry! 'How dare he do this behind my back?' I asked myself. But it wasn't behind my back, nothing was even happening. I could hear you from the front room, I already knew. Still, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a look for myself. It wasn't hard to see what was going on, you were just being a friend towards her. But in my mind, walking in on my boyfriend holding another woman threw all my sensibilities in the trash. Oh, I got jealous! I got so, so, so jealous!"

"Celestia."

"And the very next moment after I got angry I knew exactly what you were doing. So was I going to shout at you? Of course not! It would've been so petty of me to stay angry at you for that! We've talked about this so much, we've gone over this so many times. Yes, I know I get jealous easily, but that doesn't mean that it's justifiable when I do. I can't just keep you from other women! It's not fair to you. I can't..."

"Celestia!" I repeated, louder.

"What?" The fight immediately left her cute face.

Her sudden outburst left me in shock, but now I understood what she meant. I took in a breath. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too, honey." She frowned. "I'm still mad at you, though."

"I'm not apologizing for trying to help my friends." I crossed my arms to emphasise my point.

"I know, honey. I won't expect you to. It wouldn't be right of me. But what am I supposed to do when all you think about is other women?"

"I... I don't know." I didn't have anything to say. It didn't matter how I tried to twist it, she was completely right. She was twisting it a bit, too. She's just lucky she's so cute.

She waited for a short while. I don't know if she expected me to say something else, but ultimately, she spoke next. "Maybe... I can learn to put this behind me. I don't want to be mad at you, honey. And I don't want you to be mad at me either. But the positions we're finding ourselves in are putting a strain on this relationship."

She keeps using 'us' and 'we' as if it weren't my fault entirely. Maybe it wasn't, I don't know. I know she feels guilty about it too. She doesn't like when I talk down about myself or put myself beneath her. I've been trying to work on that, but years of self-esteem issues and self-deprecating humor won't disappear overnight. It's hard to compare myself to the woman I loved.

"I know you're not doing anything, Phil. You would never. I trust you. But I still don't like it. Especially concerning Sarah."

"Sarah? I kinda thought you'd be more worried about Red 'cause she's stuck here anyways."

"Red Shadow is different. She'll stay with us together. Not only have I not met this Sarah, but you meet with her while I'm not with you."

"I was gonna ask her to stop by yesterday, but something got in the way."

"Indeed."

"I don't think it would be a good idea to invite her over with Red hanging around."

"Why not?"

"I dunno, I just... don't wanna deal with both of them right now."

"I suppose. Very well. Hopefully, this matter will be resolved soon. My sister is trying to find a way to travel between worlds without the aid of the crystal mirror. It is not an easy task, but if she succeeds, we could send Red Shadow home early. Afterwards, it will be just us."

I smiled. "That sounds nice."

"Honey."

Serious Celestia voice. I perked up and faced her, ready to listen.

"I'm sorry that I'm making this so difficult for you."

"It's alright, honey. I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too. I can't believe you kept your composure even after all this. I thought you'd be mad at Red Shadow, but you dealt with it far differently than how I would have. We're so different, but I still love you."

"I'm sure the only reason I forgave her was because she was from Equestria, like you. I'd trust anyone from Equestria, good or bad."

She chuckled. "That's foolish of you."

"It's my kind of foolish."

"I suppose it is." She sighed. "I don't like arguing with you."

"What?"

"You're so sweet, you shouldn't have to deal with an emotionally unstable woman like me."

I brought my hand to my mouth to stifle a laugh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Well... you are a little unstable, honey."

"Hey!"

"You're the one that said it."

"You didn't have to agree with me! It was a joke!"

"I did laugh."

She smiled, then began to giggle. "I guess you did. Maybe I am a little unstable. But... do you really think so?"

"No, no."

"Thank you. Oh, I'm not used to having such a complacent boyfriend."

"Well, would you prefer we argued all the time?"

She shook her head. "Of course not." I just smiled. She seemed satisfied with the outcome.

"I think the worst part about making you angry at me is that I can't really do anything to make it up to you." I said.

"Can't you?"

"Anything I could do, I would've done it even if you weren't angry. It wouldn't be special."

"You're special. That's all that matters to me."

"What an emotional roller coaster this has been... I'm glad I got to ride it with you."

"Oh, Philly..."

I sighed. "We gotta take a vacation."

"I'm already on a vacation."

"Huh... Maybe we should go on a vacation."

"What do you mean?"

"Go out, stay at a hotel, eat some fancy food, swim in the pool, all the good stuff. Just the two of us."

