Celestia's New World

November 3

As soon as we got to the road leading us out of town, Celestia seemed to get excited.

"Oh, I remember this street!" she said, admiring the scenery of the... trees, "We had to go this way to help your friend get home."

"Yeah, that's right. That was so long ago."

"I seem to remember something else happening after he left..." she said with a giggle.

"Right..."

"This is the furthest I've been from the city so far. It's beautiful... The smell, not so much." She laughed. There was a distinct skunk-like smell in the air. Probably a skunk.

Celestia's eyes wandered from side-to-side, taking in the sights. Having traveled this road many times, I knew that there was nothing special to see. It was all farmland out here. Maybe she liked that. She didn't know what was out here. I certainly wouldn't spoil the surprise for her.

I had to cross the river to reach my grandma's house. For the rest of the trip, the river would be just to our left. During the rainy season, this road was often covered with water. Thankfully, it was clear today.

I noticed that her gaze was fixed on the river. It wasn't much of a spectacle, and the trees kept blocking her view, but she was having fun, which was all that mattered.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"Oh, the... I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"The river, I suppose. This is all so new to me."

"Fun, ain't it?"

"Yeah."

"You know, one of these days I gotta teach you how to drive."

"Teach me... how to drive? You mean... how to drive a car?"

"Well, what else would I mean, silly?"

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"No, no... Well yes, but no."

"Yes?"

"It can be dangerous if you don't know how. That's why I want to teach you."

"I've... never really thought about it. Do you think I could?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'd be a great driver. Knowing me though, I'm gonna forget about this. I definitely don't want to force you to learn."

She let out a nervous chuckle. There was a short pause before she spoke. "Who do you think is going to be there?"

"My brothers and sisters, most likely."

"What about your parents? Are they busy?"

"My dad doesn't usually show up for gatherings on this side of the family. And since my mom passed away, I doubt she'll show up either."

"Your mother... passed? My goodness... I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, honey. That's life. That's what all the people say."

"Well... If it's any consolation... my parents are also gone."

"Yeah, Luna told me."

"My sister did?"

"That's not much of a consolation at all, actually."

"Oh, no, no, no... I mean... They died a long time ago... I... You understand, right? Please tell me you understood what I was trying to say."

"Yeah, I understood. You're cute when you're flustered."

"Oh, shush."

It wasn't difficult to travel to my grandma's house. I turned down another road after we got into town and we were there in just a few minutes.

"There it is." I said, parking alongside the curb across the street. I saw two cars in the driveway and two in the street, but I didn't know whose cars they were. "That one." I pointed across the street.

"It's a cute house. Looks bigger than yours."

"Gee thanks, Celestia."

"No, I didn't..." She grumbled. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"Of course they will. You're the nicest person I know. Besides, you're my little sunflower, aren't you?"

"There's that name again. It makes my heart flutter when you say it like that, honey..."

I smiled at her. "Are you ready, Celestia?"

"I'm nervous."

"Nervous? You?"

She nodded. She looked embarrassed, which I thought was really cute.

"Don't worry, honey. They'll love you."

She put on a warm smile. "Perhaps you're right."

"Oh, darn."

"Hmm?"

"Ah... It's just... the meal she's serving. I'm sure it's meat. I... should've picked something up for you. I wasn't thinkin'."

"There will be other food, right?"

"Well, yeah. Probably Potatoes and stuffing and stuff."

"I'll just eat that."

"Well... alright. Let me know if... uh... you feel uncomfortable with anything."

She nodded. The two of us got out of the car. I waited for Celestia on my side of the car.

"Phil?"

"Yes?"

"I'm already uncomfortable." She chuckled. "But... I think I know how you can help."

"Hmm?"

Our eyes met. Hers flicked to her outstretched hand. I grabbed on with a smile. Together, the two of us walked across the street and up the sidewalk leading to the door. I opened the door for us and stepped inside, Celestia following close behind. A pleasant smell of cooking food filled the air.

I'm sure they had been watching us walk up through the kitchen window.

"Hi Phil!" my grandmother said in a welcoming voice as she saw me. She was a short, thin woman in her seventies that still looked quite young despite her diet of soda and cigarettes. She always wore her grey-blonde hair short.

"Nice of you to drop by." said my younger sister, Katie, a taller woman with dyed-green hair.

"Hi Gamma!" I replied, walking up and hugging her. She was tiny, even smaller than Luna, so I had to bend down to do it.

"Did you get bigger since the last time you were here?" she asked, hugging me back.

"No, you just shrunk."

She gave me a sarcastic, "Thanks."

"So you're his new girlfriend?" asked Katie, talking to Celestia.

"That's right. My name is Celestia. I'm Phil's... girlfriend. It's nice to finally meet a part of his family." She still sounded nervous. It was kinda weird. Celestia didn't have any reason to be nervous. She's the Princess of Equestria, nothing should make her nervous. Maybe I just didn't understand how she felt. Well, I definitely didn't understand how she felt, I already knew that.

"Oh... Wow... I love your hair."

"Thank you. Yours is quite nice, as well."

"Thanks. It's nice to meet you, I'm Katie."

"I hope you're better than his last girlfriend. I heard she was a real bitch." said my grandmother, as eloquent as ever, "Oh, I'm Sue. We talked on the phone."

"That's right. It's great to meet you in person." Celestia replied with a smile.

"It's great to meet you, too. It was a real surprise hearing a woman's voice on the other side."

"Who else is here?" I asked.

"Just Heather. And Lily. Your brothers were busy."

"Alright. C'mon, Celestia. Down here." I waved her over as I started towards the stairs.

She smiled as she followed behind. My sister and grandmother watched her as she moved, curious about the goddess in human form that had entered their house.

The stairs creaked loudly as we walked down, no doubt alerting the people in the basement.

As I got to the bottom, there was a loud, "Philly!" A woman ran to me and greeted me with a big hug, which I was happy to reciprocate. My sister Heather, a cheerful lady. "It's been a while. How have... Oh my god! Are you Phil's girlfriend?"

Celestia smiled. "That's right. My name is Celestia."

"I'm Heather, I'm Phil's older sister." Her eyes were wide. Eventually, she stopped staring and said, "I didn't think Phil would get a real girlfriend anytime soon. Especially one like you."

"Rude." I said, "Where's Lily?"

"Oh, she's over with Rick." she replied, gesturing to them.

"I'm gonna say hi to her."

I left the two of them to chat while I stepped over to the computer desk in the corner where my niece Lily was playing. Though she was wearing headphones, she quickly noticed me.

She waved at me, a smile on her face. "Hi, Philly!"

"Hi, Lily!" I cheerfully replied.

She giggled. We waved at each other for a small while longer before she returned to her game. It was probably some Frozen dress-up game with Let It Go blaring in the background. She loved that song, much to our annoyance. It's a good song, but hearing it on repeat for hours on end isn't healthy.

On another computer near her, my great-uncle Rick was watching a video on youtube. He seemed busy, so I turned back for Celestia.

Though Heather was shorter than Katie, she was taller than my grandmother, who was about as tall as her brother. Lily still had a few more years to go until she passed grandma, but was quite tall for her young age.

"Have you played Cards Against Humanity?" Heather asked Celestia, continuing their conversation as I got back.

"No, I haven't." she answered.

"You wouldn't like it." I said, "It's full of dark humor."

