Light lay back onto her bed, stretching out and sighing contentedly. Radish stretched out next to her.
“You were right”, she said, “Every mare should be treated to a spa day once in a while. And dinner at Chez Foin was so good. Thanks for the best H n’ H ever.”
“Thanks for my first H n’ H ever,” said Radish.
“Well, it’s not quite over yet.”
“Hmm?”
She reached into her bedside dresser drawer and pulled out a costume Celestia wig. She fixed it on her head. Radish’s eyes widened.
“What do you think?” she asked, leaning forward seductively. “Want to live out your cutie marks at last?”
Radish’s shoulders drooped. “Light, I think my feelings for Celestia have changed. I still care about her, but I don’t have that same… fire… for her anymore.”
Light took off the wig. “Okay, I thought you might say something like that. But I’ve got a backup.”
She reached into the drawer again and came back up wearing a sparkly blue Princess Luna wig. “Forsooth, mine Champion! Unsheathe thine spear for thy Princess of the Night!”
Radish winced. “I… can’t do that either. Luna is… precious to me. It would be like betraying her.”
Light rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. Final offer.” She pulled out a Princess Cadance wig. “Well?”
Radish shrugged. “I honestly don’t find Cadance all that attractive. She’s kind of lanky.”
“Oh, is that so?” Light put the wig on, lay down onto the bed, and dramatically put her hoof to her forehead. “Lieutenant Root! What are you doing in my royal bedchamber!? If my husband, your prince, caught us together, he’d have you exiled!”
Radish narrowed his eyes. He crawled on top of Light and firmly took hold of her shoulders. “I’m not afraid of him. And I can do things to your royal highness that the prince has never dreamed of.”
“Oh, cruelest of fates! How could I, the Princess of Love, fall for the charms of such a knavish scoundrel? Take me now, in my connubial bed!”
Radish growled. Light giggled, then gasped, then moaned.
Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance sat at one end of a long table in Starting Gate’s, a fine dining establishment in Uptown Canterlot. There were eight empty chairs at their table.
“Shiny, dear,” said Twilight Velvet, “are you sure Twilight and her friends know to come here?”
“They’ll be here!” he insisted. “Twilight’s the best at scavenger hunts. And the clues I left her are foolproof!”
Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie stood at the outskirts of Canterlot, examining one of the city’s large gates in its outer wall.
“See anything?” asked Twilight.
“Sorry, Twilight,” said Spike. “There's no clues here.”
“I don’t get it! The last clue scroll we found referenced ‘the gate where it starts’. And this is the first gate ever built in Canterlot. I’m sure the translation from Middle Ponish is accurate. There has to be something here to point us to the next clue.”
“You know, there is a rather nice restaurant Uptown called ‘Starting Gate’s’. Their souffle is divine,” said Rarity. “Perhaps that’s what it meant?”
“That’s impossible!” said Twilight. “That restaurant can’t be more than thirty years old. These scrolls appear to be from centuries before that.”
“Maybe the clues are just a mean old ancient prank?” suggested Fluttershy.
“Wait, I know!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “It’s wordplay! It’s supposed to be ‘gait’, like walking! And where do you start to walk? A nursery!”
Twilight shook her head. “That pun wouldn’t work in Middle Ponish. But… if you switch out the words with contemporary homophones… you’d get a phrase that roughly translates to ‘field of holes’! That’s it! The next clue must be in the ancient cemetery!”
“Cemetery?” said Rarity. “Oof, this treasure hunt is more befitting Nightmare Night than Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“Oh, right. It’s Hearts and Hooves Day,” said Twilight, slowly. “If any of you had somewhere else you needed to be, we could pick this up some other day.”
Twilight’s friends looked at each other, then shook their heads.
“Get real, Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash. “Like some lame-o mushy holiday would be better than exploring a spooky crumbling cemetery for ancient magic!”
The others nodded in agreement, and the friends set off for the cemetery. Spike walked up close to Rarity.
“Don’t be afraid, Rarity. Just stick close to me, and I’ll protect you from any ghoulies, ghosts, or goblins that pop out.”
“My, how brave. Thank you, Spikey-wikey,” Rarity said, patting his head. She then leaned over and whispered into Fluttershy’s ear. “You know, dear, if you indeed had Hearts and Hooves plans with a certain… someone… just take off. I’ll cover for you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” whispered Fluttershy.
Applejack matched pace with Twilight. “You okay, Twi? You’ve been a bit… out of it… today.”
“I’m fine, Applejack. This treasure hunt is helping me take my mind off, well, a lot of things. I’m really happy you’re all here with me.”
“Any time, anywhere, sugar cube.”
“Maybe we should order now?” suggested Night Light.
“Just give them five more minutes!” said Shining Armor.
Cadance counted the chairs at the table. “Shiny, who’s the eighth chair for?”
“Root is supposed to be here, too.”
