An Affinity With the Sun: Act II: Chapter I

~An Affinity With the Sun~
{Act II}
[Chapter I]
|Pursuit of the Heart|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>A week has passed since your commitment to each other was made
>And you can say that the days after have been positive and much brighter
>You can actually see her trying
>It would be a long shot to expect her to renounce her ways within a week though
>Her old self still shows through from time to time
>But that's okay, just means the two of you have work to do
>And today, the both of you are having a private picnic (Inside the castle of course)
>You were still not permitted to leave without her supervision
>But that was also okay, one step at a time

>You wait for her on the cliche red and white checkerboard blanket as you take in your surroundings
>The sun is especially bright today and rests just on the center of the blue sky
>Only a few stray clouds voyage across the Sun, casting a small shadow over you and the ground
>You're a patient man but you have been waiting for at least thirty minutes. How long was she going to make you wait?
>"Anon. I have arranged the food in a hundred different ways I hope you'll find to your liking."
>Several baskets and various eating utensils are suspended in her magical glow
>She's brought enough food for a family of seven
"Tia, you actually think we'll be able to eat all of that?"
>She looks at you with her giant magenta eyes as she slowly levitates a basket over to you and lifts the lid revealing a the professionally crafted cake
>"Well of you don't want it. I'll be more than happy to eat it all in front of you and watch you beg for just a taste."
>She hovers a piece of cake to your lips and you reach out to bite it
>But you taste nothing

>"Ah, ah, ah. This piece is mine, you get this."
>She passes you a tiny saucer with a carefully crafted slice of cake
>Though incredibly small
>You lock eyes with her
>Challenging her for your right to enjoy the full extent of the cake
>You consider raising the people and leading a march on Canterlot to dethrone the cake hoarding tyrant
>But you digress as she laughs jokingly and slides a more hefty size to you and you take it gratefully
"Should you even be eating all these sweets?"
>She stops mid-bite to stare you down
>"What are you implying?"
"You might get fat."
>She humphs in mock offense
>"Well, if you are here to watch my weight than I suggest, we get more physical."
>She moves the assorted sweets aside and starts stalking towards you
>You back away, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of your capture
>She draws closer, an evil intent assuming the look of a hunter who has just cornered her prey
>"What's wrong? I could use the exercise."
"What? What kind of exercise?"
>She's close enough to be face to face with you and you feel a trickle of sweat roll down from your brow
>"Run."
"Excuse me?"
>"Run!"

>You tear through the bushes and hedges of the garden, praying to god you're legs don't give in
>You hear her galloping behind you
>Each hoof step being a crack of thunder
>She pursues you, barreling through staff and tourists
>You're going to have to think fast if you want to even break her line of sight
>You hear her laughter behind you as she gains speed
>You make quick left into the castle, the sound of your leather shoes popping soft echoes
>The sound of Celestia's gold plated hooves send out a crashing chime
>"You won't be able to run for long, my little human~"
>Her words only push you further
>Your will is unbreakable and you feel the need to run as fast and as far as the ends of the earth
>Only you can't
>The two of you tear through the castle like a typhoon of chaos and disorder
>But alas, your fun is snuffed as you run into Luna, Princess of the night
>Your impact barely phases her but you are knock off your feet as soon as you make contact
>You feel you stomach twist in a knot
>Celestia slows her gallop to a canter, and then to a trot
>She approaches the two of you panting and smiling
>Luna observes the trail of destruction following in your wake and gives an impatient stare at her sister
>Celestia stares back in nonchalant innocence
>"What?"

