Hours after the funeral.

I sat on top of that hill for hours after my break-down. The smell of my dad's funeral pyre still lingered in my nose as I kept my eyes fixed on the burnt patch of earth. Through the whole thing, I felt numb, like this really wasn't happening and dad would walk up behind me and nudge me to get off my ass and do something. But I know that's never going to happen. He's gone from this world forever.

As I sat alone on that hill, staring at where my father's body was sent to Valhalla, I heard someone approach from behind. When I turned around, I expected to see either Luna, Jackie, or even Swagger, walk up and offer their comfort or condolence. Instead, I see Celestia with a sad smile. "Hey, Celestia. What brings you by?"

“Just checking in on you,” Celestia said as she sat down beside me.

“You and everyone else,” I sighed.

Celestia raised her hoof to me but she paused and set it back down. “Did you know that I met Arminius more than once after I bestowed him the power of Lycanthropy?”

I shook my head as I went back to staring at the horizon. "Nope, I never knew that."

“It’s true,” Celestia continued. “I visited him a total of three times, including our first encounter. The second was when he had his son, Thumelicus. The last time was before he was on his death bed.” I stayed silent as I continued to stare. “I’ll never forget the words he told me when his son was born. He told me that Odin must have been smiling down at him for blessing him with his child. When the day came for his life to end, he joked that he still was healthy enough to go into battle, despite his age. I took the form of a human to blend in so that I could see him one last time. Before he passed, he told me that his descendants would train to uphold the promise he made to me when we first met, and help free my sister.” I glanced at Celestia who was still smiling at me. “You remind me so much of him, Joe.”

I let a small smile slip after hearing the end of her story. "Thanks." I turned back to her and gave her a smile before going back to the horizon. "You know, ever since mom passed away, dad has always been there, teaching me everything I know." I let out a small sniffle before continuing. "When you came to our house that day, it was both a day of joy and of dread."

"How so?"

"Well, it was joyful because we were able to return the favor for the gift you gave Arminius. But, it was dreadful, because dad and I honestly thought that this was going to be the last time we would ever see each other. When you told me I had the power to go back, I was thrilled that I could go and see my dad again. But now, now I know that he's gone forever." I couldn't take it anymore and wept my eyes out while whimpering like a fucking baby.

Celestia patted my back while I wracked from my crying fit. “It’s okay, Joe-”

“NO, IT’S NOT!” I snapped, slamming my fist in the dirt, making the earth crumble under my strike. “I’m the fucking protector of this world! I’m supposed to save everyone! I should’ve been faster with my ax! Then my dad would still be alive!” I involuntarily wolfed out, making Celestia back up. “I’m a failure! I let my dad die because I wasn’t strong or fast enough! Just like my own mother!”

SLAP!

I felt something hard hit me across my snout as I slowly looked back to see Celestia glaring at me with tears in her eyes. I noticed her hoof was in the air, which meant that she had slapped me with it.

“If you utter any more nonsense like that, I’ll personally fly you to the moon and make you stay there until you’ve come to your senses!” Celestia threatened with a couple of tears forming in her eyes. “I will not stand by and allow you to degrade yourself for something that even you have to admit could not be preventable! David knew the risks, yet he confronted Tirek anyway!”

I rubbed the place where she slapped me before saying something. "A bit extreme, just to teach me a lesson, but I didn't realize you cared so much?"

“Why wouldn’t I?!” Celestia stamped her hoof, causing the ground to shake again. “You’ve been such an inspiration to everypony you’ve met since your arrival! You even reunited my sister to me when I thought she was to be lost forever!” Tears dripped down from her face as her breathing became heavy. “You’re not just the king of Herot, nor Equestria’s God of War, or any other title they give you!” Before I could say anything, she lunged at me and wrapped her hooves and wings around me, and hugged me close. “You’re my precious friend! And your father was so proud of the man you’ve become, so don’t ever doubt yourself!”

I wanted to tell her otherwise, I wanted to push her away and tell her that she was wrong about me, I wanted to run and find the nearest monster and rip it apart. I wanted to do all these things, but I couldn't bring myself to separate from her hug for some reason.

The feeling of her coat was warm and her feathers were smooth to the touch. Her mane had the smell of frosting, which made me laugh on the inside. After a moment, I returned her hug in full vigor. "I won't doubt myself ever again," I whispered in her ear while positioning my head there. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," She whispered back. After a couple of minutes, we pulled our heads away to where we could see into each other's eyes. As I stared into her soft magenta eyes, my heart felt like it was trying to burst out of my chest. "Joe, if there is anything-" Going on pure instinct, I leaned in and met my lips with hers.

At first, she was a little surprised by what I had done, but she soon leaned in to further our kiss. Soon, our moment ended with us separating with a single strand of saliva still connecting our lips together.

A sudden realization hit me and I started to panic a little. "Oh, gods! Celestia, I'm sorry, I just got carried-" This time it was her turn to interrupt me by pulling me into a deeper kiss than before.

This time it was my turn to be surprised but I didn’t fight it. The kiss wasn’t anything raunchy like our tongues battling for dominance in our mouths, or anything like that. It was just our lips connecting with one another. I held her close as her wings remained around me until she slowly pulled back. When I gazed into her eyes again, they reminded me of how Luna and Jackie stare at me as their lover.

“Joe…you have no idea just how much you truly mean to me,” Celestia smiled. “I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while now. Ever since Hearts and Hooves Day, but was afraid you would reject it.”

“And…why’s that?” I managed to ask, still in a slight daze.

She leaned her head on my chest. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s that I…I have feelings for you.”

As she leaned her head on my chest, I tried to process all that she just said. Celestia had feelings for me, and from what she said for quite some time. I thought back to all the times we've spent together, the moments where she would look at me and quickly look away when I caught her and realized that there was always a slight sparkle in her eye whenever I entered the room.

I started stroking her hair as the warm feeling in my heart came back. I had to admit, she is beautiful and is fun to be around. Maybe this could work out? I lifted her chin so she can look me in the eye. "You know something, Tia. I believe I feel the same as you do."

“Y-You do?” She stammered, looking up at me and I nodded. “How?”

"It's hard to explain, but every time I see you, my heart beats a little faster and my eyes always find their way over to you. So you could say that subconsciously, I was trying to tell you how I felt, but couldn't find the right words to do so."

“You would love me…as you do with Lulu and Applejack?” She asked, her voice choking up. “You would…accept me as part of your herd?”

I brushed her cheek with my thumb while smiling at her. "Without hesitation." That seemed to be the right answer as she started to weep happily and tightened the hug we were in and brought me back in for another kiss.

We stayed that way for a long time, so long in fact that the moon had risen to the epicenter of its journey. Celestia and I pulled back to catch a breath of air before we went back to kissing. We stayed that way until we got exhausted and fell asleep on top of that hill, with our wings covering the other's body and acting as blankets.

As I slept under the stars with Celestia in my arms, I couldn't help but smile at the prospect of having her join the herd, and become more than an aunt to the boys and Scoots.

Author's Note

Told you guys this wouldn't take long.

Okay, first off, I would like to thank WurkyWilk358 0W0, for helping me with this chapter, he was a big help. So, if you're not following him already, I'd suggest you do so.

Second, the clip revealing the next chapter.