One More Day Challenge Accepted Edition
Just Another Mare
One More Day
Challenge Accepted Edition
I look at the pages before me. A collection of letters, journals, all of it equals the hopes and dreams of my former student, and now sister princess, and of the one who still holds my heart. Slowly I roll the scrolls up and place them back into the desk. The journals however I hold on to. Marcus had admitted that he kept a journal when he first arrived here, and I had read through it many times, but now I look at it as a piece of him that I find more in these pages than anywhere else.
The door to the small study opens and I hear the clopping of hooves on the ground. I don’t look up to see who it is. I know the presence of the princess of the night, my sister Luna. I feel her gently nuzzle my neck.
“How is he?” she asks.
“He is the same. He is always going to be the same,” I say.
I don’t mean for my voice to sound short. I love Luna. I love her dearly, but regardless of that I find myself becoming more and more snippy as of late. I suppose having nature betray you, decide that your happiness isn’t worth breaking her laws can do that to a pony.
“Sister, I ask because I am worried. I did not come to fight,” Luna says.
I sigh an know what she says is true. Luna did not come here to hurt me. She did not come here to enrage me, but instead she has come to try and help me in any way she can. I am lucky in this regard. I nod and look back at the journal.
“Celestia, you could go ahead and…” she begins before I shake my head.
“I cannot do that to him. I will not,” I state.
She pulls me into a hug, and it is one that I return with earnest. I know what she is suggesting, and… I find myself daring to think about it more and more. I hear a cough and the both of us disengage from one another. She looks sadly into my eyes.
“Sister, are you sure about this?” she asks.
“It is how it must be,” I say.
I wish there was more confidence in my voice. I wish that I was as sure of my decision as I want to feel that I am, but there isn’t. I’m… I’m scared, truly scared of what is going to happen. I walk toward the room that I stay in most of the time. Behind me I hear Luna and I don’t try to talk her out of coming with me. I need her support more now than ever. I open the door to see the man I love, the man who treated me as a mere mare, and the man who has lived his life with me.
Time has taken so much from him. It has stripped away years, and with it taken the young man I feel in love with and left an old man that I still love and adore. I feel his hand as it touches my muzzle and gently strokes it.
“Tia?” he asks.
His voice sounds so frail. I smile, and while I know that his eyes do not work as they once did I feel as if he knows I am smiling for him.
“It is me Marcus,” I say.
I feel his hand gently run through my mane. Memories of us together, one of his hands wrapped in my mane, the other playing with the soft fleshiness of my teats. A blush forms, and I feel thankful for the memory. It is one among many that helps me face the twilight of his years. I lean down to him and receive a kiss. It is so tender, and loving, that I cannot help but feel more love for him.
“Brother,” Luna says as she nears us.
“Loony,” he replies.
“Of all of the things for you not to forget… Marcus, it is quite lonely at the palace without you. I do miss our fights,” she says.
“Cherry,” he says.
She looks at me and then at him. I know what he is talking about. I know that Luna knows as well. We are immortal. All memories of every day we’ve lived still reside inside of us. After a moment I watch as a smile forms on her face and she lets an undignified and very unprincess like snort and giggle escape her lips.
“Yes, cherry, I remember now. It took me a good three weeks to finish getting all of it out of my coat,” she replies. Her smile begins to droop and she gently nuzzles him as she did me, “Will you not reconsider brother?”
He shakes his head, and another cough escapes him. This one sounding worse to me than the one that came before it. I gently rub his chest as he looks at her.
“I’ve lived my life, and it’s not right to steal time away,” he says.
She looks at him with the same sense of confusion I looked at him with when he first refused to allow me to do the same.
“But, surely you understand that this… Marcus, this would ensure that you will live,” she states.
His eyes are distant. I know the lucidity he had is going now. I had wished that Luna wouldn’t be here when it left him. I wanted her to remember him as he was.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
“I’m here to read you the story,” I say.
“You’re going to read the story? I love the story,” he replies.
“It was a long time ago in Equestria,” I began.
