Magic Showdown of Laughter
Celestia yawned and stretched herself as the time to raise the sun drew nearer. She sleepily looked out the window at the dark sky.
Luna was already halfway through lowering the moon, so she had to get started with sunrise soon.
"Alright, then..." The princess stepped out to the balcony and relaxed as she breathed in the early morning air. "Ahh... I bet this will be a good morning and day..." She looked down at the kingdom while her horn glowed with her golden magic.
She could already see the faint, light colors that the sky gained when the sun slowly raised. With the first few shines of sunlight, the land began to warm up and lighten with its glow.
Sunrises are always so beautiful, are they not...? Especially just when night and day are still blended together... Not quite separated yet...
Once the sky became a bit brighter, Celestia looked down from the balcony again and noticed Luna as she walked into the palace to get her rest. "Have good dreams, my little sister." Her wings raised and stretched before she shook them. "...I will get right to work."
Wilder slept on the branch of a tree near the palace. His body was stretched out on the branch; his lion arm held his head like a pillow, while his eagle claw hung limply from the other side of the branch.
His snores turned into a snort and he stirred awake. "Ngh..." Dim light had shone on the tree and upon him, quietly waking him up despite his grumbling.
He yawned and muttered sleepily while he rubbed his eyes. "Ohh... Morning already...?" He then stretched while still standing on the branch.
Geez, it's too early for sunshine... Sort of wish little Luna adhered to her beloved duties a bit longer... He blinked, then looked around at the tree and the ground beneath him. "Hey, wait a sec. How'd I get here?" He chuckled after a few seconds and shrugged his own question off. "Ah, who cares."
He slithered down the tree and ate some bushes that he turned into cotton candy. "Mmm... Yeah. Nothing beats sweet, sugary cotton in the morning."
After drinking from a pond nearby, Wilder leaned over and looked at the clear water that reflected everything above it as well as a mirror. He tilted his head as he studied his reflection. "...Hm..."
It was not the first time he noticed that he looked completely different from the other creatures around him; the 'ponies'. It made him curious whenever he stopped for a moment of each day to think about the great differences that separated him and the creatures of the world where he tried to fit in.
He thought about how attractive some of the stallions around the kingdom were; particularly those that had the honor to visit the princesses for business matters. 'Suitors', some of them were called. He did not like either of those visiting stallions, but had to admit that they were all mostly handsome.
"...I wonder why I wasn't made like that." Wilder raised an eyebrow as he thought about that subject, but not for long. Before he could think anything else about the matter, sunrise touched the area again and warmed him while he sat and enjoyed the view.
The light spread out over the palace and the villages, and did not exclude the shady spot where Wilder sat. The sunlight caught the puddle where he had observed himself, but Wilder did not notice. The reflective surface shone the light into his eyes.
He winced and shook his head quickly after the light blinded him for a few seconds. "Oww! I swear... Why does every bright thing in here have to be so... so painful and-and glowing...?!" He rubbed his eyes with his paw while he complained quietly.
His ears twitched when he heard somepony move above him. He looked up and turned his head to find Celestia in the air, flying a short distance in front of the spot where he was.
Celestia had not noticed him yet, her back was to him as she prepared to cast a spell.
She concentrated in keeping herself in the air with her gracefully flapping wings, while performing her spell to raise the sun at the same time. She shut her eyes closed and channeled more magic energy to her horn.
"And... There!" She smiled with satisfaction as the sun rose to its final, correct position and showered warm rays of light through the clouds upon the awaiting, working land. "There we go... That is a nice sunrise..."
Wilder watched as she worked. After a few seconds, he could not help remember the wonderful ball of the night before. The event left him full of memories that he would surely treasure forever.
It had been so much fun for everypony, including him-he actually had a good time with those ponies without messing with them in any 'unpleasant' manner. And he was able to use his powers in a way that pleased them, too. He had gotten so many positive remarks and compliments about his abilities. Not to mention the dance that he and Princess Celestia shared...
The most memorable part of that night was when Celestia kissed his cheek when he wondered about himself-and that was not even part of the ball. It was highly memorable nonetheless.
