Chapter Three: Hush Now

Quoth The Sun

“Luna, how?” Celestia groaned after making sure that Red Rum was completely unconscious, dead to the world, save for the soft sounds of his breathing.

Her sister wouldn’t meet her eyes, though she still held onto her familiar. “...I pushed too hard.”

“You’re better at Mind-Diving than I am!” Celestia whispered incredulously. “If you so choose, then all but an Alicorn or an ancient Dragon would be completely ignorant of your meddling! You’re like a needle as thick as a piece of a mane!”

“It did not matter.” Luna replied softly. “The second I entered his mind, it shattered.”

“... I’ve been inside of his mind multiple times and he was fine. I don’t understand, sister.” The eldest being in the country shook her head slowly. “We can fix this. Have you tried wiping his memory?”

“I’ve doctored it completely. He’ll think I tried to give him a jolt of happiness so I could see a genuine smile on his face.”

“That would upset him.” Celestia said slowly.

“I deserve his ire. It would be unjust to rob him of the few emotions he has...” She trailed off, her voice full of regret.

“... I see the kindness in that, but we’ve already trodden on his mind. Does it really matter?”

Luna glared at Celestia, tears brimming in her eyes. “I cannot continue like this, Celestia. I keep breaking more pieces off of Red Rum and I’m sick of it. If he wants affection, he will have it. If he needs to make my life Tartarus for some semblance of contentment, then I will bear it for his sake.”

“... What did you see?”

“The woman who was to wed his brother slayed the man in front of him in the most brutal fashion. I have not seen such… barbarity, since we fought for Equestria’s sovereignty against Discord’s Horde.” Luan said, her voice trembling. “He was a colt, Celestia. He loved them both more than his own parents, and… THAT HORRID WHORSE-” Luna seethed, losing control for a few seconds.

“What, Luna? What happened?” Celestia asked, her heart already aching for the tortured soul.

“... She beat him, Celestia. She beat him bloody; broke his legs. Mashed his paws with a mallet.” Luna’s face contorted into one of rage, her tears falling in hot rivulets down her face. “She betrayed him in the worst of ways, and I made him relive that… I cannot believe I made him relive that, Celestia…”

Celestia knew that the weeping was going to start in earnest, so she closed the distance between them, nuzzling her to bring her a hoofful of the comfort she was trying to give her Familiar. “We cannot change the past, Luna. We cannot cross the worlds and right that wrong, but we can love Remmy while he’s here, can we not? We can give him-”

“Celestia, we cannot get close to him!” Luna sobbed. “I searched and searched and searched in his heart, but he has not trusted a soul since his own wife-to-be left him and left him homeless! This creature has no desire to be whole again and I understand! I get it...” She said, her voice weakening. “Even if we never crossed him, even if I give him all he could ever desire, we would have to warp his mind further to help him…”

As always, older sister knows best, and in this case, a headbutt was the best choice. “Knock it off.”

“Okay.” Luna mewled.

“The first thing we do is let Remmy wake up on his own. His favourite food is something called ‘barbeque pulled pork’, which is obtainable. I will gather that. The next thing he likes is the color red, so we will change this room to suit that. You can do that. The third thing is finding smaller, cuter ponies to let him hug, so I’m calling in the cutest ponies I know, and a harlot for good measure. Males across all species like a good mare, and Fleur can charm just about anything with legs.” Celestia touched her nose to Luna’s and started pacing. “Fluffy Puffy is a little ball of joy, so she’s definitely one of the Rescue Crew, and Applejack’s honest country charm is beyond endearing, and as an added plus, her accent aligns with the ones I’ve heard from the good memories, so the familiarity should count for something. Pinkie-”

“No!” Luna breathed. “Pinkie and Red Rum together will menace all of Canterlot!”

Celestia turned to her and gave her a seriously serious look. “I believe it might take just that, Luna. If we can make Red Rum have fun with the funnest, party-hardiest Pony in Equestria, then we stand a chance of giving him a taste of real happiness for but a few fleeting moments.”

Luna bit her lip, the headache already building. “... If you think it will work… What about Twilight? She is-”

“Oh Tartarus no.” Celestia interrupted. “Twilight’s psyche is delicate as is. Red Rum stands a very good chance of turning her bitter and jaded or frazzling her mind until I need to send her back home to her parents. No, Twilight is not strong enough to withstand someone with Remmy’s frame of mind.”

“What about her friend Fluttershy? Would her kindness not be of use?” Luna asked a little desperately. “I would rather offer him the friendship of a sweet, harmless pony like her rather than a night of passion with a whorse.”

“Passion is a strong word if we’re talking about your Familiar,” Celestia said, seeing flaws in that plan, “and there’s no telling if Remmy could even find a pony sexually attractive since we look similar enough to animals from his world. He used to work on large farms like the ones out west and took care of creatures that look like incredibly stoic, handsome stallions. Even the mares looked like stallions, come to think of it.”

Luna looked down to Red Rum’s sleeping form with concern and remorse, her thoughts painted on her face for her sister to see, though Celestia still let her speak her mind rather than guessing what she was going to say. “You said that he thinks of us as dolls. I doubt he will ever hope to find love in what he sees as talking playtoys.”

“When have you ever lost hope?” Celestia asked softly.

Luna took a moment to let that sink in. “... Bucking never. You are right. I still do not like the idea of selling a mare to my Familiar though.”

“Fluttershy is a sensitive creature, Luna. Fleur is a personal friend of mine, and she can take a harsh rejection. Red Rum would have to deride Fleur for hours to even bother her slightly whereas Fluttershy can barely withstand a gentle rebuke.”

“... She befriended Discord.”

“She was protecting her friends at the same time.”

Luna sighed. “Perhaps I’ve put her on a pedestal. I’d like to know that she be held in reserve, however.”

“I don’t want to risk another pony’s health, Luna.”

“The Elements of Harmony will undoubtedly be there for her should Red Rum leave an emotional bruise. Your faith in them was far greater but months ago, sister.”

Celestia sighed. “Fluttershy’s our Plan B for now.”

Luna nodded. “Then we start at once. Gather the pork; I’ll start changing the color scheme of this room, and we can reach out to the Rescue Crew together.”

The Solar Diarch exchanged firm nods with the Lunar Diarch, and with that, they knew that between the might of the Sun and the Moon, Red Rum’s recovery into a being that could feel once more was a path that could be traveled with dedication, devotion, and after a little thought on Celestia’s part, bacon. All meat eaters loved bacon, after all.

Quoth The Wendigo

I woke up warm with arms around me and the scent of blueberry pie easing its way into my nose. I felt a little more hollow than normal and my eyes were dry when I opened them, so I didn’t bother doing it again until I nuzzled the thing holding me. It was blue. The only blue thing I knew of that had fuzzy arms was the Cookie Monster, but then I realized that I didn’t feel any hands on me and that I was listening to a heartbeat, so it obviously wasn’t the Cookie Monster, as awesome as that would have been. I tried to think of what would be holding me and why, but my mind was clouded like I’d been downing shots, though my stomach didn’t feel like it at all.