(35 years ago – Marcus’ home)
“Tia, what in the holy hell?!” Marcus shouts.
I smile brightly at his confusion. We have discussed having foals before, but Marcus had resided himself to the act being an adoption instead of any blood children. It is something I would never have minded. There are thousands of little ones who could use a good home, and I know that they could ask for no better home than the one we share.
Although my official home is Canterlot Castle I have all but moved from there to live in this simple house. Most of my vassals thought it unwise to do so, but I have found life here, in this home, a refreshing change. I find myself loving this home, and right now I find myself in the throes of laughter as Marcus charges into the room.
My lover, my husband, my friend, and my confidant is not use to his new form. It is true that the form is one I chose to bestow on him while he slept, but our desire to have children is one that I wish to fulfill as well. I watch as he stops and it seems as if he’s not completely steady on the legs he now has. In truth I find him almost as desirable in this form as he was in his other. Although, I have a feeling I will miss the feeling of his hands before this night is over.
“Tia, what is going on?” he asks.
“Marcus, my love, do you not want children?” I ask.
He stands, still confused, but starting to catch on. I stroll around him and look at the dark mane and tail he has. His coat a beautiful chestnut color, and his eyes. Oh, how beautiful his green eyes are even now. I place a kiss on his newly formed muzzle and grin.
“Of course though, if you do want children, my love, you shall have to catch me,” I say as I run out the front door.
I run enjoying the freedom of it, and I hear the beating of his hoofs behind me. I know his body has the knowledge of how to use his legs, and I can think of no better way of getting him used to his new self, or at least the self he will be until we conceive, than doing just this. I run, making him follow me, making him work to catch up to me, and then I feel a tug on my tail. I stop, smiling the entire time, and turn toward him.
“You have caught me, my love, so now all you have to do is claim your prize,” I say.
He claimed it, there among the open field, under the bright sun and on the soft grass. He claimed it as I lay claim my prize. It is wonderful, perfect, and together we laugh. I feel so happy that he is simply going with this. We stroll back to the house together. I know that I should shower; after all, it is not very dignified to have grass stains on one’s knees.
I walk toward the shower, and to my surprise, and enjoyment, he follows me into it. Once more I found myself in more than one undignified manner. We leave the shower and I feel the pleasant aches and wonderful tingle that I always feel after we have come together. Over the next three days we enjoy this small piece of life together, and then on the third I have a visit from a royal physician. At first Marcus is worried, and to be honest I am as well. Although the short term change into a different form should help I cannot help but wonder if I myself am able to have children.
We wait for several minutes and the doctor finally looks at me. This is one thing that I truly enjoy about my world. Marcus has told me before of how there is no real magic in his world. How men and women relied strictly on science and technology for answers, but here in my world, no our world, that is not the case. Here we have magic which does have the ability to tell us things well before the advent of technology could.
“I suppose congratulations are in order your highness. There is the spark of new magic inside of you. Right now it is only a spark, but as we all know that will eventually become something far greater. Your diet needs to change immediately. I know how fond you are of pastries, but you need to begin to have a more well-rounded diet. I’m going to send one of the royal nutritionist over with a list of what is the best to eat,” he says.
Marcus stands in almost complete disbelief. A smile crosses his face, bright, beautiful, and wonderful as the news of the unborn life inside of me becomes more and more real to him.
Over the course of the night I return Marcus to his human form. Having him as a stallion may have been fun, but I have missed his hands, and the wonderful feeling they give me.
The next day brings a new visitor and a list of foods I need to be eating. I look over the list and wonder exactly who thought it a good idea cut almost every cake, donut, and pie out of my diet. I eye the nutritionist for a moment before Marcus clears his throat and takes the list. He smiles, gently hugs me to himself and nods as reads the list.
“This isn’t too bad,” he says.
“It says that I am not able to have as much cake as I am use to,” I reply.
“It’s for a good reason,” he says as he kisses my muzzle.