Indeed, he would always remember the dance with Celestia and her comforting kiss. Then, to make his joy even bigger, she spoke kindly and truthfully to him. He probably would never appreciate any other words he was ever told the way that he appreciated and treasured the ones that Celestia said to him that night.
"It only matters to me that you are Wilder, our friend-my friend. It does not matter what or who you are, but what makes you so." The Sun Princess herself had accepted and approached him with total ease and no hesitation or rejection whatsoever... Despite what he was, or failed to be...
Wilder blushed just like he had last night, smiling nervously to try to hide it from his face. C'mon, get it together. We're friends, after all. That's what... friends... do, right...? He blinked as he thought about it.
He was beginning to get closer to Luna as well, but... Somehow, things were not the same with her as they were with Celestia, and he could not figure out why.
As he looked up and locked eyes with Celestia once she noticed him, his heart somehow skipped a beat, and he no longer cared to know why there was such a difference. It was the least of his worries.
He blew the tuft of mane back and brushed his coat before she turned around to face him again. He suddenly felt self-conscious of how he looked, and that made him feel sillier than usual.
He was relieved and comforted with the fact that Celestia did not seem to care about his appearance so much, or at all. Thankfully... I'm a lucky guy for that. Otherwise, I'd be pretty much done...
He smiled up while she stayed in the air. He did not notice her blush thanks to the distance and height that separated them. However, he could see clearly that she marveled at the wonder and beauty of the sunrise that he had created. Immediately, he felt that she had to get closer and compliment her.
"...It is a nice sunrise." He held his face with his lion paw, and leaned over to the side a bit to look at both Celestia's creation and the Sun Princess herself.
Celestia looked down at him again. She looked a bit surprised when she noticed that he had gotten closer on the ground beneath her. There he is! Did he come out to meet me? How early he rose, I did not expect him to... Well, enough of that. I cannot keep him waiting, can I?
She patted her mane and looked at the sun one last time before she flew closer to the ground. "Wilder, good morning! I see you're an early riser."
Wilder chuckled a little as he watched her spin in the air before she hovered beside him. "Well, sometimes, yeah. When the occasion calls for it."
"Oh? And what's the occasion for this morning?"
Wilder glanced aside as he smiled. "Never mind..."
She flew a bit closer to him as he started playing with the grass. "Hey... We should make another trip around the kingdom."
Wilder pretended to be annoyed and bored as he smiled at her. "Another one, Celestia?"
"Yes! I bet there are a lot of things that you would like to do, huh? I cannot wait to see them. And there is plenty of space for us to play this morn-"
He eagerly clapped his claws together. "Oh, you bet! Yesterday was just the beginning. Playtime's officially starting today! You're gonna love it. It's gonna be the whole morning to ourselves-and some morning you brought, by the way, Celestia. I gotta say, the sunshine is amazing!" He looked up at the sky, then grinned as Celestia chuckled.
"Oh, Wilder, you really know how to give compliments. Come, then. Let us get started!" She flew forward and looked back at him in a playful way.
He watched her and shook his head. Then he opened his wings to follow after her. He caught up to her after a few moments and looked at her curiously. "So where's Luna?"
"She is getting some sleep, but she should join us soon enough, after she rests a little." Celestia flapped her wings a few times as she looked at her kingdom from above. "Ohh... You see this, Wilder? Is it not beautiful? Hmm. Everything looks fine this morning... Huh?"
She looked aside as Wilder flew ahead of her to play in the air. "Wilder...?"
Wilder flapped his wings as he held himself over some of the clouds that he had gathered. "Alright! We'll wait for her, then. In the meantime... How about a snack!" He floated on his back and ate some of the clouds that he turned into different textures, from cookies to solid juice.
She giggled and waved her hoof at him playfully. "W-Wilder! Oh, what are you-" She looked down at the tall glass that appeared before her. She smiled delightedly when she found that it contained pink lemonade, with a glittering purple lemon at the side, and a yellow curly straw inside. "This is..."