If she was still a pony, I'm sure her ears would've perked right up.

I continued. "There's a tourist town not too far up north, the Dells. It's my family's favorite place to go, we used to head up there like once a year. It might not be as nice as Canterlot, but I'm sure you'd love it. There's all sorts of amusement parks and water parks too, indoors and out."

"An indoor water park? I've never been. Oh, I'd love to go swimming as a human. It sounds so fun!"

"You're gonna have to get a swimsuit before we go, though. And not some trash from Wal-Mart, you already ripped two of your bras."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault. You were too rough on them."

"It was a group effort, then."

"No it wasn't! How can you blame me for that?"

"They're your boobs."

"I didn't ask for them to be this big."

I kinda did. "I wonder what your cup size really is. Maybe a G-cup. Or maybe more. Or... less."

"I... don't really understand what that means."

"Big and squishy."

"Yes, that sounds right."

"I know that some women have trouble finding properly fitting bras. We have to get you measured sometime so you can wear bras your size."

"I'd like that. The straps dig into my shoulders. Sometimes I even keep on the one I came here with. It... always happens to be in the drawer when I need it." She raised an eyebrow at me, evidently suspicious of my laundering.

"It's a shame it doesn't have any tags though, that'd make it easy to find you more. It'd help getting you swimwear as well. I don't think you can wear a bikini in public, though."

"What's a bikini?"

"It's like underwear, but for swimming."

"What does that mean? Why couldn't I wear it?"

"You're too curvy. It'll accentuate your cleavage too much."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"In public, it can be."

"Why?"

"Well, it might not be that big of a deal, but I... Well... I just don't want other guys to look at you like that."

She let out a very long, "Ooohhh?"

"What?"

"I knew I wasn't the only one who was jealous! I was worried for a bit." She laughed. "You told me you were, but I didn't take it seriously at the time. I thought it was just something you were saying to make me happy. You really do want me all to yourself. That's why you didn't want to tell your friends, isn't it?"

"Uh... Yeah, kinda." Also I didn't want to go through the effort again. Neither did the writer.

She smiled, looking pleased with herself. "So how 'like underwear' is it?"

"The shape really isn't too different from your bra and panties."

"Is that so? Is it... often worn with other clothing?"

"No, usually just the swimwear."

"My... A bikini is actually starting to sound... risqué."

"Plus you'd need a good-fitting set, otherwise your boobs could slip out when you're swimming."

"Oh, I imagine that would be bad."

I nodded. "There are other types of swimwear for women, of course. Types that cover more skin. You can pick what you like."

"Where's the fun in covering up?" she joked, "Still, it seems strange to me. I've never worn anything when I swam in Equestria."

"Well, you can't swim naked."

"I know! I wasn't planning to. Maybe a little... B-But only with you!"

"You shouldn't get swimwear just because it's sexy, Celestia. That's what lingerie is for."

"Explain."

She fell for it hook, line, and sinker, as if she knew it was a setup. No 'I'm not familiar' or even 'We have that in Equestria'. Simply, 'Explain'. "Lacy, form fitting panties and bras."

"Perfect. I need some."

"That was fast." Having had enough of this subject, I said, "How about this... We can go swimsuit shopping after Red leaves. We can get you measured, get you some proper undies, and get you some sexy sleepwear. Sound good?"

She nodded, a particularly cute smile on her face, as if she were proud of herself for getting more clothes from me. I'm starting to think that Celestia was a woman. Women like clothes, right? It's all coming together... She looked down at her chest. "How would you even measure these... things?"

"Measuring tape."

"Oh."

"You sound disappointed."

"I thought there was... some sort of specialty tool for it. In that case, couldn't you measure me now?"

"I don't have any measuring tape."

"There are other ways of measuring around something."

"True. But we'll save that for later, alright?"

She smiled at me. "Alright, honey. Isn't it about time for you to leave?"

"You know the rules. I always have exactly enough time to finish our conversation before I go to work."

"Phil, we're not supposed to say that. Besides, pointing out plot holes doesn't make your work any better, most just find it lazy."

"I am lazy."

"I know. That's why I love you."

Just before I left for work, I told Celestia, "Try to be nice to Red while I'm gone. And be sure to give me a call if something happens."

"Alright, I will. See you soon. I love you."

I smiled at her before wrapping my arms around and kissing her. After I pulled away, I said, "I love you, too."

She was blushing as we pulled apart. Maybe she wasn't used to being so personal yet. I don't know. She's cute when she blushes. She's cute when she doesn't. She's just cute.