Underworld: Equestria

Chapter 9: Awkward Situations involving mistaken Royal Romance

“So this is my stay then?” Raze chuckled as he passed through the white picket fence of Sweet Apple Acres, eyes tracing the horizon that was filled with apple trees in every direction, their shiny red fruit glistening in the later afternoon light. “I believe I will like it here.”

The day spent exploring Ponyville and its surroundings was, perhaps, one of the most enjoyable days of Raze’s life; he no longer had to fear the eyes of vampires, and nor did he feel himself being judged by everypony, Lucian’s words of the talking equines being accepting were defiantly true.

Now with the day done Applebloom had decided to show Raze his new home, and if first impressions were anything to go by, the lycan liked it.

“I figured you would old friend,” Lucian smirked as he put a hand on his old friend's shoulder. “After some six hundred years in hiding, I felt the same way when I first came here.”

“You may just want to be a little careful of Big Macintosh,” Ash remarked, the two lycan’s almost shifting at his sudden interjection, while Applebloom giggled at their fright, that dragon had this odd way of saying nothing for a long time, and hence making them forget he was even there. “Hehe, sorry about that.”

Raze and Lucian just looked at each other as they walked along the dirt path between the trees, and a moment later both stopped, and abruptly burst out laughing, drawing odd looks from both Applebloom and Ash; neither in truth could honestly remember the last time they had actually been startled in their six centuries of knowing each other.

After regaining themselves they proceeded towards the barn, and as they did Lucian began to ponder over a few things; he was undoubtedly happy to have Raze with him again, but something just didn’t seem quite right now.

On their trip from Canterlot, Twilight had explained how they had come to Equestria, pulled by magical energies from their own world to hers as their metaphysical forms left their physical bodies, and then re-materialised with the help of magic. In the beginning he had accepted the second chance with open arms, but with Raze now here he was left to wonder a rather dark and unlikeable question.

Who else could have possibly ended up in the land of ponies.

“Do not think of such things Lucian,” he hissed to himself as he shook his head and straightened his long black locks, the fields Raze would soon call his place of work coming into view. “Leave your thoughts of the war where they belong… as memories.”

Lucian once again shook his head and continued walked, although he was now aware that Raze was watching him with his dark eyes, and no doubt wondering what he was thinking, but in Lucian’s mind it was best the other lycan didn’t know lest he begin wondering the same thing.

“Don’t ask,” he muttered, Raze simply nodded in reply.

The two lycan’s soon found the barn doors hanging open in welcome and allowed Applebloom to lead them all inside, except for Ash, who couldn’t quite fit given his immense size, and the rather small door-width in comparison of course.

Lucian stood by the door and watched, as curiously, Raze wandered around the place and examined everything, from the bales of hay to the wooden barrels of different coloured apples, one of which he picked up and tossed up and down in his massive hand.

“Strange,” he murmured aloud as he rolled it between his fingers. “This apple… it looks and smells like any other, and yet seems different somehow, is this the doing of magic Lucian?”

“I would not know old friend, I have never eaten a normal apple before let alone one of these.”

“You’ve never eaten an apple before?!” Applebloom basically gapped, looking downright shocked to say the least, her lower jaw just about reaching the ground. “How is that even darn possible?”

“Most foods we can’t eat except for certain… exceptions,” Lucian sighed with a shrug before looking over at Raze, he wasn’t quite ready to drop the ‘meat’ bomb on the innocent little filly.

Raze nodded in agreement before glaring at the small fruit in order to unlock it’s secrets, causing a smirk to spread across Lucian’s face, and Applebloom to once again go into a fit of giggles; at this rate Raze was probably thinking just about everything in Equestria was magical.

Unfortunately, the sweet moment didn’t last as Ash stuck his large head in, a rather worried look set across his black scaled face which basically shouted something was amiss.

“It seems we’re about to have some company,” he remarked dryly, moving his mass out of the doorway just as three mares came charging in with a cloud of dust directly behind them, digging their hooves into the wooden floor and coming to a skidding stop.

The three were, as Lucian half expected, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight, all however were looking like they’d sprinted their entire journey and needed a moment to shake the sweat from their coats and regain themselves.

Once they did however, things turned pear-shaped and rather quickly, as Applejack basically started fuming as soon as she laid her eyes on Lucian, and hence reared up and drove him against the wall with her front hooves, her snorting muzzle millimetres away from the now confused lycan’s face.

“Ok, just what'n the hay are ya doin' with Princess Luna?”