“Shining Armor! Don’t you think Radish should spend Hearts and Hooves Day with his girlfriend?” admonished Cadance.
“Whoa, Radish has a girlfriend?” asked Night Light. “That’s great! He’s such a nice boy.”
“Now, son, it was sweet of you to invite him,” said Twilight Velvet, “but a couple only gets to have one first Hearts and Hooves Day,”
“But I really would like to see Radish again, and meet his girlfriend, before we move to the Crystal Empire,” said Cadance. “Oh! We could double-date!”
“That’s a great idea! Take our box at the opera!” said Twilight Velvet.
Shining Armor frowned. “Yeah. Great idea.”
Murk the bat pony trotted up to their table, wearing a hairnet and apron. “Hello, Prince Armor!”
“What the-? What are you doing here?” asked Shining Armor.
“Brother Radish will be unable to join you for dinner this evening. Knowing I’d be working here tonight, he asked me to convey his sincerest apologies, his warmest Hearts and Hooves wishes, and his gift for Twilight Sparkle.”
“See, Shiny?” said Cadance pointedly.
“What do you mean, you’re working here tonight?” Shining asked Murk.
“We bat ponies normally devote hours each night to consuming our weight in insects. We discovered we could get paid to do so, by devouring the pests which infest many of Canterlot’s restaurants.”
The four at the table looked uneasy. “Are you saying Starting Gate’s has a bug problem?” asked Night Light.
“Not anymore!” Murk announced proudly. “I have just finished eating them all! Every last flour beetle, grain weevil, and fridge millipede!”
“Son, I’m not so sure about this place,” said Twilight Velvet.
“You said something about a gift for Twilight?” Shining Armor asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes! Brother Radish composed for her a poem, to express his regret at rebuffing her kindness and to elucidate how dearly he values her friendship.”
Murk placed a thick cardstock paper on the table. Neatly written on it was a poem entitled, “To a True, True Friend”. The four gathered around it to read it. Cadance gasped. Night Light’s eyes got misty. Twilight Velvet leaned against her husband, holding her hooves to her heart.
“Oh my, what a beautiful sentiment,” said Twilight Velvet.
“Our baby girl is lucky to have a friend like that,” agreed Night Light. “What a standup guy.”
“That’s… that’s the sweetest thing from a stallion I’ve ever read,” said Cadance, wiping her eyes. “We’ve just got to see him again.”
Shining Armor stared blankly. “Uh huh.”
“Hey! You!” bellowed a furious voice. A heavyset blue pegasus stallion stomped up to their table. “You owe me ten million bits!”
Shining scowled. “I told you, I wasn’t being serious!”
The pegasus pointed at Shining. “Can you believe this guy!? I bet ten bits on Radish Root, and it turns out he actually won! But Mr. Bigshot Prince here won’t pay out!”
“Would you get out of here!?” Shining hissed. “I am having dinner with my family!”
“Shiny?” asked Cadance, “What’s he talking about?”
Radish and Light held each other, panting.
“Ooh, Lieutenant Root, you’ve positively scandalized me,” said Light. “My servants must have surely heard our cries of passion.”
“Who do you think let me into your royal bedchamber?” asked Radish, deviously.
“Mmm, remind me to thank them.” She snuggled into Radish. “Now it’s been the best H n’ H ever.”
“I wasn’t too rough?”
“No, babe, you were perfect.”
“Do you think this has been my special talent all along?”
“Could be. I’d need a lot more data before making any conclusions, though.”
“Well… would you like to try…”
He whispered into her ear. She groaned. “You’ve been talking to Bold Roast, I take it?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not into that.”
“Okay.”
“Wait, do you think that’s what Little Radish is doing to Little Celestia?”
“Maybe?”
Light lifted her head and stared at Radish’s mark. “Huh. Yeah, maybe. Well… all right. We can try it.”
“Really?”
“Next Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“You promise you’ll still be with me a year from now?”
She kissed him. “Quit acting surprised I like you. You're the best. Even if you have weird, complicated relationships with princesses.”
Princess Celestia sat on a bench by the castle lake, watching the moonlight ripple across the surface. Frogs at the water’s edge were singing slowly and steadily. Princess Cadance walked up to her.
“Hi, Aunt Celestia.”
“Cadance? You should be with your husband on Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“My dear husband is in the doghouse. He neglected to tell me about what happened between you and Radish. He also neglected to check the restaurant’s health inspection record.” She sat down and hugged her aunt. “How are you?”
Celestia nuzzled her. “I’m tired. And a little hungover.”
“Celestia, I think it’s time you finally let me help you with your love life. At least let me feel into your heart.”
“You don’t want to go in there. It’s a cold, sorrowful citadel.”
“No, it’s a dam. And it’s been holding back a reservoir of love for far too long. Please- let me try. I may be able to find the answers you’ve been looking for.”