“Have you awoken?” Luna asked softly.

“... Luna?” I asked dumbly.

“Yes, Red Rum. I am here.”

“... Not that this isn’t really great, and I mean it’s fuckin’ fantastic, and I really do mean that, but why are you touching me?”

“... I made a mistake. Do you not remember?”

“I remember getting punched in the stomach but nothing after that. Was that your fault?” I asked a little irritably.

“Yes, but that’s not what I speak of. The Summons should not have hurt you unless you rejected it.” She said, her tone warm and caring.

It was a little creepy, to be honest.

“... Alright, so how did you fuck up and why are you holding me?”

“... I tried to give you a little happiness. I wanted to see a genuine smile on your face, and my greed caused your to have an awful reaction to my Magic. You fainted in tears.” Massa explained, remorse in her voice.

“Well thanks for doing stupid shit, I guess. It’s nice that I don’t remember it though, so we’re cool.”

“Cool?”

“I’m not any more mad at you than usual, so I’m not hot-blooded. I’m cool. We’re cool. You don’t have to hold me.”

“Is it not comforting?” She asked.

“Oh, it’s fuckin’ great. It’s like being hugged by a big, warm plushie, and your heartbeat is really soothing. I’d like to go back to sleep, but I doubt you’re letting me do that.” I answered blithely.

Much to my surprise, Luna gave me a squeeze. “I will come to love you, Red Rum. I want you to know this. I already care for you, but the love will come in the future.”

“... Okay, that’s not ominous or foreboding at all. What really happened?”

“... Your reaction to Empathetic Magic was worse than ‘bad’, my Familiar. I would not put you through such an ordeal again, no matter what you do.” Luan said, her voice thick with lies and regret.

“So you tried to rape my mind or something. Gotcha. What did you learn?” I asked, taking a shot in the dark.

“Mind-Diving is illegal for all but therapeutic purposes, my Familiar. I could not do that to you without your permission.” Luna said, truth ringing through in her words.

“So what really happened?”

“I told you-”

“Yeah, but you’re a liar liar pants on fire, hanging from a telephone liar. I’m not going to be upset or anything unless you tried to warp me into a smile machine or something. Starmachine2000 is lovely song. I like stars. There are stars in your mane and that’s super cool. Can I touch you mane?” I asked, trying to throw her off.

“You may.”

I pushed myself up and stared Luna down. “What the fuck did you do to me, Luna?”

“I can restore your memory, but…” She frowned and blinked a few times in rapid succession.

I didn’t like the way that sounded. “Can I sniff your tail?”

“No.” She gave me a disgusted look.

I smiled. “There we go.”

“Oh, you utter foal!” She groaned. “Ugh, find something better to do with your time than vex me, mortal.”

I let a hand rest on her neck and she looked at it for a moment before looking back at me with no outward sign of discomfort. “... My hands don’t bother you?”

“I used my magic to make you stroke my fur while you were asleep. I can bear it for a few minutes.”

“... I don’t really want to mess with someone who already feels bad.” I said grumpily, giving Luna a quick hug that she leaned in for.

“It’s a shame that it takes somepony suffering already for you to leave them alone.” Luna said gently, giving me a sad look.

“Stop that. I don't do shame.”

“You should. I feel shame for hurting you, as a healthy person should.”

“I’ll bite you, dammit.”

Luna glared at me and flushed brightly. “Bite hard and buck my flank, you naughty colt.”

I felt my face flush. “... The fuck?”

“Two can play at your little game, foal.” She said flatly, her face bright red.

“Yeah, but only one of us would follow through on half of what we said.”

Her face stayed red as she said, “Yes, but only one of us has the power to stop the other from doing half of what we say we will do.”

“Gotcha.”

She shook her head and made her mane billow and wave as she did. “Victory. I request that you come along with me to Night Court after your meal.”

“Didn’t we already have dinner slash breakfast?” I asked.

“Yes, but you did not eat.”

I blinked at her. “Oh yeah, I left after you lied and said that you weren’t going to hug me.”

“How did I lie?” Luna asked, her brow furrowing.

I gave her a shit eating grin. “You don’t remember ourtime together in bed, basking in the afterglow of a healthy mistake?”

She sighed so hard, I thought she was deflating. “Dammit.”

“Get ready for a long night, Lulu.”

“Do not call me that, Red Rum.”

“Stop saying my full name.”

“Rummy.”

“I love that game. Do you know how to play?”

“... Would you like to play at Night Court?”

“Can we take shots for every hundred points?”

She opened her mouth, let it close, and then answered. “... That would pass the time. I assume that the you would take shots for my points and I for yours?”

“Why would we be trying to get each other drunk?”

“Why not?” Luna countered, confusing the fuck out of me.

“I know you’re trying to sleep with me, but the main thing I’m worried about is how you’re not shooting down my suggestions as they come.”

“I am not trying to sleep with a foal, and playing a game and drinking is something I would do with a friend.”

“... So you’re not trying to enslave me anymore?”

“The only thing I will make you do is live, and that is something all Ponies would support.” Luna replied kindly. “It is not because I hate you, or that I feel it is my responsibility to take care of you. It is because letting you throw your life away would be a crime that I could not forgive myself for, no matter how I justified it.”

“You’re still making me do something because of your will.” I said flatly, my voice like a plateau that had been sanded down to make the bubble in a level sit exactly in the center across the entire surface. Or like Earth-chan’s chest. Whichever.

“I cannot apologize for doing what I believe in my heart is right.” Luna looked at me, but there wasn’t… She… I dunno, it’s like she saw straight through me, knew my answer before I was going to even say anything. She knew that I was about to curse her down like a rabid dog, and then she knew that I was about to tell her to shut up, and then she knew I was going to tell her to mind her own business. Every time I changed my answer, she knew what it was going to be, and I didn’t like that.

“Tractor sand blue burn, motherfucker!” I shouted, a little pissed.

She blinked at me and looked behind me a second after. “You rang?” A male voice asked.

I turned and saw one ugly fucker. “Hey there, handsome.” We said simultaneously.

“Discord, please leave.” Luna sighed.

He huffed. “I was in the middle of my shows, you know. Next time, stop him before he gets past ‘tractor’.” The dude lifted a claw and snapped his digits before he winked out of existence.

“Discord, eh?” I asked after a moment.

“Don’t bother him unless you want your life to be more difficult, and less worth living. If he turns you into something, I may never find you.” Luna warned, clambering off of my bed.

I took a moment to actually look at my bed and noticed that it was maroon. “... Why-” I looked around and saw that a lot of the things that used to be blue in the room were now red. In fact, there wasn’t anymore blue in the room. Just maroon, charcoal grey, and ash grey.
My favorite color combination. That I hadn’t said a word about. “Luna, did you read my mind?”

“I did not need to. There are basic things about you that I am aware of through our connection. I also know your favorite food, shoe size, your measurements, and your least favorite food.” Luna answered plainly, like I should have already known that.

“... So you changed my room because…?”

“Would you like it to be blue again?”

“How long was I asleep?” I scratched my head.

