Chapter 10: The Decisions Made
Blades teleported himself and Tender to the throne room where Celestia was sitting on the throne and Luna standing next to her. Celestia was lost in thoughts, and Luna looked sad to see him return. Blades placed tender in front of Celestia's hooves. "Please save my friend! He doesn't deserve to die like this, not now, not ever. He is a pure and kind soul. Please save him!" Blades was looking like he was going to cry. Celestia just looked back at him. Then an eerie voice was heard from all around. "It is not his time to die." Every pony in the room knew who had said this.
Tender was wrapped in Celestia's magic and his wounds started to heal. Even the great Celestia was not going to argue with Death himself, the most ancient and powerful of all ponies. "Thank you. I am grateful to you for saving him. Now I am ready for whatever you have planned for me." Luna spoke up. "Why did you come back!? You should have just stayed away! You could have sent him here without coming back! Then everything would be fine!" Celestia and Blades knew better. "If I stayed away it would have broken my side of the oath and made it worthless. I will not put my friends at risk just so I can stay safe. Besides, I told you, I am done running. I am sorry Luna, I never meant to hurt you."
Luna was crying and looked away from him. She looked to her sister with pleading eyes. Celestia knew her sister loved this hybrid like no other. But rules were rules, laws were laws. They had to be followed, bent, or broken. 'Wait that is it!' Celestia stood up and walked in front of Blades. "I Celestia place judgment on you Blades for the crimes of treason. The punishment for this is death." Luna gasped and Blades looked down. "But taking in the events that just took place, you punishment will be different. Instead of death it shall be enslavement to a pony of my choice." She started to smile.
Blades looked up knowing where she was going with this and looked happily to Luna. Luna had looked at her sister in shock and was getting excited for what she would say next. "You shall be under the keep of my dear sister Luna until the time she grows tired of you." Luna ran and hugged her sister and Blades bowed happily to her. "Thank you for your kindness. But I must ask my keeper one thing for this arrangement to work." Luna raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it that you want to ask me?"
Blades smiled and made a box appear. "I was going to ask you on our next date, but since that was ruined I will ask you now. Luna will you marry me? So we can be under each other's charge?" Luna gasped and started to cry. This could have ended as the worst day of her life, but instead it turned into the best. Luna ran over and kissed Blades and he returned it. Then something surprising happened. Blades started to change. His wings no longer were sharp, his teeth didn't point, his ears were not on fire, his eyes didn't glow, his mane and tail stopped pulsating, and his fur turned a lighter color of red. He looked like a regular pony, minus his wings still looked like metal.
When they parted Luna was looking at a new stallion standing in front of her. "Wow, so this is what happens when you are fully relaxed?" Blades looked at himself and nodded. "Ya I guess so. I haven't seen myself like this in so long I forgot what I could look like." Luna giggled at him. "Well l love it." Blades smiled and kissed her again then looked to Celestia. "Thank you for this chance. I will not let her down again. And I will make sure you are both safe from here on out." Just then tender wok up. "What? What happened? What did I miss?"
"Oh hello Princess it is good to see you again. Pretty as ever. What you're here and not dead? Ok what did I miss?" Blades laughed at his friend's confusion. "Well Celestia here has made me a slave to my lovely Luna and we are now engaged. And before that she saved your life. Oh and death himself says hi and that it wasn't your time to die." Tender's face was blank while he tried to take in all the info. "Ok then. Cognates to you two, it is about time. Thank you princess for letting him live and saving me. And wow I will have to thank him if I ever see him. And since I am here I might as well ask you."
Tender turned to Celestia and bowed his head. "Would you like to go out for dinner some time?" Celestia gasped and Luna giggled and Blades laughed. Celestia's cheeks were as red as Blades fur at this point. She had never been asked out like this before, and by a hybrid. "Wait do I know you from somewhere?" Tender nodded and laughed. "Probably for one of the three times I have been your personal guard. I just never had the chance to ask you out before. And I always figured you would kill me if you found out I was a hybrid. But now you know and even saved me so I thought I would finally ask."
Celestia was still blushing but nodded. "Great is tomorrow at 7 to early? And I know a low key place that you can be yourself without being bothered." Celestia shook her head. "No it is not too soon, and ok I will be ready." She was smiling like her sister had not seen in a long time. Luna couldn't resist the urge to embarrass her sister even more. "It looks like I'm not the only one falling for a hybrid after all." Celestia turned even redder. Blades had to join in on this. "I would say Tender over there is smitten with a princess just like I am." For the first time Tender started to blush.
Then Blades and Luna broke out laughing and started to walk away. They figured that the new couple could use some time alone and without them embarrassing them. They headed to Luna's room to calm down and let Blades heal his wounds.