Celestia kissed Cadance’s forehead. “Not tonight. You need to go make peace with Shining Armor. Cherish every moment with him that you can. Don’t make my mistakes.”
Cadance sighed, resignedly. “All right. But you know I’ll always be ready to help you.”
“I know. Thank you, dear.”
Harold found himself alone in a quiet clearing in a dark forest, lit only by luminescent mushrooms and soft starlight filtering through the canopy. He stood at the head of a barely-noticeable trail leading deeper into the woods, where light didn’t follow. He gathered up his courage, then stepped forward. He felt a hoof on his shoulder.
He turned to see Princess Luna at his side. “Stop. Only danger lies that way.”
“Princess Luna, the last time I explored the deep understory of the dreamlands, I discovered Chrysalis planning her invasion. Who knows what other threats I can uncover lurking down that path?”
“You barely escaped that path with your life. As did I.”
“My self-inflicted mutation has given me greater awareness and control in my dreams. I have been training this power every night. I am willing to take on the risk. I believe this is the best use of my talent.”
“There is a reason that even I, the Princess of the Night, rarely venture that way. There are things lurking in the deep dreamlands worse than changelings- things best left slumbering. Rather than gathering information about our enemies, you may alert unknown horrors to Equestria’s existence.”
Harold took a fearful step back. “Very well. Thank you for coming to stop me. I am sorry for having taken up your time.”
Luna shook her head. “I was not eager to begin tonight’s dream patrolling, anyway. It is Hearts and Hooves Day, and the night that follows this holiday is always full of nightmares about loneliness. I am… unskilled at helping ponies with affairs of the heart.”
“Do you help these ponies individually, or in groups?”
“Individually, of course. I never cross-contaminate nightmares.”
“But if the nightmares are of loneliness…”
Luna’s ears pricked up. “...then these ponies don’t need me, they need each other! I could arrange a dream mixer for every lonely heart in Equestria! Ooh- perhaps a masquerade ball, like in the old days!”
“That sounds fun,” said Harold. “I am sure they will enjoy it.”
Luna took hold of Harold’s hoof. A flash of blue light flowed over their bodies, and they were suddenly in elegant ball attire. Harold looked down at his new tuxedo in surprise.
“Come!” said Luna. “Even at the speed of dreaming, we will have precious little time to prepare the festivities and gather the guests.”
“You wish me to help?”
“I believe this is the best use of your talent.”
Maxilla, Scion of the Hive and Supreme of the Warrior Caste, shuddered awake in the dark. She was on a hard flat surface. She was chained down. There was something heavy clamped onto her horn.
“...what…?”
“Ah, welcome back to consciousness, dear,” said a stallion’s voice. She looked for its source and only saw the shadowed outline of a large unicorn in the corner.
“...starving…” she coughed.
“Yes, you feed on love, don’t you?” he asked, dispassionately. “Poor girl, you landed face-first in Kludgetown- there’s not a place on earth more devoid of love! You were so cold and stiff, the merchant who found you thought you were dead. He was going to butcher you for parts, but I knew that insects can enter deep states of hibernation to survive unfavorable conditions.”
“You… saved me?”
“I purchased you. For a sizable sum.”
“Who… are you?”
“Why, I’m your date for tonight- I’ve brought you to Canterlot for Hearts and Hooves Day! I suspected that all the love in the air might revive you. And so it has. Eat up. You’ll need your strength.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I need your help, dear. This nation is living in fear of changelings now. It’s a distraction from the real issues. We need information on your species to develop effective countermeasures. I have to know everything about you- mind, body, and magic. As well as every detail about your people’s history and culture- sources of pride and shame, everything that drives you, offends you, and terrifies you.”
“I will never help you.”
He stepped forward, his glowing horn illuminating his gray mane. “Never say never.”
Twilight Sparkle cast a scanning spell across the backmost corner of Canterlot’s oldest cemetery. She detected nothing out of the ordinary. She clicked her tongue.
“Well, girls,” said Twilight, turning to her friends, “This was the last quadrant. I think it’s time to call it. We’re not going to find that ancient magic tonight. But we did rediscover the lost tomb of Thorny Thicket, one of my favorite authors of the Dark Neoclassical Movement! So, not a total loss.”
“Are you kidding? This was the best day ever!” said Pinkie Pie. “Who knew so many old tombstones had dirty limericks on them?”
“And rediscovering a lost tomb was like, the number one thing on my bucket list,” said Rainbow Dash.
“And I finally got to meet a barghest!” said Fluttershy. “He was such a good boy.”
“Anypony wanna get some food?” asked Spike. “We missed dinner, after all.”
“Ooh, I can recommend a nice little late-night spot downtown,” said Rarity. “It made Trenderhoof’s ‘In Right Now’ list.”
“I’d like to get some grub in me right now,” said Applejack. “Lead the way!”
They seven friends left the cemetery behind. Spike walked alongside Twilight.