“I am an Alicorn, Red- Rummy. Changing the colors around this place is foal’s play at best.”

“Can you give make my skin brown? I always wanted to be a black guy so I could have a litter of illegitimate children and pay no child support.” I said.

“Why would the color of your skin dictate how you act?”

“It just does back on Earth, apparently.” I scoffed. “Being white makes you evil and pretentious, being yellow makes you smart and eat dogs, and being brown makes you an absent or abusive parent.”

“That’s a foalish way of thinking. That’s akin to the superstition that blue ponies are sad, yellow ponies are happy, and pink ponies are whorses.”

“How many of each that fit into those categories do you know?” I asked to amuse myself.

Luna cracked a smile. “Stereotypes have bases somewhere, I suppose, but I am not a perpetually depressive kind of Pony.”

“No, you’re usually just salty.”

“Mmm, I could go for a margarita.” Luna murmured.

“... Yo, baby, Massa; You aight?” I asked.

She nodded. “I am fine. I’ve just decided to try poking holes in my filter to relate to to you on a deeper level.”

“... So you’re really trying to befriend me here. Huh.” I scratched my cheek, a little amused.

“Is that a bad thing?” Luna queried.

I decided to just throw something into the water. “I’d rather court you properly if you’re going to treat me right.”

She didn’t bite and laughed instead. “Oh, I’m never going to marry you. I dated a thousand years ago, and I find no reason to do it again.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “What, too many guys were just after tail, or what?”

“My tail or my power.” She snorted. “Paper thin facades lead to deep seeded trust issues, which is why the spell I put on you when you tried to impale yourself on me has been actively keeping you neutral rather than depressive. You would have to find a reason to take your life now, and you can thank buckheads that are long dead for that.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “You never let me have any fun, Mom.”

“I don’t think you want another mother.” Luna replied. It was just a statement as far as I could tell.

I shrugged. “I never figured that one out to be honest with you. You can take that tidbit as payment for opening up about your own past.”

Massa blinked in surprise. “Celestia would-”

“She’s more like a fun aunt who doesn't make you shovel cow shit.”

Luna cracked up at that and started walking out of the room, so I followed quickly enough to not get left behind because she stopped being a twat. “You don’t know Celestia that well. She once made me wade through a sewer without walkways to complete a mission. I could feel the feces in my soul.”

“Guess you were just full of shit for a while, weren’t you?”

“You’re one to talk. When’s the last time you had a bowel movement?” I gave her a fucked up look and she gave me a grin. “This is the banter I exchange with Celestia. I must admit that it is quite enjoyable to see the looks you give me, muted as they are.”

“Sorry I’m not more expressive, but you’re just throwing me through a loop here. I’m already kind of used to you being… Vexed.”

“I have not been making you feel like a slave or a pet, so you have not been menacing me. It was always that simple, I just never felt that I owed you kindness before, and that was my first mistake.”

“Stop being nice and let me menace you.”

“Stop sucking lemons behind my back, sourpuss.”

“Oh, that was good. I’ll have to use that.”

“Really? I thought it was a little bland myself. I will have to run it by Celestia.” Luna said casually.

“So are you and Celestia blood-related or what? You two really don’t look anything alike, but it’s not like I’m an expert on your kind of Pony.”

“Ah, you’re the first person in a very long time to guess that Celestia and I share blood by the covenant instead of being connected by the waters of the womb. Perhaps I will tell you of how we met later in the night?”

“Sounds good to me. I can tell you about how I met the chick who was both my gay best friend and my token black friend. Felicity was so cool, and her dad was such a funny fucker. I called him a racial slur once and he duct-taped me to a chair and made me watch Roots with him, pointing out all of his ancestors and naming their favorite foods. It was all chicken and watermelon to that guy.” I sighed.

“I assume-”

“Luna, what is that hideous creature!?” Some blond stallion with a white coat said from a side hall we were passing.

I looked at Luna and she closed her eyes, took a breath, and let it out in the space of eight second. “Blueblood, this is my Familiar, Red-”

“Get it out of here! This- This- Deformed monster has no place in my home!” Blueblood whined loudly. I already didn’t like the guy, and it wasn’t because he called me deformed.

Massa’s face grew red as she leveled a glare at him. “I dare-”

“Are you still talking!?” He shouted. “What is wrong with you!? Has being on the Moon torn your standards to pieces!? What kind of pony walks on two legs like some filthy Dog!?”

I turned to Luna, who was trembling slightly. “Can you do anything about this guy?”

“No.” She murmured back with much salt.

I patted her neck and started walking toward the nuisance. “Hey buddy.”

His face contorted into one of absolute disgust with a pinch of disdain and a lot of snooty in the booty. “You dare address me!? You will remember you place you worm.” He roared, marching up to me quickly.

I gave him a wide smile and he stopped, but he’d already fucked up. “Heya brava! Do you love me?”

“Filthy-” Was as far as he made it before I sent a kick into the side of his head with my full weight behind it, but before his head could finish snapping to the left, I seized it and extended my middle, ring, and index fingers before jamming them into his throat with little in the way of morals telling me that I as doing something wrong. Loudmouths get shut up, so I pretended that I was on better terms with Luna and let the magically induced love in my heart make me furious that some piece of shitdared disrespect her in front of me.

Quoth The Moon

Luna’s jaw dropped as she watched Red Rum’s flurry of movement, and she finally snapped out of her reverie when she saw blood flying out of Blueblood mouth as her Familiar beat him with no regard for the law, ponanity, or even common decency. She couldn’t help but feel her heart pound in her chest; feel the adrenaline surge through her veins. She couldn’t stop the dew from collecting beneath her tail either, but she was mostly concerned with stopping Rummy from actually killing Blueblood. However, she didn’t have to step in because soon enough, Red Rum stopped holding Blueblood’s face and shoved him over onto his side, the ‘poor’ stallions face a bloody mess.

“That’s not going to heal right.” Luna commented, casting a few spells around the halls, but none on Blueblood himself.

Red Rum dislodged a tooth from his hand. “Disrespectful little asshole, wasn’t he?”

“Quite. I assume you did that because I could not?”

“Yup. That and he was just being a real negative nag, y’know?”

“That he is.” She stopped the flow of her Magic and walked over to where her Familiar was standing, quite proud of his tolerance for rude, uppity, self-entitled, do-nothing layabouts. “Could I ask of you one more favor? I cannot leave my magical signature on him if we are to get away with this.”
“Could you heal my hand after? Pony teeth are big.” Red Rum bargained.

Luna nodded and gave him a wide smile. “Twist his testicles several times until they will go no further. I’ve located six more of Blueblood’s illegitimate foals and Celestia refuses to make him claim them. He does not deserve to have more.”

“I can break walnuts with my bare hands.” Her increasingly respectable Familiar informed. “There’s a Gay Tax on making me touch another guy’s junk though.”

“What is your price?”

“Your left eye is blind, right?”

Luna frowned. “How did you know that?”

“That’s effectively a yes, so let me walk on your left side from now on.”

“... Why?”

