Uploaded by Mildgyth 
3508x2480 PNG 1.4 MB
Interested in advertising on Derpibooru? Click here for information!
Help fund the $15 daily operational cost of Derpibooru - support us financially!
Description
“Do you want some more tea?” Felix asked, and moved to tip the empty kettle over the cup without asking for a response. The fox laying down behind it just yawned, and tucked his face under his tail.
“Really, Mr. Snowtip, I know you’re upset but that’s no reason to ignore everyone.” He turned to the lynx sitting on the other side. “I’m sorry Mr. Bigpaw, but it will take a while before he opens up again.” He held the kettle close to his chest, staring into the sky, starry-eyed. “And then I’m sure you’ll work it out and get back to being in love.”
The lynx started to bathe himself.
“Rude.”
He was just about to turn to the fourth member of the tea party, Mrs. Cheeseheart, when a smattering of bird calls and the thum-thum-thump of a rabbit’s stomping alerted him that someone was coming. He jumped up, and looked around in worry. The lynx stopped bathing himself immediately to jump up and stand in front of him. Staring towards the incoming intruders, tense and ready to spring. The fox just lifted his tail to watch the proceedings with a half-lidded eye.
The first intruder appeared over a bush. They were giant, with glowing eyes, long claws, bulky bear-sized arms… purple clothing and purple spaulders with pink stars on them.
Oh, it was just a friendship castle guard. Felix relaxed a bit; they were probably just coming to get his mom for some meeting with Twilight. He hoped. Worst case, there was a mission, and his mom would have to leave for days…
With that in mind, he started towards the guard to ask why they were there. But before he arrived, someone else appeared behind the bush.
“Felix!” Moonstone shouted, happily. She jumped the bush, and literally pronked towards him. “I was hoping you’d be home!”
Felix’s face lit up –and then grew red as she threw her legs around him in a tight hug. Moony was one of the only people who weren’t related to him that dared to hug him properly; everyone else was either afraid of hurting him or him hurting them accidentally. …Maybe he should start to wear caps on his claws?
He contemplated that for the few seconds the hug lasted, and promptly forgot it as Moonstone pulled away again.
“My mamas let me go out all by myself!” She puffed out her chest, as the guard behind her let out a small huff. “So I came here to see if you wanna play with me?”
Felix started to nod, eagerly, before remembering that– “Oh, wait, no. I’m s’posed to be ‘outside in the fresh air.’” He deflated. “And Mum wants me to play an’ not read comics.”
It was a fair concern; practically the only thing Moonstone and he did together was, well, either reading comics or making their own comics. Since comics were currently out of the question, well, maybe Moonstone wouldn’t be as keen on staying and playing with him.
But Moonstone just smiled, and nodded towards the blanket behind him. “That’s okay! We can continue playing picnic if you wanna?”
The guard behind Moonstone made a coughing sound; when Moonstone turned towards them, they gestured… something. Felix had been learning some gesture language, ever since he started spending more time at Moonstone’s castle –where about half of the guards were mute– but the guard was gesturing way too quickly for him to tell what they were saying. He caught “stay here” at the end though.
Moonstone nodded to them, and they swiftly walked over towards Felix’ home. He gave Moonstone a questioning look.
“Oh, Silverclaw-,” Moonstone began, gesturing the guard’s name as she said it. “-is just gonna ask your moms if it’s okay for us to be here. She said I shouldn’t move ‘til she comes back.”
“…can you at least move to the blanket?”
Moonstone looked at the blanket, about three body-lengths away. “Hmm… yeah, I think that’s okay.”
The blanket was the traditional checker-board pattern of all true picnic blankets, and considering that it existed in the same place as all of the animals, it was surprisingly whole and unstained. Moonstone sat down next to the mouse, taking sure to not jostle the blanket too much. The lynx, on the other side of the mouse, had decided to form a satisfied loaf once it’d seen that Felix wasn’t scared by the strangers. The fox snored softly.
“Hello, sir, “ Moonstone said politely as she took her place. “Hope you don’t mind me sitting next to you?”
“Mrs. Cheeseheart’s a she,” Felix corrected as he walked over with a cup. “She’s a marriage coun-seller.”
“Oh, of course. My sincerest apologies Ma’am.”
The mouse cleaned her whiskers.
Felix put the cup down in front of Moonstone, and grabbed the kettle to pour some tea into it. He refilled Mrs. Cheeseheart’s and Mr. Bigpaw’s too while he was at it.
“Why does Mrs. Cheeseheart need to counsel a marriage?” Moonstone asked, and sipped on her air. “Very good tea also, sir. What’s it made of?”
“It’s, uh… timberwolf leaves! Very expensive.” Felix leaned over and murmured into her ear. “And, she needs to help Mr. Bigpaw and Mr. Snowtip save their marriage. They’ve been having big arguments.”
Moonstone gasped. “Oh no! And they seemed so happy to me.”
Bigpaw batted at and knocked over his cup. Snowtip yawned.
“Yes, but that’s just to everyone else. Behind doors, they’re fighting a lot. So we gotta help them.”
Moonstone nodded seriously, as Felix went to sit between the two animals in question. “But we’re not getting anywhere so far,” he sighed.
Moonstone mimicked his sigh, and they both took long sips of their cups.
They sat in silence for a little bit, occasionally taking sips, and waiting for Silverclaw to return.
They sat in silence for a little bit, occasionally taking sips, and waiting for Silverclaw to return.