“You know, for a minute there,” said Spike, “this was reminding me of those scavenger hunts Shining used to set up for us. Remember?”
“I remember. We always had a lot of fun figuring those out. And the prizes were alway pretty good, too.”
“I’m sure someday we’ll uncover the prize at the end of this one, too, Twilight.”
“I wonder- maybe whoever left these clues was really trying to teach the lesson that the real magic is a fun day spent with good friends.”
Spike scoffed. “I sure hope not. We already knew that.”
First.
Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose...? Unless it's not the end. Who am I to judge?
The friends we made along the way!
:-D
Hah, Shining's jackassery finally caught up with him. Is very good.
Glad everyone else had a nice night.
Great chapter!
*In a Morgan Freeman voice* And so Shining Armor finally got his much deserved comeuppance. All was right with the world… much to a certain draconequus’s annoyance.
We were so suspicious of Radish being happy when we should've been looking at Celestia's mental state.
the very next day
Radish: “Oh, hello Prince Armor! How was your Hearts and Hooves Day? Mine went gre-“
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/001/321/388/63e.jpg
Who knew that Radish's fetish is actually cucking Shining Armor? I am so proud of him!
Well, that was unsatisfactory and depressing.
In hindsight, making Twilight think she was hunting down a real artifact was a rather stupid move. Who would hide an artifact in a restaurant, right? Of course she's going to misinterpret it and avoid the most obvious solution.
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I think it’s less of wanting to cuck Shining Armor and more of him letting out his frustration against his former boss in a semi-healthy manner so that he stops having the urge to rip the horn out of Shining’s head for giving him such a hard time since he became a Guard and being all up in his personal life simply because he’s Twilight’s friend.
Also he calls Cadance “lanky”, which is weird given she’s shorter than Celestia.
Happy to see the story turn on Shining for once! I hope Radish can do the same soon, but him having a great time with Light is better! He needed a good day after taking nothing but abuse from Celestia and Shining for the whole story. I hope this means the two of them will actually start having actual comeuppance for their actions going forward and Radish can stop being punching bag.
I genuinely love this story and the characters you've created, and I hope it doesn't sound like I'm just dumping on it, but the whole parade of "Celestia or Shining do something awful, suffer no consequences, Radish refuses to stand up for himself, and the whole story forgets about it in two chapters" gets grating after a while. I hope this chapter is a sign their portrayal is changing.
You know, I never really understood what Shining had against Radish.
Shining Armor fucked around and he finally found out. Glad to see his karma finally came back to bit him
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I was making a joke, but I do agree with your assessment.
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So, I cant say for sure, but I think a lot of it can be summed up with his relationships with Cadence, Celestia, and Twilight. I imagine most guard captains were never in a place to know about Celestia’s love life situation, but he is Cadence’s wife/fiance and Twilights sister so the stars were arguably just right for him to be Celestia’s friend and confidant well before Radish made any progress in that department. If he knew of Celestia’s first love before Radish, it’s entirely possible all the shit he gives Radish is being overly protective of Celestia like the big dumb jock of a brother Radish says he is.
He is the flip to Cadence, after all, her other half. Cadence wants Celestia to open up and find love in this chapter, no matter who it is or how painful Celestia opening her heart is. While Shining… Shining is a guard. Until he became captain, it was his job and duty to protect, follow orders, and not ask questions. He’s not going to question Celestia’s choice to seal off her heart, he’s going to respect it until the day she changes her mind and instead do his damnedest to make sure other ponies don’t hurt Celestia, and whether he means to or not, Radish’s very existence is causing pain for Celestia right now. If Shining can see this, its perfectly in his nature to protect his princess be it as a guard would or as friends and family would.
That said, he’s not his wife, and he is not subtle. He’s a big dumb jock. People keep saying he’s an abusive and unaware twat for invite Radish to Twilight’s party, but like… Celestia was at that party too. He didn’t invite Radish for Twilight’s sake. He did it for Celestia’s. That’s why when Radish brought up Light, Shining’s response was to pretend Light didn’t exist. He refuses to acknowledge that Light and Radish might be serious or long term, because if he does, then he’s leaving Celestia to sit and ruminate what could have been as she gets a front row seat to Radish being happy for the rest of his life.
And like, there is nothing wrong with Radish being happy. Im all for it. But there is more than one main character to this story and layers upon layers of stuff we aren’t explicitly told because the story is from mostly Radish’s perspective.
My Ability To Feel Bad For Shining:
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I prefer to think of it as Celestia’s arc finally showing some real progress. To me, this is not comeuppance, because up until now, all we’ve really had is Radish’s perspective. The scene between Cadance and Celestia? That’s probably the most important scene in the book, tied with Radish shaving his Cutie Marks off. This arc is to Celestia what the Suitor was to Radish. It’s a very necessary wake up call for her, and we can only hope she takes the chance to reflect and reconsider opening her heart up. Even if it’s not with Radish Root, she deserves at least some happiness, and she needs to realise that.