"Go on, try it, Celestia. It's your usual favorite, right? Doesn't beat chocolate milk, but it's still great, isn't it?" Wilder looked at her as she drank from the glass.
Celestia nodded in agreement. "Oh, I cannot believe it is still taking my chefs so long to learn how to make it, it is so simple! You will have to go to the kitchen and teach them yourself one of these days."
"I'll be glad to do it! Kitchens should be fun, too! I'll gladly make some arrangements in it."
"Wilder, that is not what I said-"
"Alright, now that the little issue us out of the way, let's play something! These clouds are perfect for chasing around. Let's do it, Celestia! And then there's lots of other games."
Celestia nodded and watched him animate the clouds. She laughed and chased them with him. They held very animated conversations between the games that they played while waiting for Luna.
Luna yawned a bit as she walked out of the palace. She was blinded by the sunlight for a second, but was free to go when her eyes got used to the sunshine.
She looked around the grounds and searched for her sister and their mutual friend. Since they had gotten along better, Luna found herself wishing for Wilder's company more often.
Though odd and considerably older than her, Luna considered him a great friend. He had even become somewhat of an older brother figure for the young princess, and she had come to love that about him, among many other things.
After a bit of looking around, Luna found her best friend/older-brother-figure with Celestia, as usual. "Hm." She walked over to them to make her presence known.
Celestia turned back to look at her after she finished another game that Wilder had come up with a bit earlier. "Ah, you are awake, Luna! Did you get some good sleep?"
Luna rubbed her eyes before she nodded with a serious, yet slightly tiresome expression. "Yes, We did..."
Celestia smiled and leaped in front of her little sister. She quickly hopped on her hooves, following a rhyming rhythm. "Sunshine, sunshine... Um... Has come out to play!"
Wilder looked at the sisters as Luna sighed and shook her head at Celestia's antics. "Hm...?"
"Sister, thou dost not need to greet us like-"
He floated closer to them and eyed them curiously. "Hey... What's that you're singing, or, praying, or whatever, Celestia?"
Celestia blinked and looked up at Wilder. "Hm? Oh. Well..." She blushed a bit and smiled as she tried to come up with a decent explanation. "It is..."
"It ist an attempt for a greeting that our sister hast tried to compose for us in the past."
"Well, for you and any other young, close friend. Luna happens to be both." Celestia patted Luna's mane and let out a sigh. "But... That is all I have, I am afraid."
"And We art relieved."
"I have not been able to come up with something nice with a good ring... Heh, I guess I am not very good at this. Composing is not really my thing... So I just greet Luna with that part, whenever she lets me."
Luna raised an eyebrow as she looked at Celestia while she explained.
"But I think I should stop with this, really..." Celestia walked back to the spot where she and Wilder were.
Luna nodded in agreement. "Yes, thou should, sister. After all, it cannot be proper of-"
"Wait, why leave it incomplete? It's quite a funny masterpiece-it deserves to be finished!" Wilder floated in the air as he thought hard on the composition. "It's a great greeting, little ones love it, what are you talking about! Little Luna just happens to be a bit... No, a lot more serious than normal little ones."
Celestia laughed in agreement, but did not say anything as Luna took a deep breath to avoid saying anything in protest. "Oh, Wilder..."
"Let's see, 'sunshine, sunshine...' What can go after that, a better, funnier sounding..."
Luna lifted her front hoof to try to stop him. "Really, Wilder, thou dost not need to trouble thyself with-"
"I've got it! Ooh, you're gonna love it, Luna. I'm going to greet you like this every day! Celestia, you've got a lot more potential for this than I thought, you're a genius!"
He appeared in front of Luna and snapped his fingers, surrounding her in yellow magic as he made her mimic his movements.
"Wilder! What art-"
"Here we go!" He started jumping on his mismatched feet, watching Luna do the same. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybug's awake." He crouched on the ground and covered his eyes with his paw and claw, then lifted them to look at Luna after a second.