"I can enjoy... dark humor. Sometimes."

"Nah, you still wouldn't like it."

"Ok." she said with a smile, taking my word for it.

"Well, how do you know if she wouldn't like it if she hasn't played?" Heather asked.

"Celestia has a pure, innocent heart. She'd never like something as dark as Cards Against Humanity."

"Phil, you know that isn't true." said Celestia, "But, if he doesn't think I would enjoy it, I probably wouldn't. He knows what's best for me."

"What about Apples to Apples?" Heather asked.

"Hmm?"

"Never played it, either?"

"No, I don't think so."

"That one you'd love." I said.

"Oh! Can we play?" she asked with a smile.

"We gotta rake first." I said, "But we can play right after."

"Does your friend want to help? Maybe she can take Katie's place in the kitchen. Are you any good around an oven?"

Celestia glanced at me for a short while before saying, "I... suppose I could help if I were needed."

"No, I got it!" Katie called from upstairs.

"Guess not." said Heather.

"C'mon Celestia, let's go see the back yard. You don't gotta rake if you don't want to." I said, turning back to the stairs, "I'm gonna start a fire."

The three of us walked back upstairs and out the back door to the connected garage. Katie joined us after we got upstairs. We walked next to the car and out the back door. The backyard was larger than mine, though it was average for the city. Various pieces of wood were stacked in the back on pallets along the chest-high metal fence. Small trees and other plants covered the back fence, blocking most of the view to the neighbor's yard behind us. It was quite a nice looking yard to someone like me.

I started work on the fire. With a copious amount of paper recycling to use as a fire starter, the only thing stopping me was the unusually active wind. I piled some logs over a layer of paper in our fire pit, a metal bowl about a foot or so off the ground with a tall cage around it. I did not know the proper name for it, so I can only hope my riveting description can fill the void I have so carelessly left in your hearts. Unfortunately, with no organization to the wood, it wouldn't start.

"Phil, get a rake." said Katie, noticing my inactivity.

"You get a rake." I rebutted.

"Phil, get me a rake." she said, subtly changing her order.

"Okie dokie." I moved to the shed, which was connected to a screen-house of sorts. My grandmother would come here to enjoy the outdoors while reading. It was pretty cozy, if a bit cramped. Inside the shed were three rakes, making the total four with the one I brought.

I got two rakes out. As soon as I passed one to Katie, Heather said, "Me too."

"Okie dokie." I repeated, turning back for the third.

I heard Celestia chuckle.

When I came back out, Celestia was looking to the leaf-filled yard. "This yard... It looks beautiful." she said, smile wide.

"Yeah, it does looks nice." said Heather.

The four of us paused, standing together on the edge of the patio. Celestia's words must've gotten to them, because it was quite a while before anyone said anything.

"Anyways, gotta rake it." Katie said, stepping forward.

"Yep."

Celestia watched as we got to work. This was how it was every year. Our family gathered at our grandmother's house to rake the leaves a few times every fall. We dumped them in the road for the cleaner, ate, played games, then went home. It was always nice spending time with my family. I'm glad Celestia was able to join us. She seemed so happy. After a while, we were joined by Lily.

"Hey, I seriously love your hair." said Katie, "How'd you get that color to line up like that?"

"I visited a stylist, of course." she replied without hesitating.

"Where do you go? I gotta know."

Celestia chuckled. "My stylist operates out of an establishment known as the Carousel Boutique. It's quite a journey away."

"Why did you... pick that hairstyle? If I might ask. Don't get me wrong, I think it looks great on you, it's just pretty weird."

"I like it." she answered, smiling.

Katie seemed disappointed.

"Can I... help?" asked Celestia.

We looked to her.

"Yeah, alright. One sec." I said. I walked over to them and set the rake up against Katie's body. "Hold that, I gotta get something from the car."

"Gee, thanks."

I went back out front to retrieve the rake I brought. I tried to trade with Katie as I got back.

"No, I want this one." She pulled it away.

"You're just gonna stand there and watch us."

"I'm gonna watch you get hit by a rake is what I'm gonna watch."

"Whatever." I turned to Celestia. "Here ya go. Have fun."

She took it, examined it, then looked back at me, a small smile on her face. I didn't completely understand why she was so excited to work, but if it made her happy, I was happy.

"I'm gonna go check on my grandma. Be right back." I said.

I rested my rake against the back of the garage as I walked inside. With the stove on, it was warmer inside than it was outside. A strong smell of cooking food had filled the air.

"Having fun?" I asked.

She was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine. "Having a blast." she said, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just came in to check on ya."

"Oh, well I'm fine. Katie helped me make the food, now it's just cooking."

"Alright, cool. Hey... Celestia doesn't eat meat. Sorry, I should've mentioned this earlier."

"There's other stuff for her. She can fill up on rolls. Just have her skip the ham."

"That's what she said. I just thought I'd let you know. You know, so you're not offended when she doesn't eat it."

She smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Oh, I bought pie, too. You liked pumpkin pie, right?"

"Uh... Yeah. Kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Well, I... prefer other pie."

She smirked. "You picky little shit. I got apple, too. Do ya like apple? If not, too bad. More for us."

"I like apple. Thank you."

"Food'll be done in about an hour." She said with a smile. "I expect that yard to be raked by then."

"We'll do our best."

"I am not used to this." Celestia said aloud as I walked out. She was still working with the rake, which was a little surprising to me.

"Having fun?" I asked her.

"I am. It's been so long since I've done yard work like this."

"Good, then you can have fun together." said Katie, setting her rake on the ground and pushing the handle towards me.

I jumped back, letting it land on the ground. "You touched it last."

"Have fun with it." She moved to one of the nearby seats and pulled out her phone.

I ignored the rake and took another look at the unlit fire pit.

Celestia joined me. "You seem quite fascinated with making the fire."

"Of course! Starting a fire is a man's romance!" I struck a dramatic pose.

"What?"

"I dunno, I'm sure I heard it from a show... Movie, maybe."

She chuckled. "A man's romance? You're just saying things."

"I'm always saying things."

"I've seen a lot of men claiming something to that effect. I think I've come to understand why."

"Why?" I asked.

"Men are odd."

"Women are odd." I eloquently rebutted.

"She's right." called Katie, "Men are weird."

"I'm with Phil, women are weird." Heather added.

"See, she gets it." I said.

"Get back to work!" Heather called, "Grandma might see you."

"Alright, I'm coming." Katie stood back up, retrieving the rake from the side of the garage instead of picking up the one she dropped.

"I won't be long. I just wanna get this started." I said.

"Hurry up, then."

"You can't rush perfection."

"I'm not rushing perfection, I'm rushing you."

I turned back to the fire pit. Only after employing ancient Zarosian techniques was I able to get the fire started. I rearranged the larger pieces of wood into a triangle and the extra airflow allowed the smaller sticks to catch and stay lit.

After I was satisfied with the fire, I turned to the yard. "Alright, back to raking."

With Celestia's help, it didn't take long at all to work the leaves into a pile. Lily ran around to help, but without a rake of her own, she was left picking up sticks. She wore an adorable pink jacket. Celestia loved watching her run.

Every once in a while, someone jumped into the pile. Usually Lily. We would cover her with leaves only for her to burst out and make a huge mess. Cleaning the mess was worth her laughter. Geez, feels kinda corny saying that.

