Well, part four!

Cadance and Shiny won't speak up as much this chappy. This chappy is focused on THE MEAT, so get ready.

Though it would be incredibly fun for me to cockblock you all again, wouldn't it?

Begin!

Parlave Oum

(Part Four)

Richard Pov

"You're bluffing," I said, ignoring her amused smile as she looked at me. "You're just trying to frighten us into making a mistake. I'm not thick."

"No one can lie in here, Richard," Celestia replied, head tilted in a way one might consider cute.

It just made me nauseous.

"Not when asked directly I reckon, but I don't think you're saying everything," I continued, smiling back as I noticed the barest twitch in her left eye. "Hah, what do you know. Confirmation, as I believe you put it."

Her smile dimmed a little but quickly returned as she clapped her hooves together.

"Well done," she praised, that irritating smile suddenly warm, if not affectionate as she spoke. "And here I believed that Chrysalis held your hand for such things. It makes me rather pleased to note that you are sharper than I initially believed. And that you can indeed speak for yourself."

Chrissy hissed and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when I put up a hand and shook my head.

'Celestia wants me to get angry, but I know her game. Let's see if she can keep up with mine.'

"I suppose that I've given little reason for you to suspect otherwise," I replied, my outward grin belaying my internal snarl. "Time away from your city of rather inept subjects has done wonders to help me improve, especially when the company is that much more intelligent."

"Intelligent, comforting, friendly," Chrissy joined in, flicking her hoof to tick off every word as she grinned at me, before turning her grin to the Princess. "Basically everything your subjects weren't. Oh, and sexy too. If we're including you."

Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, yes. My subjects treated him very harshly, I am aware of this."

"And yet you did nothing about it," I said, levity fading away as I lost my amusement.

"What was I to do, Richard?" she asked softly. "Slap the hoof of every Pony who insulted you? Tell them publicly to leave you be?"

"Wouldn't have been a bad start."

"And would only have worked without me or my guards in earshot," she replied. "I am sorry for how you were treated. It wasn't fair and perhaps I could have done more. But I cannot think of how I could have done so, can you?"

"You could have told them about his importance to your kinds survival," Chrissy sneered, rolling her eyes. "I cannot see the difficultly in announcing that Richard was saving your kind."

Celestia sighed and shook her head. "And you think this did not occur to me, not ever? I was terribly tempted all the time, but my Ponies are often prone to panic and rash action. If I were to tell the general public of Richard's importance, then I would also likely have hundreds of them outside my palace demanding that I drain him for everything he's worth."

She looked at me and smiled warmly. "I did not wish harm to come to you and so I did not tell anyone who did not need to know. Loathe me if you wish for what my subjects did, but I kept my silence to protect you. And that…is the truth."

I opened my mouth to reply but stopped as I considered her words, and the fact that in here they could only be truth.

"He's mine."

I blinked my thoughts away and looked at Chrissy, the mare in question giving Celestia a look that could melt steel.

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia replied.

"No you may not," Chrissy sneered. "Richard is mine. Whatever you have planned to try and change this will never occur. So you can stop smiling at him."

"Would you prefer I glare angrily at him?" Celestia replied, chuckling lightly. "Should I act sullen and mope? Would you prefer that?"

"It'd be a start," Chrissy ground out, a slight golden glow around her muzzle.

"So possessive," Celestia said, tutting at her before turning to face me. "Not entirely healthy for a relationship. Is she often like this?"

"No," I replied, amused at her surprised twitch. "She's usually very loving and knows when to give me space."

"Then-"

"Why are you so interested in him?" Chrissy cut across, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I get needing him to save you, but it's far more than that, it's been far more for a while. What I want to know is why?"

Celestia, for the first time I can ever remember, began to blush lightly.

"I find him very attractive," she replied, a small frown on her face as more was forced from her, the truth field apparently not satisfied with her small answer. "For as long as I can remember, my subjects have treated me like a deity to be worshipped and at times, feared. Not since the war have I had any kind of interest either from them or for them, nopony since has managed to obtain my interest."

