Tales of the Sapphire Carousel: Beyond the Bordello
Innocence, Part 1: Some Are Born To Sweet Delight
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I originally wrote this as a pair of bonus chapters for the The Chef's Bodyguard, but it felt too out-of-left-field for that fic. Now I have this fic to put all my crazy Crimson fever dreams, like shipping two of the major characters together!
Innocence, Part 1: Some Are Born To Sweet Delight
Pinkie Pie hummed to herself as she knocked on the door. A second later, she heard a voice calling out to her, and her heart fluttered at the sound.
"Come in," the most beautiful woman in the world said, and Pinkie did so.
Pushing open the door, she smiled even wider as she saw Luna sitting at her desk. She looked like she was frowning, as usual, but Pinkie knew that some people smiled on the inside and the outside. Luna was one of those people, and Pinkie was one of those people who could see the smile on the inside, and Luna's shone so bright it was almost blinding.
"Special delivery for the very special lady of the house!" Pinkie announced, holding out the cupcake in her hand. It was blueberry, Luna's favourite, with dark blue frosting and a white chocolate wafer in the shape of a crescent moon perched on the top.
"Thank you." Luna took the cupcake with a nod of gratitude. "How much do I owe you for this?"
It was a little game they played. Every time, Pinkie would bring a cupcake, and Luna would ask that question. Then, Pinkie would shake her head, like she was doing now, and say, "it's on the house, for my best customer!" like she was doing now.
Then, when it came time to settle the bill, Luna would add the price of the cupcake anyways to the tip. It was her way of saying thanks, so Pinkie didn't say anything about it.
"I take it that the delivery to the kitchens went without issue, then?" Luna asked.
"Well, duh," Pinkie said, rolling her eyes. "I am a professional, after all. You're all set for the soirée tonight, with plenty of treats for the girls too. Oh, and I added extra vanilla and red velvet cupcakes, since you mentioned that they sold out last time."
"Good." There was a moment of silence as Luna flipped through some of her papers. "I'll have the invoices paid and the money delivered at the usual time. Will that be all?"
That was always how Pinkie knew their chats were really starting. She walked up the desk and sat down on the other chair opposite from Luna. "Well, a little birdie told me that Rarity's found herself a very special somebody."
Luna snorted. "My sister's student," she said, shaking her head. "Fate does enjoy her games, does she not?" The way she smiled had Pinkie's heart beating a little faster. All of Luna's smiles were beautiful, but Pinkie loved the secret one she had when she was in on a joke that nobody else seemed to know about. It was always nice to know that there were sources of laughter that Pinkie hadn't tapped yet.
Not to mention how pretty she looked when she was smiling.
"She seems nice," Pinkie said cheerfully, letting her eyes linger on Luna's face. "I know she's giving Sweetie magic lessons, and she did that even before she met Rarity."
"I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting her." And now Luna's smile was playful. "Perhaps I should pay my ancestral home a visit." The smile faltered. "I wonder if Celestia is still the hypocritical bigot she was when we last spoke."
Oh no. This always happened when her sister's name came up. Luna would get sad or mad about it. And, well, this time, something worrying occurred to Pinkie that made her frown too. "Do you think... do you think maybe Twilight might be like that too?" Rarity was a great person, and it would be horrible if she got her heart broken.
Luna sighed. "I do not know. For all our sakes, I pray that she is more sensible, but you know what those of her station can be like."
Pinkie nodded gravely. "Some of them can be real meanie-pants because they think they're better than us." She paused. "But Twilight didn't seem like that. She didn't really seem to notice that kinda stuff."
"Then perhaps there is hope after all." And there was that pretty smile back on her lips. "And until that reckoning comes, it will be most amusing to see Rarity wrestle with having her heart stolen away."
That got a snicker from Pinkie. "She's really gonna turn up the dramatics, huh?"
"I daresay we shall have plenty of entertainment in the weeks to come." Luna absently picked up the cupcake and began nibbling on it in a way that Pinkie found really cute. "It will be a welcome distraction from trying to find a replacement if Shimmer Glass decides to take her leave from us."
"Oh, did you manage to get her the job at that place at the Sun Pavillion?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "That's great!"
"It's valuable for me to have eyes and ears throughout the city who feel some degree of gratitude to me, yes." Luna always talked like that when she helped people out. Pinkie thought it was silly to try to hide the fact that she just liked to make people happy, but then again, people thought a lot of the things Pinkie did were silly, so who was she to judge?
"Well, she'll still be around for us to talk about stuff." Pinkie leaned forward. "Did I tell you about the recipe for a cinnamon-ginger apple tart that she came up with when she was talking to Sugar Belle at Sugarcube Corner?"
"You have not," Luna replied.
For the next little while, Pinkie told her story of the two of them experimenting in the kitchens, and how delicious (and not delicious) some of the results were. Luna listened intently, just like she always did, and said that she'd love to try some of the tarts the next time Pinkie came over. Pinkie promised to bring her some, and then they started talking about Ripple Sea's birthday party.
Pinkie loved these chats with Luna, because Luna was funny, and smart, and pretty, and just lots of fun to talk to. That was why she made sure to always do the deliveries to the Sapphire Carousel.
Still, they both had work to do, so eventually the conversation had to end. "I thank you for the distraction from the tedium of paperwork," Luna said as Pinkie stood up.
"Aww, I love talking to you too, Luna." Pinkie walked around the desk and, as she did every time she made one of these visits, wrapped her arms around Luna in a quick hug. For a couple seconds, she let herself enjoy how warm and soft Luna was, and how nice she smelled, like ink and wood and nighttime all rolled up into one.
Then, she let go, holding back a sigh, and put on her biggest grin. "Catch you later!" she said cheerfully as she made her way out of the office, skipping the whole way out of the Sapphire Carousel as her heart beat just a little bit faster.
Luna was great, and Pinkie was so lucky to have the chance to talk to her whenever she made a delivery.
She couldn't ask for a better girlfriend.
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