“Because if Blueblood was more than a nuisance, he could’ve killed you. And you had to turn all the way to see him. That’s how I knew.”

“... Why do you suddenly care so much? I thought you still disliked me.”

“I take care for my friends.” Red Rum answered simply.

Luna looked at him for a moment before nodding, finding the new depths to his character interesting and more than a little appealing. “Deal. It is a boon to me anyway.”

Red Rum gave her a smirk. “That means I get to poke and stroke you and you’ll never see it coming.”

She rolled her eyes and gave him a little smile in turn. “I do not think you would abuse the trust I am giving you.”

He frowned. “Seriously, did you read my mind?”

“The less I fuss and fret over you, the more I see of you. You are an honorable man, Red Rum, and although I’d like to compliment you on your brutalization of Blueblood, I need you to pop his berries before he wakes up.”

“I’ll pop ‘em, then I’ll spread his legs and you stomp them. New deal, not Jew deal?”

Luna nodded and Red Rum went over to fulfill his part of the trade, then he rolled Blueblood onto his back and spread his hind-hooves for Luna, standing over his barrel. “What is a Jew deal?” She asked interestedly.

“One where I’d cheat you out of a large sum of money. Jews are eviler than white folk, dontcha know?” Rummy commented as Luna worked out seven years of frustration. He seemed to be having a hard time holding Blueblood’s legs open, and when the screaming started, it got a little harder.

“Take care of that, will you?” Luna shouted over Blueblood’s racket.

Rummy nodded, let go of Blueblood’s legs, and then walked around to stand over the arrogant buckstain’s head. She wasn’t expecting Red Rum to miss his first stomp, but then she considered the fact that he missed on purpose because he did it multiple times before savagely kicking their quarry in the barrel.

“Heya brava! Do you lo~ove me?” Red Rum sang. “Do you lo~ve me?” Blueblood didn’t answer and wailed instead, which made Red Rum frown deeply and kick him again. “It doesn’t stop ‘til ya lo~ve me, brava! Do you lo~ve me?”

“I-I-I-” Blueblood stammered, shying away from Red Rum’s continued stomping around his head. “I love you! I love you brava, please! I love you!”

“Good.” Red Rum growled, kneeling beside the biggest thorn in Luna’s side. Well, the biggest one in her own home, that is. She watched on with great interest as Rummy said, “You love me, so you’re not telling anyone about who did this to you, right?”

The pathetic Prince sniffled and threw up on himself, which wasn’t what Red Rum evidently wanted him to do because it earned him a punch. “Brava, you love me, right?”

“I-I love you, I swear!” Blueblood hiccupped.

“Then you don’t know who did this, RIGHT!?” Red Rum roared, saliva flying from his mouth.

Luna giggled as she considered the situation. Blueblood had no hope of help arriving since there was an aversion charm on them, a camouflage bubble paired with a soundproofing sphere, and she surely wasn’t going to stop Red Rum from doing anything short of murdering him. It then struck her that Red Rum’s name was a palindrome and was undoubtedly fake, so she resolved to ask him about it after a few shots. Like she’d said earlier, the less she fussed at Red Rum, the more she saw, and the more she saw, the more she liked. What Red Rum was doing was psychological torture; a cerebral type of degradation that she’d participated in many times. His style was similar to her early work since he was backing up his imprinting with pain and fear, mixing in Saddled Syndrome by forcing Blueblood to confess something time and time again, which would trickle into a fragile mind and become an insidious belief rather than a simple thought, and she most definitely approved.

Blueblood failed to answer in time, so Red Rum punched him twice in the mouth, loosening more teeth. “Heya brava. Do. You. Love. Me?”

“I plomise. I plomise I love you.” The Prince replied weakly, sobbing.

“Then you don’t know who did this, right?” ‘Red Rum’ stroked his mane like a parent would for a frightened foal, earning more of Luna’s respect. She wouldn’t have been surprised if ‘Red Rum’ was using her preferred version of Saddled Syndrome unknowingly.

“I-I don’t know. I dunno I swear I dunno-ho-hooo.”

“Then you’re not going to make me come and test your love for me, right?” Rummy asked, solidifying her suspicions by using a mollifying tone filled with tenderness.

“I sweal I sweal I sweal I sweal-” Blueblood’s breath caught in his lungs when Red Rum pressed a thumb against one of his eyes. Bloody urine seeped out of his mangled sheath. “OhdealCelesthia, pleasthe pleasthe pleasthe nooo!”

“Test my love and I’ll never let you see me again, okay, dear? I love you, and I don’t want to hurt you, but you hurt me inside when you called me those horrible names. If you love me, you’ll never let such hateful words leave your mouth again, right? Because you love me, brava.”

“I love you.”

Red Rum removed his hand and stood. “Then you’ll understand why I’m doing this, right?”

“Pleasthe! ple-he-he-HEEEE-” Red Rum stomped Bluebloods face two good times and he was out cold.

“There we go.” Red Rum huffed. He looked to Luna. “Got a problem with psychological abuse?”

“Not when delivered unto a mareizing, abusive, racist, foalish, foolish, spiteful, hateful, cocky, absentee-slash-neglectful-father. I have little pity for Blueblood, but I have to ask you a question, Red Rum.” Luna started walking away, keeping an eye on Red Rum to see if he was following her.

He followed and came to her left side. “Is it about where I learned to fight?”

“No. It’s about how you knew to cover your tracks with techniques I’ve used before.”

“Ah. It’s-” Red Rum grimaced and Luna heard him stop walking.

“Something that was done to you. I understand.” Luna said softly.

“I dunno about that, but you’re probably right. I think I’m repressing memories.”

“I would offer to bury them deeper into your subconscious for you, but that would require me entering your mind.”

“Yeah, no, don’t walk into my brain.”

Luna nodded since she’d expected the response. “Of course. What kind of alcohol would you like to drink in Night Court?”

“I like whiskey, brandy, and amaretto.”

“I like whiskey, but brandy is Celestia’s drink of choice. Oh, if she comes after you for beating her nephew, feel free to use me as an excuse.”

“Happily. I don’t think I can run from her.”

“You couldn’t run from either of us, for future reference. I have another question for you, if you have the inclination to answer.”

“Can you heal my hand before it gets infected?”

Luna traced her magic back to Red Rum and let it flow into him. “It should heal up in a few hours, but if you niggle at the wound, it will scar.”

“If I can go six days without eating or jerking it in high school, then I can avoid fucking up my appearance any further.”

“Do not tell me you are vain.” Luna deadpanned.

“Very. It runs deep enough to make me avoid certain kinds of suicide. What’s your question though?”

“Why did you really brutalize Blueblood? I know you said that you take care of your friends, but we are not that friendly yet.”

“Ah, it’s because I saw the way you reacted to him talking to you. I infuriate you, but that guy had you ready to fly off the handle in a few words. Guess you could say I was jealous.”

Luna whapped her Familiar with a wing. “You’re incorrigible.”

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you use a contraction.”

“A what?”

“A word like ‘you’re’ or ‘can’t’. You usually say both words or just avoid saying one in general.”

