I frowned as I looked at a flyer advertising the Wonder-Bolts Derby later today.
"Who places a flyer inside a castle?" I asked as I turned to look at the nearest guard, who shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"Wonderful, throw this in the garbage when you're done here," I told him and dropped the flyer as I went out to the garden.
"Ah, Blueblood!" I stopped and turned with a smile as Princess Luna joined up with me, "We haven't really had the opportunity to speak lately, may we join you to catch up?"
"Gladly so Luna, I was just on my way to have a walk in the garden, you are gladly invited to join," I say with my 'royal' tone.
"You know you can cut the act when we're around, yes?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow at us.
"Of course," I nodded at her as I opened the door to the outside. High up in the sky I could see the Pegasi getting ready for the scheduled snow to mark the start of winter. "It's just that you never know who else is watching," I said with a smile before pointing at a nearby bush.
"A Gardener is working over there," I pointed at a tree, "A servant is spending her break on the other side of the log," And I pointed at Luna herself, "And we also haven't talked in a few weeks, so Let's catch up."
Luna smiled and we soon reached a quiet corner of the gardens, a few animals ran about before entering a bush to hide from us.
"When was the last time we spoke, remind me," I asked her as I lay down on the soft grass.
"We believe it was when you refused to come with us on our visit to Ponyville to celebrate our first Nightmare Night," Luna said as she lay down next to me, her hair covering her face as a soft wind blew it around before she caught her mane in her magic and tied it behind her head.
"Ah yes, Nightmare Night," I nodded, a scowl briefly crossing my face as memories of how I acted appeared in my mind.
"Speaking of which," I changed the topic quickly, "Tartarus, I need a list of all our prisoners and their meal preferences," I told her as the small black blob of nightmare magic popped into my mind.
"Are you planning on feeding all of them?" Luna asked.
"Why not? Who knows how long it's been since they last ate," Luna nodded at my response.
"I see," She said slowly before looking me in the eyes, "Nightmare Moon asked why you hadn't visited when you were in Caninia,"
I gasped in fake awe, "She does care about me," I whispered dramatically, "But what if she more than cares for me..." I paused for dramatic effect, my hair magically whipping around before I smiled seductively and looked Luna in the eyes, "What if Nightmare Moon... Loves me?" I whispered, a smile growing as I watched the Princess of the Night try and hold in a laugh.
"Oh, Woe is me!" I cried, my front leg lifting above my head dramatically, "A vile mistress of the night wishes to seduce me for her evil machinations,"
"Please stop talking... pfft," Luna said weakly as her body shook.
"What will I do? Her soft fur and silky mane, holding me against her body as she whispered sweet nothing in my ear," I Bemoaned dramatically, "Oh how vile a vixen of the night, corrupting such a pure innocent youth,"
"PFFT HAHAHAHA!" Luna burst out laughing as I finished my dramatic act, "Haha, Pure innocent youth? You?! Hahaha!"
"Oh laugh it off," I rolled my eyes as Luna rolled her body on the grass beside me, her legs kicking in the air as she laughed at the idea of me falling into the gentle yet firm embrace of Nightmare Moon, "You do know she's just a blob on the floor now, yes?"
"Oh, We are well acquainted with Nightmare Moon's current appearance, yes." Luna sighed as she stopped laughing, a bright smile on her face as she turned back to us, "If she was a Pony, would she look more like us or more like Lady Rarity?"
"Rarity is the one she possessed when she came back, right?" I shrugged my shoulders and stretched my neck, "I'm guessing a mixture of both, I wouldn't know, I'm not a professional in Magical Possession," I do need to speak with Cadance again about Cosmos when I get the chance, don't I?
"You aren't, yes." Luna nodded and closed her eyes, feeling the sun on her fur as it warmed her up from the early winter chill. "By the way, We have not seen Starlight Glimmer around today, do you know where she is?"
"Gasp!" I said dramatically at Luna's question, "Mine own family, throwing me aside as to ask for another's whereabouts, the betrayal!" I posed dramatically before relaxing back on the grass, "According to Raven she has an urgent private matter to attend to, She's taking a week-long vacation as a result to deal with it, Right now Raven knows more than anyone,"
Luna nodded her head at that. "We see... We should go feed the inmates at Tartarus together,"
"Woah, where did that come from?" I ask with surprise at Luna's rather sudden change of topic.
"You wish to feed them, for whatever reason you may have," Luna said as she looked at me, "We simply wish to spend time with our new family, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and We are going to a spa next week, We would invite you, but Cadance said it is a, and I quote, "Girls Spa Night," So we humbly apologize for excluding you from our outing on the basis of your gender,"
"Apology humbly accepted, And I would love to go feeding the animals- I mean Inmates with you, You are my-" I paused for a moment as a horrifying thought passed through my head, "-I'm supposed to say Aunt, but there is no way I am calling you that,"
Luna blinked at that and quickly nodded her head once my words entered her mind, "Oh yes, We are not at all old enough to be an Aunt, even if that is our relationship,"
"Quite," I nodded, "What are we in that case? I should probably act as if we are cousins or siblings, but Celestia's actions make that all the more complicated,"
"Oh yes, Perhaps far removed family members who happen to live in the same castle and are good friends," Luna suggested, and I nodded my head in agreement.
