Things Are Not What They Seem: CYOA Part 11

Last thread: >>8270538

 

Pastebins are all at pastebin.com/u/smutanon

 

>Anon is currently romancing Celestia. They are in the royal gardens, lit only by moonlight. Anon tries to comfort Celestia, but...

 

Celestia's head whips to face you, her gaze much more severe than it was a moment ago. "I know that tone of yours, Anon. Try not to see me as a pony who needs your help every time she feels burdened. I have carried my burdens for longer than you can imagine and I shall continue to do so as my station demands it."

 

You raise a finger, trying to think up a point to to lay out, an argument against her strict self-sufficience, but nothing comes to mind. Nothing that would sway someone as experienced as her.

 

"I'm sorry, Anon, I did not mean to snap. Let's not let it ruin the moment, shall we?"

 

You nod, though your once springy walk had now degenerated to a shuffle. The gap between you too had become readily apparent in that one moment. How could anyone truly comprehend two thousand years without being the one to live it themselves? How could Celestia ever see you as a partner, given your pathetically short lifespan?

 

The garden has become silent but for the steady beat of hooves and feet. You feel like you must break the silence, but how?

 

>(A) Apologize for being presumptuous

>(B) Try to open up about yourself (specify)

>(C) Ask her something personal (specify)

>(D) Open response

 

 

 

 

>(A)

 

You gotta say something, and all you can think about is how you've annoyed or maybe even angered her.

 

"Sorry for being presumptuous, Celestia. I didn't know what else to say."

 

She shakes her head at your apology. "Anon, that is not something you should be apologizing for. It would be silly of me to chastise you for attempting to comfort me when you don't even really know my feelings on the subject. But now that you are aware, it would be best to let it lie. I do not begrudge you for your empathy, but realize there is a very present difference in our experiences. I have kept my mind throughout all these centuries and there is no reason to believe I would lose it tonight."

 

You stick your hands in your pockets and kick at the dirt. "Yeah, I see what you're saying. Sorry."

 

Angling her head downward, Celestia glares at you almost as a professor would glare at a student over his glasses. "At this point, I cannot tell if you're simply unware of your actions, or being sarcastic. Pray still your tongue a moment, think about your position." Turning back to the path the two of you follow, she picks up her pace slightly. "I can't help but become the teacher, even in situations such as this," she says to herself.

 

You open your mouth again, but stay quiet for the moment, taking Celestia's advice. The wind rushes over both of you, throwing your hair in your eyes, though Celestia's mane somehow remained still. Briefly, you wonder to yourself how it works, what magic holds it in its mysterious flow.

 

>(A) Ask her more about the garden

>(B) Ask her about her younger years

>(C) Do something spontaneous (specify if you can!)

>(D) Open response

 

 

 

 

>(C)

 

Your curiosity runs away with your concentration as you slowly reach a hand out towards her mane.

 

"Hmmm?" She turns around once your fingers make contact with the silky-smooth mane, sending a tingly feeling up your arm. Interested in your actions, Celestia simply watches as you run her mane through your fingers. The hairs are unlike anything you've ever seen or touched before: incredibly strong, but as weightless, almost as if the tinest breath could steal them away. Without a doubt there was something magical about them.

 

"How do they..."

 

"Work?" Celestia finishes the question for you. "It's a function of the individual strands. In truth, an alicorn body hold much more magic than it would appear. The only time one might catch a glimpse of it is at dawn or dusk when Luna and I adjust the courses of the sun and moon. Our manes are something of a diffusion of our magic. The energy inside of our bodies is channelled into our manes and... leaks from our bodies, you could say. The strands are more magical than physical, which is why most physical interactions do not happen as one would expect."

 

"It's beautiful."

 

"Such a word has been used in the past to describe—"

 

"No, no, not just that. I mean the the function behind it, how it's not just a mane, it's YOU, bleeding slowly into the world around you in a way that so precisely describes you, but without even a single word."

 

Celestia's mouth hangs open for a moment. "Well, I cannot say I've heard that particular compliment before."

