Guarded Emotions

Chapters

A New Friend?
Checkmate
Questions and Answers
Scenes of the Past
Aftermath
Unpleasant Dreams
Confrontation
Now What?

A New Friend?

It was early spring in Equestria, a few short weeks after winter had officially been completely wrapped up, and the initial snow-melting sunlight had given way to slate grey skies and cascading rain. While the rainstorms may have been a boon to any freshly planted crops, they had the unfortunate side effect of grounding any pegasi without experience flying in unfavorable conditions. Or, in one instance, of forcing a certain alicorn princess and her number one assistant to take the Ponyville-Canterlot Express.

“Hey, Twilight, why do you think Princess Celestia wanted you to come to Canterlot?”

“I’m not really sure, Spike. All the letter she sent said was that she needed me to come to Canterlot immediately about urgent royal business.” The lavender alicorn paused and let out a worried sigh. “To be honest, I’m a little worried that it has something to do with Starlight Glimmer. I know what she tried to do was horrible, but I really think that she’s changed. I just hope Princess Celestia feels the same way.”

“Oh come on, Twilight,” the diminutive dragon huffed as he stood up on his seat, “this is Princess Celestia we’re talking about! She’s the most forgiving pony ever! She was even willing to forgive Discord for crying out loud!”

Twilight smiled at her assistant’s outburst, realizing that he was absolutely right. Princess Celestia was hardly the sort that would punish somepony if there was a chance that they could be reformed. “I guess you’re right Spike. It’s just that I’m a little nervous, it’s not like Princess Celestia to summon me to Canterlot out of the blue like this unless it’s something important.” Letting out another sigh, Twilight leaned against the passenger car window and looked out at the soggy Equestrian landscape rushing by. Twilight spent the remainder of the trip in melancholy silence, despite Spike’s best efforts to coax her to talk. Between the gloomy weather and her growing concern for her friend, Twilight simply couldn’t muster any interest in conversation. Moreover, by the time the train finally pulled into the Canterlot Station Twilight’s mood had soured considerably, due in no small part to her belated realization that she had left her umbrella in Ponyville.

While most of the ponies on the rain slick train platform were rushing towards whatever shelter they could find from the rain, there was one notable pair of exceptions. Two guardsponies, a pegasi mare and a unicorn stallion, were standing in the center of the platform in the pouring rain as though they were waiting for something. Sure enough, as soon as Twilight and Spike disembarked from the train, the two guardsponies promptly dashed forward and snapped to attention in front of Twilight.

“Welcome to Canterlot, your Highness,” the pegasi mare barked as she brought her right foreleg up in a salute. “Lieutenant Silverstreak reporting for duty.”

“An’ Lieutenant Sharpshooter, y’Highness, reportin’ fer duty.” The unicorn stallion drawled as he saluted her as well.

“I…um…thank you?” Twilight stammered, taken somewhat aback by this unexpected display of overt deference. “We weren’t really expecting anypony to meet us here.”

“We’ve been instructed to escort you and your assistant to Canterlot Castle, your highness,” Silverstreak replied as she stepped to one side.

“An escort, seriously? Since when have we ever needed an escort just to go to the castle?”

“Well, Mister Dragon, Ah’ll admit there probably ain’t much need fer us to escort y’ an’ the princess, but those’er our orders. ‘Sides,” Sharpshooter grinned as his horn flashed with a burst of pale green energy, creating a hemispherical barrier of magical force above the four, “just because y’ don’t strictly speakin’ need us doesn’t mean we ain’t useful t’ have around.”

Twilight gave Spike a sidelong glance, who simply shrugged in response. While the presence of the two guardsponies was unexpected, their company, or at least Sharpshooter’s umbrella-like shield spell, was far from unwelcome. Unable to think of anything left to say, Twilight nodded to the pair, indicating that she was ready to go. As the four headed off to Canterlot Castle, Twilight tried to take stock of the pair marching in front of her. Their armor, nearly identical to her brother’s aside from the fact that the enamel was light blue instead of violet, clearly marked them as lieutenants of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Apart from their armor, however, neither pony possessed the uniform look that most ponies typically associated with members of the royal guard. Lieutenant Silverstreak, for example, was the first guardsmare that Twilight Sparkle could ever recall meeting. That said, Twilight had to admit that Lieutenant Silverstreak certainly looked the part. The dark-maned, silver-coated pegasi had a physique like a Wonderbolt, and she carried herself with the same stern bearing that most ponies associated with members of the Royal Guard. While Lieutenant Silverstreak may have seemed like something of an oddity on account of her gender, Lieutenant Sharpshooter was an oddity on account of almost everything else about him. Sharpshooter was a decidedly averagely built stallion with a navy blue coat and an unfortunate pea soup green colored mane. Moreover, the stallion seemed far more comfortable to be in the presence of an alicorn princess than virtually any guard Twilight had ever met. It was Sharpshooter’s face, however, that truly captured Twilight’s attention. A set of three parallel scars, each roughly the width of the tip of Twilight’s horn, stretched from the center of Sharpshooter’s forehead just below his horn, under an eye-patch covering his left eye, and terminating at the base of the stallion’s jaw.

As the group made their way through the streets of Canterlot towards the castle, Twilight noticed Lieutenant Silverstreak frequently shooting angry glances towards Sharpshooter, her ears bent almost completely back. At first, Twilight tried to ignore the guardsmare’s obvious irritation, but as the minutes dragged on Twilight’s growing discomfort with the situation finally prompted her to say something.

“Pardon me, Lieutenant Silverstreak, but is something the matter between you and Lieutenant Sharpshooter?” As Twilight spoke, her countenance brightened considerably as an idea popped into her head. “As the Princess of Friendship, I’d be happy to help resolve any friendship problems that the two of you might be having.” The palpable glee in Twilight’s voice elicited an eye roll from Spike, who had been too engrossed in a discussion with Sharpshooter over the respective merits of Canterlot’s various donut shops to notice Silverstreak’s irritability.

Lieutenant Silverstreak paused and thought for a moment before answering. “Permission to speak freely, your highness?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied, already mentally sorting her list of friendship problem solutions.

“Thank you your highness. I’d just like to ask the Second Lieutenant why, if he’s able to cast a partial barrier spell, did we have to spend over a rut-, excuse me, over an hour standing in the pouring rain?” Silverstreak snarled as she glared at the other guardspony.

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Sharpshooter burst out laughing at his companion’s outburst. “What’s the matter, Silverstreak? Don’t tell me th’ top flier in th’ guard can’t take gettin’ a little wet. Anyways, Ah was jus’ followin’ orders; Captain Fearless tol’ us t’ stand at attention on that there platform ‘til th’ princess arrived, an’ that’s what Ah did.”

“Are you-since when in your entire miserable career have you ever cared about following protocol?” Lieutenant Silverstreak sputtered, before pausing for a moment to try and regain her composure. “Besides, the only reason we were stuck on that platform was because you decided to make that stupid joke about Princess Luna.”

“Wait, he what?” Twilight exclaimed, more than slightly scandalized by the two guardponies’ exchange. Both ponies were nothing like the disciplined soldiers that she had grown up associating with the Canterlot Royal Guard.

“It weren’t nearly as bad as Silverstreak’s makin’ it sound, yer highness. Truth be told, Ah meant it more as a compliment than anythin’ else.”

“Sharpshooter, you said that, and I quote, it makes sense that the Princess of the Night has a heavenly body. That might not have exactly been an insult but…ugh.” Silverstreak let out an exasperated groan, unable to bring to respond further.

“T’ be fair, it wouldn’t ‘ve been a big deal if Captain Fearless Blade and Princess Celestia hadn’t ‘ve snuck up behind me when Ah said it. And, fer what it’s worth, Princess Celestia thought it was durn funny.”