Damn it. I know that I’ve already lost this argument. He is right, and he knows that he is. The nutritionist stands unsure of what to say or do. Marcus places the paper on the counter and then turns back to the nutritionist.
“I don’t think that we’ll have a problem fixin’ any of this,” he says.
“Sir Marcus, I was instructed by Princess Luna to inform you that she would be coming here along with a chef to ensure that the food was prepared correctly,” the nutritionist replies.
I stand completely astonished that my sister would demand to come here, and ensure that I was eating correctly. I suppose the news of a new niece of nephew, which I will need to speak to that doctor, stirred the decision, but none the less I am unsure of how to think about this.
“Having Loony here isn’t going to be too bad,” Marcus says.
He is right. Having Luna here will not be too bad, but if I know her she is going to get very tired of hearing our nighttime activities quite quickly. Perhaps I should soundproof our bedroom.
The next two months is a complete blur. The first thing I am thankful about is soundproofing our bedroom. In truth I know I should have done this the night Luna arrived, but between the pie fight, the games, and the laughter I simply forgot. She however informed me that I could not keep from praying to myself while my head, or some part of my anatomy, bumped against the wall, at a hard and quick pace, she would have to magic up a broom or some other object to thump against the wall or door.
Naturally I laughed at this, but the soundproofing worked, and she did not mention it again. Another three months pass and I find myself feeling the smallest of kicks. In truth it is almost a competition between Marcus and Luna to see who gets to feel our foal kicking first. I smile at them. I cannot help but smile, although there is the getting sick in the mornings. It is not as present now as it was earlier, but it is still there. This is a part of being pregnant I could live without.
Two more months pass and I have discovered that our foal is a sadist. I cannot explain it any other way. There is kicks to my kidneys, the pressure on my bladder, and the uncomfortable way she, I am certain it is a she, seems to tumble around. I keep hoping that this will be finished soon. I love Marcus, I love our unborn child, but at the moment I am seriously finding myself thinking about reminding them of what I went through carrying them for these several months if they decide to act out. I may go ahead and remind them anyway.
I am now eight months into my pregnancy. I’m fat, uncomfortable, and no one knows what this feels like. For the very love of the sun no one in this house understands! Marcus is sweet, but he is getting on my last nerve. He acts as if he has to be delicate with me, and Luna… I cannot even go into the contempt my sister has for me. She late all of, every last bit, of the chocolate ice cream we had.
I need that ICE CREAM! Marcus said he would go and get me more, but that is not the point! Two more hours pass and I find myself curled up beside Marcus, a new gallon of double chocolate fudge eruption in tow, and I also hear how I could never be anything other than beautiful. I cry, for what seems no reason, and he kisses me.
There are times that I am thankful for being what I am, and there are times that I wish I would have listened to the suggestions of the doctors around me. They had tried to assure me that teleporting a foal from being within its mother to being outside of its mother was perfectly safe. I knew it was perfectly safe, but I wanted to allow myself the feeling of a natural birth.
Never again. Never, ever, ever again will I not listen to those suggestions. Any mare who says that foalbirth is one of the most beautiful, wonderful, and amazing experiences of any mare’s life is full of it. It’s pain, pure, bright, burning pain. It begins with a little pain that builds, it escalates further into even more pain, and then when I was begging the doctors to teleport the baby they explained that it was far too dangerous and I would simply have to bare the pain.
I remember a few things I said. One of them being that Marcus, my love, was to never touch me again. Thankfully I have since come back to my senses. All of the pain was well worthwhile. I know it was as I hold this precious little filly. She is as innocent and pure as the very first flakes of winter. I admire how beautiful she is. I don’t want to think that any of my little ponies are wrong in thinking that their foals are beautiful, but I don’t think any of them can compare to our little daughter, our little winter.
It is surprising that Luna has stayed with us as long as she has. I hear her and Marcus talking to Winter, singing to her, and at times I catch Luna making silly faces at her trying to get her to smile. This is worth every moment. This is something I feel nothing but happiness about.