I tended to the fire every so often, adding sticks and paper at random, but aside from that, I was just raking. It was surprising to see Celestia working through the entire yard with us. She's always really lazy at home. I don't know what's gotten into her.

This was fun.

Just as we were finishing, our group heard from the back door, "Food's ready!"

"Food!" Katie exclaimed, dropping her rake and rushing to the door.

"Come on Lily, time to eat." said Heather, gently grabbing Lily's hand to bring her inside.

Everyone filed through the back door, leaving Celestia and I alone outside.

"What do you think?" I asked her.

"I like them... and they seem to like me."

"They love you."

"So... your last girlfriend was a... bitch, I think your grandmother said?"

"Yeah, she was mean. She's gone now, though. Moved to Italy with her new boyfriend."

"My goodness."

"I'll tell you more about her later, if you're interested. Now's not the time, I don't think."

"No, perhaps not. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

She giggled. "Hmm... Maybe."

I smiled at her.

She sighed. "Perhaps I'll try some of this... meat that your grandmother is serving."

"Really? You don't have to, you know."

"I know. I'm curious. I won't force myself to eat it."

"Well... Alright. If you really want. Make sure you know where the bathroom is, incase things go wrong."

"I'm not going to throw up!" She laughed. "Where is the bathroom, by the way?"

"It's... uh... down the hall in the kitchen. Only door on the... right."

She nodded.

I gave the back yard a quick clean, picking up our rakes and putting them in the shed. The two of us returned to the house, leaving the fire to burn on its own.

When we got inside, everyone was in a seat, aside from my grandmother, who was pouring milk into a few cups. I noticed a shortage in the number of cups on the table

"Us, too." I said.

"Right, I forgot you brought someone."

She reached to the cupboard above the counter and got another cup.

"You got pretty hair." said Lily, who sat next to Heather. She was a smart kid, perfectly capable of correct grammar, but choosing not to because it was funny.

Celestia looked at her and smiled. "Thank you very much. My name is Celestia. What is yours?"

"Lillian!" she said with a smile.

"And how old are you, little one?"

"I'm six!"

"Six! You're so old!"

"No I'm not, you're old."

"Oh, is that so?"

"How old are you, anyways?" asked Heather.

"I'm 27." she replied.

"Older than Phil, huh?"

Celestia just smiled.

I sat at the end of the table closest to the door and patted the seat to my right, looking at Celestia. The table was rectangular, so it was around the corner. She sat and looked to my sisters with a smile. They both looked at her for a short while before returning to their plates.

Katie was next to Celestia while Heather and Lily were on the opposite side of the table, towards the wall.

Celestia's eyes scanned the table, taking in the modest feast before her. I noticed her pausing for a moment as she saw the ham. Her eyes held a subtle glimmer of curiosity, one I've found easier to detect in her over these past few weeks.

As the rest of the family began collecting their food, Celestia gave me a look. I didn't really know what she wanted, so I just shrugged. She's a big girl, she can use her words.

"Could you... get me a piece of ham?" she asked me.

"Yeah, sure." Though I was aware of her stance on eating meat, I supported her decision to leave her comfort zone. I cut a small piece of ham for her with the side of my fork and placed it onto her plate.

She stared at the lone chunk of meat sitting on her plate. So far, it was the only food she had. I could feel that she was uneasy. She had an almost guilty expression on her face. She seemed to be working through some internal issues. Perhaps it was a bad idea to go about this so casually. This probably wasn't the best situation to try something so different.

"Is everything alright, Celestia?" asked Heather.

"She's a vegetarian, Phil said." my grandma responded.

"Oh. Well, don't make her eat it if she doesn't want to."

"I don't want to be rude." said Celestia.

"Oh honey, it's not rude." my grandma reassured, "You don't have to try it on my account."

Celestia poked it with her fork and turned it upside-down. "My stomach feels strange." Moments later, her stomach growled quite loudly, and with it, all of the tension disappeared from her face. She began to giggle as a bright red blush adorned her cheeks. The rest of us joined her infectious laugh. As our little party calmed down, Celestia lifted the ham chunk to her face. She stared at it for a short while before smelling it.

"Are you worried it'll taste bad? 'Cause it's good." I said, taking a bite of my own to prove my point.

"I... don't know."

"Don't force yourself, sweetie." I said, "There's all sorts of food here for you."

"You call her 'sweetie'?" asked Katie.

"Yeah. She's my sweetie." I replied.

"That's kinda cute."

"Shush."

Celestia was still focusing on her fork. "I don't know how I feel. It seems normal enough."

"It is normal." said Katie, "It's just meat."

"Maybe not for someone like her." said Heather.

"I tried being a vegetarian once." Katie said, "I made it like two months before I gave up on it. It was such a strict lifestyle change for me. I couldn't keep up with it."

Celestia was still staring at her piece. "I just... all my life, I never... I've never..."

"Wait, you've never had meat? What are you eating to maintain your figure?"

"Twinkies, mostly."

"Anything else?"

"Not really." I said, "I watch her eat. It's scary, it's like a vacuum."

"You watch her eat?"

"I know what I said."

"That's creepy."

Celestia turned her attention back to her fork. She brought it closer to her mouth, then hesitated. After a few brief moments, she bit into it, taking a piece of it. She chewed it for a long while before swallowing, then lowered the fork to the plate.

"How was it?" I asked. She didn't seem disgusted yet. I had high hopes.

"I don't know what to think." She rubbed her chin with a hand.

"You alright?" I asked her.

"I..."

My phone started ringing. I sighed and pulled it from my pocket. It said Celestia, which meant that Red was calling. I answered. "What's up?"

"Oh wow, I didn't think this'd work. So I just talk into it? Uh... I'm bored, what do I do here?"

"You called to tell me you were bored?"

"You said to call when I needed something."

"I dunno. Figure something out."

"But there's nothing here!"

"You can use the laptop."

"I don't know how. Or anything else about it. What even is it? Nevermind."

"There's a pack of cards downstairs somewhere on my desk."

"Seriously?"

"Well, what do you want from me?"

"Something to do!"

"Who is it?" asked Celestia.

"It's Red. She's bored." I replied.

"Who's Red?" asked Katie.

I waved my hand at her so she knew that I didn't care enough to tell her.

"What?" asked Red.

"I was talking to Celestia."

"Celestia's there? Tell her I said hi!"

"Red says hi."

"Oh. Well, tell her I said hello."

"She says hello back." I relayed to Red.

"Tell her I'm bored."

"You tell her."

"Celestia, I'm bored!" she said.

"She can't hear you."

"What? But you said to tell her! I don't know how this thing works!"

"That's... fair."

"See! You bully."

"Do you wanna talk to Celestia?"

"Uh... sure."

"Celestia, talk to Red." I held out the phone.

She took it with a somewhat surprised, yet cheerful smile on her face. "Hello, Red."

As she spoke, I made sure I had taken some of everything on the table. Celestia seemed to be responding to Red's complaints. She answered similarly to me, though she was much more sympathetic. She gave Red with a short farewell and gave the phone back to me so I could close the call.

"So how's Red?"

"She's bored, Phil. It's not particularly fun being alone like that. Perhaps there's something we could do to help her."

I gave her an understanding nod. Maybe I could find something for them to do. I changed my focus to her plate. It still had the chunk of ham on it, but other food had taken up the empty space.

"Who was that?" Heather asked.

