I watched the Television as the news scrolled, showing Luna and I walking away. She swayed lightly as she walked revealing and hiding the news anchor's topic of choice behind her tail.

“This is a travesty! To just, show off… That! Disgusting, and these comments.”

The newsreel scrolling through Twitter threads, and certain Subbreddits disgust and an unsurprising amount of thirst abound.

The screen blanked as Luna grabbed the remote from me, “Enough of that. I thought the Equestrian press was bad enough.”

“Not enjoying the royal treatment, Princess.” I teased.

She grumbled, “I did not realize how detailed, the press could get with their…”

I sighed, “My recommendation is to get ahead of this one, but it might be a little too late for that now.”

“It’s your fault is it not?” She glared at me pointedly.

“I didn’t even think about it, I was just going with the flow and y’all were just running around the way you liked.”

“They act as if I was flagging my tail and win-”

“Luna! None of that I don’t need to know how your intimate parts work.”

She hopped off the hotel bed with a clatter, throwing the door to the room open, “I. Nay we will fix this,” grabbing my collar she pulled me along outside.

I staggered along as I was dragged to her side, “Jesus, Luna I only have three shirts till I make it back to the frozen tundra be nice to the dam things.”

She snickered, “It’s Rarities work I could lift you off the ground by it and nary a thread would displace.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s comfortable ya fuck!”

Luna stiffened as we turned the corner face to face with a large camera.

Questions came lightning fast, “Princess Luna, what do you have to say to those who found your display yesterday disturbing?”

“How did you fail to account for such social taboo?”
She answered quickly in kind, “They are prudes who should keep their opinions on the natural state of ponies to themselves. It t’was an oversight as other more… Pertinent matters were dealt with. No more questions, you will get a full statement as to how this will be addressed by the end of the day.”

Stepping around the group we picked up the pace down the hall. As the camera turned I looked back with an exaggerated sway to my hips, “Make sure you get my ass too I’m bootylicious.”

Luna looked at me incredulously, “You’re not helping.”

I called the elevator mumbling, “You know how to fix that.”

“Oh?”

“Nothing.”

“No, No there is more to that. Elaborate.”

We stepped into the cramped and dingey elevator, our positioning awkward regardless of how we situated ourselves.

We stood facing each other uncomfortably close, Luna reiterated, “Continue. How would I go about ‘fixing that’?”

“You could fire me, or let the feds have me, or send me back to Equestria and make me disappear. Ya know the usual ways to get rid of someone you don’t want around.”

She looked at me aghast and deadly serious, “Do not suggest me that monstrous again, I would never do such things. Again.” Her voice petered out as she looked at the floor.

The rest of the ride down was stressful and quiet as we tried to avoid each other's gaze in the small space.

The rest of our day was complicated as we worked through the ins and outs of who, what, where, and why of our trip with the Sirs and Madams who needed to know. A few feet manifesting itself between us anywhere possible.

Standing outside we looked over the armored escalade fitted to my specifications. The passenger seat replaced with a flat bench for a more comfortable ride. I stared at the beast of a vehicle as I walked around it. I've always wanted to see one of these behemoths in person. As I walked ogling I bumped into someone.

I started as my flank was bumped, my wings flaring and smacking something hard.

“Gah! My fucking nose. What the hell!”

I turned, seeing Carl flat on the pavement clutching his face.

I knelt down pulling him close, “Oh my, I’m so sorry I did not. I did not-”

Carl wheezed lightly, laughing through gritted teeth, “No, I deserved that I should have paid attention to where I was walking.”

Standing, I helped him to his feet slowly, “I’m, I’m a little jumpy after this morning's sudden tabloid… Scare.”

“It’s alright, let’s just get going. We can work on a statement on our way out.”

Climbing into the motorized chariot was mildly awkward, The small door requiring some cumbersome movement.

Carl slammed the other door, his irritation with the morning's events clear as day. The vehicle roared to life as He hit a button, opening a window he quietly spoke with someone outside.

Traffic was light as we rolled through election year California, in other words, terrible.

Luna chatted Idly as we sat in deadlock traffic, “Mandating some kind of covering is restrictive, but leaving things as they are is just going to cause friction-”

“Mhmm.”

“And clothes are a luxury, expensive to boot. What the, what was it? ‘What the Hell?’ am I supposed to do”

“Mhmm.”

“Are you even listening?!”

“Huh?”

She sighed exasperated looking out the window, “Carl. Listen to me, if I were to simply leave things as they are, how much trouble would I cause?”

“I Dunknow.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Shake the magic ball and ask again later.”

The rest of the stop-and-go was tense and significantly more uncomfortable than before.

“Do you even know where we are going?”

“Anywhere but here.”

“That does not answer my question, Carl.”

“The next gas station 'cause we are almost to the second tank on this behemoth and I would rather stay in the first one.”

“Mother of! Mother of me Carl, What the fuck,” Luna rattled the truck the driver of the car next to us startled by the sudden shout.

I cackled, the sudden change in demeanor comical for some reason, “Oh, so you do swear.”

Traffic broke as we pulled off the highway, the desert back roads quiet and empty.

“Carl! Stop this thing and talk to me.”

I slammed the brakes, the rear of the heavy vehicle fishtailing on the gravel road. We both slammed forward, our belts the only thing saving us from going through the front windshield.

“What!? Are you going to remind me that I'm stupid every five miles or can we get going so we can actually see the states like you want? I’m aware that I fucked up, scribble up one of those asscovers so I can release the bitch and forget that I am incompetent again.”

“That’s what this is about, you are anything but incompetent Carl. I don’t think I would have handled this as well as you have. You are young and inexperienced, yes, but the only way to gain from this is to learn.”

I rested over the steering wheel tears rolling and voice cracking, “I, the consequences aren’t mine to bear if I fuck it up though. The innocent people caught up in it all will be the ones to be hurt in this,”

“When my learning experience causes the death of someone, then what Luna!?”

The softest thing covered my back, the kindest voice I’d heard in a long time in my ear.

“We understand, we’ve made that mistake. It is an important lesson learned.”

Author's Note

I once again apologize for the wait on this chapter, kind of writing this by the seat of my pants and trying to figure out where to go is, difficult. I now have an actual timeline figured out now so chapters should be more consistent from now on. hopefully