>"What doth thou think thou are doing?"
>You pick yourself up on your feet and dust yourself off
>"Well, Anon and I were having a picnic. He said some offensive comments that I won't repeat. He threatened to hold my bakers hostage. I pursued him to make sure nothing happened to the royal staff."
>She offers a playful smile, which Luna doesn't accept
"That's not at all what happened!"
>They both look at you
>Luna's expression unchanging but Celestia can't keep from cracking up
>Luna returns her attention back to her sister
>"As we said previously, we will not pry on your private dealings. But we do ask that thou not run amok like common school children."
>Celestia pouts and sighs
>"Honestly Luna, you're no fun at all. You should get out more often."
>Only now does Luna's expression grow sour
>"Some of us don't have the freedom for antics and pranks. Some of us have duty to the state, and we'd like for you to keep that in mind."
>Luna dismisses the both of your existences as she exits the conversation
>You walk over to Celestia and rest an arm on her back
"What's your sister's problem, she's always moody."
>Celestia sighs and leads you away in the opposite direction of her sister
>"It's a long story Anon, one I've told too many times."

"What about the food we left outside?"
>You ask her while the two of you make your way to your room
>"Someone will take care of it. But it's nice to know you're considerate enough to care."
>She gives you a light kiss on the cheek and you return her affections my scratching the place behind her ear you discovered about a few days ago
>"Well, here we are."
>She opens the door to the room you've grown accustomed to over the past weeks
>You even have your own closest place
>She holds true to giving you everything you wanted
>Not that you require so many material possessions
>And it doesn't help that you are now without your relics from Earth
>But the new life ahead of you could be worth the loss
>You seat yourself on the bed as Celestia moves about the room
>You study her movements
>As always they are graceful and perfect
>But ever so often clumsy and ill calculated
>"Ah!"
>In her haste she trips over her own hooves and face plants into a wall
>A sight almost too comedic to believe
>You allow a laugh to escape you
>She joins in your laughter sheepishly
>You gotta learn to laugh at yourself, right?
>You lean back and stare at the ceiling
>Her cutiemark carved into the heavy marble above
"Today was a good day."
>Celestia questions your sudden statement
>"What makes you say that?"
>She joins you on the bed as you elaborate further
"We've done literally nothing all day. I'm beginning to get comfortable with all this. Dicking around all day has been appealing to me lately."
>She giggles at your choice of words
>"Hopefully this doesn't become routine. I have a country to maintain."
>You kick your shoes away and you climb to the backboard of the bed
"Yeah but, lounging about just sounds perfect right now."
>"Where are you going with this Anon?"
>Celestia begins to slip off her royal relics and joins you
"Well, you know awhile ago when you told Twilight I didn't like to go to exotic places?"
>She nods in confirmation
"Let's do that. And do nothing all day."

>"You know I can't do that."
"Why not?"
>You make sure to immediately counter with a question to make sure she doesn't escape
>"Because I have been laying about with you enough as it is and Luna is right, we both have duties we must attend to."
"Then why don't we plan for a vacation later?"
>You push the subject even harder, to her own discomfort
>"No. It's out of the question. I've told you I don't want you outside the castle grounds. We are dropping the subject."
>She kills the lights and rests her head on her pillow, leaving you in the dark
"You still don't trust me. Even after I promised I wouldn't go anywhere, you're still caging me up like a bird!"
>You raise your voice at her, hoping that it'd go a lot further than her ears
>"It's not a matter of my trust in you. It's a matter of my trust in the other mares."
"Then we can go in privacy! Dammit you crazy horse! Is it too much to ask that we can spend a day outside these walls?"
>She lifts her head from her pillow to look at your shadowed face
>"Yes. It -is- too much."
"Are you serious? After everything I said. After everything you've taken from me, you won't give me this? This is what I'm talking about. This is what you're going to have to fucking get over if you want to make this whole thing work."
>Silence falls over the two of you for a few moments
>You can see her purple eyes glow in the setting sun
>You stare back at her hoping she's having an internal war with herself
>She finally brakes the silence with a sigh
>"Fine. If it's that important to you than we can go on this little adventure of yours. Goodnight."
>She rests her head back onto her pillow and turns away from you. defeated
>Score 1 for Anon, you consider the road ahead to be difficult but you are willing to blaze it for the mare you begin to grow feelings for
>Genuine feelings this time
>You fall asleep to her quiet snores and the thoughts of tomorrow