“Princess Celestia thinks Discord is funny, Cyclops.” Lieutenant Silverstreak retorted reflexively, before promptly turning beet red as she suddenly remembered precisely who she was escorting. “Er…not that there’s anything wrong with…I mean, um…”

“It’s alright, lieutenant, to be honest I’ve never really understood that about the princess myself.” By now, Twilight had gotten over her initial shock over the behavior of her escorts, and she found herself considerably more at ease with them. It helped that the way the pair bickered reminded Twilight of the verbal sparring of her friends Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Satisfied that there was no friendship problem for her to solve, Twilight decided to simply take a deep breath and let the matter drop. It wasn’t long before the group finally reached Canterlot Castle, and by then all four were glad to finally be out of the rain.

“All right, your highness,” Lieutenant Silverstreak began as they entered the castle foyer, “Princess Celestia will be waiting for you in the castle’s west meeting room. So, unless there’s anything else you need us for…”

“It’s alright, Spike and I can find our way there ourselves. Thank you for escorting us.”

Lieutenant Silverstreak relaxed visibly as Twilight excused her. “Thank you, your highness. Now I just need to find somewhere to dry off.” The silver pegasi shot a venomous glare at her one-eyed counterpart. “I swear to Celestia, you’d better start hoping that this armor doesn’t end up rusting.”

“Oh stop yer bellyachin’ already, yer armor ain’t gonna rust and y’ know it. An’ Ah also know durn well y’ been through a lot worse than a little rain water.”

Twilight watched the pair as they made their way off to the castle barracks, letting out a barely stifled giggle once they were finally out of sight. As much as Twilight may have hated to admit it, she also thought Sharpshooter’s joke about Princess Luna’s ‘heavenly body’ was pretty funny.

*********

Years of studying under Princess Celestia as her personal protégé had left Twilight Sparkle very familiar with the layout of Canterlot Castle. As such it didn’t take long for her to find her way to the castle’s west meeting room. As Twilight approached the room, she could hear familiar voice arguing from within.

“-a complete waste of time. We should just assign him to Ponyville now and get it over with.” Twilight instantly recognized the voice of her older brother Shining Armor. Wondering what in Equestria her brother was doing in Canterlot, Twilight magically threw the doors to the room open. Sure enough, sitting at a table in the center of the room was Shining Armor, along with a visibly pregnant Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia herself. Shining Armor was propping himself up on the table with both front hooves planted firmly on the tabletop, scattering several of the files which covered the table’s surface and staring daggers at Princess Celestia. “Twily! You finally made it!” Shining Armor exclaimed happily as he saw his beloved younger sister in the doorway. Whatever Princess Celestia had done to upset the stallion was momentarily forgotten as he leapt up to greet Twilight.

“It’s great to see you too, BBBFF, but what in Equestria are you and Cadence doing in Canterlot?” Twilight turned to Princess Celestia. “For that matter, I’m not even entirely sure what I’m doing here. All you said in the letter you sent me was that you needed me to come to Canterlot for royal business.”

“I asked Shining Armor to come to Canterlot because I felt that having his perspective on the matter at hoof would be particularly helpful.”

“The matter at hoof? I’m sorry, princess, but I still don’t think I understand.”

Princess Celestia gestured for Twilight to take a seat before responding. “Ever since you took on the responsibilities of the Princess of Friendship, you’ve been putting yourself at risk time and time again. Starlight Glimmer’s village, the feud between the Hoofields and the McColts-“

“Not to mention the fact that Starlight Glimmer came after you again in your own castle.” Shining Armor added.

“Starlight Glimmer’s changed, I know she has.” Twilight Sparkle’s mind raced as she readied every argument she could think to bring up in her new friend’s defense.

“And we trust your judgement on that matter, Twilight.” Princess Celestia stated, cutting off Twilight before she could protest further. “But if something like that were to happen again you may not be so lucky. As such, we feel that the time has come to assign you a bodyguard.”

“A bodyguard?” Twilight asked, not sure how she felt about the turn the conversation was taking. “Are you sure that’s really necessary?”

Princess Cadence, who up until now had been quietly nursing what looked to be a tan milkshake of some kind, finally spoke up. “To be honest, Twilight, this is something that we really should have taken care of when you first became a princess. If it makes you feel better, I’ve actually had a few bodyguards over the years, and I’m still good friends with most of them. Stormy Skies…Fearless Blade…” Cadence gave a mischievous grin as she placed her front hoof over her husband’s “…and of course, Shining Armor.”

Blushing slightly at the implications behind the look Cadence was giving her brother, Twilight moved her attention to the files littering the surface of the meeting room table. Levitating the one closest to her, Twilight opened it to reveal the personnel file of a member of the Royal Guard. “So, then all these files are…”

“Potential candidates for the position.” Princess Celestia responded, while Shining Armor let out a dismissive snort.

Twilight, however, paid little attention to her brother’s outburst as a thought had suddenly leapt into her mind. “Um…there wouldn’t be a guard by the name of Flash Sentry in here, would there?”

“Flash who?” Shining Armor asked. “Wait, pegasi guard, orange coat, dark blue mane, right? Twily, Flash Sentry’s a rookie private who isn’t even a full year out of basic training yet. He might be a decent guard, but he’s just not qualified for an assignment like this. Besides, I’m not even sure he’d be interested in accepting the assignment.” Shining Armor turned to Cadence. “Isn’t Flash Sentry the one who started dating one of the local librarians? I think her name was Amethyst something or other.”

“Amethyst Shine. I think they met during our last Hearth’s Warming Eve ball.”

“Oh, I see…” Twilight felt a twinge of sadness at the news, although after taking a moment to think about it, it occurred to her that she wasn’t nearly as upset as she would have expected. After all, Twilight realized, it had actually been Flash Sentry’s human counterpart that she had bonded with; Twilight couldn’t even recall if she had even spoken more than five sentences to her own universe’s Flash Sentry.

Sensing his sister’s discomfort, Shining Armor brought the conversation back to the task at hoof. “Look, Twily, it’s important for you to understand that whoever we assign is going to be responsible for more than just protecting you, they’re going to protecting the rest of Ponyville as well. The thing is, we’ve been considering setting up a small garrison near Ponyville for years now, mainly because it’s so close to the Everfree Forest. We’ll almost certainly be bringing in more guards eventually, but at first your bodyguard will be in charge of protecting the whole town.” Princess Celestia started to open her mouth as if she wanted to add something, by Shining Armor quickly cut her off. “And while I’m sure that these candidates are all excellent guards, there’s only one pony in Equestria who I’d be willing trust with your safety, Twily, and that pony is Captain Moonwhisper.” As he spoke, Shining Armor shot a glance at Princess Celestia as though he was daring her to disagree.

Princess Cadence greeted her husband’s passionate declaration with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Shining, I know how much you respect Captain Moonwhisper, but he’s not the only qualified candidate.”

“When it comes to my little sister’s safety, Moonwhisper is the only pony I trust.” Shining Armor levitated one of the files over to Twilight. “Here, Twily, take a look for yourself. I’ve known Moonwhisper ever since basic training, and I’ve never met another guard with his level of ability or his dedication.”

Twilight opened the file and looked through some of the guard’s records and she had to admit that, at least on paper, this Captain Moonwhisper lived up to her older brother’s praise. “Graduated top of his class from the Equestrian Officers Academy…multiple commendations for bravery beyond the call of duty,” Twilight’s eyes widened a little as she read further. “He was awarded the Royal Shield of Honor?”

“The Royal what-now?” Spike asked, looking up from another of the personnel files. The small dragon had only been disinterestedly half-following the conversation thus far, but the audible shock in Twilight’s voice had finally gotten his attention.

“The Equestrian Royal Shield of Honor is the highest honor that can be awarded to a member of the guard.” Shining Armor replied. “They only give it out for really incredible acts of bravery, and I mean really incredible. I think it’s only been awarded a couple dozen times in Equestria’s history.”

“Twenty nine times, to be exact.” Twilight added almost reflexively, still slightly dazed from this new revelation.

“Right, well, Moonwhisper earned his during the last major gargoyle migration.” As Shining Armor continued, his tone became much more serious. “Moonwhisper…he saved my life during that…he saved a lot of ponies’ lives during that.” Screwing his eyes shut, Shining Armor paused and took several deep breaths before he continued. “Trust me, I wouldn’t be pushing so hard for Moonwhisper if I wasn’t absolutely certain that he was the best pony for the job.”