I love moments like these, but time has a way of moving. It never sits still for anything or anypony, with the exception of us princesses, and the same is true for Winter. The years have rolled by. I’ve watched her grow into a young filly and have friends, ask her friends and teachers about when she will get her cutie mark, and I’ve been her shoulder to cry on more times then I would like to remember.
This is the latest time. I hold her as she cries into my shoulder. My perfect, beautiful little filly holds on to me, and then goes to Marcus. I see Luna as she walks closer.
“Winter, what has you so vexed?” Luna asks.
She sniffles as she still holds on to her father.
“Spice said that I’m only a half pony,” she manages to say between sniffs and sobs.
My own eyes narrow at this. I know that most of my subjects have no objections to Marcus. In truth most of them think of him as no different than any other pony, but to hear such vile racist garbage offends me to my very core. It is not the fact that they said it, but the fact that they said to an eight year old filly who has nothing but love for every living creature. Before I can express my anger I hear a slight inkling of my sister’s former self.
“They said what?!” she exclaims.
She sobs and turns to Luna. Her green eyes, the same color as her father’s, so full of tears and uncertainty.
“She… She said that I’m only a half pony because Daddy isn’t one, and she said that I’m only allowed into the school because of mommy,” she cried.
Luna’s eyes burn with rage. I know my own anger out shines hers, but I also know that I need to contain it. I must because I cannot allow myself to bring the righteous vengeance for what was said to my daughter without it undoing so much I’ve done. I know all of this, but I also know that Luna, while knowing it, doesn’t care. She doesn’t care because this is her niece.
“She shall pay for speaking to you in such a way! Her and her family shall suffer nightmares for generations to come!” Luna exclaims.
“Sister, I do not like this either, and I would gladly, happily, help you in giving them a reason to have nothing but nightmares. But we cannot act rashly. Our rule is not one built upon fear, and you know this,” I say.
I gently touch my daughter and get her to turn to me.
“Winter, I will have words with her parents, and I will speak to your school. Your foal friends need to be reached with kindness and love,” I say.
She sniffs and comes over to me. I hold her again and softly soothe her.
“Your mom is right kiddo. We need to teach them that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in their philosophy,” Marcus says.
I smile as he says it. I know that he feels as much anger as I do about this. He wants nothing more than to protect Winter, to keep her safe, and make her happy. It is what we all want.
The days pass, the foals that had teased our daughter are now friendly with her. Perhaps the talk was all that was needed. Although I’ve heard of some of their parents being on the receiving end of some vivid and horrid nightmares. I have not, nor do I plan, talked to Luna about this. In truth I am quite glad my sister has done this for our daughter.
It is wonderful to watch her grow. Of course Marcus and I have found that having the room being soundproof when we are in it is far better than it being soundproof when anyone is in it. A few scares concerning Winter has proven that.
Still, as wonderful as it is to watch my daughter grow into the mare I hope she will I am enjoying the moment with my husband. The expertly wonderful moment with him as we become one again. My voice raggedly calling out his name over and over again. We find that blessed place together and collapse into one another.
“Do you want another foal?” I ask.
“You mean a brother or sister for Winter? I would love to have more foals with you Tia,” he says nuzzling my neck.
The next few days Winter is surprised, shocked, and loving the idea of her father as a pony. She runs and plays with him every single day after school. Finally the day for the doctor arrives and we hear the wonderful news. That night Marcus becomes human again, and the next morning Winter is a little sad about her father no longer being a pony. Of course he proves that he can still play just as much with her now as he did then. She giggles and snorts as he tickles her ribs. I am so thankful that he is so kind.
Months pass, and I find all of the things I had experienced about being pregnant are back. The aches, pains, the vomiting, and the odd cravings. I hold in some of my more choice words toward everyone because of Winter. The last thing I want is for her to think that I am ever cross with her.
I find myself lying beside Marcus, having experienced a moment of pure bliss with him when pain hits me. Hard, blinding, and unforgiving pain. It feels worse than giving birth and I let out a terrible scream. Marcus throws open the door and yells for Luna who runs upstairs to hear my crying out in pain. Without a word she disappears and then reappears with no less than three of the royal physicians.