The moment everypony heard the words all eyes fixed on Lucian if they weren’t already, including those of a confused Raze and Ash despite him already knowing.

As he quickly saw, Twilight was looking far from confident while Applejack and Rarity both seemed ready to try and kick his head in at any given moment, the lavender mare standing and biting her lip while then end of a scroll jutted out her saddle bag.

“May I ask how you found out before I go answering questions?” he asked with folded arms, his now darkening eyes moving from Applejack, who suddenly looked rather nervous, to a still lip-biting Twilight.

“Princess Celestia accidently... let slip... in a letter, as it were,” Rarity answered for the three of them, drawing a surprised growl from Ash and minor heart-attack from Lucian. “She also informed us Princess Luna plans to come and... pay you a visit... this evening Lucian. So would you care to explain what exactly is going on between you two?”

Lucian raised an eyebrow at the statement, he knew Luna had intended to visit, but he was still surprised. He had after all only been away from Canterlot for two days.

“I could, but I believe it would be appropriate to do so with Luna present.”

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Luna couldn’t help but feel happy as she drifted down the through the clouds that dotted her night sky, her dark coat rendering her almost invisible against the star-studded black ceiling of Equestria.

Around her countless specks of light danced as the very last rays of sunlight dwindled down, and then slowly headed beyond the horizon, leaving the land of ponies to the temporary reign of Luna and her night.

She flew across Canterlot Plain predominantly in silence, the only sounds the wind and the beats of her wings as she left the white city far behind her; the grand capital was her home, and she liked it there, but only when she was able to remove her crown, and escape the constant duties and shackles of being royalty, did she feel she could relax and be herself.

The entire day she had put up with the ramblings, gibbering, and arguments of the pony nations nobles and high-military in regard to matters of security, something which Luna would rather bang her head against the nearest wall then be put through again, but now the day was done, and hence she was free to roam her night to her hearts content.

And pay her lycan a surprise visit.

The very thought of him sent a strange but pleasurable feeling down her body.

“But I cannot rush this though,” she told herself with a shake of her head. "Both our scars are still fresh."

The princess of the night nodded as if to affirm herself before returning her eyes to the dark world below, the moon washing the land in soft light, so everything seemed to glow a faint white; she knew very few ponies appreciated the beauty of her night, even in the modern day and age of the ‘night life’, but she also knew Lucian did appreciate it, which made her happy all the same.

Her eyes left the fields below immediately as Ponyville came into view, beginning as only a small cluster of lights that sat on the edge of the Everfree, before transforming into a neat arrangement of streets and buildings, which a few ponies were quietly traversing in the early darkness. The only one Luna was focusing on, however, was the tree-structure in the town’s north that was the library.

In particular, a lone figure who was standing on the balcony, and looking up at the night sky, his hands leaning against the rails as his blue eyes stared up at the moon.

“Lucian,” she whispered smiling, ceasing her wing beats as she glided down to meet him, her soft hooves barely making a sound as she landed and folded her wings.

As soon as he faced her however she could see something was wrong; his features were indeed etched in a show of happiness but there was an aura of uncertainty about him and in his blue eyes, one which Luna read with a single glance.

“Are you…not surprised or glad to see me?”

A grin spread across his face as he approached her, his features framed by his long locks of black hair that were dancing with the wind, and his body attired with a well-made brown vest and a pair of blue pants.

“I am far happier right now than you could possibly know Luna,” he said softly, raising a hand and gently moving a lock of mane from her face while the other wrapped around her neck, a smile spreading across her own muzzle as she was pulled into his warm embrace. “I have missed you.”

The normally composed princess melted like a school-filly into his chest, joyfully knowing that it was there she would always be welcome, and never judged for what she had done in the past.

“I have missed you too,” she murmured.

The two stood there for a minute or so, before the lycan slowly released his grip and stepped back a few paces, a hand venturing to the back of his neck to show he was once again uneasy; Luna immediately picked up the vibe that something was wrong but held her tongue rather than jumping to conclusions, mainly because incorrect ones had a habit of getting her in trouble.

“Is there something I should know?” she asked with a tap of her front hooves and the raising of an eyebrow.

Lucian sighed and bit his lip somewhat nervously before answering.

“It seems… accidently or not, your sister decided it was time for some of your subjects to know of our close friendship,” he growled deeply, running a hand through his black locks, a knot forming in Luna’s throat and a stone settling in her stomach. “And as it were they are demanding an explanation as to whether or not what she has said is true about you and I,” he sighed. "I should've seen this coming. I've only been here a day, so my getting so close to you has no doubt made them somewhat suspicious of me."