"Wilder, do not-"
He sat and lifted his claw and paw to clap them together with Luna's hooves. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" After clapping, he turned around and shook his rear along with Luna. He laughed and held the young princess close after they were done.
Celestia laughed as well, clapping her own hooves. "That was great! You are a very good composer."
"Of course I am! It's-"
"Thou dost not even have hooves, Wilder!" Luna gave him a look as she blushed a bit.
Wilder shrugged. "Oh well, it has a nice ring."
Celestia looked at him curiously. "And why is it a ladybug?"
"Hm. It's something that came to me on the way. You see, the reason Luna and I met that night was because I made giant ladybugs to play some little games with-"
"And they very nearly crushed some of the fields in the villages, yes. We remember that quite well." Luna rolled her eyes as Wilder snickered.
"Aww, lighten up already. It's not like anything bad happened! You stopped them, we had a great time afterwards! Now, isn't it funny? It's good that I remembered that. I'm going to greet you like this all the time!"
"Oh, thou best not. That rhyme ist for foals-We do not need to be ridiculed by it." She walked forward and observed the hill where she had found Celestia and Wilder. "Anyway... What art thou doing here? Before We arrived, We mean." She looked at them curiously once she finished speaking.
She did wonder what they were doing in the hills of the palace, with such big space available for them all around the kingdom's land.
"We are having a bit of a magic showdown." Celestia smiled and looked at Wilder. "Wilder is winning by far, but I believe I am giving him a good match. My spells are formidable and a lot more artistic."
Wilder frowned a little as he faced her. "Artistic? You apparently don't know about art, then, Celestia. Allow me to show you something, for your education." He then snapped his fingers and looked forward as light floated down beneath them. Some of the ground levitated and spun around itself, the flowers and plants grew where the roots were supposed to.
He shook his claw, the patch of dirt shook along with it. When his claw stopped, the patch of dirt turned into clouds that rained apple juice. Both the clouds and the juice rain changed colors.
"Hah hah! I always have been fond of edible art!" He looked at the biggest drop that he had caught and quickly drank it, licking his lips afterwards. "Or, this one in particular might be 'drinkable' art."
Luna raised an eyebrow as she looked at Wilder's creation. "Wilder, that ist not art. That ist just plain strange. The effects of that magic of thine art-"
Wilder smirked and looked at her as he slurped down another drop of apple juice. "Oh, like you could do any better? Go on, little Luna. Join and surprise us with something."
Celestia nodded as she encouraged her little sister. "Yes, Luna, go ahead! You can do it!"
Luna looked at them, then smiled a little while she stood up. "Very well. We shalt try." Her horn started to glow and she closed her eyes to concentrate. Blue, glowing energy magic emitted from her horn after a few seconds, signaling a spell.
The same glow of magic appeared above her as she opened her eyes. The light turned into transparent metal spheres of silver color after she concentrated even more.
The biggest sphere in the center took the shape of a crescent moon, with the smaller ones spinning around it while they took different shapes upon stopping. They were surrounded by a cloak of dark, starry fog before they vanished altogether.
She sighed as she watched the product of her magic disappear. She smiled just a little, proud of her beautiful accomplishment. She walked over to the others while remaining humble about her spell. "Well... That wast some good practice for us."
Celestia hugged her happily. "It looked good! Beautiful, an impressive spell, Luna. You have become so skilled already!" She chuckled and patted Luna's back as she blushed a bit.
Wilder glanced at Luna briefly before he nodded in approval. "Pretty, too. Nice for the game." He clapped his claws, though he did not seem very impressed.
Luna looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Thou sayest so as though thou can do better."
"Oh, I can, Luna dear. Pretty little glowing spheres aren't much for me." He smirked and chuckled a little as Luna jumped on him to object.
Celestia smiled at them and stood up. "Okay, my turn." She stepped forward as her horn glowed again.
Sweet grass and flowers grew around her with the magic of the sun. She flew up as the magic energy around her horn grew stronger. The new flowers and grass levitated with her and surrounded her.
Wilder looked up at Celestia dreamily, sighing as he held his head in his paw and claw.