"It was one of Celestia's friends. We call her Red. She's staying with us for a little while."

"Staying with you? Like, the both of you? So you two live together?"

"That's right." said Celestia.

"And... how long has that been going on?"

Celestia looked to me. My turn to answer.

"Past few months." I said. There wasn't much point in lying yet.

"Few months? I had no idea."

"Man, Celestia... you can do a lot better." said Katie.

"Wow, rude." I said.

"Like, a lot better." she continued.

"You're so mean to me."

"So, uh... How... did you meet?" Katie asked.

This was something we should probably should have rehearsed. "We met online." I said.

"You do online dating?"

"Not exactly."

"Oh, so it was one of those mail-order bride things?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Why would you need to go online to find someone?" Heather asked Celestia, "Guys should be lining up to date you."

"I don't get many opportunities to meet men in my position. I don't have a lot of time to myself. Truth be told, many men find me... unapproachable. I used to live in a different world. Now I'm here. With him." She looked to me. "Now everything is better."

I couldn't help but to smile as I met her eyes. Everything is better? That's really nice to say, honey...

Katie looked at me. "Does she owe you something? Did you like save her family or something?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that." Celestia answered.

"Were you at some point a man?"

"No, of course not."

"Hmm... What's 5*5?"

"What? 25. Why?"

"9*8."

"72."

"15*7?"

"105."

"276*47."

Celestia blinked. "Can I have a pen and paper?"

Katie chuckled. "Well, you seem smart enough. You got looks, you got brains..."

"Um... Thank you?" Celestia seemed confused.

"So you must be crazy."

"I'm... not crazy."

"That's exactly what a crazy person would say." I said.

"Whose side are you on?" Celestia turned to me in mock anger.

"I'm on my crazy girlfriend's side."

"So she is crazy?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, she's insane."

"I'm not crazy!"

"You'd have to be to date him." said Katie.

"Well, if you put it like that." said Celestia, a smile on her face.

Katie laughed.

"Grandma, they're bullying me!" I complained.

"Oh, shut up and eat your food." she said, somewhat amused by our antics.

Good idea. Before that, though...

I reached my fork to Celestia's plate and took the piece of meat, popping it into my mouth. "You gonna be alright after that, Celestia?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. I don't think I'll want any more, though."

"Alright. More for us. Did it taste good, at least?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh... Ok."

Celestia reached for her fork and began eating, a warm smile on her face. She seemed especially happy right now. I liked it. Maybe she liked being with my family. Maybe it was something else.

"Mommy, can I go get a juice?" asked Lily.

"Did you already have one?"

"No."

"Then yeah, go ahead."

"Thank you!" she let out before getting up and going down the basement stairs.

Katie was staring at Celestia. I didn't know why, but staring isn't exactly a crime. I sensed mischief from her smile.

Celestia picked up her cup of milk for a drink.

"So did you fuck her?" Katie casually asked.

Celestia spit her milk back into the cup, spilling it onto the table. She started to cough.

"Katie!" I complained.

"Watch your language at the table." warned grandma.

Katie stopped laughing. "Sorry."

Celestia groaned as she retrieved a paper towel to clean her face.

"Gonna be alright?" asked Katie.

"I'm fine." she replied, wiping the spilled milk. She wiped off whatever had gotten onto her shirt, but was dismayed to find that it was still wet.

"Katie, quit bullying my girlfriend."

"It's fine, honey. It's fine." said Celestia, "And yes."

"Yes what?" asked Katie.

"Yes, we do have sex."

"Stop encouraging her." I tried to steer the conversation away from this topic.

"Oh. Gross."

"You asked." I said.

"I didn't think she'd answer."

"Well at least you're doing it safely, right?" my grandmother inquired.

Celestia blinked. She looked to me, then to my grandmother.

There was a long pause. When she finally realized that neither of us was going to give an answer, she frowned. She glared at me and repeated herself. "Phil... You are doing it safely, right?"

"N... No. No, we aren't."

"What do you mean, 'no'?! Phil, you are too young to be having children!" She turned to Celestia, pointing at her, "And you don't look old enough, either! What would you do if you got pregnant?!"

"I... I..." Celestia's cheeks immediately flushed with a bright red. Her eyes were on her food. She didn't seem able to answer. This... has turned into a difficult situation.

Grandma stopped, pulling back her finger. Her expression softened. "You have a lot of life left to live. You two don't want to make a mistake like having a child this early."

"Uh... Thanks, grandma. Celestia, do you want to finish your food outside?"

She nodded.

The two of us stood, gathering our utensils. The kitchen was quiet as we made our way outside.

"Oh, Katie." I started.

"Yeah?"

I held up my middle finger at her. She returned with a bird of her own. I closed the door behind us.

Celestia sat on the bench a distance from the fire, her plate on her lap. I joined her and continued eating. She was still a little red. It was rather cute, but the reasoning behind her embarrassment was a bit troublesome. I didn't want to push the topic with her if she didn't want to say.

"You... have an interesting family." she let out, taking a bite of her food. She still sounded so nervous.

I just chuckled.

"So... what exactly..." She held up her middle finger, emulating my sister and I. "What does this mean?"

"It means 'fuck you'."

She quickly hid her hand.

"It's how the younger members of our family greet each other." I continued, "And many of our friends."

"You greet each other with... obscenity?"

I nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

"That doesn't make sense."

"It's how we show our love."

"You're never obscene with me."

"I'm obscene with you all the time."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Well, would you like it if I was obscene with you?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Probably not. It's... nice being alone like this." She changed the subject.

"Yeah. Red took over our alone time at home. I really wanted to spend this month alone with you."

"I did, too. I missed you so much while we were apart. Now we're together and we barely have the privacy to even cuddle. I suppose there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Yeah."

Celestia chuckled. "I can't believe your grandmother lectured me. Me, of all people. She's right, though. Our relationship is still so young." She was smiling.

"Yeah. We can still do all sorts of things."

Celestia leaned against me. She looked to me as she chewed. It was chilly. We weren't very close to the fire. She was warm against me. I looked down at her.

"I wish we could have more of this." she said.

"Yeah."

"Hey, what did you think about coming to my work?"

"Hmm? What do you mean? That was quite a while ago."

"Well, maybe you could come with me. We could be together more."

"No, it wouldn't be the same. I'm comfortable with how things have been, Phil. It feels... almost like I'm a real housewife. You go to work while I stay home to... I suppose I don't do much of anything, do I?"

"You're a Princess, you shouldn't have to do anything."

"That's not how a housewife should act."

"Alright, then how about this... You're my Princess. You don't need to do anything for me. I want to take care of you."

"That's a bit better, I suppose. Would you like me to cook something for you before you get home?"

"Do you even know how to cook the food in the kitchen?"

"I could learn. For you."

"I dunno. Sometimes I just want a sandwich."

"I could make it for you."

"But I make you sandwiches."

"I didn't say you had to stop."

"I feel like we aren't getting anywhere."

"Maybe you're right."

"I like the idea, though. I'd appreciate it. We might have to talk about this another time."

She nodded. "Alright. I'll hold you to it."

"Celestia, your plate was full like five seconds ago. Are you sticking it in your pockets or something?" I poked her pants to check.

She laughed. "I was hungry."

"You're always hungry!"

She laughed again. She reached her fork to my plate and, despite my glare, took some of my mashed potatoes. I continued to glare. She giggled at me as she chewed, clearly finding something amusing.