Twilight spent the next several moments in silence as she absorbed everything that her brother had just told her. It was clear that Shining Armor held Captain Moonwhisper in extremely high regard above and beyond the stallion’s impressive record. Furthermore, the revelation that Moonwhisper had saved Shining Armor’s life left the young alicorn more than somewhat shaken. Twilight could vaguely recall Shining Armor having been hospitalized for several days following a mission shortly before he had been promoted to captain, but the notion that he had almost been killed had never even occurred to her. “Well, if you really think he’d be the best pony for the job, then I’ll take your word for it.”

“Awesome, trust me Twily, you won’t regret this. It’s just too bad Moonwhisper’s out of Canterlot right now on official business; otherwise I’d introduce the two of you myself. In the meantime, why don’t I take you over to HQ so we can get some of the paperwork taken care of? And, after that, why don’t we hit up Doughnut Joe’s and catch up a little before you go back to Ponyville?”

“Alright,” Twilight replied, happy to have an excuse to not only spend a little time with her BBBFF, but also to delay having to trek through the pouring rain outside. As Twilight started get up to leave the room, she turned back to address her sister-in-law. “Cadence, are you going to come, too?”

“Actually, Twilight, I think I’m going to have to pass this time. I need to stay here and have a chat with Princess Celestia.” Twilight couldn’t help but notice a definite edge to Cadence’s voice, and the way that Cadence seemed to snarl the word ‘chat’ made Twilight a little uncomfortable, though if Shining Armor noticed he didn’t show it. “Although,” Cadence added, her face softening, “Shining, if you’re going to Doughnut Joe’s anyway…”

“Another peanut butter milkshake?” Shining Armor asked with a chuckle, to which Cadence responded with a sheepish nod. “Sure thing, hon.” Noting his younger sister’s quizzical expression as they left the room, Shining Armor offered an explanation. “Cadence has been having cravings for those for the last couple of weeks. Just a normal part of having a foal, I guess.”

“I guess…Oh, that reminds me, Pinkie Pie wanted me to ask Cadence a few questions the next time I saw her. So, why don’t you and Spike go on ahead and I’ll catch up with you. Once I’ve asked her the questions.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to-“

“No! I mean, no, it’s a…a surprise. It has to do with a surprise that Pinkie’s planning, and you know how Pinkie is about surprises.” Twilight gave a nervous laugh as she practically shoved her older brother down the hall.

Deciding not to press the issue further, Shining Armor simply shrugged and levitated Spike onto his back. “Alright, whatever you say, Twily. Come on Spike, why don’t you tell me how you’ve been doing with the ladies out in Ponyville.”

Twilight waited for a few agonizing moments as she watched her bother and assistant disappear down the hall before slinking back towards the meeting room. As much as she hated lying to her brother, something about Cadence’s demeanor towards the end of the meeting bothered Twilight, as though there was something she had wanted to say but couldn’t. Determined to find out what was going on, Twilight crept towards the closed doors of the meeting room, her horn briefly flashing with power as she cast a spell to augment her hearing.

“-least now I know why you were so insistent that Shining Armor come to Canterlot.” Twilight could immediately pick up the voice of her former foalsitter, uncharacteristically seething with barely contained irritation.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Cadence. I simply thought that Shining Armor’s familiarity with both Twilight Sparkle and the available candidates would give him valuable insight into who might be the best pony for the job.”

“Please don’t treat me like I’m an idiot, princess, you know as well as I do that Shining Armor has been hero-worshipping Moonwhisper for years. You knew exactly how inviting him here would play out; Shining Armor would gush about Moonwhisper to Twilight, and of course she’d take her big brother’s advice.”

“Captain Moonwhisper is an exemplary member of the Royal Guard…”

“I’m not saying he isn’t a good soldier, it’s just…well, you know how he can be.”

“I’m well aware of the deficiencies of Captain Moonwhisper’s personality, and to be honest that’s why I had hoped that your husband would convince Twilight to select him as her bodyguard. I think Twilight may be able to help Moonwhisper overcome some of his…issues with friendship.”

*********

“Help him ‘overcome his issues with friendship’? What the hay was that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she hung a welcome banner across the pillars in the foyer of Twilight’s castle.

“I’m not sure exactly, but it definitely sounds like Princess Celestia believes that Captain Moonwhisper needs my help somehow.” Several weeks had passed since Twilight had returned from her niece’s crystalling, and the day had finally come for Moonwhisper to arrive in Ponyville. Twilight was particularly curious to find out precisely what sort of stallion Moonwhisper was, particularly since her efforts to investigate that had proven surprisingly futile. Shining Armor, for example, had been more than happy to talk at length about how strong Moonwhisper was or how brilliant he was, but he became distressingly evasive whenever Twilight questioned him about Moonwhisper’s personality. Most of the other ponies that Twilight had spoken to offered her even less insight, either only knowing Moonwhisper by reputation or not at all.

“So, let me make sure I have this straight,” Rainbow Dash groused, snapping Twilight back to the moment, “from now on, you’re going to have some strange stallion following you around all the time, and nopony will tell you anything about the guy? Something about this whole thing just doesn’t feel right.” Rainbow Dash had frequently voiced her misgivings over the news that Twilight was being assigned a bodyguard ever since Twilight returned from Canterlot. Personally, however, Twilight suspected that at least some of Rainbow Dash’s objections stemmed from the fear that she might miss out on the opportunity for any fighting in any future adventures.

“Come on, Dashie, Shining Armor wouldn’t have suggested Moonwhisper if there was anything really wrong with him. It’s just too bad that Starlight Glimmer picked this week to spend catching up with Sunburst in the Crystal Empire, she’s going to miss out on the party.” Pinkie Pie bounced around gleefully as she readied the last details for the ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party she had insisted on preparing for Twilight’s new protector. True to form, the cheerful pink pony was giddy with excitement over the prospect of making a new friend.

“Then why did Twilight say that Princess Cadence sounded angry when she was talking with Princess Celestia?” Dropping the banner that she had been holding, Rainbow Dash flew right up into Pinkie Pie’s face. “It sounds to me that Shining Armor and Princess Celestia know something about this guy that they’re not telling. Besides, since when does Twilight need a bodyguard anyway?”

“For the record, I actually don’t think that it’s a bad idea.” Fluttershy, struggling to keep herself airborne after catching the banner that Rainbow Dash had dropped, quickly continued before Rainbow Dash had a chance to respond. “I mean, the map does send us all over Equestria, and, what if it sends Twilight to somewhere dangerous without you with her?”

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment to think before simply grunting in reply, Fluttershy’s subtle appeal to her ego having mollified her for the moment. “So,” she began after taking another few seconds to calm down, “where the hay is this guy anyway? I thought he was supposed to arrive today. And for that matter, where the hay are Applejack and Rarity?”

*********

At that very moment, Applejack and Rarity were at Ponyville Station, patiently waiting to greet the town’s new guardian.

“You know, I have to admit I’m a little jealous of Twilight Sparkle. Getting a handsome stallion to watch over you day and night, ready to charge to your defense at a moments notice…” Ponyville’s resident fashionista let out a dreamy sigh as she pictured being swept off her hooves by some imaginary knight.

“And what exactly makes y’all so sure that this Captain Moonwhisper is gonna be some great handsome stallion? All Twilight was able t’ tell us about what he looks like was what was in his file. ‘Unicorn stallion, black coat, white mane, green eyes.’ That ain’t exactly a detailed description.”

“Oh come now, Applejack, surely you’ve noticed that virtually every stallion in the Royal Guard is, how should I put it…”

“A might easy on the eyes?” Applejack quipped with a grin. “Yeah, Ah’ll admit y’all have a point there, but frankly Ah won’t care if this Moonwhisper fella looks like he was walloped with an ugly stick as long as he can keep the nastier critters in the Everfree under control.” The smile on Applejack’s face faded as she leaned in closer to Rarity, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Truth be told, me an’ Big Macintosh have been findin’ timberwolf tracks at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres recently.”