“Ah. It is a lazy way to speak. Is that the true reason, though?”

“For the Blueblood thing? He put off a bad vibe, was extremely hostile, and apparently thought that you didn’t deserve common decency. He’s a rodent. I don’t need more reasons, do I?”

“You only need a few honest ones, my Familiar.” She chuckled. “If you weren’t so fond of joking around, I wouldn’t have to ask so often.”

“Fair enough.” He said quietly.

“Is there something on your mind?” Luna asked, making sure to sound like she cared. She really did since Red Rum’s thoughts were bound to be interesting, but she had trouble getting her emotions across from time to time.

“You said that what I did to fuckface back there was within your scope.”

“I assume that means that you are surprised that I was once a custodian.”

“Very. You don’t strike me as the warm and tender type, but torture just doesn’t seem like your thing.” Red Rum commented. Luna wondered if he was looking at her, but she couldn’t see, and that bothered her.

“I would tell you of that part of my life, but it is better left in the past, my Familiar. The world has changed-”

“Luna, fucking someone up is a skill you never lose. My Shifu and my Sensei were both in their sixties when I studied under them, but they were still lethal people.”

“You studied under both a man and a woman?” The Lunar Diarch asked, confused.

“Yeah. I learned Wing Chun from an old Chinese man and Hapkido from a woman who I don’t dare call old. Fuck that. She dislocated my shoulder when I asked her to teach me some of her own special moves that she’d worked on with some friends and tried to get pushy about it.”

“What style was the one you used for Blueblood?”

“Wing Chun. It’s strong with quick strikes, but it lacks many finishers. Hapkido was more of a grappling style, but I learned a lot of my weapon skills from that one. Either way, polearms and clubs are my thing.”

“Do you work with bladed weapons often?”

“I kept a pocket knife for a long time, but I switched to an extending baton because it was a lot like a Dan Bong, which was the thing I was best with. I don’t really like blades since external bleeding is ugly, even if I do like the colors of arterial and vascular blood respectively. Internal bleeding can turn people the most beautiful colors.”

Luna whapped him with a wing again. “Since when are you a sadist?”

He barked out a laugh. “I counted nine people in my adult life who thought that my apathy towards life meant that I was a doormat, and several people thought that it meant I was a punching bag. Looking down on me is a good way to get broken.”

“The pride of an American, then?”

“Exactly. Born and raised in a constant struggle financially, but I learned that grinding your nose against sandpaper and diamonds gets you places, even if it’s just to the water’s surface. Learned that taking losses only counts for shit if there’s a gun to your head.”

Luna snarled. “Guns are the bane of a good person’s soul. They lack any semblance of honor.”

“What about a bow?”

“A what?”

“A bow and arrow.”

“Is that like a crossbow? The Dogs and Cats of the Eastern World dare not use them in combat lest they be executed for assassination.”

“... Using ranged weapons is banned period?” Red Rum asked, confusion and shock evident in his voice.

“It has been banned since the very conception of the idea. Hoof-to-hoof combat requires skills. Armed combat requires skill. Any fool with a paw, wings, or magic can kill with a projectile weapon, and so they are banned.”

“What happens if a country lifts the ban?” I asked

“... What do you mean a country? The ban is worldwide. A single country lifting the ban would be political, diplomatic, commercial, and residential self-destruction. That’s why the Dog tribes are as meager as they are now. Dogs invented the crossbow, tried to use them in war a thousand and a half years ago, and forfeited their rights to honorable combat. The Dragons razed their villages, the Cats razed their economy, and the Ponies enslaved their people before the practice was banned. A single country acting in a hostile fashion ends with the destruction of that country.”

“... Holy shit, I thought this world was about love and peace!” Red Rum exclaimed, though his voice still came out flat. His volume raised, but not his pitch.

“It is. It always has been, ever since the Ponies banded together to create Equestria in its early years. Ponies were the last race to unify, you know.” Luna informed, giving a few pieces of history.

“... Weird. I got a question for you.”

“You have a question for me.”

“Sugar, I’ll buck ye’.” Red Rum twanged with the countriest accent Luna had heard outside of the expansive Apple Family.

“You know Applejack already?” She asked, surprised.

“Nope. Does she say ‘Sugar’ and talk like I used to?”

“An accent tends to stay with one for life,” Luna commented, “but to answer your question; yes.”

“Huh. I always did like hearing a familiar voice when I moved away from my home state.” He said tonelessly.

“Would you like to meet her? She’s a very pleasant mare, and her heart is practically made of gilded platinum. I do hold her in esteem, despite the fact that she told me that I act as if I am twice Celestia’s size. I do not understand why she said that-”

“It’s because you tend to be a little hostile when you’re not treating someone like a friend.” Red Rum cut in. “As for meeting Applejack, I doubt she wants to meet me.”

Luna huffed. “I am not hostile, and as far as Applejack goes, I would have her bring a friend of hers named Pinkie along. I believe you and Pinkie would get along famously, and that you and Applejack would find common interests in drinking and blunt honesty.”

“You’re a little hostile.” Red Rum said bluntly, using the aforementioned honesty to make Luna’s cheeks redden. “Are you trying to make me make friends?”

“I will only make you live. It is up to you whether or not you would meet them.”

Red Rum strolled into Luna’s gussied up trap, picked up the bait, and took a bite. “If you’re not making me do it, then why would you want me to?”

She closed the door. “Applejack would be a good friend for you and Pinkie would bring you the most fun you could possibly imagine. I hate Pinkie, if that tells you anything.”

“I get why you want me to be on good terms with someone you respect, but why do you want me to like someone you don’t?”

“Red Rum, let me explain something to you.” Luna said, her voice laden with vexation in a similar amount to what Red Rum usually filled her with. She lowered her tone and spoke as if she was speaking of Tirek himself; the biggest threat Equestria ever knew beyond Discord. “Pinkie Pie is like you, but there is nothing in her heart in most given moments other than pure, unadulterated whimsy. That… Mare. That is a word for her. That mare is one of the singularly most annoying creatures on the face of the planet, if not the most annoying thing that has ever spoken to me.”

Rummy put his hand on her neck and pushed lightly, making Luna whap him with a wing. “So what? You think the two most annoying things in your life will get along?”

“Your brand of fun involves messing with people until they’re ready to hit you. Pinkie’s brand of fun makes people want to restrain her with chains and a muzzle. You’re a match made in Tartarus for all sane Ponies, all Dragons, Naga, and Wyrms, and I doubt that there are many Cats or Griffins that would care for your combined presence.”

“So get Pinkie and spend the day with you?”

“If that would put a smile on your face, I would be willing to bear it for a day.” Luna said truthfully, though uneasily.

“Seriously? You’d rather be annoyed until you want to rip your face off than have me subsist?”

“As I said earlier, I do care for you. The best way that I can think to show you that this is true is to extend patience unto you and treat you as an equal, as improper as I believe it to be for a Princess to bond with her familiar as a friend.”

“... How bad did I break down when you tried to make me happy?”

“Bad enough for me to never attempt to implant another artificial emotion in your heart again.”