Luna simply sighed to herself and face-hoofed, muttering oaths under her breath of how she would make Celestia pay for putting them in such an awkward position; she really should have foreseen Celestia doing something like this for a laugh.

“Who knows and how have they taken the news thus far, may I ask?”

“Luckily for us, only those who we have close ties with know, but I admit some have taken it better than others,” Lucian shrugged as he returned his hands to the balcony railing and his eyes to the stars. “Twilight already knew, and is in general ok with it, Fluttershy and Pinkie both seem happy for you to have a companion… Applejack and Rarity on the other hand aren’t exactly impressed, and Rainbow Dash has sworn to, and I quote, personally shove the largest lump of silver in Equestria down my throat if I ever hurt you.”

Luna couldn’t help but put a hoof over her muzzle and giggle at the last part, Lucian growling at her amusement.

“She is the element of loyalty, Lucian, so I guess such a reaction is to be expected of her,” Luna smiled, approaching the silent lycan from the back, before wrapping her front hooves around his chest and laying her head on his shoulder. “Well, given the situation, I believe it best we go and deal with the issue we are faced with. Shall we go answer their question, my lycan?”

Lucian was literally stunned, of all the reactions Luna could have possible given being calm, composed and possibly happy were the last ones he had expected.

“I am surprised you find this so… easy,” he chuckled with a shake of his head as he turned to face her, arms folding across his chest as he leant against the wooden rail. “Are you sure about this?”

“You have offered me a chance at true friendship, Lucian, and that is something I cannot take lightly,” she smirked, before nuzzling him. "Besides, what have we to fear?"

For a moment Lucian stood in silence as his eyes traced over the princess of the night, taking in every detail of her moonlight bathed body as he thought of what they were faced with.

“Very well.”

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Twilight sat perfectly still while her eyes lay locked on the stairs like everypony else in the room, her heart beat abnormally fast as nervousness clawed at her stomach, like an angry manticore was slashing inside her, the air in the room heavy with tension as she and her friends awaited for Luna and Lucian to descend and confront them all.

She wondered why exactly Princess Celestia had decided to drop both her sister and Lucian in such an awkward situation, all she could hope was that Celestia had a good reason.

The library was as expected packed with ponies, namely Twilight, her friends, Spike, the CMC and Big Macintosh, who was watching the gigantic muscular shape in the corner that was Raze with an unusual and untrusting expression; no doubt AJ’s idea of sharing their home with the lycan wasn’t exactly a welcome symphony to his ears.

Ash, Thane, and Titan had decided not to attend, which Twilight was admittedly rather glad about, unless she wanted to tear down a few walls, there was no possible way of accommodating them inside the library itself... unless they wanted to just stick their heads through the windows

“Why're we all here again?” Pinkie whispered to Twilight with a poke in the shoulder, her usual hyper-happy mood a little dim given the situation.

“Just… see what Luna says, Pinkie,” Twilight replied with a forced smile.

Her head snapped around as the wooden stairs suddenly began to creek loudly, and then, somewhat uneasily, everypony watched as the pair of Lucian and Princess Luna descended side by side and into the main room. The princess was blank faced as was her lycan partner, neither saying a single word before they were the centre of the library’s main room and in the middle of all the ponies present.

There was now an undeniable air of hostility filling the room, the main sources being a glaring set of Applejack and Rarity, and a hovering Rainbow Dash, who looked like she was about to launch herself at the lycan and buck him in the face.

If there was ever a moment Twilight would prefer to be somewhere like the Everfree, it was now, Luna’s eyes were like Lucian’s, in that a single look from them would shake a pony to their very core, and at that moment they were ignoring everypony else and looking directly at her.

“Twilight Sparkle, does everypony know why they are gathered here?” the princess asked firmly, her gaze leaving the lavender mare to dart between her other gathered subjects, who were sitting about the room and watching on in silence.

“Y-yes Princess,” Twilight stuttered in reply, despite being seated her tail curling up between her legs in nervousness.

“Good,” Luna replied sharply with a quick nod. “So then, I believe we should get started… everypony, you have no doubt heard of mine and Lucian’s relationship from either the letter sent by my sister or your own friends, and I am to believe you wish for clarification on the matter correct?”

There were nods of agreement from every pony present; Raze on the other hand just looked on with a blank expression, finding himself apparently far more confused than his equine counterparts.