“Oh my, I can see why you’d be concerned. Although, aren’t the timberwolves one of the signs for your zap apple harvest?”

“The timberwolves howlin’ might be the first sign of the harvest, but usually they keep t’ the edges of the Everfree. Them slinkin’ out t’ the edges of the farm like this is somethin’ new, and Ah’d hate t’ even think about what might happen if the get up th’ nerve t’ head into town.”

Before Rarity had a chance to voice her agreement, the air was filled with the high-pitched squeal of the Canterlot-Ponyville Express pulling into the station. As the passengers disembarked, both mares began scanning the sea of faces for anypony who matched the description they had received. After a minute or two, Rarity began excitedly nudging her friend.

“Applejack, look, over there by the baggage car, it’s him, it must be!”

“Uh, Rarity, are y’all sure about that?” Applejack replied glancing over the stallion her friend was gesturing towards, who was busy unloading a large stack of boxes from the train. “Ah’ll admit his coat and mane look about the right colors, but Moonwhisper is a captain of the guard, and that fella looks like he’s about the same age as mah brother, if that. Besides, Ah’d think Moonwhisper would be wearin’ at least some sort of armor and all he has on is that little hat, so what makes y’all think he’s even in the guard t’ begin with?”

“I assure you, Applejack, that stallion is most assuredly Captain Moonwhisper. And, for what it’s worth, that ‘little hat’ of his is called a beret.” Grinning broadly, Rarity trotted over to the stallion in question. “Oh yoo-hoo! Pardon me sir, but would you happen to be Captain Moonwhisper?”

The unicorn stallion carefully put down a box that he had been levitating and turned around to face Rarity before responding. “Yes, that would be me,” the stallion responded in a measured tone, “is there something that I can help you with, miss?”

“My name is Rarity, and this is my friend Applejack, and we were asked by our friend Twilight Sparkle to meet you here at the station.”

As Rarity made the introductions, Applejack used the opportunity to take stock of the captain. Moonwhisper was a large stallion, roughly as tall as Big Macintosh and almost as heavily built. His bone-white mane was pulled back in a simple ponytail, topped off with a simple black beret. And, as Applejack had to admit, Rarity’s primary prediction about his appearance had proven accurate; Moonwhisper was an exceptionally handsome stallion.

“Pardon me, miss Applejack?” Moonwhisper asked, snapping Applejack back into the moment. “Would you happen to have a wagon available? If at all possible I would like to bring my personal effects to my quarters before I present myself to the princess.”

“Don’t worry, Ah thought y’all might need somethin’ like that, so Ah brought a wagon with us that y’all can use. Are y’all gonna want any help with yer things.” Applejack gestured towards the pile of boxes Moonwhisper had assembled.

“Thank you, miss, but that won’t be necessary.” With that, Moonwhisper turned towards the pile, his horn glowing a dark blue. A magical aura of the same color enveloped the pile, which Moonwhisper seemingly effortlessly levitated into the air.

As Moonwhisper headed off to the back of the station, Applejack sidled up to Rarity. “All right, Ah have to know, how the hay did y’all know that he was our pony?”

Rarity smirked as she responded. “Well, darling, to be honest the proof was his beret. Or, to more precise, it was that lovely badge he has pinned to it.” Rarity paused for a moment, until she noticed Applejack’s quizzical expression and realized that recognition of her brilliance wasn’t immediately forthcoming. “You didn’t even notice he had a badge pinned to his beret, did you?” Rarity let out a resigned sigh before continuing. “In any event, I assure you there is in fact a badge pinned to the headband of his beret. It consists of three horizontal bars, lavender ones on the top and bottom with a gold bar in the middle.” When Applejack yet again failed to respond to the significance of this revelation, Rarity continued in a somewhat exasperated tone. “That badge happens to be the insignia for a Captain of the Royal Guard, and I thought it safe to assume that there weren’t going to be two Captains of the Royal Guard matching his description on board the same train.”

“All right, all right, there’s no need t’ get all worked up about it. I guess Ah just weren’t expecting somepony so, Ah dunno, young.”

“That would be perfectly understandable, miss Applejack, given that I’m currently the youngest actively serving captain within the guard.” Applejack started as Moonwhisper emerged from behind the train station, having apparently finished loading the wagon. “Now, could either of you kindly direct me to the home of a pegasi named Bulk Biceps? I’ll be staying with him instead of at the castle while I’m stationed in Ponyville for the sake of propriety.”

“We’d be delighted to show you the way there, Captain.” Rarity replied, giving her friend a chance to recover from her surprise.

“We sure would, an’ once y’all get yer things delivered, we’ll take y’all t’ meet Twilight.”

Nodding with approval, Moonwhisper hitched himself to the borrowed wagon. “Excellent, please lead the way.”

“So…where are y’all from originally?” Applejack asked as they started off, hoping to break the ice a bit.

“Trotsylvania.” Moonwhisper replied simply.

After a few moments, it became clear that Moonwhisper wasn’t going to offer any further elaboration. In an effort to alleviate the silence, Rarity spoke up. “So, I understand that Twilight’s older brother Shining Armor is an acquaintance of yours. How ever did the two of you meet?”

“Shining Armor and I attended basic training together.” Once again, Moonwhisper replied in a neutral, matter of fact tone, not offering any additional information.

As the group made their way through the town proper, Applejack and Rarity continued to do their best to incite some form of conversation, pointing out various place of interest around Ponyville. Unfortunately, this failed to elicit anything from Moonwhisper beyond the occasional ‘Duly Noted’. Applejack soon gave up, and began to instead pay closer attention to Moonwhisper himself. The stallion trotted through the town pulling the heavy wagon behind him without the slightest sign of strain or effort, his eyes ceaselessly darting back and forth as he did so. To Applejack, it seemed as though Moonwhisper expected somepony to leap out and attack at any moment. Eventually, to both mares relief, they made it to the home of Bulk Biceps. While Moonwhisper unloaded the wagon and brought his things inside with the enthusiastic help of Bulk Biceps, Applejack took Rarity aside to speak with her.

“Is it just me, or is there something a might off about that stallion?”

“Well, I’ll admit he doesn’t seem to be much of a conversationalist, but…”

“Ah ain’t bothered that he ain’t chatty, Rarity; mah brother’s not much different on that account. But, with Big Macintosh Ah can at least generally tell what he’s thinkin’. This fella, though, Ah jus’ can’t read him.” Applejack paused for a moment as something occurred to her. “Y’ know, Ah think part of it might have somethin’ t’ do with the fact that Ah haven’t seen him smile since he got here.”

“To be fair, Applejack, we’ve only just met him. I’m certain he’s just a bit stressed at the moment, what with his moving to a new town and all, not to mention the fact that he’s about to meet the princess that he’s going to be protecting. He’ll most likely open up a bit more once he’s had time to settle in.

“Ah guess y’all have a point there,” Applejack conceded, not sounding particularly convinced. “Well, let’s get him over t’ Twilight’s and see what she thinks about him.” Applejack took a deep breath and turned back towards Bulk Biceps home. “Hey, do y’all need any help in there?” Applejack yelled at the top of her lungs.

“No, miss Applejack, I would say that everything is settled here for the time being.” Moonwhisper replied as he calmly walked back outside. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, could you please show me to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle?”

“Sure thing, and don’t worry about the wagon, mah brother can swing by and pick it up later.” Applejack tried to manage a smile as she spoke, trying to take Rarity’s advice and give the strange unicorn the benefit of the doubt. Inwardly, though, the farm pony had to wonder just what Princess Celestia was thinking sending this stallion to protect her friend.

*********

The three ponies spent most of the short journey from Bulk Biceps’ home to Twilight’s castle in relative silence, Rarity and Applejack unable to think of anything else to say and Moonwhisper continuing his closed-mouthedness. Finally as they approached their destination, Applejack made one final effort to coax anything out of the reticent stallion.

“So, y’all said yer from Trotsylvania, right? Y’all have any family back there?”

