Luna was, unsurprisingly, a nocturnal creature. In truth it was more convenient this way. It meant there was always a Princess awake somewhere in the castle at all hours in case of emergencies and, paradoxically enough, it meant we two had more time to spend with each other. Her duties would begin several hours after mine had ended leaving us with a good solid period to chat.
Every evening I would hear Luna, her booming voice echoing through the halls , as she woke up and made her way to the dining hall. Luna's difficulties with controlling her volume were an unending source of amusement for me. The look on her scribe's face the first time she bellowed at him from a few hooflengths away was a priceless gem that will stay with me forever. I try to remind her when I can but she is still having trouble adjusting. Old habits die hard.
We breakfast together or, more accurately, she eats breakfast and I eat dinner or vice versa, and discuss our respective days... or nights in her case. But tonight would be different. Luna was due to return from her Dream Journey.
The Dream Journeys were the parts of Luna's duties that I had been most relieved to relinquish back to her upon her return to the throne. I hated them. They were frightening, unnerving and never failed to leave me exhausted for several days after I attempted them. The Dreamscape was a place unbound by rules, logic or reason. A place of nightmare and fantasy where any stray thought could twist one's already winding path. When attempting them I'd always felt like I was fumbling around in the dark, dumbly imitating my sister without properly comprehending what I was doing or why I was doing it. Luna had been most frustrated with me when she witnessed what I had wrought of the Dreaming in her absence. She said that we were on the brink of a disaster because of improper maintenance of the Dreamscape and I believe her.
I was waiting patiently in her chambers watching the spot next to her bed where I could sense she would return from. Suddenly a blue spark flickered in the air. It danced and twirled. Growing larger and darker with each passing moment until it looked like a tear in the very fabric of reality. It flickered and blurred as my sister stepped out of it, shrinking upon her exit until it flashed clean out of existence.
"Welcome back," Luna was soaking wet from head to hoof. Dripping onto the plush carpet.
"Raven!" I called, "Be a dear and fetch my sister a towel."
"T'would be much appreciated!" roared my sister, shaking her mane like a dog that just climbed out of a river. She looked sheepish when she saw that she had showered me with the spray. I licked a droplet of it off my lip. Salty.
"Wet dream?" I giggled teasingly.
"Aye, a young colt dreaming himself lost at sea. 'Tis of no concern. He found his own way to shore," my little joke had flown clean over her head, apparently.
Raven hurried into the room with several towels and a very confused look on her face.
"Thank you, that will be all. Feel free to retire for the night," I said, taking the towels and passing one to Luna. Raven bowed and excused herself hurriedly. I think she might still be a little skittish around my sister after an incident involving a plate stacked high with wine glasses and a certain Princess speaking several decibels louder than perhaps the situation demanded.
"How was your trip?" I asked Luna as she wrung out her sparkling mane.
"Satisfactory to say the least. Yet there is still much to be done."
"Perhaps next time you could inform your attendants of your impending departure. They were worrying themselves inside out last night," I dabbed a few stray drips of water off her chin.
"They were?" Luna's joy was palpable. She always perked up when she heard tell of our subjects showing even the smallest affection for her. It was adorable. Her ears pricked up and an eager light formed in her eyes.
"That's not a good thing," I reminded her, "They may take time to adjust to your duties and habits."
"They have had time enough," snorted Luna and then paused as if realizing something, "Why were you waiting in my bedroom? Does some matter demand our royal attention?"
I had thought that a thousand years apart might leave her less attuned to subtle changes in my behaviour patterns but it seems she is as sharp as ever.
I swallowed hard, "I... I have taken an... 'interest' in one of our subjects. I thought I might let you know. "
"Male or female?" she asked, feigning disinterest.
"Female."
"Pretty?" the two of us set off for the dining hall. Luna must be starving after her long journey. We paused, briefly, outside her bedchamber to close the door and hand the towels to the two guards stationed outside it.
"Very. Or at least... I think so. You know I have... unusual tastes." Many of my traits have changed over the millennia. I am not as violent or as confrontational as in the days of my youth. I am more patient and not as quick to anger. I have also become more distant, particularly towards those directly in my employ, after being hurt one too many times by their inevitable expiry. The one thing that has never changed about me, however, is that I have always been attracted to interesting or unusual looking mates, often to my own regret.
"Excellent. And how soon will you be adding her to the royal harem?" asked Luna, I noticed one of the nearby guards trying desperately to look like he wasn't eavesdropping. I cleared my throat and he flinched visibly.
"We don't have... we don't do things like that anymore, Luna," I hissed, hoping she would take the hint and lower the volume of her voice. This was one of the few occasions where her loudness was not quite as hilarious as I usually found it.
"No harems? But then how does one organize one's lovers?" saying Luna was sharply attuned to my subtle cues was perhaps an overstatement on my part. There were times when I thought that perhaps my sister's head was filled with bricks.
"One lover at a time is the general consensus," I shot a glare at the guard and he shrank into his post, he seemed to almost be trying to push himself into the stone wall itself.