They treat me as best they can, and soon I find myself in Ponyville inside of the hospital, simply because it is closest. I hear them talking, I feel Marcus’ arms around me, and I am so thankful, because at this moment I am so scared.
Finally, the doctors walk into the room with the resident doctor from Ponyville. As they approach I feel something is wrong. I felt when they explained that they had to do an emergency teleportation of our foal.
“Your highness, I’m sorry, but… we were not able to save your colt. He… there is nothing we could do. He was dead before we ever teleported him out. The umbilical cord had wrapped around his throat… I am so very sorry,” the resident doctor says.
Everything stops. It simply stops existing, and I feel so empty. Our second child is gone. He is gone, and he never even had a chance to see the world. I feel Marcus pull me tight and I cannot help but do the same to him. Tears pour out of me, and I question why this happen.
For days upon days I barely moved. I didn’t want to. Everyone tried to talk to me and cheer me up, but it didn’t matter. Finally, Marcus, wonderful Marcus reached me.
“Tia, do you love Winter?” he asks.
“Of course I do,” I say looking up at him.
“She doesn’t think you do. She thinks that this is her fault. She thinks because she was scared that you might love her brother more that this happened,” Marcus says.
My heart skips a beat as I hear him. How could she think that? How could my daughter ever think that anyone could replace her in my heart? I stand and look at him.
“She needs her mother Tia, and I need my wife. I hate what happened, and I scream at the old guy in a bathrobe who lives in the sky for doing this. I scream at him because what happened wasn’t right, and it never will be. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have a daughter, and it doesn’t mean that our lives stop. I love you, but sweetheart, we can’t help what happened to our son. We can help what happens to our daughter,” he says.
What he says touches my very soul. It reaches me when words of simple comfort had no effect. I force myself to pull out of what I felt and I moved toward doing what I could to prove to my daughter that she is just as important as her brother. I make myself realize that my life is not my own, but it belongs to my daughter, it belongs to my husband and sisters, and it belongs to all of Equestria.
The years pass, and I find myself so proud of Winter. She finds her place in the world, a musical prodigy, that is one of the most requested in all of Equestria. Of course though she found that special somepony we all long to find. He met with us, a gentlestallion, though a bit unrefined, and a member of the Cherry family. He is the embodiment of kindness. I know that Marcus feels the same way, although he does give him a hard time.
Pit, I still giggle over his name at times, takes it all in stride. Finally, he asked for our daughter’s hoof in marriage, and we both gave our blessings. Months pass and we received the news from Winter that she is expecting. Everyone in the house is so excited and we all travel to her home on Cherry Acres to see her.
Pit’s family invites all of us to stay, though I feel it is out of royal obligation more than anything else, and we accept. We stay for the first week of her pregnancy, and Marcus explains to Pit what to expect. There is a sort of near panic that crosses poor Pit’s face that I find… amusing.
After we left from home Winter sent us a letter each week detailing what had been happening during her pregnancy, and Pit would send one to Marcus, which he shared with us, about what he had experienced. I love each time we get both letters and typically I find myself laughing with both Luna and Marcus as we read them.
The months pass, and then there is the emergency visit. Marcus, Luna, and I arrive at the same time at the hospital only to find that there is a complication with Winter’s pregnancy. The doctors inform all of us that they were able to save her colt, but Winter, my little filly, is gone.
The feeling of emptiness is there again, but it is not just me. I watch as Marcus collapse into a heap. He cries out for our loss. He screams at the ceiling, and I cannot help but do the same. The both of us hate whatever fate caused this. I feel Marcus’ sobs shake me as I hold him. I know he feels the same and inside I wonder if either of us are ever going to be whole again. Winter is such a huge part of our lives, no was… she was a huge part of our lives. I don’t remember much of the night as it passed.