“Like, screaming and crying or…?”

“Pleading and sobbing for the end.” She replied remorsefully.

Red Rum pinched her neck and giggled. “Luna, you’re forgiven as far as that goes. I could ‘plead and sob’ right now, I just don’t want to get all snotty.”

She wrapped a wing around him for a moment. “That hurts my heart to hear, but it does not surprise me.”

“Would it hurt your heart to hear that I don’t really want any friends?”

“No, I expect to hear that.” Luna answered, citing his similar distaste for having another sibling as the basis for the assumption.

“... We both know you read my mind, so why are you lying about it?”

“Why do you say that I’ve read your mind?”

“Because you suddenly know me like I’m one of your hooves-”

“Red Rum, do you think you are a complicated man on the surface?” Luna interrupted. “I assure you; you are an open book once one opens their eyes to see past your disregard for all things involving living a happy life. You refuse to betray trust given to you, do you not? If someone you were fond of asked you to stay your hand the very next time you thought to kill yourself, would you not honor that wish and wait for the next time?”

“... I don’t know.” He said softly.

“Would you not protect someone who could not protect themselves, as you wish someone would have done for you?”

“How do you know that?” He asked, his voice gaining an edge. “If you’re not going to show me the common fuckin’ courtesy of bein’ honest, then whadda we got to talk about?”

“I did not read your mind. Impressions of your morals backlashed and barbed my consciousness when I tried to make you happy, and I have been slowly sussing out the feelings and putting them into words. You mistake my insight and knowledge of the heart born from being exponentially older than yourself for mind-rape.” Luna said factually, turning her blind eye to Red Rum, guessing where he was from the sound of his footsteps and voice. “What you need to understand is that you are not unlike a foal to me, when compared to my near immeasurable amount of experience in handling addled minds.”

He shoved her. “Shut up.”

Luna smiled. “When you lose your status as an enigma, you come across as a good, kind soul with violent tendencies. You are simply misguided in your view of your own life. Many people are.”

“... Man, I liked it so much better when you were yelling at me.”

“Untrue.”

“But shut up tho.”

Luna chuckled. “Would you like a hug?”
“I’ll ride you.”

“I ask that you do not.”

Red Rum jumped onto Luna’s back and she freaked out immediately, hating the feeling of having his legs on her barrel. “How’s-”

“GET OFF!” Luna’s voice cracked the stone beneath her hooves, shattered the windows nearby, and fractured the marble pillars around them.

Rummy fell off of her. “... Shit.”

The incensed Princess turned to her Familiar. “Attempt to ride me once more and I will bind your legs together for a year and a day after tucking your penis between them.” She seethed.

“O-kay. Luna doesn’t like to be ridden.” Red Rum said calmly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I do not. Most Ponies do not.” She snorted harshly. “Do not make me ground you.”

“I thought you were going to try the ‘friendly’ approach.”

“There are things I will tolerate and things I will not. Disrespect when I show you none in turn is one thing I have no patience for.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Your heart was not behind it. Get up and come along. We have a game to play.”

Quoth The Wendigo

I picked myself up off of the floor after Luna made it clear without saying a single word about it that she was going to mutilate me and take my appearance away from me if I didn’t fall in line with the new path she was trying to take me down. I wasn’t trying to get fucked up since she knew that erasing my body from existence would be something that I would be horrified by, and the prospect of having to sit down to pee just wasn’t all that appealing. It was actually scary as shit since I knew that Luna’s patience only extended so far, and now that I knew how far I could go before there were consequences, I was feeling better about pushing those boundaries.

As we arrived in Night Court, Luna ordered a few of her guards to bring in a table and she teleported all of my favorite kinds of liquor in so we could have a good game of ginless rummy. We didn’t say much during the first game, and that was because Luna was still upset, and I… I don’t know, and I was sure that I hated it, but I felt ashamed for being the cause of her irritation. I knew that fucking with people who were nice to me wasn’t something I liked to do beyond a few pranks that never amounted to much, but I just…

It was gross.

“Hey sexy, can I pour your shot?” I asked when I racked up another hundred points during a round.

Luna gave me a flat look. “Do not call me that.”

“Beautiful, then.”

“Just pour the shot.”

I gave her a little grin and filled the little glass. “You know, your little fuck up might be making me feel shit again.”

She slammed the shot like a champ and gave me a look. “Filling me with false hope is more than a little cruel, ‘Rummy’.” I heard the quotes in her inflection.

“I honestly feel the slightest bit bad about pissing you off. Honestly. It’s irritating me. It’s like a drop of poison in my pond, and it’s the only thing in there, so it’s standing out. Make it stop.” I ended with a growl.
“It is a consequence of your own actions. Deal with it.” She replied coolly, playing her hand predominantly on the cards I’d already put down.

That was irritating too. Both what she said and what she did. “First off, stop stealing my points. Second, go fuck yourself. I don’t deal with anything I don’t want to.”

“I once thought in a similar manner such as you do. I believed that my power, rivaled by only a foal’s hoofful of people on this planet, made me untouchable. I was proven wrong, as you already know that you are.”

“I’ll hit you.”

“What would it accomplish? It would not make you feel any better, I would barely feel it, and it would only make getting a hug from myself or Celestia unlikely in the future. I know you do not like feeling cornered, so let me free you from the bonds you have placed upon yourself,” We ended the round and she started pouring pouring four shots due to bullshit, “and give you a chance at a better existence than subsistence, as you yourself have said that your life equates to.”

“Subsistence is perfectly fine by me.”

“Should I actually read your mind and share what I find?” Luna asked briskly. “You don’t want to know what you truly desire.”

“You talking like you fucking know me is really starting to piss me off, Lunatone.”

“Cute. Lunatone, not your anger. I do not find your anger cute at all.”

“Then stop pissing me off.”

“Making you live does that in and of itself.”

“It gets worse when you act like you’ve been a part of my life from the get go.” I grumbled irritably.

“Would taking your frustrations out through coitus make you feel any better?”

“Erectile dysfunction. Even if you could find someone willing to sleep with a ‘deformed monster’, I couldn’t get it up, even if I actually wanted to, which I don’t. Sex was never that noice to me.”

“If that is the main problem preventing you from seeking pleasure through meaningless sex with consenting individuals, I would return the function to you.” She offered, slightly rosy around the cheeks.

“The only person I’d stick my dick in is you.” I tried.

Luna evidently knew I didn’t mean it, but she still blushed. “I would deny you that, even if it was actually something you wanted. I am celibate, and I would appreciate it if you would stop making jokes of that nature.”

“I’ll stop making those kinds of jokes if you stop psychoanalyzing me.”

“Let me introduce you to some possible friends and I will take that deal.”

“Let me suckle from your teats and I’ll accept your terms.”

“I do not produce milk.” Luna said, her voice a little choked.

“It’s be for funsies.” I teased.

“That would be akin to allowing you to see my marehood. It is not on the table.”

“Not fair. You’ve evidently seen my wiener, so why can’t I ogle you in turn.”