She just looked so beautiful with the sunlight gleaming off her. The flowers and grass that levitated around her only underlined her form and good control. He could not help admiring the sole beauty of her magic... He could not help admiring Celestia for that matter.
Luna smiled as she watched Celestia as well. "And to think that Master Starswirl stopped training her in Sun Magic just a few months ago... She truly has made amazing progress, wouldst thou not say, Wilder?" Her wings fluttered a bit as she spoke proudly of her sister's abilities.
Wilder did not take his eyes off Celestia, barely hearing Luna as he watched. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Uh-huh."
She pointed at Celestia as her spell progressed. "We actually were there when she cast that spell for the first time. She taught it to us, and helped us adjust it to Night magic. Perhaps We should let thee see its combined form. It makes a beautiful show."
He nodded a bit and held his head up as it nearly fell out of his claw. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Beautiful..." He leaned it on his lion paw as Celestia started to glow. He was more captivated than ever.
Luna frowned a bit as she looked at Wilder. "Art thou alright, Wilder? Thou seemest a bit distracted."
Wilder blinked and awakened back to reality. "Oh..." He blushed and turned his face away so Luna would not see the bright pink on his cheeks.
She tilted her head to the side to try to look at him. "Hmm?"
"Ehm... Y-yeah, I'm fine, Luna. Just thinking 'bout somethin'... Watching the magic, y'know. This is a magic showdown, you should be watching too." He tickled her with his tail to distract her. As she laughed, he couldn't help but smile a bit as well.
The grass and flowers burst out around Celestia into glowing bits of paper as she flew down. "Phew! There. I shortened it to this version. It would have taken too long if I had actually finished it."
Wilder looked away from his tickling session with Luna. He sighed again as he turned and watched Celestia while she lowered down towards them. "Oh, don't worry... It's perfect."
Celestia looked at him and blushed slightly at his compliment, then aside for a minute. She chuckled as she watched Luna struggle to get out of Wilder's tail, which seemed to have gotten a mind of its own to tickle her. "Wilder, what are you doing to Luna?"
He did not answer immediately, as he was still quite mesmerized by Celestia's marvelous appearance in the bright morning sunshine.
It had to be the 'early morning appearance' that she gained in that certain time of the beautiful day. There... There was no possible way that Celestia-Sun Princess or not-could always glow the way she did right then, with that light, in that position... With that radiant smile...
He started to wonder what it was that made her look like that, but then winced when the fluffy end of his tail snapped in his ear to get his attention back.
He laughed nervously once he noticed that his pause was had gotten long and would soon be questioned. "Oh! Well, little Luna was due for a little fun of my own, don't you think? Seeing as she did so poorly at the showdown." He blew his tuft of mane out of his eyes when he lowered his head to grin at Luna.
Luna squirmed as she laughed. She spoke quickly in between her laughter. "We-did not-do-poorly!"
The feathers that he had appeared around Luna picked up speed as they tickled her faster.
"Heh, heh. You have failed in your attempt, and will thus receive your cruel punishment, Luna. Oh, you really seem to be a sucker for this." He chuckled and put Luna down, watching her tumble down to the ground, still caught in a fit of joyful giggles.
Celestia looked at Wilder as he floated away from Luna. "Oh, Wilder, you must stop this."
He spoke solemnly as he faced her. "You're right, Celestia. I gotta stop this. I simply must." He uncoiled his tail from Luna, then appeared beside her older sister. "Because it's your turn now!"
Celestia gasped as he suddenly grabbed her in his arms by her torso. She blushed a bit while trying to stop the inevitable tickling to which he would subject her. She failed and immediately started to laugh. "Wha-n-no-Wilder, no! Oh, s-stop... Stop!"
Wilder was already well into the tickling game while she tried to resist him. He proved to be mercilessly good at it-completely heedless of any and every half-formed pleas and stutter that came from the princess. He was secretly overjoyed at the sound of her laughter, and wanted more of it.
Finally, time came to set her down. "That was certainly much fun! I loved it, really!" He laughed a bit as she recovered her breath. "You liked it too, right? It's always good to have a laugh."