Time is cruel. It is cruel and sadistic. When things are happy and wonderful it passes so quickly that I can barely catch a glimpse, but now, when I feel so empty, when both us feel so empty, it chooses to pass so slowly. The days drag on. Twilight, who had visited so often, who had become one of the honorary aunts to Winter has been trying to console me. I know my former student means well. As one of us Princesses she has taken part of my responsibility on her shoulders, and I thank her for it.
Time once again proves how cruel it is during the funeral. The entire thing is so slow. It presents us with a view of our daughter forever lying still and never to move again, and then toward the end it speeds up showing how sadistic it truly is. The Cherry Family had asked us the permission to bury her near their home. I know it was hard for Marcus to agree. He hadn’t even wanted to allow the morticians to take her into the funeral home, and now he is saying goodbye to her again.
He agrees for the sake of Pit. The two of them hug and I hear him tell Pit that he is always going to be his son. I know Marcus, and I know he means what he has said. The days pass through those days, and the pain of loss hasn’t left, but it changes. The both of us find solace in each other that we need. It turns and changes and we find ourselves living our lives in a way that we believe Winter would be proud of. Pit, sweet Pit, brings our grandcolt over to see us every weekend. Those are the best weekends. We get to enjoy seeing little Tieton. He brightens up all of us, and much like she had her niece Luna enjoys spoiling her grandnephew. Each year little Tieton seems to grow by leaps and bounds, and he’s proven to be one of the more skilled Unicorns. His thirst for knowledge reminds me so much of Twilight, and by my suggestion she has taken him under her wing to learn all she can teach him.
The years still continue to pass, and Time is once again showing its cruelity. I’ve been noticing it more and more each passing day. Marcus’ ability to get around is slowing. He is still just as passionate as ever, but I wonder how long I will have with him. That is when I think about my powers as a goddess.
“Marcus,” I call for him.
The house, our house, has long since been moved from its place near the Whitetail forest and instead moved into the atrium of the castle. There was more than enough room for it to be there, and much like Marcus, I could not leave the house behind. It has been a place where we have done so much, experienced so much, and loved more than I could ever express in a hundred thousand immortal years.
He comes in from the atrium and walks into the kitchen. I look at him and have him sit down with me.
“Marcus, I love you,” I begin.
I do not know what it is he expects, but my offer of turning back time for him is most likely not it. He smiles gently, and lays a slowly withering hand on my hoof.
“Tia, I’ve lived a long, long life full of happiness. I couldn’t ask for anything better than that, but I don’t want immortality. I won’t ever leave you regardless. I couldn’t, but mortals aren’t meant for immortality. It takes something special to handle living forever, and I don’t think that I have it,” he says.
He kisses me, and pulls me tight.
“But I want to spend the rest of my life with you as full as we can. I want to see Tieton marry and bring us some great grandfoals to see, and I want you to know that my life has been richer, fuller, and better for being with you,” he says.
I was not sure how I knew this would be his answer. Perhaps it was because we had been together for so long, but I agreed with him. Our remaining years would be lived to the fullest, and once again time showed itself to have a twisted since of humor.
The years began to pass so quickly. Each year we would hear reports from Twilight about Tieton. His letters to her about learning about friendship, and what it meant reminded me so much of Twilight’s own letters, and then when he brought his fiancée, the grandniece of one of Twilight’s dearest friends, and holder of the element of generosity, we couldn’t be happier.
Within the next three years we saw them married, and witnessed the birth of our grandfoals. Marcus beamed with pride as he looked at his great grandfoals. He held our great granddaughter first while I held our great grandson. It was a wonderful moment.
(Present time – Celestia and Marcus’ bedroom)
I place the book I had made from Marcus’ journals and my memories down. I kiss him as he sleeps and look at Luna who had stayed to hear the entire tale.
“He will not do it will he?” she asks.
I shake my head. Softly I nuzzle his neck and his eyes open. He looks up at me.
“Tia? What time is it?” he asks.
“It is still early. Marcus, I can have one more day right? You will give me that right?” I ask.
“You can have it Tia, you can have all of them I have left. They’re yours. They’ve always been yours,” he answers.