"Yes... Oh course! Friend Luna, That is what you are!" I exclaim with a wide smile, almost sure that Luna could understand why calling her that is stupid.
Nobody tell Prince Rutherford I thought that...
"That we are, Friend Blueblood," Luna smiled at me before we once again changed the subject of our talk.
--------------------
"Chipmunk," Firelight said softly as he leaned into his daughter's room, "Are you doing fine?"
Starlight mumbled into her pillow as she lay face down on her bed, not putting the effort to turn and look at her father.
"I understand that times are tough," Firelight tried to speak with his daughter, "But we can get through this, we always do."
"No we don't," Starlight mumbled into her pillow, her father unsure of how to respond to that.
"Well... I made some Pumpkin Linguine, your favorite," He tried to say with a smile, but he couldn't bring himself to put the effort in.
Starlight ignored him as she lay in her too-small childhood bed, on a mattress she hadn't slept in since she left home years ago.
"I'll be placing it in the fridge, heat it up if you're hungry, okay?" The Purple Unicorn stallion asked his daughter with a weak smile, before frowning at himself and closing the door as he left her and went downstairs.
Starlight didn't have the strength to respond, her limbs felt like lead and her tongue felt dryer than the hottest desert.
Even being carried on Blueblood's back in Yakyakistan Starlight had more strength than she did right now.
"It's because I left..." She thought to herself.
"If I never left, Mom would still be alive..." She thought to herself.
"But the only way to change that is to go back in time..." She thought to herself.
"And that simply isn't possible..." She thought to herself.
Starlight was tired, she didn't have the strength to think deeper about her thoughts.
Starlight Glimmer closed her eyes and went to sleep, dreaming of a life where she never left her home.
And it was beautiful. All her friends were there.
Sunburst was reading from a book as he waved her hello, Blueblood and Raven were sitting next to each other on a park bench talking about whatever politics they got involved in, Even Princess Celestia and Captain Shining Armor were there, just hanging out with everyone.
But most importantly, Her family was there, not just her father and mother, but also her grandparents, her aunt and uncle, Her cousins, and even some ponies from Our Town came by to say hello.
"This can never be..." She whispered in her sleep, tears of grief slowly staining her pillow.
------------------------
"So let me get this straight," Cosmos said with half-lidded eyes as she looked me down inside the endless void of space that was her prison.
"You promised this Raven chick a date-" Cosmos started before I tried to defend myself.
"I didn't promise her a date, She made me-" Cosmos raised a slender blue finger before she shushed me.
"Ep ep ep, I'm speaking now, Don't interrupt me," She looked me in the eyes as she said that and I nodded.
"You promised this Raven chick a Date, and only now you're telling me?" Cosmos asked.
"I mean, I was planning to, but then the whole Caninia thing came up and-" Cosmos once again shushed me.
"Don't dodge the question."
"Yes, But please understand, I had no choice, My reputation was on the line," I got on my knees and prostrated myself in front of her.
"Also, I'm not using this as an excuse, but it's been so long since I actually fucked someone and You aren't really an option..."
Cosmos looked down at me before she sighed and slapped the floor with her hand, jumping into the air and landing on my back.
"I understand," She whispered as her blue arm wrapped around my neck, "So I'll forgive you,"
"Really-urk!" Her grip around me tightened, not to a dangerous or choking degree, merely to one of discomfort.
"But I'm telling you this now," Cosmos whispered as her head leaned closer to my ear, I could feel her warm breath hitting the back of my neck as she leaned in.
"You can go and have as much fun as you want with the girls around you," her grip around my neck tightened, still not choking my life out but still stronger a grip than previously.
"But once I get my body back, once you get all my gems together, It's just you and me, and nobody else," Cosmos leaned so close to my ear, that I could physically feel the vibrations from her voice traveling down my body.
"Do you understand?" She asked as her mouth closed around the tip of my ear, and If I wasn't a Magic fucking Unicorn, I'm sure my erection would have touched the floor by now.
"Of course," I whispered in reply as Cosmos choked me gently, still nibbling on my ears.
"Good boy," She whispered as an illusion created her a body, a pair of hooves and another blue hand, a scorpion tail and a cat-like body.
"Now, This might not be what we planned," She whispered as she leaned her body onto me, "But this is the closest we might get to it before I'm free."
"It'll be annoying to clean the sheets when I wake up," I told her before quickly rolling my body around so we were both face to face, with her still on top.
"You'll make do," She smiled seductively down at me, her cat-like teeth peeking out of her mouth as she licked her lips.
"Now wait," I stopped her, "Before we start anything, you need to ask the question," I told her and she blinked at me in surprise before her seductive smile disappeared, replaced by one of excitement and joy.
"Do you wanna' go out with me?" She asked as she jumped up and down, her hands at the side of my head as she lay less than ten centimeters from my face.
I smiled up at her, "No," I answered with a smile the same answer I had given her since the first week we were together.
"Haha!" She smiled widely, "Shut down yet again!"
And then our lips met.