Upon hearing Applejack’s question, Moonwhisper froze in place and winced, as though the question caused him physical pain. “If you don’t mind, miss Applejack, I’d rather not talk about that particular subject.”

“If y’all say so, Ah didn’t mean to upset ya’ none.” Applejack apologized quickly. On the one hoof, this the first real bit of emotion she had seen Moonwhisper exhibit, but on the other the last thing Applejack wanted to do was upset him.

“I’m not upset, it’s simply not a subject I care to discuss. I presume that this is Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle?” Moonwhisper added quickly, apparently eager to change the subject.

“Sure is, sugarcube. Here, let me get the door for y’all.” Before Moonwhisper had a chance to object, Applejack through the doors and she and Rarity ushered Moonwhisper inside. The castle foyer had been decorated in typical Pinkie Pie party style, with balloons, streamers and confetti everywhere. Furthermore, a large banner declaring ‘Welcome Captain Moonwhisper’ had been hung between the foyer’s two front columns.

As Moonwhisper looked around the room, taking everything in, his gaze fixed on Twilight Sparkle, who was trotting over to greet him. Before she could speak, however, Moonwhisper snapped to rigid attention. “Captain Moonwhisper of the Ponyville Garrison reporting for duty, your highness!”

Several seconds of awkward silence followed, broken only by the sound of one of the balloons spontaneously deflating. Throughout the silence Moonwhisper stood perfectly still, not moving a single muscle. Finally, Twilight realized that Moonwhisper was waiting for her to say something and cleared her throat. “At ease, captain,” Twilight began, returning Moonwhisper’s salute, “I’d like to introduce you to my friends-“

“Miss Pinkie Pie, miss Rainbow Dash and miss Fluttershy, if I’m not mistaken. I’ve already had the opportunity to meet miss Applejack and miss Rarity.”

“Now just wait a durn second, how in tarnation do y’all know everypony’s name already?” a flabbergasted Applejack sputtered.

“Before coming to Ponyville, I made a point of reviewing every bit of information regarding Princess Twilight Sparkle that I could access, including her close associates. Admittedly, though, I didn’t initially recognize miss Rarity or yourself until you introduced yourselves. Now then,” Moonwhisper said turning back towards Twilight, “if your highness doesn’t mind, I’d like to begin by examining the perimeter of the castle to identify any potential points of egress. Afterwards, I would like to be shown the rest of the castle interior so I can familiarize myself with the layout.”

“But, what about your welcome party?” Pinkie Pie asked, giving Moonwhisper her saddest puppy-dog eyes.

“While I do appreciate the gesture, miss Pie,” Moonwhisper said, glancing about at the room’s colorful decorations, “it really wasn’t necessary.” With that, Moonwhisper turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Checkmate

“I am sorry if my reaction to the welcome party you and your friends had prepared upset you, your highness, I was simply caught a bit off-guard by it all. Also, check.” Moonwhisper’s horn glowed a dark blue as he levitated his knight into position.

“It’s alright, Moonwhisper, you’ve apologized enough already. Also, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d really prefer it you could just call me by my name instead of ‘your highness’.” As Twilight spoke, she intently stared at the chessboard in front of her. It had been several days since Moonwhisper had arrived in Ponyville, and Twilight Sparkle was still determined to help her bodyguard with his friendship problem, although she still wasn’t entirely sure precisely what that problem was. Therefore, Twilight had decided that her first order of business was to actually get to know Moonwhisper as a friend. Luckily, it had turned out that Moonwhisper was an avid chess player, and Twilight had begun challenging him to nightly games in the hope that he would open up to her. While the nightly games did seem to be helping Moonwhisper to warm up to her, in the process Twilight had learned something about her bodyguard that she hadn’t expected. Namely, Moonwhisper had proven to be an exceptional chess player, and the Princess of Friendship had been handily beaten every single night.

“If that’s really how you would prefer to be addressed, your high-I mean, Miss Twilight-I mean, Twilight.”

Twilight barely stifled a giggle at Moonwhisper’s discombobulated attempt at casualness. Having had a chance to get acclimated to the stallion’s perpetually serious demeanor, Twilight found him to be pleasant enough, she just wished that she could get him to open up to her. “I’m just curious, what about the welcome party made you so uncomfortable?” Twilight asked as she moved her king to safety.

“Well, I suppose part of it stems from the fact that I’ve never been entirely comfortable being the center of attention like that.”

“Really? I’d have thought you’d be used to that sort of thing. I mean, not only are you a Captain of the Royal Guard, but from what other ponies have told me you’re an outright hero.”

Moonwhisper visibly cringed at Twilight’s use of the word ‘hero’. “Being a captain, being a leader, is one thing, being held up as a hero is another entirely. I swore an oath to protect Equestria and its citizens; doing so is, for the lack of a better term, my job. I neither want nor expect special praise for doing my job any more then I would imagine your friend Applejack would expect it for tending to her family orchard.” While Twilight took in what he had said, Moonwhisper moved his bishop into position. “For what it’s worth, checkmate.”

*********

Early morning, right at the break of dawn, had always been on of Applejack’s favorite times of the day. There was something about the smell of the fresh dew in the air that just felt invigorating, and there were few sites more beautiful to the farm pony than the first rays of morning sunlight hitting her family’s prized apple trees. And, of course, there was always the profound satisfaction Applejack derived from getting an early start to the daily chores. As Applejack trotted outside, she mentally went over a list of necessary tasks for the day of ahead. Applebuck season was still a few months away, which meant that her responsibilities would be largely comprised of routine farm maintenance. It didn’t take Applejack long to settle on which of her responsibility needed to be tackled first, namely repairing a damaged section of fence along the southern edge of the farm. Apple Bloom had informed her older sister that the fence had been broken during the previous night’s dinner, and given the continued presence of timberwolves near that portion Sweet Apple Acres Applejack wasn’t about to take any chances.

It didn’t take long for Applejack to make her way to the portion of the fence Apple Bloom had told her about, and she could see right away that the damage was worse than she had feared. Sever sections of the picket fence that marked the edge of the Apple family farm had been smashed to pieces, with several of the rails reduced to little more than splinters. Moreover, as Applejack moved closer to better inspect the damage, it became clear that a ruined fence wasn’t her only problem. Deep claw marks had been gouged into the remaining fence posts and the grass around the area of the broken fence had been torn up, as though something had been fighting there.

“Consarnit, those dang timberwolves again! That tears it, somepony’s gonna have t’ do somethin’ about these varmints before they hurt somepony.” Fuming, Applejack decided to survey the damage once more, which did little to improve her mood. The upturned ground looked worryingly fresh, and it appeared as though there were drag marks leading from the fence back into the Everfree Forrest. Applejack was pondering the rather unpleasant implications of these marks when the air was filled with the unmistakable snarls of a timberwolf. Then, to Applejack’s surprise, the bone-chilling sounds were cut off by a high-pitched yelp of pain along with the sound of wood being snapped apart. The sounds of this continued to emit from the Everfree Forrest for several minutes before finally dying down. Filled with a mixture of concern and curiosity, Applejack carefully made her way into the Everfree, intent on discovering the source of the noises and it didn’t take Applejack long to find her answer. A mere ten yards pas the edge of the woods was a small clearing, in the center of which was Moonwhisper surrounded by the splintered remains of what must have been at least half a dozen timberwolves. Moonwhisper himself was covered in a number of deep cuts, and Applejack could see specks of crimson across the ground.

“Sweet Celestia! What the hay happened here?” Applejack exclaimed as she entered the clearing, carefully stepping around the wooden wolves’ remains.

“Good morning, Miss Applejack.” Moonwhisper replied casually while he pulled a bloodstained timberwolf fang from his shoulder and tossed it away. “I was able to intercept the timberwolf pack that was concerning you, and I doubt very much that they will be bothering you any time in the near future.”

“Never mind about the durn timberwolves, are y’all alright? Here, let me get a look at yah.” Applejack tried to move closer to Moonwhisper so that she could better inspect his injuries only for him to wave her off.