"Can I actually eat my food, now?"

"You should've said something before I started eating."

"What, so it's my fault that you're taking my food?"

"Of course. You let your guard down." She chuckled. "Alright, here." She held up a bit of stuffing to my mouth.

"Really?" I wasn't unhappy that she was offering me food. I was just surprised that it hadn't happened sooner, all things considered.

"Well, if you don't want it..."

I took the food from the fork without another complaint.

"See? Wasn't that easy?"

"My family must be a bad influence on you. You've gone from good noodle to bad egg."

"I'm not a bad e... Good noodle? What?"

"It must be Katie who's influencing you. I know how things are."

"Oh, don't be like that. Your turn." She offered me the fork.

"My turn?" I took it from her.

"That's right." She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. "Ahh~"

Though this game was just getting started, I decided to put an end to it so I could finally eat. I set the fork on my plate and picked up my roll, then stuffed it into her open mouth.

"Mmff!" She pulled back, eyes wide. She reached up and took the roll out of her mouth. A large bite had been taken out of it. Our eyes met for a short moment before we started to laugh.

She leaned against me and looked up. I smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Do you want me to feed you again?" she asked.

"Later. Let me eat my own food for a little while."

"Alright. I suppose I'll do the same."

Finally, food. No more interruptions. Sadly, after all the shenanigans with Celestia, my plate had only a few bites left. I would have to get more from inside. Celestia was in the same situation.

"I think we should go back to your family." she said, " It's not polite to keep them waiting."

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, you know what this reminds me of?"

"What?"

"How much I love you."

"Phil, you're going to make me blush." She giggled.

"Alright, let's go."

"So soon?"

"Didn't you just say it wasn't polite to keep them waiting?"

"That doesn't mean I don't cherish the time we spent alone together."

"Geez Celestia, now you're gonna make me blush."

She smiled.

I gave her a gentle push to let her know that I was going to stand up. She moved away, taking my plate so I didn't have to worry about it. I glanced at the dwindling fire pit. "Hey, I'm gonna put a little more in. We can go in after that."

"Aright, honey. Have fun with your 'romance'."

"A man's romance is not a joke, despite... how I may have presented it."

"Oh... I'm sorry, honey. I misunderstood. Why is tending to a fire a man's romance? Do all men feel this way?"

"It can be different for all of us. Sometimes a man is simply compelled by his nature. Just as I am compelled to tend to this fire, I am compelled to tend to our love."

I knew I could spin this monologue to include our relationship. My sudden change of tone seemed to surprise her. As I spoke, she became reserved, glancing away as a gentle redness flushed her cheeks. A smile covered her face.

Leaving my little Princess to her thoughts, I moved to the back fence and retrieved a few pieces of wood. I set them near the fire before feeding a few of them into the flames. When the wood was gone, I picked out a filled in crossword puzzle book from the paper recyclables and began tearing it apart. Every so often, some pages would fall out, or I would just miss. If they were on fire, I would stomp them out before returning them to the flame.

There was still a spot in the fire pit devoid of flame, so I began filling it with paper. Instead of working in my favor, I burned my hand when it got too close to the flame. In my anger, I whipped the book into the fire to punish it for burning me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Did you burn yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to kiss it to make it feel better?"

"I would, but standards won't let me."

"What?"

"Ready to head in?"

"Uh.... Yeah." Celestia stood, our plates in hand. She moved towards me, but her focus seemed to shift. Her eyes were fixated on the pile of leaves we made earlier.

Her intentions quickly became clear. I took the dinnerware from her before she made her way to the pile. She looked back to me one last time before lying on top of it. She closed her eyes and took in a deep smell of the dried leaves around her. She grabbed a handful of leaves and lifted her arm and opened her hand. Flakes of crushed leaves sprinkled onto her shirt.

"I love being a human."

I set the plates on a nearby table and joined her in the yard, looking down to her.

Her eyes gazed into the sky staring at nothing. "I'm doing so many things I haven't done in a long time. I haven't lain in a pile of leaves like this in years."

"Really?"

She chuckled. "Maybe I have. Who knows? Who cares?" She chuckled again. "That's right... Who cares?" She laughed a long, joyful laugh. "I can't say that in Equestria. Just the ability to say it... It's... fantastic."

I took out my phone and aimed the camera at her. "Hey, Celestia."

"Hmm?"

"Smile."

She gave me a warm smile as I snapped the picture.

A picture of my Princess Celestia lying in a pile of leaves during the fall. It was a nice picture, though my phone didn't have the best camera.

This was my first picture of her. I hope it wouldn't be the last.

I offered her my hand. She looked at it for a few moments before taking it. I pulled her to her feet and into my embrace. She was still as heavy as before, that hasn't changed.

She briefly squeezed me with her arms before we parted. I brushed off the leaves from the back of her shirt and jeans.

"It feels like I have leaves in my hair. Do I?"

I briefly checked her long, silky hair. "A few." I replied, cleaning them out. Her hair was still as radiant as ever.

"Did you take a picture of me?"

"Yeah. I think it turned out well." I held out my phone to show her.

She smiled. "I look ridiculous."

"I need to take a lot more of these." I said, "I wanted to take a lot of them when you came back, but that never happened."

"You'll get more chances." She pecked her lips against my cheek. "Come on, I'm still hungry."

"Geez, Celestia."

The two of us returned to my family, dinnerware in hand and stomachs ready for more.

"Welcome back." said my grandma.

"Uh... Sorry, Celestia." said Katie.

"It's... quite alright." Celestia turned to my grandma. "I... can have more... right?" she asked, not wanting to be rude.

"Of course, help yourself."

Her smile widened. "Thank you."

"So is this a... special occasion or something?" I asked grandma, "We don't usually have ham."

She shrugged. "I won $50 off a scratch card."

"Oh, wow."

"Nice, grandma."

"And my lawn needed clearing." she continued.

"Your lawn always needs clearing."

"And since Thanksgiving is coming up, I thought we could have a little get together of our own. It didn't really turn out the way I had hoped, with your brothers being gone, but I didn't really give them time to prepare in advance. I made sure to save some for them."

Celestia had already collected another plate and was eating as she stood. I think she was waiting for me so she could copy me. I returned to my seat, and sure enough, she did the same. I poured milk for the both of us from the gallon on the table and got myself more food.

"Celestia, why are you with him?" asked Katie, turning to her once again, "Seriously, why?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just don't understand this. You should be able to get someone like... Nobody's coming to mind right now."

"Chris Evans?" I asked, picking off the top of my head.

"Oh my god, yes."

"Who's..."

"Some celebrity." I said, "Some hot celebrity."

"But instead, you picked ol' fuckboy here."

"Fuckin' wooow!"

"Do you... really want to know?" Celestia asked.

"Yes. Wait, do I? Is it weird?"

"Are you sure you want to know why we're still together?" Celestia teased.

"Uh... I... think so."

"Is this gonna be appropriate?" Heather asked, "Lily's still here, remember."

"Hi!" Lily called, happy to be a part of the conversation.

One by one, everyone responded to her with a short, pleasant greeting. Even Celestia joined in on the fun.

"It's appropriate, I assure you." Celestia continued, "If you really want to know, I'll tell you. The reason we're still together..." She paused, purely to leave us in suspense. "Is because we love each other."