She looked at me and smiled shyly, the powerful, imposing figure that was Princess Celestia suddenly replaced by a nervous teenager.

"But when you came to Equestria and fought against our decision to keep you here, I found myself…quite taken with you," she continued, ignoring Cadance as she giggled next to her. "I could not help it. You have a fire within you that I have not seen for centuries. The mere fact that you told me no was enough to kindle the flame, but when you shouted your words with such vigour and passion. Well, I uh, yes…"

"Oh do continue," Chrissy said, smirking at Celestia's clear discomfort. "This is rather fascinating, I think I'm starting to like this truth field."

"How about no," I interrupted, drawing both of their attention. "I feel slightly violated."

"Is it truly so disturbing that another is attracted to you?" Cadance asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"Yes, especially when it's her," I replied, ignoring Celestia's expression as she looked down. "Even before I met Chrissy I had no interest in her. And Twilight was merely a distraction, I had no feelings for her either. Even when Chrissy was disguised I didn't find her appealing to look at. To be completely honest, I simply don't find your kind attractive."

Cadance blinked and looked at Chrissy, then Celestia and then back to Chrissy.

"I don't mean to put you on the spot, but Chrysalis looks very similar to us," she said slowly, as if treading on eggshells. "I don't understand how you find her physically attractive when you don't find our shape so too."

"It's less your shape and more your personalities," I said, continuing to ignore Celestia as she looked at me. "I fell in love with Chrissy for who she is, not what. And in that same tone, I despise every one of you for who you are, not what. You can be as pretty as you like, but if underneath it is a snake then that's all I'll ever see."

I looked Celestia dead in the eyes. "And that…is the truth."

"It is saddening to hear," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I understand why you have come to feel such towards me. But…do you not think that we can come to a solution here that can rectify this?"

"I honestly cannot see how," I replied, my tone low and deadly. "The truth is that the moment this dome comes down and my abilities are restored, I'm going to do everything I can to rip out your throat."

Celestia, Cadance and Shining stiffened at my words, while Luna stayed motionless, observing it all.

"I won't allow you to do that, Richard," Celestia intoned softly, shaking her head.

"You've threatened my mate, our child and myself," I said quietly. "Once I'm done with you, I'll kill her, and her and him."

"We're here to make a deal, Richard."

"I couldn't care less about your fucking deal," I snarled. "So drop the dome and let's get this over with!"

"I've told you," she replied, shaking her head. "You're better than that. I won't let you resort to violence."

"You'll have a job trying to stop me."

"There are four of us here, Richard," she continued, her tone still annoyingly soft, as if speaking to a child. "Four powerful magic users against two. One who can match us but is pregnant, and the other who has only had his for ten months. And no matter your power, you lack the experience to match any of us here. I admire your bravery, but you will not win in a fight against us."

"I don't need my magic to kill you," I growled, trying to ignore the little voice in my head that agreed with her. "I didn't need it before and I don't need it now."

While this was technically true, I left out the part where my magic would likely kill me if I tried to use it, especially if used in anger…in hatred.

I didn't know what would happen if I used it in a fight.

Celestia said nothing for a moment, her eyes widening in realization for the barest of seconds.

"Are you afraid of your magic, Richard?" she asked, eyes narrowed curiously. "Forgive me, but your expression…it speaks volumes to your fear."

'How did she…'

"Enough!" Chrissy snapped, glaring at Celestia before turning to me. "You don't need to answer that Richard."

"Oh but he does," Celestia corrected, smiling at me. "The truth field, as you have seen, doesn't discriminate. I've asked a question and he must answer."

She wasn't wrong, even as I bit my tongue, hard. I could feel the domes magic prying my mouth open, words forcing their way up my throat and before I could do anything more…

"Yes." I ground out, trying and failing to grit my teeth. "I…am…afraid of it."