“That won’t be necessary, Miss Applejack, I’m perfectly fine. My injuries are simple lacerations, easily dealt with and certainly nothing remotely life-threatening.” As Moonwhisper spoke, his horn flared with power and his wounds began glowing blue in response. To Applejacks’s amazement, Moonwhisper’s injuries began healing right before her eyes, soon vanishing without a trace beyond the bloodstains on his coat. “It’s a spell of accelerated healing,” Moonwhisper stated, noticing the surprise on Applejack’s face, “it enables me to recover from injuries like these without the need for medical intervention. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still need to finish my morning patrol.” As Moonwhisper trotted past Applejack, she could see his magic had moved on from the wounds themselves to dissolving the bloodstains marring his coat.

“Ah, uh, thanks?” Applejack began, still a little dumbstruck by how the morning was playing out. “For dealin’ with the timberwolves, Ah mean, if those varmints had-“

“While I appreciate the sentiment, Miss Applejack, it’s really not necessary. Protecting the citizens of Ponyville is my responsibility, and dealing with the more aggressive flora and fauna of the Everfree Forrest is a part of that responsibility.” With that, Moonwhisper exited the clearing without another word.

Applejack stood in the clearing after Moonwhisper left, trying to process what she had just witnessed. After a minute or so, the farm pony was shocked out of her daze by the sound of a tree branch breaking, followed quickly by a loud thud behind her. Spinning around, Applejack was confronted by the sight of Pinkie Pie lying sprawled out on the ground, dressed entirely in camouflage. Before Applejack could say anything, Pinkie Pie brought her hoof up to her mouth in a shushing gesture and wordlessly slinked away after Moonwhisper. Applejack briefly considered following after friend, but decided that it would be best to leave things be. The expression on Pinkie Pie’s face had been uncharacteristically serious, and a serious Pinkie Pie on top of everything else was just too much for one morning.

And besides, Applejack still had a fence to repair.

*********

“You know, Moonwhisper, I’m honestly a little surprised that we hadn’t met before you came to Ponyville.” Twilight smiled as she put Friendship plan number 17 into effect; find common ground through mutual acquaintances. “I mean, the way Shining Armor talked about you I’d have figured that I’d have seen at at his wedding at the very least.”

“I wasn’t invited.” Moonwhisper stated matter-of-factly as he levitated a rook into position. “Though, there is a distinct possibility that my exclusion was the result of the Changeling Queen’s interference. An investigation after the changeling invasion uncovered evidence that one of the Changeling Queen’s first acts following her abduction of Princess Cadence was to expunge every notable member of the guard from the guest list.”

“Well, I’m sure Shining Armor missed having you there.”

Moonwhisper shrugged in response. “I’ll admit there is a strong possibility that my presence would have altered the chain of events, but-“

“What I meant was that Shining Armor probably missed having one of his close friends at his wedding.” Grinning triumphantly on the inside, Twilight moved her queen to capture Moonwhisper’s rook.

“I’m not entirely certain that ‘friend’ would be the most accurate term to describe my relationship to your brother.” Moonwhisper replied, looking particularly uncomfortable. “Acquaintance would likely be a more accurate term, or ‘comrade’ perhaps, but friend…I’m not really certain that would be appropriate.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, crestfallen that her friendship plan was already falling apart, “I just thought that…with the way he talked about you…”

“Shining Armor has had a somewhat inflated opinion of me for years, and to be honest-“ Moonwhisper stopped himself mid-sentence and refocused his attention on the chessboard, capturing Twilight’s queen with his knight.

Hesitantly, Twilight completed Moonwhisper’s thought. “And to be honest, you don’t like my brother very much, do you?”

Seeing Twilight’s pained expression, Moonwhisper let out a deep sigh. “Your brother, Shining Armor…I suppose the best way to put it would be that he frustrates me. To be blunt, I’ve always seen Shining Armor as the living epitome of wasted potential.”

“Wasted potential? My brother, Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard, Prince of the Crystal Empire, the epitome of wasted potential?” Twilight’s tone was halfway between incredulousness and bemusement as she tried to make sense of what Moonwhisper had just said. “You must hold my brother to some really high standards if you think he hasn’t lived up to his full potential.” Twilight calmly moved her rook into position to capture Moonwhisper’s knight should he move it towards her king.

“As Shining Armor is a Captain of the Royal Guard, I hold him to the same standards I hold myself to.” Moonwhisper affirmed, a defiant edge to his voice. “I would be the first to the admit Shining Armor is an accomplished stallion, and is a prodigiously talented unicorn as well. The problem I have always had with Shining Armor is that he has spent his entire career coasting by on those prodigious talents instead of actually working to improve himself. Frankly, it’s a problem I’ve seen with many prodigies over the years; they grow too accustomed to relying on their natural talent and wind up turning it into a crutch.” Moonwhisper moved his queen into position. “Also, checkmate.”

*********

Probably the best thing about cloudbusting, at least as far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, was that it was an excellent way to work out aggression. The last week or so had been particularly frustrating for the polychromatic pegasus. First, Moonwhisper’s arrival and his brusque dismissal of the welcome part that they had prepared had left bad taste in her mouth. Then, A.K. Yearling had announced that the next Daring Do novel was going to be delayed (a letter from her author/idol had assured Rainbow Dash that the delay was the result of an extended adventuring dry spell, which partially mollified her). Finally, just that morning Rainbow Dash had received a letter informing her that the upcoming Wonderbolts show in Fillydelphia she had been looking forward to performing in had been cancelled due to the stadium needing renovations. After all of that, Rainbow had taken particular delight in the opportunity to unleash her pent up frustrations on the clouds over Ponyville, and the skies had been left particularly clear that day as a result.

With her weatherpony duties completed for the day, Rainbow Dash decided to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies and take a cloud nap. Although Rainbow hadn’t left any clouds over Ponyville itself, there were still plenty in the skies outside the town proper, and Rainbow quickly settled on an especially fluffy cumulus over the Everfree gem fields. As Rainbow settled in, however, her efforts to sleep were disrupted by shouting coming from below, punctuated by the sounds of rocks being shattered.

“What the hay is going on down there?” Rainbow yelled as she peered over her cloud. Standing almost directly below her, surrounded by a number of boulders, was Moonwhisper. As Rainbow Dash spoke, the unicorn stallion let out a loud shout and delivered a powerful kick to a nearby boulder, leaving a spider web of cracks on its surface.

“Good morning, Miss Dash. I didn’t mean to disturb you, I was just going through my morning exercises.”

Rainbow Dash let out an aggravated groan by way of response and flopped back down into her cloud. The brash pegasus still didn’t particularly care for Twilight’s new bodyguard, despite Twilight’s entreaties to her friends to give him the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t something that Rainbow Dash could entirely put her hoof on either. While Moonwhisper’s cold dismissal of the welcome party they had put together had certainly irritated Rainbow, it was something about his demeanor that she truly found off putting.

“Then again,” Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she listened to the sounds of Moonwhisper’s training below, “maybe I should at least give him a chance. After all, he did apologize to Pinkie Pie about the party.” Flipping herself over onto her stomach, Rainbow Dash guided her cloud closer to the ground until it was just a few feet overhead. “So,” Rainbow Dash called out, poking her head out over the edge of her cloud, “do come out here to workout often?”

“Every day, given the opportunity.” Moonwhisper replied as he reared up and delivered a series of rapid blows with his front hooves to a nearby boulder.

“Huh. Anyway, Twilight says that you’re supposed to be on the toughest guards in Equestria or something.” When Moonwhisper failed to respond, Rainbow Dash added “I’ll bet you wouldn’t stand a chance against me in a race, though.”

“That is certainly a distinct possibility, given what I’ve heard about your capabilities.”

“So you’ve heard of me?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed eagerly before composing herself. “I guess it makes sense that you’d have heard of my awesomeness.”

“Winner of Cloudsdale’s ‘Best Young Fliers’ competition, one of the inaugural members of the Wonderbolts Reserve Unit, recently brought on as the latest member of the Wonderbolts proper, and the only pegasus known to be able to produce a sonic rainboom.” Moonwhisper listed off Rainbow Dash’s accomplishments in a bored tone, as though he were reading off a piece of paper.