“I have not seen it, but I do know that you lack a sheath. You have not seen my most precious place, yet you know that I possess lips nonetheless. It is no different.” She cleared her throat. “As I said earlier-”

“If I nail Celestia, would you be mad?”

“... If she found you to be a suitable partner, I would take a bite of my crown!” Luna guffawed like a savage. “Celestia has never taken a suitor who was not one of her favourite colors. You are neither mauve, pastel blue, or sunset yellow, so your chances are nonexistent.”

“There’s always a snuggle with some struggle.”

“You are not strong enough to overpower Celestia, and I would punish you in ways your mind would shatter from if you were to so much as try.” Luna said, her voice ice cold.

“Grab her by the pussy!”

“I would make you feel every emotion you have ever repressed.” Luna answered, her truth making my bones ache.

“... Can I go home, please?” I asked softly.

She gave me a look with little mercy in her eyes. “It is wise to cease this thread of conversation. Your meal will arrive soon.”

“... That’s a no.” I nodded a few times.

“Stating the obvious does you no favors.”

I sighed and rubbed my face. “Luna, what do you really want from me? You say that you want me to heal, but I’m beyond that. I’ve had therapists. I’ve been on the medication. Nothing helps, nothing makes me want to keep going. I’ve been lost for a long time, but I found the way I want to go, and people say I’m sick for being tired all the time. Why can’t I have control over my own life? Why do I have to be subject to someone else’s will when nothing I want to do affects anyone but me? Why am I a slave to everyone’s will?”

She studied my face for a long moment and I felt my tears get swept away by something that wasn’t there, felt the exhaustion settle into my marrow, felt the hopelessness return as she opened her mouth. “Because you don’t know what’s best-”

“IT’S MY GODDAMN LIFE YOU WHORE!” I roared, fury bubbling up and rending my barriers to pieces that flew into a mosaic of frustration and belligerence, surfeited with devitalizing evervation. “IT’S NOT YOUR GODDAMN CHOICE! IT WILL NEVER BE YOUR GODDAMN CHOICE!”

“Calm yourself before I do it for you.” She replied, her face unmoving. I leapt across the table and she caught me mid-air, silencing me so she could be ‘heard’. “Since you accuse me of mind-rape, I suppose I could commit the crime, as long as you believe I’ve done it anyway.” Her horn lit up and I struggled against invisible bonds that caged the bird, but I would never sing for her. I swore to myself that she was burning our bridge as she teleported the table, cards, and alcohol away to touch her horn to my forehead. “You will learn, Red Rum. You will grow to love me. You will come to enjoy life, and you will thank me one day.”

I could only hope that she would die before that day came since I wouldn’t be allowed, but as my eyes closed and the sound of silence filled my ears, pervading into my very being, I lost the fervor. The emptiness returned, and the ache from years long passed began to build all over again, enough to make me wish for even the most grisly of demises. I knew I wasn’t going to earn my ticket in such a fashion, and I felt in the heart that was being torn asunder that it was the end of me being me, but then acceptance came. It’s laughable. It’s pathetic. It’s painful. It makes me want to cry to know that I was being warped and altered in ways that could only be called humane, and that sickened me because what is a man who has no will of his own? What is a man with no control over his own destiny? What is a man who can never accomplish what he sets out to do? What is a man who is shaped not by his experiences and morals, but the will of another who did not give him life?

Luna stole me from me home. She stole victory from my hands. Stole my dream from me. Stole my life from me. Stole my thoughts and feelings, or rather, the lack thereof for the latter. She raped more than just my mind; she raped my heart, mind, and soul, and it was okay because she made me think it was okay. I know she made me think it was okay, and she can’t take that from me, which means she can’t take the pain she inflicted back. She could take my piece of solace and my soul, my hope and my ways, but she couldn’t take one thing from me, and that was the hatred I held for all living beings that had been buried so deeply that I’d forgotten about it because it had just been more pain to the pile. That hatred filled me along with sorrow, regret, a desire for vindication, and the fire to claim what was rightfully mine.

I spent a long time in a void that was filled with what I’d done my best to avoid for so long, and it was a torturous experience that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, not even Luna, because just as soon as the fire filled my belly, it was quenched, leaving me feeling hollow and overwhelmed at the same time. Nightmares plagued me until I jolted upright in my bed and let loose a roar that made my throat hurt, followed by more cries of outrage until I felt a pair of Pony legs wrap themselves around me. I wanted to make them let go, but I wanted to be held. I wanted to curse them, but I wanted their comfort. I wanted to die, but I feared for my life, and if there’d been anything in my stomach, it wouldn't have stayed there for long.

“Hey now, it’s okay sweetie. I promise it’s okay.” A gentle, buttery smooth, sweeter than sugar voice assuaged softly. “It’ll be okay, so just let it out.”

I leaned into her and wept, ashamed to be showing so much emotion to someone I didn’t know, but the pain didn’t fade, no matter how long I cried. It was a shitty experience that didn’t stop, but the owner of the voice comforted me until I managed to eke out, “Wh-Who are you?”

“My name is Fluttershy, and I’m here for you, okay Remmy? It’s going to be okay.” She said quietly.

“Please kill me.” I begged. “Please,”

“... That’s an awfully permanent solution to temporary pain Remmy.“ She chastised gently, nuzzling me. “I will never lie to you, and I can safely say that you’ll be okay when you stop fighting it. Just let it out and it’ll be over soon enough.” Fluttershy assured me.

I wanted her to be right. I really did.

Quoth The Sun

Celestia looked at Luna and sighed. “If he forgives you, you owe me a bite of your crown.”

“Take it from your own.” Luna said morosely.

“Luna, why? Why do you insist on making life difficult for that man?”

“Life is difficult. Period. I simply made his life the usual kind of difficult instead of his preferred kind of misery.” She replied, staring out over Canterlot from the edge of the balcony.

“Luna, look at me.” Celestia requested.

“I stand by it.”

“There was no crueler thing you could have done to him, and you completely ignored the plan by summoning Fluttershy.”

“She is best suited for putting his heart back together.”

“Luna, look. At. Me.”

Her sister did as she asked and Celestia saw the redness in her eyes. “What.”

“If you did that to somepony else, I would have had you arrested, sister or not. Killing him would have been far kinder than robbing-”

“I do not need you to nag me, Celestia. I. Stand. By. It.”

“Then what do you need me to do, because bucking you in the jaw seems like my favorite course of action right now.” The elder Princess snapped viciously. “I-”

“Silence.” Luna murmured.

Celestia drew herself up to her full height. “Test me.”

Luna closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, looking at Celestia calmly. “You will not deride me further. You, who have ordered the death of thousands in my absence, erased races for petty crimes, genocided innocents for the crimes of a few, have no room to speak to me of cruel. My crimes were committed for your love, but I do not wish for your approval in this. Red Rum will heal as I have set in his path, and he will love like never before. Your plan was doomed to fail. My plan will work. Accept your loss and get over it.”