Luna walked over to her sister to check on her. "Wilder, what art we going to do with thee..." She muttered before she whispered to Celestia's ear.
Celestia blinked, then smiled a little and nodded at her. "Oh, I know what we can do."
The sisters obviously did not have good poker faces-Wilder immediately saw through them with no trouble at all. He read their intentions as easily as any simple book, and knew that they planned to retaliate with some sort of silly thing of their own thought.
Not that they would be capable of much, he figured. The master of silliness was he, and he was proud to hold that title for himself. As Luna pounced on him, he teleported out of the way to frustrate her attempts.
"Nice try, Luna, but you'll need more than that to surprise me!"
"How about me?" Celestia spoke briefly before she tackled him to the ground. She smiled and looked down at him once they fell on the soft ground. She blushed when she saw him looking at her in a flustered way.
His look made her a bit nervous, so she chuckled weakly to water down the awkward moment. "O-Okay, Luna... Your turn!"
Wilder blinked and tried to look at both of the princesses. "What? Wait-no. Wait, girls. You wouldn't-" He could not finish whatever he wanted to plead with because Luna started to tickle him with dark blue feathers that she floated all around his body. Immediately his great laugh thundered around them.
He tried to move, but Celestia pinned him down steadily. "Celestia-Luna... You-you-CHEATERS!" He screamed between fits of uncontrolled laughter.
Celestia smiled and held in giggles as she firmly held Wilder down. "You had it coming, Wilder!"
"Stop! Stop it! You-You two-Stop! Th-This isn't-" Wilder tried to speak again, but his attempts quickly dissolved into more laughter and squirming.
Celestia couldn't keep her own laughter inside her any longer, so she ended up joining him for a few seconds while Luna continued her torture. She blinked when she noticed that Wilder moved faster and harder with every tickle. She was a bit surprised when he rolled over to the edge of the hill. "Whoa. Wilder-Wilder, wait!" She then screamed as he rolled and tumbled down the slope with her.
"Sister! Wilder!" Luna quickly opened her wings to fly after them.
They finally landed on the ground, with Wilder under Celestia to break her fall. "Ngh, ow... You see, Celestia? I knew it wouldn't end well..." He winced as he tried to move while he was beneath her.
Celestia sighed and looked at the spot where they had fallen. "Who knew you would be so ticklish, Wilder? It is a bit ironic..." As she lifted her head, her nose bumped on Wilder's when he sat up to check on her. Her eyes opened a bit wider, and both of them blushed bright red.
Wilder suddenly had a coughing attack by the time Luna arrived, and Celestia was frantically patting herself to get her mane clean and back in order.
"Swallowed-something-on the way down..." Wilder choked while he hit his chest.
"Art thou alright?! We hope thou did not hurt thyselves..." Luna muttered worriedly as she went to check up on Celestia, then on Wilder. She even appeared some supplies to heal small injuries, just in case.
Celestia smiled reassuringly as Luna stepped closer to them. "It is alright, Luna, it was just a little fall, no need to get worked up for it. We are both fine, as you can see."
Wilder sighed and patted Luna's head. "Yeah, fine. Everything is fine, don't worry."
Luna tilted her head to the side and stared curiously at both Wilder and Celestia. "Hm... We wonder why it was that thou fell down here together. We were with thee, too, but We remained up there. Wilder, didst thou grab our sister while falling down? Perhaps thou did, she held thee down before thou tumbled from the hill..."
He blushed a bit and cleared his throat. He was apparently under the same choking attack from earlier.
Celestia quickly looked at Luna and walked up to her. "Hey, is anybody hungry? I just thought of it and now I cannot get the thought out of my mind. I must eat something, what about you two?"
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Well-"
"Why don't we go get something for breakfast? Or... lunch. I wonder what time it is, exactly."
Wilder looked at them while Celestia nudged Luna along with her wing. "Ahem... Why not call it 'brunch'?"
The sisters gave Wilder a confused look. "Call it what?"