I caught Chrissy's infuriated look out of the corner of my eye, but it was Celestia's understanding expression that got my attention.

"Tell me why," she implored gently. "I might be able to help."

"Not a chance," I refused.

She sighed and looked at me warmly. "Alright Richard, let's try that again. Why are-"

A sudden gong stopped her from talking, the mare looking up at the dome as its golden glow enveloped us all, before turning her attention to Luna who at that moment had her eyes closed.

"Luna?"

Luna ignored Celestia for a few more moments until the glow faded and she opened her eyes.

"There," she uttered. "That should make this more fair."

"Luna what did you do?" Celestia asked, a hint of worry deep in her voice.

"I made it fair," she repeated, giving her a bare glance before turning to me. "I'm sorry Richard. I should have implemented this sooner, but I wasn't sure if the old magic would agree."

'She's sorry?'

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"I've asked that we are only allowed one question at a time," Luna explained, ignoring Celestia's frown. "Once you have asked your question and it has been answered, the next one along will ask theirs and so on. It should come into effect shortly."

"And the dome will shut up anyone who tries to ask more?" Chrissy asked, giving her a suspicious look.

"Or who tries to talk over another, yes," Luna nodded, smiling at both of us before settling on me. "You were being asked question after question. It wasn't fair."

I couldn't get over how it didn't make me feel...creeped out. There was something off about her, but in a way that I didn't understand.

"Sister this is not how I wished for this to be," Celestia said, a disappointed expression on her face as she looked at Luna.

"And how did you wish for this to be?" she replied, a sudden steel in her tone as she looked at the table, avoiding Celestia's gaze. "No, don't answer that. I already know. You wished for this to be wholly in our favour. You wished to completely roll Richard and Chrysalis over when the old magic I summoned was created to promote fairness, to bring forth a deal between two parties that is entirely equal!"

"Enough Luna!" Celestia snapped, eyes wide at her sisters growing anger. "I do not understand where this is all coming from. You are my sister, you need to listen to me. I only want what is best for Equestria."

"And yourself!" Luna shouted, ignoring everyone as we stared at her. "Do not omit details, sister. If you had your way, you would have abused everything the dome provides to turn the deal absurdly in your favour. But you seem to forget that tricks and deception have only doomed us further! Do you wish for us to die out?!"

Chrissy and I looked at each other, confusion on both of our faces as we watched on.

"Of course not!" Celestia denied, shaking her head quickly as she tried touch her sister, only for Luna to move away. "I just want-"

"And that's the problem!" Luna interrupted, ignoring Celestia. "You, you, you! It's all about you, well here's some news for you sister, it isn't all about you! Right now we are working on bringing forth an agreement that will save our race, but that isn't enough for you. So here's some more news for you! Richard does not want you! He is not and will never be interested in you! So get over yourself and work with me to save us, or if that's too hard for you then just sit there and shut the fuck up!"

"Luna..." Celestia whispered, her voice so filled with hurt it actually made me smile. "I am your sister, don't talk to me like that. Please don't talk to me like that."

"And you sidestep the whole thing," Luna muttered, ignoring her as she shook her head. "Of course you do. You never could admit to fault without a gun to your head."

That got my attention, Celestia's too if her confused expression was anything to go by.

"A what to my head?"

Luna flinched, eyes wide in self-realization as she bit her lip, fighting back against words that the dome was trying to evidently force out of her. She looked up at me and frowned ever so slightly, worry clear in her eyes before her muzzle opened and the words flew out.

"A gun, it's a weapon."

"I've never heard of it before," Celestia said, frowning as she followed Luna's gaze to me. "Why are you looking at Richard like that?"

"Because he knows what it is," Luna gasped, the dome apparently sick of her attempts to hold back as golden magic surrounded her muzzle.

Celestia looked at me. "What does she mean, Richard?"