Celestia glared at her. “If he hurts Fluttershy-”

“Why would he? It is not who he is anymore.” Luna said sullenly, turning back to look over Canterlot. “I do not foresee Red Rum lashing out in his pain since he cannot. When I do something, at least I do it right.”

Her sister sniffed. “At least I never changed someone like you have.”

“We have used the Elements to do it before. A velvet glove over an iron hoof does little to soften the blow.” The younger of the two said, a distinct ache in her voice. “... If you have nothing worth hearing to say, then I am tired.”

“You deserve this.”

“Stating the obvious does you no favors.”

Celestia blinked back tears. “Luna, I-”

“Save it. I wish to be alone.” She walked off without another word.

The Princess of the Sun looked at the singular star in the sky and sighed. She liked looking at the Sun since she could see the swirling magic within through the brightness and warmth it provided, but this time, she couldn’t help but feel like she was looking at the Moon. Celestia had done her damage control in Remmy’s mind to prevent him from assassinating Luna or anyone else, but she couldn’t help but be frustrated with her sister for making two steps forward and then taking three in the opposite direction: all to enforce her will. Luna had always believed in brute force whereas Celestia was admittedly manipulative, but the main thing she was concerned about was why Luna seemed to be taking her lumps without firing back. Something was wrong with her sister, and she intended to find out, one way or another.

However, for the time being, Celestia had to go make sure that Fluttershy wasn’t getting dragged down along with Red Rum into his pit of emotion. She’d seen similar wells of overwhelming emotion from war prisoners who were getting strapped down in Luna’s former dungeon, but it just made her heart ache to see that the feeling wasn’t going away for Remmy, so she decided to extend him a mercy that Luna evidently didn’t feel was in her plan. A flash of light later saw Celestia standing in Remmy’s room, and she in turn saw Fluttershy rocking Remmy as he refused to calm down. Rather, Celestia doubted that he could until she gleaned a little information, which confirmed her suspicions. She and Fluttershy locked eyes, but the gentle soul only had words for her charge, finding the hurting alien to be far more pertinent than the mare responsible for running the country.

“Fluttershy, Remmy.” Celestia said softly, coming to join the two on Remmy unnecessarily large bed. It was made to fit Minotaur ambassadors and the occasional Dragon noble, so it had to be large.

“Hello, Princess.” Fluttershy replied. “Remmy? Princess Celestia is here.”

He didn’t say anything to that, so Celestia prodded a little further into his mind to see where the pain was. Fluttershy saw her horn come to life and heard the result of her meddling in the decreased volume coming from Remmy. “Red Rum, can I help you at all?”

He hiccupped and sniffled for a few more moments. “... Why?”

“Because this is what healing feels like at first.” Celestia said, her tone taking on the motherly quality that she’d perfected over the course of a few centuries.

“I wanna die, Celestia. I just wanna stop breathing and die.” He choked out.

Fluttershy held him that much tighter and rubbed her muzzle against his cheek. “It’s okay to feel that way, Remmy. It’s okay to want to sleep and never wake up.” She said comfortingly.

“It might be okay, but it’s not right.” Celestia corrected. “We’re going to be here for you until the pain fades, and we’ll be here after to help you pick up the pieces that my foalish sister left behind. You will be okay, my dearest friend.”

Remmy wrapped an arm around Fluttershy and opened his eyes before closing them again to clear them. “... Nothing was better than this, Celestia. The one thing I said I didn’t want is being forced on me.”

“Freedom has its prices.” The far wiser woman replied warmly.

“This is FREE!?” He shouted, letting go of Fluttershy to glare at Celestia. “This is supposed to be good!? Celestia, I just want it to stop! At least before I could go on about my day and pretend, but now? Now I don’t even care how I die, I just wanna go…”

The pain in his eyes broke her heart in little ways, but Luna had been telling the truth when she’d said that Celestia had committed atrocities. She knew that it should have wounded her more deeply to know that Remmy felt worse than before, but she couldn’t bring herself to just put the poor fellow out of his misery all together like she’d done for many before him, even if she could just wipe Fluttershy’s mind and get away with it plain and simple. Without anything else to try, Celestia started singing.

“Fly little blackbird sing your song-” She began softly.

“I swear to God I’ll hurt you if you don’t stop.” Red Rum oathed weakly. “Please don’t do that to me.” He requested, more tears flowing freely.

“I thought you liked that song?”

“You forgot who it’s about.” He answered.

Celestia sidled closer and pressed her body against him, sandwiching the poor human between a plushie and a soft space. “Fair enough. Maybe we can make new songs about what you’re feeling? Getting your heart out of your throat would help you plenty.”

“... Can you just put me to sleep?”

‘Fluttershy looked at Celestia and gave her a pleading look, asking her to fulfill his request with her eyes. “... I can. I love you, Red Rum. Don’t forget that.”

“You barely know me.” He muttered.

“And I love you all the same.” She swore before he went limp against Fluttershy.

“... Princess…” The young mare said softly. “... I-It’s hard to comfort somepony who can’t stop crying.”

“If it’s too hard-”

“No!” Fluttershy said firmly. “Princess Luna trusted me to see Red Rum through to the other side of this, and I can’t let myself walk away from somepony who needs me! We’ll help Red Rum together, it’s just that I’m worried about him. We can’t leave him alone like this, and I need to go back to my animals at some point, but I can’t do that in good conscience.”

“You want to take him back to Ponyville with you.” Celestia stated.

“I-If that’s okay.”

“It’s more up to Luna than myself, Fluttershy. If you leave, then I’ll keep him by my side, so feel free to come and go as you please. Red Rum will be here when you have the time.”

Fluttershy gave her a frustrated look. “Isn’t there somepony who could help him instead of you? I-I really don’t mean to offend, but is Equestria ever not going to be your top priority?”

“It would be unwise to let anything else take that spot, my little pony.” Celestia said solemnly. “What’s your point?”

“I’m willing to devote as much time as I have in a day to helping Remmy, but my friends could do a lot to help him too.”

“... Twilight isn’t like you, Applejack needs to be at Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow lacks the sensitivity Remmy needs, Rarity, and I’m sorry to say this, but is too self-absorbed to notice when Remmy needs her most, and Pinkie stands a better chance of getting herself hurt than helping him. We don’t know where Remmy’s patience is at right now, and if the wrong pony tries to get close to him, then he’s either going to lash out or withdraw.” Celestia sighed.

“Twilight’s the best mare I’ve ever met at making friends, Celestia. I might have won Discord over, but Twilight brought the Elements together in the first place.” Fluttershy argued gently.

“It can’t be Twilight, Fluttershy.”

“I know you really care for her, but you love Remmy too, Celestia. At least let her try to help him. Golden Oaks never has anypony visit anyway, and Spike moved out last year. She could use somepony to look after.”

“No.”

“... Why not?”

“Because I’ll arrest Red Rum if he hurts Twilight, and that wouldn’t serve him at all.”

Fluttershy gave Celestia a sad look. “Okay… So what do we do?”

“... I don’t know.”

Author's Note

I don't know when I'll release the next chapter since I haven't actually written it, but I'll probably get back to it soon. Here's hoping, yeah?