"...Never mind. Anyway! Um, yeah, yeah, let's get going!" He gently pushed the princesses forward. "Let's have that wonderful breakfast-or lunch-I'm starving! Aren't you starving?"
Luna smiled a little and tried to answer his rapid question. "We-"
"It's been a rather long morning, wouldn't you say? Who knows, it might be the afternoon and I feel like I haven't eaten a thing! Let's go eat, everything's fine! After all, who needs to hang about here any longer, right?" He smiled nervously as he grabbed Luna in his arms and heard her laugh again.
Celestia glanced over her shoulder at the spot one last time. She blushed only slightly as she stared at the grass where they had landed. That was rather awkward... I do not even know what to think of it...
Her ears lowered a bit before she walked a bit faster to catch up with the other two. Just... Do not think too much of it. A simple accident, is all. It was just a little careless tumble...
...A... A tumble. That's all it was. Accidents happen all the time, especially with me around! And boy, is that fun! Wilder thought to himself as Luna talked to him more confidently. He looked down at her and decided to pay full attention to her friendly chatter for once.
She's finally getting down and friendly, isn't she? Been waiting for this ever since we met, so might as well play along with her. Who knows, maybe she'll agree to do that little greeting dance more often!
~~~
As they reached the palace, Celestia had Wilder and Luna head to the dining hall while she went to check on her counselors, as was routine.
She was a bit surprised when her personal advisor met her right there in the hall. She smiled at him to try to lighten his serious expression. "Oh. Hello, Dust Tail. What a surprise to see-"
The gray pony nodded at her in a formal, quiet greeting. "Thy Highness, I see that thou were playing with thy... guest... once again." He sighed and looked up at her as he awaited an answer.
"Oh, yes, Luna and I both were. Nothing wrong with that, is there? After all, I made sure to take care of my obligations before I left the palace. Everything should be in order, it has been well so far-"
Dust Tail seemed a bit unsure on how to approach her with the important subject, but he cut her off to speak anyway. "My Princess, please allow me... I took the liberty to come here after the meeting to warn thee..."
"Warn me?"
"Yes. About the... Well... The guest, Thy Highness. We all have discussed this, and decided that it-"
"His name is Wilder, Dust Tail. Wilder."
"O-Of course, Thy Highness..."
Celestia raised an eyebrow as she started to walk again. "And what is your warning?"
He sighed and looked at Celestia worriedly. "Thy Highness... The other members of the council agree with me on this... We must ask... We must ask thee to not trust... Wilder... so much..."
Celestia immediately stopped and gave him an alarmed look. "Ask me what?"
"Please understand our explanation... We only intend the best, Princess. He ist different from us... We do not know his kind... We know nothing about whence he has come, and that... Well, you must know that those facts do mean quite a lot... He ist a complete stranger that we can never hope to understand."
"Oh, come now, Dust Tail. Of course we can understand him. We just have to be on the right mindset, you know. Since when was it impossible to understand anyone simply because their origins are unknown?"
"Thy Highness, his intentions might be-"
She frowned a bit and spoke more defensively while she walked without looking at him. "So what if we do not know his origins? I thought that everypony believed and agreed that those superficial things are not all that makes somebody."
"But-"
"As for him being a stranger... There is a very simple solution for that, and I am proud to say that Luna and I practice it nearly every day. Even a foal could understand it, Dust Tail. We just have to get to know him better. Then he will cease to be a stranger. I agree, we do not know what he is, but we can learn. We can learn from what he shows us while being as he is."
"And how would that teach us anything, exactly? Princess, please listen, we could never hope to understand a creature with such powers! He is beyond anything that even your powers encountered!"
"And you never will understand him if you do not give him the slightest bit of a chance to get close to everypony. Believe me, he has as much desire to understand us as we have to understand him. For my sun's sake, even he wants to understand himself! If we accepted him, we could help him with that task."
"I see what you mean. But I must say that he is-"
"So what if he is different? I am not going to judge him for that, either. I would have expected all of my subjects to follow suit in my example and embrace the wonderful company that he can offer to us."