I was too surprised by the sheer fear on Luna's face to try to fight against the question, which in turn came out of my mouth before I could stop to think on it.

"A gun is a weapon in my world," I answered.

"And how do you know about anything from his world, Luna?" Celestia asked, a very strange expression on her face. If I had to guess, I would have called it worried suspicion.

Luna was almost hyperventilating as she fought back against the old magic, tears were fighting to fall within her eyes as she stared at me and no one else.

I should have found it funny, or perhaps have grinned at her maliciously. After all she had done to me, to Chrissy, to everyone else who had the misfortune to become her enemy…

Concern for the mare was something I had NO idea why I was feeling.

"B-Bec-cause…" she ground out, tears beginning the stream down her face from the effort. "I…a-am…from t-there…"

"What?!" Celestia gasped. "B-But you said…you told me that….I looked, you're Luna! You're Luna!"

Chrissy was staring at Celestia like she'd grown a second head, but my attention was solely on Luna. The mare was gasping for air, her chest rising and falling so quickly I was surprised she hadn't passed out.

But she was still only looking at me, her eyes imploring me to understand something.

I wanted to snarl at her, or laugh, or something. I despised this mare and everything about her.

And yet…

"Damn," she said, panting heavily. "I'd hoped to have told you later, after the deal perhaps. Damn, damn, damn…"

She stopped speaking and regarded me in silence, ignoring her sister's half-finished words.

"What are-"

"Sweet and sour pork balls," she cut across.

"What?" I asked, blindsided.

She smiled at me and then Chrissy, ignoring Celestia who at this point was staring at Luna in horror.

"Sweet and sour pork balls," she repeated, grinning at my rising confusion. "Every single time you went out to get us a Chinese, you'd come back with sweet and sour pork bloody balls! And when I asked you why, you always said the same damn thing. They were-"

"Out of chicken," I whispered, staring at her.

'It can't be…'

"You were a lying sack of shit," she chuckled, shaking her head. "They were never out. You just hated the smell."

"Emily?" I breathed.

Chrissy gasped and looked at Luna, a shocked expression on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Celestia asked, her soft tone long replaced by a demanding one, her fear very noticeable within it. "Who's Emily?"

"My sister," I whispered, barely acknowledging the words that were forced out of me. "Emily's my sister."

"I-I don't understand," Celestia stammered, her powerful persona gone as she looked at Luna. "W-Who…w-what is your name?!"

Luna smiled and looked at Celestia. "My name is Luna," she intoned softly, before slowly turning her gaze back to me. "But a very large part of my soul…was once called Emily."

"H-How?" I asked, mouth numb, mind numb as I looked at her. "You…Emily faded away in the dream realm."

"No," she refuted, smiling still. "I leaped into what was left of me, of her. When I pulled out Luna's soul, I didn't do a complete job of it. I only pulled out the darkness, but there was so much of it I truly believed it to be her in her entirety."

"Luna." Celestia looked very, very small as she spoke her name. Like a child who had been torn a new one by an angry parent. "You said before that…I-I don't…"

"It's still me Tia," she said soothingly, reaching out and flinching as Celestia pulled away. "Everything I told you before is true. I just didn't tell you everything."

She looked back at me. "As I said, I leapt into me expecting a free ride. But what I got instead were fragments of what I once was…what she once was, before the war. When she was kind and soft and quiet. When she loved and was loved…but then the war came and she was swallowed up by something truly malevolent."

She looked back at a very silent Celestia and stroked her cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn't noticed as if fell down her white fur.

"Everything I was became overwhelmed by a darkness I couldn't hope to control," she continued sadly, looking at her sister. "It tore me into so many pieces there was barely anything left of me but memories. After that…after that I became a monster, a rapist, a murderer. I couldn't stop myself, I didn't want to stop myself. And you enabled me Tia, you never stopped me, you never tried to see if something was wrong with me. Maybe it was better for the war and you preferred me violent, an easily controlled weapon to aim at your enemies. I truly don't know."