“Can you lift stuff?” Moonstone suddenly asked. Felix looked down at the cup he was holding in his claws in confusion. He held it up to show her.
“Oh, no, I -I meant with your magic?” She pointed at his horn. “Since you’re part unicorn?”
His stomach dropped. Because, well… How did he even explain it?
“…It’s fine if you can’t!” Moonstone sounded worried, and spoke quickly. “I mean, lotta unicorns can’t reliably do it ‘til they, like, have their cutie marks already.”
Right, but that wasn’t…
“Not that you haveta have a cutie mark to use magic!” Moonstone was speaking even faster, her voice squeaking on the high notes in her haste. “Horse unicorns can use magic and they don’t have any –Oh, and zony unicorns too, they sometimes don’t get marks and they can cast spells! And, um, I think hinny an’ mule unicorns can too, but I’ve never seen…”
Moonstone trailed off, looking like she was trying to swallow the hoof she’d kept shoving further down her own throat. “…Sorry.” She finally settled on.
“It’s okay.” Felix decided to take pity on her. “I …can use magic, but it’s– it doesn’t…” He sighed. “Just look, okay?”
He reached over the side of the blanket and pulled up a long blade of grass, putting it down in between them. “I’m gonna try to lift this, okay?”
So he reached down inside of him. There, in his core, he felt his magic pool; once he thought of it, he felt how it filled his body with its swirls and flows. He nudged it, and it obediently started to flow –he didn’t even have to direct it, as it always headed directly to his horn. It seemed to him like it was acting in the opposite way it was supposed to, flowing up to his highest point. It wasn’t though; he’d tried to hang upside down to see if it went to his tail, but it still went through his horn.
Ignoring his magic’s defiance of gravity, he focused on the grass blade. He imagined himself putting a claw under it and pushing up lightly; just enough that it’d lift into the air. Just like how the books his Momma had read to him said to do.
But instead of rising off of the blanket –feathers, instead of even staying still or shooting into the air, like the book says it will do if you use too much or little force– it, uh…
Moony gasped loudly as the grass grew roots down into the blanket, and then immediately wilted as it became yellow and shriveled.
“I can tell what thing the spell’s supposed to do stuff with, but not what stuff to do.” He ripped the blade up from the blanket and threw it away. “Momma’s says I’m not allowed to use magic on people ‘cause of that.”
Moonstone appeared slightly shaken at the suddenly dead plant. “Y-yeah. That’s probably good.”
She glanced up at Felix, and, probably recognizing his insecurity, quickly continued. “But that’s like me!”
Felix just tilted his head in confusion.
“I can’t control my magic either.” She tapped her forehead –no, her horn, Felix realised. “Since I don’t have a horn, my magic just goes out and does whatever it wants to at whatever’s in front of me.” She grimaced. “An’ since it usually wants to explode, Momma Twilight says I shouldn’t try to use it when she’s not supervising, an’ not at all towards other people. So, yeah, we’re the same!”
They shared a grin.
Just then, Silverclaw returned and gave them a thumbs up. That, Felix –one of the few people around with thumbs– understood. So he smiled at her, and motioned for her to sit.
“D’you wanna join our picnic too?”
“There’s maritime drama!” Moonstone added, and shuffled to the side to make room. “We gotta save a marriage.”
The guard’s eyes crinkled, and she gestured something.
“It’s not? But it’s called marimony!” Moonstone’s nose wrinkled.
Silverclaw gestured again.
“Ma-tuh-rimony? Oh. Then what did I say?”
This time Felix managed to catch what Silverclaw was saying. He giggled, turning to Moonstone. “Sea drama! We should play that instead.”
“…yeah, okay! Come on, Silver, play ship with us –you can be first mate!”
The guard shrugged, and sat down.
“We need hats,” Felix decided. “I want to be a pirate, so I need a hat.”
Moonstone nodded. “Of course. You can’t be a pirate without a hat.”
They looked around for a hat. The closest things were a cup –too small, and too fragile– and the kettle –too heavy. Felix was just considering seeing if his moms would give them some things for dress up, when Silverclaw reached out and picked a flower.
He looked confused at her –flowers were not very pirate-y– when she picked up more and more. She held them carefully in her large paws, and began to make–
“A flower crown,” Felix said reverently. “Oh, that’ll be so pretty!”
The two children stared in silent awe, as more and moe flowers was added to the length, until it became long enough for Silver to tie into a loop.
She held it up for inspection.
“Okay, that’s the first mate’s hat at least,” Moonstone said. “Now we just need two captain ones…”
That’s when the crown landed on Felix’ head. He gasped, and reached up to gently stroke it. “It’s for me?”
“Yes,” Silverclaw gestured. She turned to Moonstone and asked if she wanted one too.
Moonstone very much did.
So after a little more time –during which Felix and Moonstone had to go and fetch more flowers with long enough stems– the two children sat on the blanket, heads held high, lifting their new colorful crowns for the world to see.
Only one issue.
“…I don’t wanna play pirates anymore, in case my flower crown is hurt.” Felix admitted, reaching up once again to touch its soft petals.
Moonstone nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah…” She brightened. “We can play that it’s tea-time on the pirate ship!”
“Oh! And two of the pirates are having marriage problems” Felix quickly agreed.
“Yeah! And maritime problems too!”
Both children cheered, and picked up the kettle and cups again.
Silverclaw sighed, but obediently held out her paw to accept the cup Felix gave to her.
Comments
0 comments posted