Now me? After this chapter, I’m exceedingly torn between Radish staying with Light and Radish ending up with Celestia. I don’t want his happiness with Light to end, but I also feel there is no pony in a good enough spot to make Celestia happy other than Radish. Adding a new character for Celestia could easily come off as hamfisted, but nopony else I can think of in story save for maybe Stygian or Celestia’s first lover returned again fits. It is possible that Radish’s mark is in getting Celestia to open her heart, even if he’s not destined for her, as well.
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>It’s a very necessary wake up call for her, and we can only hope she takes the chance to reflect and reconsider opening her heart up. Even if it’s not with Radish Root, she deserves at least some happiness, and she needs to realise that.
See, I would agree with this except she seems to be ignoring it just like she's always done. She very conspicuously blew Cadence off there- it's going to require a lot bigger lever to crack the box she's put her heart in than just a conversation or intervention. I'm thinking Root is going to be put into critical condition by one of the threats they face for a long time (three weeks maybe?) and Celestia is going to get yelled at by Luna/Cadence for not going to see him, and then seeing him literally on the verge of death is going to wake her up as to how she's letting their time together slip by because she's afraid of exactly what's before her- loss. Maybe that won't be enough to actually make her interested in him romantically, but she needs friends too and all relationships start somewhere.
Side note: I love how everyone is completely ignoring the hefty sea green unicorn with the grey mane, because it’s really hard to tell if he’s working hard for Celestia behind the scenes or if he’s gonna be the real villain all along. Its my favorite mystery of the story, and now I’m stuck wondering if the reason he’s so secretive is tied to Celestia’s lover. Could he be a descendent or the pony himself? Has his family devoted themselves to lessening Celestia’s burden this whole time? Or is he the real villain of the story?
Also… uh… having been reminded of our grey maned mystery… I would really like to be wrong here, but uh… I think I found the most painful way for Light’s and Radish’s relationship to end… Doesn’t he still have the inkwell for the stamp macguffin? Pinkie Pie swiped it from Fetching and gave it to him, but we aren’t explicitly told he handed it over or turned it in. Just that he wanted to find out what was up with it. If it’s still just sitting in his house… well… if his house gets raided for it while Light is there, that’s uh… gonna cause some real drama and maybe some trauma.
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She’s ignoring it, but at this point, I believe the seed of doubt is finally there and wriggling in the cracks. She can try to keep ignoring it and try to stay in denial, but I don’t think her denial is anywhere near as strong as it was before, so its still a fundamentally important change in her character and the story.
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"Now me?..." - don't you find this dilemma unsatisfactory and depressing?
Really, all chapter in every scene my conclusions are "I would feel more satisfied and upbeat if I didn't see this scene". I am here for actual dialogues but they are scacrse and sometimes look like parody with bad taste. Or some mystery with not near enough information to even speculations. Only two dialogues are meaningful - of Celestia and Cadence (which lefts me depressed) and of Luna and Harold (this is neutral). Almost everypony is unsatisfied with their day, their search, their waiting, their attempt at help being rebucked, disgusted with most likely sabotage of dinner by Radish, etc.
Maybe it's just my general feelings of today muddens impression.
Girl, there's no one in Equestria who loves deeper and longer than you. There is nobody who can.
Luna is a wonderful pony, but the only person more aware of her failings than you is herself.
Cadence is a remarkable mare. But she has a choice before her: to share one lifetime with Shining Armor, or spend the rest of eternities alone.
And Twilight? She would break the world for her friends. She would be a threat to Equestria the likes of which never seen, if anything were to befall them. Timelines, realities and wouldn't be safe.
There love would turn to poison at the first life cut short.
Celestias love transcends the centuries and it is for love of them that she endures them. Daybreaker remains a phantom. An echo of a whisper in her nightmares. She feels profound love for each an everyone of her Ponies. Even a foal whose flanks depict her humiliation and degredation. Unyielding and un bending for a thousand years. Cadence has been around for a few decades at most. Luna endured a century at most before her fall. Celestia for 1,000 years. How many of us can remember the last year? How many clearly recall our lives 10 years ago? How many can relate to our ancestors 100 years ago? In our world, the people who lived a century ago might have been slavers as young men. Fought for Emperors and Kings, for whom the universe was so small the Milky Way and the Universe were one and the same and to whom the stars were as out of reach as the first hominids to have formulated *words*.
That is it the difference 100 years can make.
Celestia has it just lived 1000s of years. She has *Reigned*. Depending on how severe Discords reign was in this continuity, She may be older than the concept of stable time itself.
If she had done nothing but pay one person a compliment every day for the length of her existence, She would still have loved more deeply than the average married soulmates.
Lonely, perhaps. Sorrowful, of course.