"Who are you?" Celestia whispered, clearly fighting back sobs at Luna's cruel yet honest words. "You can't be Luna, you can't."

"I am Luna," she soothed. "No one can lie in here, Tia. Nothing and no one, you know this."

Luna turned away and smiled at me before hopping out of her chair, something that no one had been able to do up until this point. She walked around the grand table, ignoring Celestia who tried and failed to move as she reached for her.

Until she was in front of me.

"You can't be Emily," I said, unable to stop myself from staring at her. "You can't be her, y-you just…you just can't."

"Because I look like this?" she asked gently, touching her barrel.

"No, yes, I…confusing question!" I stammered, words numb on my lips. "I don't know how to answer that."

"Sorry," she chuckled. "Suppose it was a bit of a loaded one."

She paused and bit her lip, before looking back at me once more.

"Do you remember when we found each other again?" she asked, her tone surprisingly soft. "It was in the park by Bracebridge street. I'd just moved there with…him. I was sitting on the only swing that didn't squeak when you came around the corner with your little gang of misfits."

"We'd nicked a pack from the shop," I whispered, still unable to believe what I was hearing, let alone saying. "I-It was a stupid initiation thing."

"You saw me first," she said, smile becoming wider as she spoke. "Your mate behind you bumped into you and fell over because you just stopped moving. The noise got my attention and I looked up…and saw you…and then I ran and ran and ran and hugged you so tight I thought my arms would snap off."

My mouth hung open, but no words came out. I didn't know what to say, what to believe.

"I was sobbing and begging for you to take me away, and your mate told you to throw the little whore away," she continued, a cheeky glint in her eyes. "Then you decked him and knocked him flat before I could process what he said. They left you after that, left you all alone with me. But you didn't leave me, you stayed, you took me to your dingy little flat and listened to everything I said, everything I told you."

She took a deep, shaky breath. "And then you took care of it. You took care of…of him, and you brought me into your life and out of the hell I had been stuck in for years."

She moved closer and put a hoof on my leg, her tearful eyes imploring me to understand something.

"I was never religious," she said quietly, biting back tears. "Praying never stopped him no matter how much I did it. But you were my angel. You came down to the hell I was trapped in and pulled me out into something so much better. You became everything to me. And even though I…did what I did, you still are everything to me. Even if I'm more than just Emily now, that has never and will never change."

She stopped talking and looked at me so earnestly it took my breath away.

"Please believe me, Richard," she implored, tears trickling down her face. "You look at me and don't see me. But I'm here, I'm right here. I'm not the mare who trapped and tried to violate you. She's dead and gone for good."

Everyone was silent for a few moments, not a word nor nary a breath was taken.

"I accepted that I could never see you in person back in the dream realm," she whispered. "And now to see you again in the waking world, in front of me and unable to... Richard please...please see me."

I paused, I looked.

I looked and looked and looked.

I looked at her eyes and saw a glint of something new, something familiar.

I looked at her quivering lips and remembered the sound of my sister as she sobbed against my younger, bewildered self as I stood there in the park, surrounded by so called mates who abandoned me the moment the going got tough.

I looked…

"I kept the re-runs," I whispered, a smile tugging away at me as she blinked and grinned, her cheek fur wet.

"Did you watch them all?"

"Got to the gas mask one, couldn't after that."

She giggled and looked at me…before all but jumping to my arms and sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't understand half of what she was saying, only catching every second word or so.

"…see you again…so sorry…was so selfish…forgive me…"

I didn't know what else to do but hold her. If she truly was Emily then what else could I do?

Celestia looked lost.

Cadance looked confused.

Shining looked even more confused.

A hoof upon my shoulder made me turn my head to see Chrissy, my mate looking at the sobbing mare with emotion I couldn't decipher.