“Very well then… I guess I should start by simply saying, that what my sister has said about us is true, Lucian and I are very close.”

She let that sink in for a moment for continuing, noting that both Applejack and Rarity actually looked surprised at her words, while Raze and everypony else remained as they were; a grin spread across Lucian’s face at the two former angry mares reactions.

“Lucian has also said some of you aren’t exactly...” Luna continued as she sat back on her haunches, her front hoof waving around a little as she searched for the right word. “…comfortable… with the idea of us being together in such a manner, may I ask why this is so?”

Silence took hold for a few moments as the gathered ponies looked between themselves for an answer; at last Rarity spoke up, but the words that came from her mouth were awkward to say the least.

“So you're not... together, so to speak?”

Both Lucian and Luna blinked, both of their faces suddenly feeling like they were on fire, a true first for Lucian and a rarity for the alicorn. Did she just ask... did they think... was that what Applejack had thrown herself at him about?

“I-I appreciate your concern Rarity, but I assure our feelings for each other are for now not of that sort," Luna clarified with a stutter, her dark cheeks feeling like they were crimson. "It is more a companionship between us. Two beings who have gone through much, and seek to move through friendship with one another. Nothing like... that,” she exhaled, glad to get that out of the way. "It is strange to you all, perhaps, but Lucian understands what I have gone through since my return, and I myself can understand the burdens he carries, so I approached him with the idea of each of us helping the other to heal."

Judging by the various reactions the statement caught everypony off guard.

“So… you’re telling us… that you asked him out?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow as her front hoof pointed first at Luna, and then at Lucian, looking between the two with an expression of confusion that matched Raze’s, who simply put looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“Technically I did not ‘ask him out’, as their is nothing... intimate between us at this time,” Luna blushed as she returned to a somewhat composed state, he dark furred cheeks now as bright red as apples as she gave Lucian a glance, his own once again matching hers. “And besides, that is not the royal custom of courtship… as it happened, I simply expressed my feelings of wanting a companion to him first, and we went from there.”

“Awwww, that’s so cute.”

Every pony and lycan in the room immediately looked down at Sweetie Belle with unusual expressions, the unicorn filly quickly and silently disappeared from their fields of view behind the cover of her older sister in return; Lucian and Luna simply looked at each other and smiled at the filly’s words, it seemed they had at least one supporter after all.

“I guess then… we were all bit hasty in our assumptions Luna,” the amber mare went on with a defeated sigh, removing her hat to show her remorse. “Sorry about dragging you both into this and making a ruckus of it. I also should admit Princess, it was really me and Rares here that caused all this, so please don’t go being angry with everypony else cause of us.”

“You had Luna’s interests at heart, Applejack,” Lucian replied for the two of them as the last remanets of his fluster died away, inclining his head to the blond-maned earth pony as his shimmering blue eyes met her green ones. “Personally, I'm not saying I'm happy about your uninformed conclusions of me, but I see no reason to be angry with either of you if Luna can't.”

Luna said nothing but nodded in agreement, and the moment she did Twilight and everypony else breathed a long sigh of relief, the last thing any of them wanted was an angry lycan, and alicorn princess of the night on their hooves.

Once the tension had abated, Lucian turned and looked over at Raze, who was sitting with his hands together, and looking at the two leaders with an expression somewhere between amusement and befuddled shock.

“I take it you weren’t exactly prepared for such a surprise so soon old friend?” he chuckled as he folded his arms again, the black lycan just grinned and shook his head in reply.

“You have always been full of surprises Lucian, but this I truly did not expect,” Raze chuckled, his voice as Luna noted was deeper than any creature she had ever come across; so this was the other lycan Celestia had spoken of. “Uh, once upon a time I would've called you insane, if not worse... but… you devoted yourself to nothing but the war for six centuries. Some company I daresay would be good for you.”

Lucian swore he saw a small and somewhat cheeky grin momentarily spread across Applejack’s face as she replaced her hat, one that reminded the lycan of the one Luna had given him the day they met.

“I am glad that we have your approval, Raze, it means a lot from to me coming from my lover's oldest friend,” Luna smiled warmly at the lycan as she slowly and gracefully moved towards the door, her tail swishing across Lucian’s face to get his attention. “However everypony, as has been explained by my sister I will for the night be taking him off your hooves, there is something I dearly wish to show you Lucian.”

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Notes:

Sorry about the wait everyone but I’m back at uni now, so free time is in short supply.