Al sat with Luna in his living room the next day, a tablet set in front of the two of them on his coffee table as the Alicorn scrolled through a list of local locales under his gentle, watchful eye.

“Now, whatever it is you would like to do is fine, Luna. This is so that we can get to know some of your interests, after all, so pick based on what you would prefer.” he said gently as he noticed her hesitance on several options, her hoof hovering over them before seeming to disregard them in favor of continuing to scroll.

She looks to him and gives a small nod, smiling sheepishly. “Our apologies, Aldritch. We are...unused to having such freedom to choose Our leisure time activities…”

“Now now, Al will do just fine, Luna. I may technically be your rights-holder under the law, but in this household we consider all sapient life to be on equal footing, organic or artificial.” He said gently but firmly. “I know it might seem a bit overwhelming, but freedom means making your own choices, according to your own desires.”

She seemed to understand him, nodding as she soaked in his words, but still looked at him unsurely. “And what if Our desire is to pick an option that you would find acceptable and pleasant to accommodate?” She asked him, just a bit cheekily, but very self-evidently still a bit nervous.

Al gave a small sigh at this, running a hand through his hair. “Alright, baby steps I suppose…” he said, scratching his scalp a bit as he watched where her hoof had been trailing to a stop before she had put her attention on him. “Here, why don’t we go see a play together hm? I hear that the local troupe's rendition of Much Ado About Nothing is fairly enjoyable. We could even catch a Double-Feature and catch that rendition of Spamalot Celly has been begging me to see for weeks now.”

Luna’s eyes seem to light up at the thought of a night at the theatre, a small gasp and a smile issuing forth from her lips as she looks up at him “Oh, that would be delightful!” She said, gently stomping her front hooves in front of her a few times with girlish excitement. “We have always wanted to attend a real play at a theatre, thank you, Aldr- erm..thank you Al.” She finished a bit more sheepishly.

Aldritch chuckled softly at this and gave a small nod. “Oh think nothing of it. You want to go, so we will go, it’s that simple,” he said as he started seeing to booking tickets for the afternoon and evening performances of the shows respectively. “Hm, and there is a rather nice little outside-dining establishment about a block away, so we can have dinner before we settle in for the show…”

As he plans the afternoon, she gently nudges his shoulder with a hoof to get his attention “Erm...would it be possible for us to go shipping beforehand for an outfit?” She asked apologetically, looking a bit forlorn. “We do not have much in the way of clothing that would be appropriate for a night at the theatre and We would not want to embarrass you by-”

Aldritch simply waved gently at her and smiled. “Luna, I would never be embarrassed to be out in public with a woman as sweet as you are. But if you feel self-conscious about it we can definitely take some time before the show to find you something suitable,” he said reassuringly as he made sure to add a trip to a nearby clothing shop that catered to quadrupeds to the docket for the day.

Luna seemed fairly mollified by his reply to her request, blushing ever so slightly as she tentatively looked over the plans for the day. She seemed to want to say something but decided against it, and Al decided not to push her more than was warranted and allowed it to pass for now, not wanting to detract from the good mood around the trip.

He called out across the room “Hey Celly! I’m going to take Luna shopping before we all go to lunch, do you want to come with us?”

She peeked her head out from around the corner into the room and shook it “Oh no thank you! I think I will give the two of you a bit of time to spend together on your own. It’ll be good for you to get to spend some time with just the two of you. I’ll meet up with you for lunch, you’ll make sure to forward me your Uber route for the afternoon, yes?”

“Of course honey.” he said as he got up from his spot and walked across the room, gently running his hand through her mane and planting a little kiss on her snout. “We’ll see you there.”

“Yes, you will.” she said with a small smile, kissing his cheek in return before he returned to the living room and once more Gave Luna his attention.

She smiled softly at him, looking towards the doorway and then back to him. “The two of you are very cute, Al. You obviously care for one another greatly.”

He nodded, rubbing his cheek and grinning a bit dopily to himself. “Yeah, she’s been my All-Purpose Care unit for almost as long as I can remember. The transition from mother figure to partner was a little awkward, but I really think we can make it work.”

She gave a nod of her own at this, issuing him a strange look as she traced a hoof awkwardly across the fabric of the couch. “Indeed...so if I may ask something personal, when did you request for her to change the dynamic in your relationship?”

He seemed taken aback at this, giving her an odd look of his own in return. “What? No, Celly is the one who asked me to change our relationship that way. I was actually unsure at first but it was a really big deal to her and I ended up going with it and I think we both ended up a lot happier for it.”

Her eyes widened slightly at this, one of her eyebrows raised in fascination. “Really, she is the one who asked you to...and you hesitated?” She asked sounding genuinely surprised at this.

A few gears click into place as Al realizes some assumptions she might have been making. “Oh, nono, I’m not really...inherently attracted to the equine form, you see. Celly was bought for me by my parents when I was very young because they er...did not have time to look after me themselves…” he said, sounding a bit uncomfortable delving into his past this way. He felt as though he owed her transparency though, and persisted.

“Celestia was basically my mother figure for most of my life, and I really put her on a pedestal that made it hard to think of her….like that. I will admit that spending my adolescence around her with her being a fairly attractive model of her line gave me an..appreciation for her design that I might not otherwise harbor and my deepening relationship has given me further cause for that appreciation to grow, but-”

She giggles slightly as he rambles on, deciding to put him out of his misery. “I see, so you just sort of happened into the attraction, you did not er...set out for company of that sort. That makes more sense given what I have seen of your actions, thank you for explaining.” She said, seeming...relieved? Her posture certainly seemed more at ease, and her eyes did not carry quite the same constant sense of moving about that they did before.

As much as her feeling more comfortable around him was something he was pleased about, he could not help but feel a bit...worried for her. This was not the first time he had noticed her behavior change under a certain set of circumstances. He wasn't ready to commit to it as something he considered definite, but it was certainly enough that he felt it warranted further observation.

He set his thoughts on the matter aside for now, giving her a reassuring smile and getting up from his seat on the couch. “Well, I’m glad to have sorted that out with you! Now, how about the two of us get a move on hm? There is a wonderful little boutique that’s Quadruped-Friendly we can stop off at to get you looking even more beautiful before the show. It’s run by the nicest little Mark Two, I’m sure you’ll find her absolutely delightful.”

Luna blushed slightly again at the implication of being called beautiful, but seemed to stiffen slightly before thinking of something and relaxing again with a small sigh, her flush fading as she smiled at Al thankfully. “Yes, that sounds most excellent, Al. I am sure she will be just as delightful as you make her out to be.” She said as she stood up and stretched out a bit, waiting for Al to lead her towards the door.

As the two of them stood on the curb waiting for the Uber Auto to arrive, Al occasionally glanced over at her with a small bit of worry on his face. She saw this and gave him a reassuring, if slightly nervous smile, which he met with one of his own to comfort her, but the worry remained. He sighed and simply shrugged internally. Whatever was up, she would tell him when she was ready, and badgering her would do no good.

The Uber Auto arrived about five minutes later, whisking the two of them off to their first stop of the day.

Author's Note

You kept asking about it, so here ya go! BestinDworld, I hope you are satisfied knowing that this fic is definitely not abandoned, and that goes for the rest of you as well!

Oh! also, I need a name for this AU. it is definitely its own beast with developing if still fairly barebones lore and its own rules for how things work, and if anyone has an idea for a good catchy name your input would be appreciated!