But Cold? Never.
I don't believe the Sun could still shine, it were.
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I don't think it's a wake up call. I think this has been building for a long time. Radish is simply the final blow. She has endured so much for so long and what has She to show for it? What is her reward for 1,000 years of solitude and loneliness?
Her solitude may not be self inflicted: merely the inevitable result of an infinite life compared to a finite lifespan. A minute of happiness of a lifetime is still the same as 0 compared to infinity.
She has chosen solitude rather than the possibility of pains return, and found she is miserable no matter which poisoned chalice she drinks from. And the reminder of her perpetual loneliness and misery, is in the form of degradation and humiliation stamped on the flank of an innocent foal, who she cannot even being herself to hate, even when she baits him into saying vile and hurtful things about her.
Pure and simple? It's unfair. It's completely and utterly unfair.
When harmony has failed them, and life is unjust and cruel, the people of Equestria look to their Princess. For reassurance , for justice, for kindness and understanding.
Who does their Princess turn to? Or, put more poetically: Who does Celestia pray to for deliverance?
She is standing atop the world's tallest mountain, and is nevertheless hurried alive.
Anyone else think that somehow Cadence/Shining we’re going to somehow interrupt Root and Light, seeing the Cadence wig…? I mean, right up until the bat pony delivered Root’s poem (too perfect for the author to reveal), I honestly thought somehow Shining was going to bust in, looking for Root and Light, for the double date. I mean, that could have been hilarious, cringe, and any number of other things. Instead Root finally gets a deserved romantic interlude. I laughed when Light was mocking Celestia and Luna- I could hear each ‘imitation’ in the appropriate Princess’ voice. I got to wonder if Root doesn’t Love Luna, as his reaction to role playing seemed almost like he’d feel guilty- like he was cheating on the real Luna.
I’m still in favor of Luna and Root, but Light is a pretty good match. That she has so much understanding and compassion for Root’s complex relationship with the princesses is hard not to love. It’s a mature and honest relationship, even if she’s a bit of a troublemaker. I can’t help but think this too shall pass and Root will find himself alone. Olive: great story. I live for the notification that a new chapter is out. It’s like opening a present.
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The other scenes are powerful in their own way depending on how you look at them and interpret them. The scene at the restraunt, while full of parody and humor, ties well into my interpretation of this being the flip of the Suitor arc. Radish is happy, and Celestia can’t even have a nice dinner with Twilight. She instead is forced to sit and watch as Twilight’s parents gush over hearing Radish got a marefriend, and then the mood turns sour between Radish’s message, the restaurant being infested, and the inevitable fight between Shining and Cadence on hearing about the bet. We even see hints in Twilight’s dialogue that she may be purposely continuing the scavanger hunt because she needs a distraction. Shes smart enough to recognize her brothers scavenger hunts. She may well know there’s a good chance Celestia is on the other end and be overcomplicating the hunt to avoid her.
Literally everything went wrong for Celestia this chapter, but at the same time, everything finally went right for Radish. It’s… a very bittersweet chapter in many ways, and unlike with Halcyon, we have no feasible reason to mistrust or villainize Light, so its a very mixed bag. Ive always been aware he might not end up with Celestia, after all. So long as Celestia finds somepony in the end I will be happy with Radish ending up with either mare. This is both his and Celestia’s story, after all, and I still trust the author to accomplish that even if it does not end the obvious ship the premise implies.
Would I enjoy it? Yes, I honestly ship Celestia and Radish more now, though my biggest reasoning for it is uh… actually tied to how she talked about her hatred of his marks. I find it very, very strange that she sees herself as being submissive in his mark. Shes more than old enough to see tons of ponies in tons of relationships come and go. With how he has talked with her and described his own desires, its really clear that to Radish, his mark was at least in part about making Celestia happy. Radish may have made some fundamentally wrong assumptions about what that meant in the beginning of the story, but he has never come across as one looking to conquer or claim Celestia, and like… I dunno. Something about that has my freudian senses tingling that her tastes have changed, and that she’ll only wisen up if Radish calls her on her bullshit and stops being so much of a doormat.
That is, to say, we are told Celestia’s former one night lover said he understood her feelings when she said she it couldn’t and it wouldn’t ever work, but she did want it bad. Real bad. So bad she described it as not wanting to raise the sun, and so like… what would have happened if her first and only lover called her on her bullshit right there? What if he was less of a doormat and had said they could make it work? Would Celestia have ‘submitted’ for lack of a better word if her former love had refused to let the chance to be with her go? Does she hate Radish’s marks so much because she in part, wants to just stop worrying about ruling the nation? Or because she resents not submiting to her own desire for happiness when she had the chance? She calls the mark a cosmic mockery, but Celestia is drowning so deep in denile that I wonder if the universe picked that exact mark because anything less blunt would be unable to reach her. Like imagine if generation after generation, Equestria just kept trying to give her happiness and love as the magic of friendship is wont to do, and she kept rejecting multiple well meaning loves until the harmony itself said ‘Fuck it’ and slapped Radish’s ass with a mark that she cannot ignore. We have plenty of proof that harmony itself is at least semi-self aware in the show. If it wasn’t the cutie map wouldn’t be capable of sending Twilight and her friends out on missions. It would also potentially explain the first instance of the mark, as the pre-unified tribes are also the sort of scenario I could see harmony going ‘fuck it’ over since the three tribes just kept refusing to sort things out.