I sighed. All that buildup for that? Still, it was really cute.

Katie seemed less than pleased. "What, that's it?"

"There are so many compounding reasons the two of us have stayed together that it's impossible to pick just one. Love is a complicated thing. But in a way, it's not complicated at all. I like him and he likes me. We make each other happy when we spend time with each other. And... he was the first person I met when I got here."

"Oh, that's it? He was the first one you saw?" she asked, glossing over the rest of Celestia's monologue.

"Got here? You move to Wisconsin or something?" asked Heather.

"God, why would you move here? All we got's cheese. Wait, never mind, cheese is pretty good."

"It's peaceful here. I'm not from this country, so I was a bit disoriented. I got lost and he showed me around town."

"I thought you said you met online." Katie said to me.

"Well, it's a lot easier than going through the effort of talking about it." I said.

"You lazy bitch." she said to me.

"That's much more romantic than meeting online." said Heather.

Celestia looked to me for a small moment. She was smiling. Smiling her special smile. "I suppose that's true."

"So, if you're not from this country, where are you from?"

"Europe."

"Huh?"

"Really? Cool? Where in Europe?" asked Heather.

"Oh, I moved too often to call any one place my home. Work moved me all over the place."

"What kind of work do you do?"

"I... suppose I'd like to keep that to myself, if you don't mind. I work in management. That's all I'm willing to say."

Management. Good joke. What a backstory... Was she working on that? It seemed quite prepared.

"Your life sounds awesome. I wish I could afford to travel around."

"It's quite chaotic, I assure you."

"So why did you come here? Like, what's this place have that you didn't have overseas?" asked Heather.

"Other than a surplus of fuckboy." added Katie.

"Why do you hate me?" I asked.

"I had business in the area. A series of meetings and other such nonsense. I was weary from the trip, so I had to push it back. During that time, I began exploring. I met Phil not long after."

Celestia must have practiced this. She's never seemed like someone who would lie so easily. Maybe she doesn't... Hmm... Our situation is complicated. She may simply be respecting my wishes to not overcomplicate things.

"For a number of years, my life has been stressful and chaotic. To push all that aside with someone else, even for a short while, has been wonderful."

"Mmm-hmm. I know how it feels." grandma agreed, "With your work as hectic as you say, how does that affect your relationship?"

"It's been tough. I was pulled away for a month to return to work. At the time, my... my responsibilities were more important than my own happiness. It wasn't just to work, but to my family. I had no choice. I didn't know if I would be able to come back at all. It was heartbreaking." She looked to me. "For both of us."

I nodded.

"Now that I've returned to Phil, I'm finding it harder and harder to go back to work."

"What, are you gonna quit? For him?" Katie asked.

"Hey, I'm not... that bad." I tried defending myself.

"Phil, you're wonderful." Celestia reassured me.

I didn't necessarily need that confidence boost, but I will happily accept it.

"Ohhh! I see what's going on here." said Katie, a look of realization on her face.

"What is going on?" I asked, having no idea what she was talking about.

"You got her pregnant! That's why she's stuck with you."

"No-no-no-no-no-no!" Celestia shook her arms in a panic. "I'm not pregnant! I would know if I were pregnant! I... I'm not."

"Katie, you shouldn't say things like that." said Heather, "It'd be up to her to tell us if she was. It's not our business."

"I... guess. Her face got really red, though."

"Hey, be nice."

"I thought I told you 'not at the table'." grandma enforced.

Katie stopped. "R-Right. Sorry, Celestia."

Celestia cleared her throat. "Thank you."

"Nyeh, Phil having kids? Gross."

"What's wrong with having kids?" asked Heather.

"Yeah!" Lily added.

"Nothing's wrong with having kids, it's just the thought that this guy would do it. God, it makes me feel old."

"I bet feeling old's really hard on you, huh?" said my grandma, always a charmer.

"Sorry, gramma."

Celestia flashed me a smug smile, having swiftly recovered from her little episode.

We returned to our meal. Celestia noticed that I hadn't touched my food for a while and began picking food from it. I glared at her, but she just smiled in return.

"Leave some room for dessert, Celestia."

"Dessert? Right, dessert!"

Having already been available, the pies on the table were quickly assaulted. I stood and cut them into slices for the group, then distributed the pieces accordingly.

Celestia lifted her fork to take a bite, but before she could, I said, "Hold on there, Celestia. Aren't you forgetting something?"

She looked to me. "Am I?"

"Hey grandma, could you get the whipped cream?"

Celestia's eyes lit up.

"Of course." She retrieved a can of whipped cream from the fridge and set it on the table.

Celestia hesitated for a moment before taking it. She took a quick glance at the instructions before shaking it in her hand and turning it upside down. When she was finished with it, her piece had been entirely covered in cream. She set the can down and poked her fork into the pile on her plate.

Heather was the next to take it, swiping at the can and immediately spraying it directly into her mouth. Celestia giggled as she watched.

"That's enough!" said grandma, a bit irritated, "Put it on your pie before it's all gone."

"Sorry." Heather apologized before applying it to her piece, then to her daughter's.

The can was passed around the table until it was finally empty. We set it aside and got to work on the pie. It may have been store-bought, but it was still delicious.

When our pies were gone and the table was cleaned, we decided that it was time to finish work on the yard. We made our way outside and retrieved a plastic tarp from the shed. It was a simple task to push the leaves onto it, though it would need a few trips to move it all.

Celestia joined us once again. It was nice to see her work with the rest of the family. Felt... normal.

"Celestia, I wanna braid your hair." Katie said as we worked.

"What?" Celestia laughed. "Braid my hair?"

"Can I? Please?"

Celestia was still laughing. She was enjoying herself. "Why do you want to braid my hair?"

"Cause it's so long! How long did it take to grow it like that?"

"I have no idea." she replied, a giddiness in her voice.

"Must've been a while. Doesn't it get in the way?" asked Heather.

"Sometimes, but it's usually easy to manage."

"Won't she look so pretty with a braid?" said Katie.

Celestia smiled sheepishly. "Well, if it'll make me prettier."

"Yay!"

Celestia prettier? Think of the consequences.

When we were done, we all gathered in the back yard to stand around the fire. I made sure it burned bright.

"This was fun." said Celestia.

"Fun? A little bit." replied Heather.

"I'm not used to all this..."

"Physical labor?" I asked.

"Yes... I was usually the one who told people what to do, not the other way around."

"Sounds like this guy." said Katie

"Hey, I work hard."

"No you don't, you stand around and just watch people."

"I do other stuff."

"Like what?"

"Stuff like... you know... stuff."

"Oh, right."

"Weren't we going to play a game?" asked Celestia.

"Yeah, but that's so far away." I said, "We'd have to move to do that."

"What's wrong with that?"

"That's work, you know?"

"Phil, don't be lazy." said Heather.

"You don't be lazy." I replied.

"Ok." She turned away from the fire and went back inside.

"Where's she going?" asked Katie.

"Probably breaking out the rusty chainsaw." I said.

"I'm going back in." she said.

"Katie don't leave, we'll be lonely!"

"I'm leaving."

"Don't leave!"

"Leaving." She started walking.

"Don't do it!"

"Doing it."

"Noooo! C'mon, let's go." I said to Celestia.

She giggled.

Leaving the fire once more, we returned to the house. I followed the family downstairs, Celestia close behind.