As disinterested as Moonwhisper sounded, however, hearing anypony recite her accomplishments like that was music to Rainbow Dash’s ears. “Yeah, I’m pretty amazing alright. Say, you wanna work out together? We could make it a competition, y’know, see who the real top athlete in Ponyville is. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s me, but still.”

“You’re welcome to join me for my exercise if you wish, Miss Dash, but I’ll have to decline you’re offer to make it a competition. To be frank, I’ve never had any particular interest in competing.”

“Wait, what? How come?”

“Honestly, I’ve just never seen the point. Proving that one pony is better than somepony else has always just seemed meaningless in and of itself.”

“Uh huh. Y'know what, I think I’m just gonna finish my nap somewhere else.” Not waiting for Moonwhisper to respond, Rainbow Dash took a firm grip on her cloud and soared off. As she left, it suddenly occurred to Rainbow Dash who Moonwhisper reminded her of; Maud Pie, only without the familial connection to her friend Pinkie.

In an odd coincidence, as Rainbow Dash flew up into the sky she found herself passing by none other than the resident party pony of Ponyville herself. Pinkie Pie had completely coated herself in flour, wrapped herself in what appeared to be cotton wadding and was floating in the air courtesy of a large bunch of white balloons that she had tied around her midsection. The end result made had the effect of making it appear that Pinkie Pie was attempting to disguise herself as a cloud floating through the air. Rainbow Dash briefly considered asking her friend what in Equestria she was doing, but then she noticed the telephoto lens camera that Pinkie was holding, pointed directly at Moonwhisper. It said something about Pinkie Pie that the only part of the scene that Rainbow Dash found confusing was where Pinkie Pie had been able to acquire the camera.

*********

“I can accept that you and Shining Armor aren’t really friends, but surely there has to be somepony that you can think of as a friend.” Tonight, Twilight had decided to take a more direct approach with Moonwhisper. If Twilight could at least get Moonwhisper to acknowledge his friendship with somepony, anypony, then she would have something that she could build upon.

“Honestly, I can’t really think of anypony that I would really call a friend, at least as I understand the definition of the term. I’ve always done my best to keep my relationships with my fellow guards strictly professional, and my interactions with civilians have been…limited until recently.” Moonwhisper’s horn glowed as he moved one of his chess pieces. “Check, by the way.”

Twilight stared down at the board as she collected her thoughts. “Alright, but what about before you joined the guard? Wasn’t there anypony you were friends with when you were a colt? Maybe even a brother or sister you were close to?”

Moonwhisper closed his eyes and took a deep breath upon hearing Twilight bring up the subject of his foalhood, shuddering slight as she mentioned hypothetical siblings. “I was raised in a fairly isolated area, your high-pardon me, Twilight, so I didn’t have any really opportunities to make friends, and I’m an only foal.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Twilight said as she absentmindedly moved her king out of immediate danger “but it’s just a little hard for me to accept that you’ve never had any friends whatsoever. You’ve really never had anypony that you could call a friend?”

“To be frank, I can’t really say that I have. It’s not that I hold the concept of friendship in contempt, mind you, you and your friends have proven its power on multiple occasions. Truthfully, I’ve just always seen friendship as, how should I put this, as a vulnerability. Also, check.”

“What? You really see friendship as some kind of weakness? That-that’s crazy!”

“I beg your pardon, Twilight, but I very specifically did not use the term ‘weakness’. I described friendship as a vulnerability, and I meant that in the most literal interpretation of the word.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not really sure I see the difference.” Twilight replied in a calmer but still slightly offended tone, moving her king once again.

“Well, when I used the term ‘vulnerability’. I meant it in the sense that friendship is something that makes one vulnerable. As I understand it, and as an expert on the subject please feel free to correct me if I’m mistaken, but the nature of friendship requires one to open themselves up to others on a certain emotional level.” Moonwhisper paused for a moment to allow Twilight a chance to interject before continuing. “The issue, at least from my perspective, is that leaving yourself open like that, caring about somepony else like that…it just leaves one too susceptible to being hurt.” Moonwhisper moved one of his bishops and looked Twilight squarely in the eye. “Checkmate.”

*********

If there was one thing that Rarity prided herself on when it came to her designs, it was her ability to predict emerging trends in fashion. And with the excitement following the birth of Princess Flurry Heart, Rarity was certain that neo-classical designs inspired by the Crystal Empire’s ascetic were the next big thing on the fashion horizon. The challenge, however, was the fact that the fashionista’s own knowledge on traditional Crystal Empire fashion was sadly limited to what little she had seen during her previous visits. Luckily, Rarity had a ready solution for when problems such as this reared their manifestly unfashionable heads; Twilight Sparkle. The studious alicorn had always been an excellent source of information when it came to historical fashions and, given all the research Twilight had been doing regarding the Crystal Empire, Rarity was certain that Twilight would have exactly the information she was looking for.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Rarity arrived at Twilight’s castle and knocked on the door. “Hello, Twilight darling, are you-Oh!” The posh unicorn let out a surprised squeal as the castle doors swung open abruptly, revealing the perpetually stone-faced visage of Twilight’s bodyguard.

“Good afternoon, Miss Rarity. I presume that you’re here to visit Princess Twilight.” Moonwhisper greeted Rarity in his typical frostily polite manner. “Please, come inside. Princess Twilight and Spike are currently occupied with some delicate magical research at the moment, but I will let them know that you’ve arrived. Would you mind waiting in the throne room in the meantime?”

“Not at all, Captain.” Rarity replied as she sauntered inside, fluttering her eyelashes at Moonwhisper as she passed by. Visiting Twilight may have been the primary reason Rarity had come to the castle, but Rarity was more than happy to use the opportunity to flirt with Twilight’s bodyguard. Moonwhisper’s tall, dark and handsome appearance coupled with his station as a Captain of the Equestrian Guard, made him very attractive to Rarity, his frosty demeanor notwithstanding. Rarity had already partially convinced herself that, deep down, Moonwhisper was in fact the noble, gracious knight she had been waiting for to sweep her off her hooves. All Rarity had to do was figure out some way to bright Moonwhisper’s knightly side out into the open.

Rarity had spent just a few minutes waiting within the throne room when Moonwhisper returned, pushing a teacart. “I’ve let Princess Twilight know that you’ve come to visit, and she will be with you in a few more minutes. In the meantime, would you care for some tea?”

“Why thank you, captain.” Rarity responded as Moonwhisper poured her a cup of tea. “So, now that you’ve had time to settle in, how are you finding our little town?”

“Thus far Ponyville has proven to be a fairly simple assignment.” Moonwhisper stated, as though he were reading off of a piece of paper. “There are relatively few security issues relating to the town proper, and securing the border of the Everfree Forest has proven to be easier than I originally anticipated.”

“That’s…nice to hear. You know, it just occurred to me that I’ve never asked what you did before you came to Ponyville.”

“Very well, if you really want to know, following Tirek’s assault on Equestria I was stationed in Canterlot, mostly writing new emergency protocols for the guard.”

“I imagine that must have been a frustrating experience for a stallion of action such as yourself.” Rarity said in a sympathetic tone. “But still, I can’t possibly think of a place I’d rather be frustrated in that Canterlot.”

“Personally, I can think of any number of other areas I would have rather been assigned to. That was a substantial portion of my reasons for twice turning down the position of Captain of the Canterlot Guard.”

A less poised mare might very well have sprayed her tea all over the Cutie Map upon having heard such a declaration. Rarity, however, managed to swallow her tea and calmly lower her cup before responding. “Pardon, but did you say that you turned down the Captaincy of the Canterlot Guard, one of the most prestigious positions in the entire guard…twice?” Despite Rarity’s best efforts, her voice was filled with horror at what she was hearing.