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“...It’s not, creepy!”
Seeing Shining having a bad day was fantastic schadenfreude.
I still think it’s dumb how Celestia thinks she has to be single because loving someone and giving them more time than your other subjects is bad for a ruler when there are probably other leaders of other countries who are married. I think she’ll probably realize that later if she hasn’t already and is dealing with the fact she blew her and her first loves chance over something that wouldn’t be as big of a deal as she thought.
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- unless Radish isn't actually happy but wears happy mask, I don't know what you're talking about. I recall first major part of that arc Radish being miserable until he discovers something that makes sense. And I don't recall Celestia being happy in it at any point. Also where did you came with Celestia trying to have dinner with Twilight? At restaurant was Cadence.
- it is rarely that anything goes right for her. And as I said previously, it only seems that Radish constantly suffers but I see him having very long winstreak. No matter what he does, he never suffers setback in the end, never loses anything, compensation always greater than what is spent. When Celestia never gains anything. At least I have this impression.
- I'm hesitant to ship anyone
anywherewith anyone and jump to hasty conclusions about anything.- that his phrase was great demonstration to me of conflict. He wants her to be safe, well and happy. Neither of those three things he provides to her. His actions even worsen his statement. His suggestions of safety don't actually provide additional safety, achieving only increase of uneasiness and rises stakes if something would go wrong. He belittles the one who actually tryes to protect her and train her for protection. He don't hesitate to apply acid to her wounds - to physical and mental ones alike. And it is clear that she's wery long in state of unhappiness. His slight to her when they looked into each other eyes is statement of how exactly he strives to make her happy. He doesnt even once call her by name when she does it in all arc except only one point - at moment after their fight, before leaving him in the snow and teleporting away. And all this in addition to fact that his mere existence is a punch in Celestia's gut.
- she wasn't saying to him that she don't want be with him, she genuinely expressed her fear that her feelings will consume her if given a chance and others will suffer for it. And she placed wellbeing and happiness of others above of her own.
- I suspect she would teleport away in fear of her will crumbling, hided and cried herself into sleep. Or doubled down on her conviction and quarrel with her date. Or indeed submitted and allowed herself a droplet of hope. Who knows?
And who knows (except autor), maybe his marks are that slap that would get her out of her stupor. Either way Celestia's unhappiness dulles and bitters for me all other sweet moments in stories.
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I’ve wondered the same.
Here is my conclusion.
Shining is showing classic “disapproving dad syndrome”. And he doesn’t realise it.
He said it himself - “Twilight needs a sophisticated stallion.”
Remember how he destroyed that other stallion who *gasp!* dared to court his sister? You remember... while Radish was talking to their parents at Twilight‘s birthday, they talked about the one who Shining placed on the athletics circuit of death simply because the guy showed some interest in Twi and began to serenade her? Who knows, that could have been a good friend...
Deep inside, Shining is far too overprotective of his sister, to the point where he won’t allow her to make or keep male companions whom do not fit his own expectations of ideal marriage material.
It actually has less to do with Radish and his “pervy cutie mark” and more to do with the simple fact that Radish is a stallion who “doesn’t fit big brother’s expectations”.
Makes sense so far?
It would explain why Shining is always so cold to Radish and takes delight in his own superior rank above Radish. I mean, the dramatic pauses while Shining is revealing the promotions to Radish are not necessary. Yes, yes... I know that is classic superior (or classic asshole) officer behaviour.
But a decent officer would understand that Radish is hopeful and be quick (and kind) about it. And even if it could still be argued that Shining is simply behaving like a superior officer, well... it would be have been good of Shining to show some gentlemanly respect and acknowledgment of Radish’s own respect and friendship to his sister, and be less of a heartless dick.
In short, Shining loves his sister too much, and it shows.
I mean, it’s not just Radish, it’s Twilight‘s friends too.
Ordering them all to produce gifts to Twilight? Despite the objections of at least one?
Applejack - “The nerve of that stallion!”
He is overprotective and controlling, which is sad because even Twilight’s actual father is chill and welcoming to Radish.
Shining needs to see a therapist before he becomes actual “disapproving dad”.
Lest future Flurry Heart grows up with resentment towards her over-controlling (yet very loving) father.
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Maybe he thinks "if no one else will protect her, then it shall be me". That she needs this protecton or not is irrelevant.