"Everything inside me is screaming that this is a disgusting trick," she said, her tone soft and kind in spite of her words. "When I asked all those questions earlier, you answered them as if you had done them. And yet if I am understanding you correctly, then you never did them at all?"

Luna…Emily looked up at Chrissy over my shoulder and sniffed, shaking her head and breathing in large gulps of air.

"I remember doing them," she admitted, shivering against me. "But it wasn't me, it wasn't any part of me. It was the darkness in me that controlled everything I did. The Luna I was back then was no more than a puppet for the Luna you know. But she's gone now, there's only me. You don't need to fear me, I'd never try to hurt you."

Chrissy was never quick to believe anyone on anything. But perhaps it was the matter of the truth field, I didn't know.

I really didn't.

"So…Emily?" Chrissy asked, uncertainty clear as day in her voice.

She nodded…then shook her head. "Everything Luna had left merged with all Emily was, I am neither one nor the other. But my name is still Luna, I can feel it down to my very core."

She leaned back and looked from Chrissy to me, smiling. "But you can call me Emily if you like, I don't mind."

"This is so confusing," I mumbled, unsure whether to cry with happiness or chuck her away and try to run.

"I know," Luna said, smiling still. "Sorry."

"Not your fault," I murmured, rubbing my head. "I need to process this. Can you…um, get off me?"

"Oh sorry," she said, hopping off quickly.

She then looked back at Chrissy and grinned, wiping away her remaining tears before holding out a hoof.

"I know this may sound strange, but it's really good to finally meet you."

Chrissy stared at the outstretched hoof like it was filled with every disease known to man. But eventually, after a few seconds…

She reached out and shook it, the beginnings of a smile on her face as Luna's widened into something incredibly happy.

"If I might interrupt."

Celestia's voice caught everyone's attention, the mare it belonged to looking at Luna very, very strangely.

"So if I am understanding you correctly," she continued, something very unnerving in her tone. "You are…Richard's sister and my own? Both merged together into one new…being?"

"Something like that," Luna replied, shrinking under her gaze. "I'm still coming to terms with it myself. I still don't fully understand everything that happened to me, but…yes, both of us became who you see before you."

"How did Richard's sister even get to Equestria?"

"Through Richard."

"What does that mean?" Celestia asked, confusion clear on her face.

"She came into this world through Changeling magic," I said, catching her cross expression before she could mask it. "That thing that made your sister a complete psychopath, we got rid of it. You're welcome by the way."

Celestia gave me a look I couldn't figure out before looking back at Luna, her expression becoming rapidly upset the longer she stared in silence.

"Are you really my sister?" she asked, her voice almost childlike, trembling with emotion. "You say you are mine but in the same breath say you are Richards. I…You cannot be both!"

"I am neither solely his nor solely yours," Luna said softly. "I am the sum of two people made into one. I am a sister to both of you, and I love you both."

Celestia opened her mouth…closed it…then opened it again.

"If he were to be standing over me, about to lay the killing blow, would you stop him?" she asked, eyes filling up with tears. "Would you let him kill me?"

"No," Luna replied, shaking her head. "Nor would I let you kill him. I would stop BOTH of you. This is why I requested Parlave Oum, Tia. We need to come to an agreement here and now, so that the future where either of you can kill the other never comes to pass. So that the future where our kind dies out does NOT come to pass."

She moved back to her chair and sat down upon it, a brief glance up at the dome being all the warning I received before it gonged loudly.

"And now we may ask one question at a time," she continued, looking at everyone sitting. "So let us save ourselves from dying out, and find some common ground."

She looked at Chrissy and myself, a soft smile on her muzzle.

"Let's make a deal."

This was originally going to be the last part of Parlave Oum, but it just got bigger and bigger until I reached about five thousand words and to do more wouldn't fit in with the theme of the part.

So I guess part five is on the way, eh.

Don't worry, it'll be the last part of Parlave Oum. We can fucking finally get out of this shitty dome, eh?

Cya, Stay Snuggly :D