Grandma, Heather, and Katie, were already sitting at the downstairs table. Rick and Lily were back to their computers.

"Pick a seat." I gestured to the table as I walked the other direction to the downstairs refrigerator.

I got myself a can of Mountain Dew, but as I went to close the door, Heather called, "Phil, get me a Sprite!"

"Get me a drumstick." said Katie.

"Me, too." said Heather.

"Mountain Dew for me." said my grandma.

"You think that's enough?" I called back.

Three sodas and two drumsticks. Celestia would want a drumstick, too. I would have to make two trips. I came back with the soda first and returned for the ice cream, with one for myself and one for Celestia.

"What is this?" she asked, opening it, "I've never had a... drumstick."

"Chocolate and nuts in ice cream." I said to her.

"It's sooo good." said Katie.

She took a small bite out of the top chocolate bit. "Phil, we need these at the house."

I smiled at her. "Yeah, I thought you'd say something like that."

The first game we played was the game Heather suggested, Apples to Apples. It's a very simple game. One person flips the green card up and the rest play red cards that they think would match it the most. For example, if the green card were 'sad,' you may play 'rain,' or 'stubbed toes,' or 'my love life.' For us, the winner of the round is usually the funniest answer. The person who won ten rounds first was then declared the winner.

As I dealt the cards to the players, the four of us explained the rules to Celestia. Thankfully, she seemed to catch on pretty quickly.

After the game was finished, we put it away and got out Uno. It was a tradition at this house that the winner chose the next game, not out of celebration, but out of punishment. Since my grandma won Apples to Apples, she chose Uno.

Once again, we taught Celestia the rules, along with our own small house rules that either sped up the game or made it more interesting. In our case, we ignored the rule that prevented you from winning with a wild card.

Uno, as is typical, was not an overly long game. As such, we would play two to three games before switching to the next. I won the first game, Celestia won the second, which she was very excited about, and Heather won the third. The final winner gets to choose the next game. She chose her favorite, Munchkin. Though it was often quite a long game, it was also very fun. Not all of us shared the same sentiment, though the dissenters still accepted the choice and played with us.

This time, given the number of rules and exceptions, I retrieved the rule book for Celestia. Well, it was more a rule 'pamphlet'. She read it carefully as we set up. Since it wasn't a long read, and since we all wanted to help her, she was able to understand the game and adapt to any situation she encountered. Munchkin is a card game where your munchkin would collect loot, fight monsters, and level up. The first person to reach level ten by defeating a monster wins.

For this game, our players would often play very passively during the beginning, throwing away or otherwise wasting cards that could hinder another player. Celestia followed suit. Later on, we would play more aggressively, actively preventing players from reaching higher levels while ganging up on the highest level. Heather would often play cards against me, even if I wasn't an active threat. I would do the same to her. The two of us became very competitive during this game. Usually while we were sabotaging each other, grandma would take the lead, leaving us to settle our differences to stop her.

Today, though the battle was hard fought Heather reached level ten first and was declared the winner. The rest of us were scattered around the board. Celestia, despite it being her first time playing, drew a number of lucky cards and had reached level nine alongside grandma. Katie reached level seven while I was in last place at level five. If you were in last place, other players would be forced to give you the excess cards from their hand, so I tried using this to my advantage, but it seems to have failed.

Celestia had a smile on her face the whole night, even when she was playing cards as aggressively as us. She loved this. That's all I really cared about. Anything that was fun for her was fun for me.

Though these games can become quite interesting, an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh, this is not. I summon Princess Celestia in face-down position... I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry.

Throughout the night, I periodically checked on the fire, making sure it was still burning. There was no reason it should still be up, I just liked burning things.

After the game, our little group all put in a bit of effort to clean up the table. It had gotten late, so we all agreed that this would be our last game. Celestia wasn't happy that we were leaving, but she quickly rebounded, her mood never souring for long.

"Oh Phil, I have something for you." My grandma stopped me before I made it to the stairs.

"Thing? What thing? I like thing."

"Here, let me get it packed up for you." She moved around me, walking up the stairs first.

The rest of our party moved upstairs after her.

Grandma walked down the hallway, returning a short while later with a paper grocery bag. She then opened the fridge and began pulling things out to put into the bag. She rolled the top of the bag closed and pushed it towards us on the table.

"I put some leftovers in there as well for your friend." she said to the both of us.

"Oh! I'm sure she'll appreciate it." I replied, "Thanks, grandma."

"Wait, what did you give them?" Katie asked.

"Oh, just a little champagne I wasn't going to drink myself. It certainly wasn't expensive, in case you were wondering."

"I want champagne, too!" she complained.

"Well, we can have some together another time. I felt Celestia would appreciate it a little more than us."

"Alright yeah, some other time."

Before I picked up the bag, I went to her to give her a goodbye hug. "Love you, gramma!"

"Love you too, sweetie."

I let go of her and turned to hug Heather.

"Bye, Philly! See you later."

"Yep, see ya." We let go of each other.

"Bye, Katie." I said to her, giving her a hug as well.

"Bye, Phil! Love you!"

"Love you, too."

As soon as I let go of Katie, Lily ran to me and grabbed onto my waist in a tight hug. I reached down and gave her a squeeze as well. "Bye, Lily!"

"Bye, Philly!"

Celestia took the initiative and picked up the paper bag. "Goodbye, everybody. It was very nice to meet you all." she said with a smile.

All three of them replied with a similar enthusiasm. Looks like today was a success.

"Be sure to come back soon." said my grandma, "You're welcome anytime."

"Thank you, Sue."

The two of us returned to the car. As we left, Celestia looked into the bag on her lap.

"Is the champagne any good?" I asked.

She reached in and pulled it out. "Do you... want my professional opinion?"

"I take it, no?"

"I couldn't say anything about the taste, but she wasn't lying when she said it was cheap." She chuckled before putting it back into the bag

"So how was it?"

"It was nice. I loved your family, Phil. They were so kind to me. Perhaps we could do this again, sometime."

"That'd be nice. They really seemed to love you, too. You're part of the family."

"I'm... part of the family?"

"Yeah. Of course you are."

She looked down, saying nothing. I could see flashes of her bright smile out of the corner of my eye.

"You know, we're alone right now." she said.

"Hmm?"

"We're... away from Red. We could do anything we wanted."

"What do you want to do?"

"Maybe... Go for a walk?"

"A walk? Do you have any idea how late it is, young lady?"

"I know how late it is."

"Oh. Are you sure? It's gotten pretty dark out."

"I'm sure."

"Alright. Any thoughts on where you would want to walk?"

She didn't respond.

"Did you think that far ahead?"

"I... I don't want to go home yet. I want to be alone with you for a little while longer." She seemed almost... upset. Maybe it was a good idea.

"Alright, honey. I'll find us a place. How about a park?"

"Did you... have one in mind?"

"Yeah. There's this park nearby I used to go to as a kid. There shouldn't be anyone around this time of night."

"That sounds nice."

She watched me as I drove us to our destination, a cute smile on her face the whole way there. She didn't care what we did as long as we were together. As I said, nobody was around. It was too late and too cold for anyone but drug dealers and romantics. I wonder which we fell into.

This was a stupid idea. It was really dark and there were no lights.

"This was my favorite place to come to as a kid." I told her as we got out.

She made sure her coat was zipped as she stepped out. "Have you been here since?"