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“No one can protect my sister, except me!”
I’m glad I stuck with this through the first chapter, you’ve really made spectacular use of a seldom seen premise. While I’m no expert I think you competently paced out the highs and lows to make this story engaging and enjoyable. It kept me good company while I was fighting insomnia and I’m entirely hopeful that Light Fantastic and Radish Root will make it through and build a lasting life together.
I eagerly await the next chapter!
Get rekt, Shining.
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Twilight’s scavenger hunt this chapter was supposed to lead her to the restaurant with Cadence, Celestia and the others? Hence Twilight not showing up is another way Celestia’s night was ruined.
Also, genuine fear? Yes, Celestia has a genuine fear, but like many fears its a very irrational thing and it has forced a thousand years of unhappiness on her. When I call it bullshit, I refer to the way she lets it have an unhealthy control of her life. Cadance wants to wait for Celestia to be ready, but Celestia has had a thousand years to deal with this and hasn’t. There’s an argument to be made that she never will because everypony under her is, well, under her. Shes the princess. She knows whats best. Theres any number of excuses Celestia can make or tell herself to reinforce that irrational fear over and over. Her few real friends dont push things with her out of love and respect, but sometimes people need more of a push than a nudge.
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The Gang + Spike + Radish = 8
Well, I have to admit reference to Radish by Murk was adorable. He's cute. And pest control is actually good occupation that benefits health of population.
In my experience calling something bullshit usually means that this is untrue and there's no chance that it could be true. I don't think that Celestia's change of priorities causing avoidable suffering to ponies is invalid fear of her.
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That’s what I believe except that I believe his most recent behavior is about protective instincts for Celestia, not Twilight. He doesn’t want Radish to end up with Light. When Radish brought her up as a reason why he couldn’t attend, Shining pretended he hadnt heard and that Light didnt exist. The dissapproving Dad trope would not have done that for Twilight because he doesn’t want Radish to put any moves on Twilight, and so Light coming to the party as a new friend for Twilight would only be a good thing in that sense.
Celestia is a different story, though. Shining did not invite Radish for Twilight’s sake. He invited him for Celestia’s sake, likely because he knew what we and Radish didn’t—the reason Celestia doesnt let herself love and get close with others.
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A friend familiar with Celestia’s character and all her goodwill can easily tell that that fear becoming reality has a next to zero chance of occurring. It isn’t impossible, but the very fact she’s afraid of it happening speaks volumes about her character having more than enough integrity to never let it happen without denying herself love and happiness. It is, in fact, very much bullshit.
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Even smallest thing could cause chain reaction that would end in grief.
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you know what would be ironic , since there been implied possibility of time travel shenanigans, that if radish in the past under disguise was celestia first love
also glad shining getting some karma let hope it becomes a trend
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Small things causing chain reactions like that is most likely to happen when a person shells themselves off. This is exactly why I’m saying Radish needs to call Celestia on how irrational her fear is. That fear is the butterfly flapping its wings here. Its not protecting Celestia or her ponies like she thinks it is. It only hurts her and those close to her who don’t want her to suffer, and the reason it has done so for a thousand years unchecked is that Celestia is apparently refusing to let her support circle help her. Small things can spiral, but the bigger your support network, the less likely that is to happen.
This is why Celestia’s fear is so irrational. Allowing herself at least a chance at love and happiness is much healthier psychologically speaking than walling herself off. The right pony gives her somepony to share her burdans and insecurities with, and would act as the cornerstone of her support circle to prevent her from blowing up, snapping, or having any dire consequences or break downs.
The longer she lets nopony in, the more likely a little thing will have her snap and explode just like she did in the fight with Radish. If she won’t realize that on her own even after having a mental breakdown in front of everypony, then the only other option may be for her friends and loved ones give her some tough love and muscle past her defenses to show her that its okay to let others love you.
I like reading all the speculation in the comments -- about Shining's exact mindset here vis a vis Celestia, about Celestia making progress and who she might "end up with" (if anyone at all), whether Twilight was deliberately missing cues for her own health, Luna and Halcyon finding ways to apply their talents, etc. But: I just want to say...
...okay, the girls (&Spike) investigating a graveyard, discovering a tomb, and having fun together was honestly one of the most heartwarming things I've read. I love the way their exploits just seem to naturally turn into "adventures" that can be summarized in a TV episode with a moral at the end, and I love how they're genuinely written as just, good friends. Just great to read.
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I dunno. I still think Shining is just upset that he can't screw Twilight himself.
I think in the show they say foalproof.
Evryone else is writing wall of text comments, so prepare thyselves for MY wall of text comment:
Good chapter. 5 stars.
Shining seems to be getting irritated that MC isn’t going after his sister despite years of his orders, restrictions, warnings, and threats to not do that.
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Years? Show canon says Twilight became an alicorn in less than a year after first arriving in Ponyville.