"Ah. How disappointing. That would explain why that mare's husband was so upset with me a few nights prior."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Should I ask? Did I really want to know the story behind that offhand remark? No. The answer is no. We set off side by side to get Luna her breakfast.
"So have we been reduced to wooing them as commoners do? How will you woo this new fancy of yours then?"
"Oh, I have a cunning plan. A very cunning plan," I said, giving the furiously blushing guard a parting swish of my tail as we trotted away.
I'm guessing Celestia is going to burst out of a gigantic muffin wearing very provocative attire.
'Tis fine, You don't need a sex tag, a teen should be enough.
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I don't think innuendo alone requires a sex tag.
It's funny how few stories reach that conclusion. Many suggest that their schedules leave them little time with each other, but if you assume that they have working hours and non-working hours, then Luna's nocturnal schedule would indeed give them plenty of time with each other, with each of them primarily sleeping during the other's working hours.
"scribe's"
An excessively high amount of innuendo can necessitate the "Sex" tag, but I don't think an offhand comment like Celestia's merits it, especially since it's a double entendre. Likewise, Luna's comment about "that mare's husband" could just as easily mean she kissed him, or even just that she flirted with him.
What would warrant the "Sex" tag would be if you started referring, even obliquely via hints or innuendo, to actual "offscreen" sexual activities. For instance, if the relationship between Celestia and Derpy develops naturally to that point, and you want to give any indication of that at all (even without anything explicit or cloppy that would require "Mature"), you'll need the "Sex" tag.
Why do I have the feeling that this is not going to go even remotely according to Celestia's plan? To quote what future generations will come to regard as sage wisdom: "I just don't know what went wrong..."
Warrants sex tag
This is great so far xD
3780439 Hahahahaha
I would add the sex tag because the point of that is to indicate why the story is rated teen instead of everyone. Clop is basically mature by definition so the fact that this is rated teen instantly tells readers that there will be no clop which basically leaves innuendos and any other related subject matter which would fly right over the heads of children. Really, any romance more or less automatically warrants the sex tag as far as I am concerned with the teen/mature split based on weather or not there is explicit sex.
How cunning are we talking about, Celestia? More cunning than a weasel with a degree from the Institute of Cunning?
Also, you've got Luna down pat, I must say.
No, seriously, what did you mean by "too much derp, not enough ditz"? Because I'm confused. You call her Derpy up there in the description, but in the story, her name is Ditzy. And she doesn't behave very ditzy at all (that seems to be Twilight's role lately, if you've been watching Season 4). So really, what did you mean?
I'll save ya Ditzy >w< -he built a muffin fortress- OwO
xD I love it so far.
Doesn't need the sex tag. It's to indicate what there's going to be a LOT of. The FAQ says that teen is acceptable for some innuendos, implying, ect, so long as it isn't descriptive and isn't excessive. If it's just one or two little things, then no. If it's going to be two or three in each chapter, though, then it gets into the needing the tag.
Loving it!
Great
i like it . still another great fic
At this point, the innuendo is less blatant than the canon show. No need for the Sex tag, unless things get a lot more overt.
Ah, Luna. I luff you.
This story is beautiful.
3780648
Screw schemes or dating someone normally, just use magic!
I am very curious about how Celestia gives the guard "a parting swish of her tail" because that just keeps calling to mind any scene where the female runs her tail sexually across the males face....
3783628
I don't recall, so now I have to go look it up. Is it in the story or the comments?
I dont think the innuendo warrants the sex tag. You should keep in mind that some people avoid certain tags because they link them to certain things. So the sex tag might make potential readers shy away from the story.
3783717
Mmmkay.
"The best laid plans of mice and men (and ponies) often go awry."
Celestia should just spend time with them and let it happen naturally.
3781715
I don't think the innuendo is a problem, but I'd hardly call it "less blatant than the canon show"; what innuendo have you seen in the show that comes anywhere cloes to "wet dream" or Luna's mysterious comment about a dalliance with a married stallion?
3777886
Sounds more like you've had exposure to a limited range of child prodigies. It's definitely possible for a ten-year-old or less to sound as mature as Dinky does for a while (far more than just "two or three years advanced"; there are prodigies 5-10 years advanced). The part that makes them still child-like is that they'll then go on to act their age in other areas, as Dinky did once she warmed up to Celestia.
3779692
Personally, I think you've got Dinky down perfectly; go with it. As long as you continue to remember her age, and keep having the kinds of moments you had in the latter half of the chapter after Dinky and Celestia started getting along (for instance, going under the table to sit at Celestia's place with her, and cheering her on when Celestia started being playful), you'll have the right mix; that will make the moments of extreme precociousness that much more precious. It also makes Dinky a lovely contrast to Ditzy, giving the two of them a more interesting family dynamic, and allowing for future plot points between Dinky and Celestia.
I love how that's Luna's first question instead of "how did you meet?" or "one of the servants?"
You can always count on Luna to ask the important questions.
Hahahaah, this... so fantastic, nice job once more!