"Once or twice. Not recently."

We started to walk. Though I was in front, I walked slowly, making sure Celestia got what she wanted from this. She followed me through the park.

"See that over there?" I pointed to the playground equipment. "You probably don't actually. Anyways, it's a slide that has spinning rods instead of a flat surface. I would always get my fingers pinched between the rollers." I chuckled

She joined my laugh with one of her own. "It sounds fun." she said, her voice warm.

As we walked, I told her a few stories about how my brother, sister, and I played in this park and how much bigger it used to be back then. I told her how much we all used to love coming here with my grandma and older sister while they were babysitting us while mom was working.

We slowly made our way past the park, following the dirt trails into the forest beyond. We'd get lost in this darkness without Celestia's sense of direction.

"Oh, a clearing." she said, speeding up to pass me.

She stopped in the center, waiting for me to join her. A faint moonlight shone down through the treetops, seemingly illuminating her perfect smile. We looked to the sky. Celestia's gaze briefly flicked down before she began lowering herself to the ground. I looked to her.

"Join me, Phil." she said with a bright smile, offering me her hand.

I'm sure she knew that it wouldn't benefit either of us if I took her hand. I still did it as I lowered myself next to her. The grass was cold, but her hand was warm.

She sighed.

I let her relax for a while before I asked, "So what was your plan here, Celestia? Did you wanna fuck?"

Her grip on my hand tightened. "Wh-What? No! I just wanted to be alone with you, Phil. Is that too much to ask?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Of course not, honey. Though... you've never been this apprehensive about making love before. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, Phil. You're right, I shouldn't have been so surprised."

Her hand was trembling. Either she was cold, or... something else. Something didn't feel right. Still, if she felt everything was fine, I didn't want to press the issue. She would tell me if she felt I should know. She was honest with me.

"We... are alone out here." she said.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe... I did want to fuck."

"Pottymouth."

"What? I'm not allowed to swear? I swear all the time."

"You only swear when we have sex."

"Do I? I suppose you're right. I hadn't noticed. But..." She began to move, turning and crawling over me. Our eyes met. The brightness of her beautiful eyes shined even in this darkness. "It does bring up a good point." She chuckled.

I pushed my lips against hers. She returned my affection. To my surprise, our kiss was short lived. Celestia pulled away, lying her head on my chest. She was quiet, motionless. I waited for her to continue in some way, but she did nothing. The silence was becoming eerie. It wasn't really like her to have a change of heart like this. Love making was always something she enjoyed or looked forward to. But now...

She hasn't moved for such a long time. She's always loved cuddling, but if that's all it was, she would've said something. Finally, after waiting for so long, she uttered, "I want a baby."

"Honey?"

She pulled away, sitting up and grabbing my hand. She pulled my hand underneath her shirt, resting it against her stomach. I looked to her face. The light of the moon reflected off the tears forming in her eyes.

I shot upwards in a panic wrapping my arms around her body. All I could offer her was a sympathetic, "Hey, hey..."

She started to sob into my shoulder. "I want a baby." She began repeating this phrase, rocking back and forth in my arms.

I knew something was troubling her, but I couldn't have expected it to be something like this. I could only hold her as tears dampened my shirt.

She sniffed. "All my life, I've dreamt of being a mother. I've dreamt of having something to raise, to nurture, to care for. Something of my own that I can be proud of with all my heart. My mother told me that I was different. She told me what the other mares went through. I've watched them over these thousands of years. I've seen so many mothers, so many families. It's given me nothing but heartache."

I held fast. "You'd be a good mother, Celestia."

"It doesn't matter how good a mother I would be. I could never have a child of my own. My body is wrong. No matter my feelings for those I love, this body would never give me what I want. I'm a freak."

"Celestia..."

"Is this the price I pay to live this long? Can I trade it all for a child of my own? For a life of my own?"

This couldn't have been the first time she's cried about this.

"You're my first lover that's treated me like a real woman. You've always made me feel normal. That's why I thought that maybe you were the one. I thought that you could lift this curse. I heard... what you said to my sister. She told me not to listen, but I couldn't help it. I lied to you. I've been lying to you from the start and I am so, so sorry... I've never been able to carry a child. I never will. I can't give you a child. How could you still love someone who lies to you? Why would you ever want to marry someone like me? Someone who can't give you a complete life... Someone who lies to you for her own selfish gains..."

Is this what Celestia really believed? Is this what she thought about herself? Was she ashamed of what she was? This time, she wanted an answer. She needed an answer. "Yes."

"Y-You... R-Really?"

"I knew, Celestia. Luna told me. It's never changed how I felt about you. Not even a little."

She sniffed again. "You... You don't... You don't... hate me?"

"Celestia, no... I would never. I love you. I love you, Celestia." This meant so much to her. More than I could have ever known. More than it meant to me... She saw so much importance in normal lives... and everything that came with it.

"But I can't bear children. I can't... I just can't."

I slid my hand down her body, pulling away from her as I placed it onto her stomach. "Whether you can or not, Celestia... I don't care. I have you. That's more than enough for me. It always has been. It always will be."

"I..." She stopped. We stared into each other's eyes for a long while.

Celestia slowly moved towards me. Our lips met briefly. We both hesitated before kissing again. She lowered her hand, placing it over mine.

She closed her eyes, more tears streaming down her cheeks. She lowered her forehead against my chest. "I don't want to take this away from you. I don't want you to live your life without experiencing the joy of your own child. That's how a life with me would be. We'd never have children of our own. Are you sure you could accept that?"

"I'm sure. As long as I'm with you, I'd accept anything. There's nothing you can do to make me hate you. Nothing in the world."

"You'd still want to marry me, even knowing that I can't have children?"

"Yes, Celestia. You're the woman I love."

She looked up at me. "Are you sure?"

"I promise. You're my little sunflower. You always will be."

She stared at me for a long while. Her tears slowly stopped as we gazed into each other's eyes.

I lifted my free hand and wiped away her tears. "Come on, let me see your smile again. I know it's still there."

The corners of her mouth slowly turned up once more in an apprehensive smile.

"There it is."

She sniffed again. "If all this turns out to be untrue... If I really am lying to myself... and you really do give me a child... then I will be happy to marry you."

We stared at each other again. I brought her smile back. Through all we've been through, at least that's the one thing I know I can do for her.

"It's been almost two weeks since I've felt your touch." she said, an uncharacteristically innocent smile across her face. She began pushing my hand downwards, down her body.

"Are you sure, Celestia?"

She merely nodded. Today was different. She wanted to be intimate with me, to feel close to me. She wanted to feel loved. To her, and... to me, making love was the most intimate thing there was. That's what she's always wanted. Being alone in the woods like this, after our powerful heart to heart talk, was more intimate to us than we've ever been. The possibility of a child was undoubtedly still in her mind. It was more than just pleasure for her. Every time we did it, in the back of her mind, the thought was there. She wanted more than just the feelings it brought. She wanted a child.

If adoption were an option here, she wouldn't have cried like this. If she adopted, I think it would just be a harsh reminder that she couldn't make a child of her own. I'm never going to bring it up to her. I'm... being very presumptuous.

In truth, I didn't believe that she was infertile. I'm sure even her own mother has gone through the same feelings that she's going through now. To me, the fact that Celestia has a mother is proof enough that she can have children.

This was never something I could've figured out on my own.