"Thy Highness, w-with all due respect, please do not be so-"
"I am not naive, Dust Tail. You should know better than that. I am doing something that my parents would be proud of-I am welcoming a creature that needs our assistance and in turn has proven to be quite friendly and helpful to us." She walked closer to her counselor with an innocent, convincing smile. "Surely you realize all the benefits that he has provided us with his magic and his very presence. Right, Dust Tail? Surely you agree, after the ball, and everything before that... Nothing but excellent assistance!"
Dust Tail watched her and then sighed in annoyance while glancing aside. Entertainment would be more like it, Thy Highness... He shook his head to speak again. He tried to make his tone a bit more firm, but still respectful nonetheless. "Truth be told, he has made no other contribution to the kingdom..."
"Oh, I believe in time he will. He is a citizen of our kingdom, after all. He will make his presence known for sure, in any way that he can." She giggled a bit as she made Dust Tail follow her. "I already trust and know him this well. Is it not so nice? Listen... Wilder is a good creature, regardless of what he is."
"But, Thy Highness..." Dust Tail sighed and shook his head with concern. He was afraid that the princess' naivety might be a more difficult issue than he had expected.
There would be no way to speak sense into her anytime soon. But... It was still his duty to try to do so. He and the other members of the Royal Council had seen the problem come the moment that Celestia made thecreature's presence publically known. The council had finished their discussion regarding the thing's presence, so now it was his obligation to warn the princesses accordingly.
"Princess Celestia... We art worried... Things might end up hurtful for thee if thou trust him too much... He seems like a cunning youth, and... To make matters more concerning... We all believe that he might not care for the kingdom so much... Hardly as much as thou princesses do..."
Celestia sighed and gave him a slightly annoyed look. "Honestly, I do not know what you are talking about, Dust Tail. You saw how well he interacted with our guests last night. He behaved perfectly, and has done so until now, even when he grows bored and hyperactive. By the way, I will have you know that he does care for the kingdom, as he wishes to live in it. He told me so himself."
"Thy Highness-"
"He told me that he wanted to be part of our lives in this kingdom and I believe him, Dust Tail. I must believe him. If I do not give him a chance, then who will?"
She nodded reassuringly to herself as she continued to walk with her head high and her spirits confident.
"I will give him the chance to show me how much his words he truly meant. We are friends; friends must trust each other. You'll see, Dust Tail," she smiled a little and looked at him again. "He will prove you and the council wrong-with all due respect."
"Yes, Thy Highness..."
"I am glad that was clear. I would not like to argue with my wise, useful council any longer."
Dust Tail nodded as Celestia walked past him. "Princess..."
"Please excuse me, Dust Tail. I must cut this conversation short, as I have an important lunch to attend to."
She did not notice the concerned look that Dust Tail gave her as she walked down the rest of the hall.
Wilder had quietly watched the conversation from the shadows of the wall. He smiled a little as he saw Celestia retreat so determinedly, so confident in him. She really trusts me, doesn't she? She's going against her own ponyfolk for me... That's... That's pretty cool...
He sighed and shook his head. Why does she have to do that, though? What is it everypony is so dang afraid of...? I don't get it... Maybe I'll never get it. It's weird, and doesn't sound like something I'd care about. He glanced at Dust Tail with a frown as his silhouette vanished.
Listening to 'A Guy Like You' and 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight?'. Also 'Who Knew'. This is what came out from listening to those songs. They really do fit this chapter... in order, even. XD
It's SO CUTE! I love this one! I would've made it longer, but it's already like, twelve pages or something (oh my god, TWELVE PAGES! Much longer than the previous edit! How did that happen?!). ...Guess I did make it longer. Much, much longer. Wow. Crazy how edits can change the whole thing, huh?
More interaction between our three main characters, yay! Wilder helped invent something else! That little 'sunshine sunshine' greeting that Cadance and Twilight perform every time they meet. I think it's adorable. Now it has a good origin that would kinda make sense... Right?
I still think it came out with a rather weak ending... How can I fix that...?