 

>(A) Go in for a kiss

>(B) Not yet, talk about something more personal, try to open her up more

>(C) Open up about yourself

>(D) Open response

 

 

 

 

>(C)

 

So much of this conversation has been about her, and you've only been digging deeper and deeper. Maybe it's time for you to show her something about yourself.

 

Still running a hand through her mane, you start talking about the first thing that comes to mind: dreams.

 

"I had a dream a long time ago, something that's stuck with me for a while. You could even go as far as to say it has defined me. There was a cliff, the drop was sharp and steep. Far below was a thick mist, one I couldn't see through. Running near the edge of the cliff were two bears, a cub and it's mom, I think. I was floating in the air, not really there, just observing." You keep your eyes on Celestia's mane, but notice out of the corner of your vision she was now intrigued, doing nothing to hide her interest. "Every now and then, the cub would wander toward the edge, and each time the mother bear would guide him back to safety. I don't know how many time it happened, several at least. Each time the cub turned toward the cliff, his mother would block him. She never chastised him for it, though. Just offered a guiding paw." You move your hand to her withers, absentmindedly drawing it across her back. "Time passed and the cub grew a bit, but eventually he turned to the edge of the cliff and his mother did not turn him away. I don't know why she didn't; it was clear she saw him move and was in a position to save him, but chose to do nothing. The cub paused at the edge only a moment, then lept off. I tried to help him, to catch him and put him back on the ground, but he passed beyond the mist before I could even cry out. I turned to the mother, bewildered, speechless, shocked. She turned to me and looked me in the eye with a ferocity I'd never seen before. Then I woke up."

 

(cont)

 

 

 

 

Blinking, you Celestia facing you directly instead of at your side. At some point in your story, you'd stopped walking and she'd turned to you, but you were still a bit of a haze from your recollection.

 

"And why was this so important to you, Anon?" She's looking straight at you now, and you return her gaze in kind.

 

"It's weird to say this, because I know the dream could mean nothing, or it could mean a hundred things. But how I took it is that I should never let my opportunties slip from me. That I should dive into the unknown when I can, because the only way to know what's on the other side of that mist is to go there myself."

 

The garden has stopped moving, the wind stills itself and the insects hold their anthem. You could hear your thoughts.

 

>(A) Kiss her, damnit

>(B) Don't do it (specify alternative)

 

 

 

 

>(A)

 

It's late, the weight of tomorrow bears down on you, the moment is fading and your uncertainly threatens to catch up to you. Now or never.

 

In one smooth motion, you lock lips with Celestia. Kissing her is a little awkward in that you have no idea what to do with your hands, so you lay them on her shoulders and lean in further. You push your tongue against her lips, seeking something further, and she responds by giving you access. Your tongues play together for those precious few seconds in which you hope she doesn't pull away.

 

However, she does, cutting the kiss short. Scrunching up her mouth, she levels her eyes at you. An overwhelming diappointment looms over you.

 

"You're a terrible kisser."

 

You stiffen up, unsure of whether she's rejecting you or teasing. "I did the best I—"

 

She interrupts you by covering your mouth with her own, diving into another kiss, deeper than the first. This time, her tongue is the aggressor, pushing past your lips and exploring your mouth with a restrained ferocity. You reciprocate the kiss as best you can, though you're still off-balanced and in shock. Before you can fully recover, she withdraws, a sly smile growing on her lips.

 

"I must not have been THAT bad if—"

 

(cont)

 

 

 

 

Again, she silences you with a kiss, this one even more blunt than the last, forcing you to take a step back in order to maintain your balance. Just like the last, she pushes on you, darting her tongue in, giving you little time to kiss her back before she breaks it off. Her eyes drip with voracity; the kiss has only ignited her passion.

 

"Can I at least finish a sen—"

 

The final kiss comes with such intensity you fall over, though Celestia catches you with her magic and lets you down slowly, holding your lips to hers as you drop to the ground. Sick of letting her drive each action, you grasp the back of her head and pull her into you, not allowing her to withdraw before you have a chance to kiss back. Once you're satisfied, you release her and she pulls back, licking her lips, mane cascading down over you.