“Well,” Moonwhisper began, either not noticing or not caring about Rarity’s discomfort, “Shining Armor and I were promoted to captain at the same time, and he initially wanted me to take the Canterlot posting. Eventually, however, Shining Armor came to agree with my assessment that he was better suited for the position once I…voiced my strenuous reservations to taking the posting myself. I turned the position down a second time after Shining Armor transferred to the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor recommended me for the position once again, but I convinced him that my second-in-command at the time, Fearless Blade, was the more appropriate candidate.” Moonwhisper paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. “To tell the truth, in both instances the soldier who was assigned the position was far better suited to it than I would have been. The Captaincy of the Canterlot Guard is a position that requires a fair amount of diplomatic skill, and dealing with other ponies has never been my forte.”

Inwardly, Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. When Moonwhisper had said that he had twice turned down the most prestigious position in the Equestrian Guard Rarity hadn’t known what to think. But, she had to admit there was a certain nobility to the idea that Moonwhisper had put the wellbeing of Canterlot ahead of his own personal-

“And to be frank,” Moonwhisper added, “the Canterlot elite set my teeth on edge.”

-distaste for the high-society ponies Rarity delighted in hobnobbing with.

“I really don’t know what I find more stomach-churning about them,” Moonwhisper continued, his voice starting to betray hints of anger, “the dishonest way they treat each other or unfounded arrogance they display towards everypony else.”

Before Moonwhisper could work himself up further, however, Twilight Sparkle finally trotted into the throne room, Spike following close behind. “I’m sorry I took so long, Rarity, it’s just that I’ve been working on a long-range communication spell and I’ve almost got it working.”

Seeing Twilight enter, Moonwhisper took a deep breath to compose himself before addressing his princess. “Will there be anything else that you’ll need me for, Twilight?” Seeing Twilight shake her head in response, Moonwhisper began putting away the tea set before suddenly pausing. “Pardon me, Miss Pie, but was there something you wanted to speak with Princess Twilight about as well?”

Moonwhisper’s question was met with a loud squeak of surprise as a pink blur bolted down from the throne room chandelier and out the door, leaving a trail of confetti in its wake. The group shared a series of glances before silently agreeing to simply accept the occurrence as yet another example of Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.

“So, Rarity,” Twilight finally said, breaking the awkward silence, “what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I was wondering if you had any books on the traditional fashions of the Crystal Empire. I have a feeling that neo-classical is going to be big next season.” As Rarity spoke, she glanced regretfully at Moonwhisper, who was occupied with sweeping up the confetti Pinkie Pie had left behind.

“Is there something wrong?” Twilight asked as the two mares headed for the castle library.

“No, darling, it’s nothing.” If Rarity’s past experiences with Prince Blueblood and Trenderhoof had taught her anything, it was that sometimes it was better to cut ones losses with it came to infatuation.

*********

Twilight Sparkle stared down at the chessboard in front of her without much enthusiasm. While her nightly chess matches with Moonwhisper had succeeded in getting him to open up to her to an extent, it seemed the more Moonwhisper opened up the less Twilight understood him. The way Moonwhisper had spoken about how friendship and caring for others makes one vulnerable sounded like something she would have expected Discord to say in his pre-reform days. Still, Twilight had dealt with ponies who had lost faith in the concept of friendship before, and if Moonwhisper was anything like those other ponies there was likely something hiding in his past that had made him the way he was. “If you don’t mind my asking,” Twilight began as she moved one of her pawns, “what happened to you to make so afraid of caring about anypony else? It must have been something pretty awful to make you want to give up on friendship the way you have.”

“I don’t recall saying anything quite that extreme, Twilight. All I indicated was that I wasn’t interested in the level of emotional vulnerability inherent in friendship. That’s a far cry from saying I don’t care about anypony else.” Moonwhisper countered in a slightly offended tone as he moved his rook. “The fact of the matter is I do in fact care very much for many ponies. The civilians I’ve been assigned to protect, for example, or the soldiers who serve under me. I simply draw a distinction between caring for somepony else’s well-being and out and out friendship.”

“Alright, fair enough, but why?” Twilight plaintively asked. “I just can’t comprehend why anypony would consciously choose to close themselves off to friendship.” Twilight slumped back in her seat and forlornly moved her pawn. “What are you so afraid of about opening yourself up to other ponies?”

Moonwhisper sighed as he looked down at the chessboard, unable or unwilling to look his princess in the eye. “I suppose what it comes down to is that I’ve personally never seen the benefit of friendship. I realize I’m in the minority in that sentiment, but…friendship simply never struck me as something that was worth the risk.” Moonwhisper finally replied, never taking his eyes off of the chessboard. Before Twilight had a chance to form a rebuttal Moonwhisper moved his knight. “Checkmate.”

*********

Ponyville’s farmers market was almost always bustling with noise and activity as ponies went about their daily business. Consequently, visiting the market ranked among Fluttershy’s least favorite activities. The shy pegasi was always terrified she might embarrass herself, or draw attention to herself, or (worst of all) draw attention to herself by doing something embarrassing. Still, taking care of her many critter friends necessitated maintaining a rather extensive pantry, which in turn forced Fluttershy to make frequent trips to the market despite her reservations.

Thankfully, today’s trip to the farmers market had proven to be largely uneventful. The usual crowds of shoppers were a bit thinner than normal, and few of the produce seller seemed to be interested in haggling. As such, Fluttershy had been able to quickly pick up everything she needed with a minimum of fuss. Just as Fluttershy started to head back to her cottage with her purchases, however, she heard a sound that stopped her in her tracks; the plaintive cry of a kitten in distress. In a flash, Fluttershy launched herself into the air and bolted towards the source of the cries. It didn’t take Fluttershy long to reach her goal, a kitten who had managed to strand herself in the branches of a large oak tree. Much to Fluttershy’s surprise, though, standing at the base of the tree was Moonwhisper.

Unlike her friends, Fluttershy hadn’t developed much of an opinion regarding Twilight’s bodyguard one way or the other. She had barely spoken to the taciturn unicorn since he had arrived in Ponyville, at least partly due to the fact that Fluttershy was more than slightly intimidated by him. On the other hoof, though, Moonwhisper had yet to give Fluttershy any specific reason to dislike him and the kind pegasus had always been of the firm belief that one should always give others the benefit of the doubt.

While Fluttershy briefly paused, wondering what Moonwhisper was doing, the stranded kitten let out another plaintive cry grabbing her attention once again. Before Fluttershy could react, however, a dark blue magical aura manifested itself around the kitten, gingerly detaching it from the tree branch. The kitten was then gently levitated to the ground, where a small earth pony filly ran up to it.

“Miss Whiskers!” The young filly exclaimed as she wrapped one of her forelegs around the kitten, the aura around it dissipating as she did so. “I was so worried about you, thank goodness you’re alright.” The filly then looked up from her rescued pet to Moonwhisper, who was already silently walking away. “Thank you so much for saving my kitty, mister!” The filly called out, to which Moonwhisper replied with mutterings about simply doing his duty. To Fluttershy, however, Moonwhisper’s actions carried a bit more meaning. As far as Fluttershy was concerned, anypony who would stop to assist a helpless kitten out of a tree almost certainly had to be a good pony at heart, regardless of how grumpy they might be. This small insight into Moonwhisper’s character was sufficient to convince Fluttershy that she should try to extend her hoof in friendship to the guardspony. After all, she thought to herself as she glided down to the ground, a little kindness, patience and compassion had been enough to convince Discord to open himself up to the magic of friendship. Next to that, convincing another pony to accept her friendship should be easy. Even if the pony in question was a perpetually unsmiling stallion who had beaten a pack of timberwolves so badly they wouldn’t be able to recover for weeks—Fluttershy let out a sudden terrified squeak and dove for cover as Moonwhisper pause to glance back towards her.

Granted, Fluttershy wasn’t upset about Moonwhisper’s thrashing of a timberwolf pack in and of itself. The vicious plant beasts were some of the only creatures in the Everfree Forest too savage for even her to safely interact with. What did bother Fluttershy, though, was the very idea that somepony could display that level of violence against anything, even a creature as dangerous as a timberwolf. It was even harder for Fluttershy to reconcile the idea that the same pony who could do something like that also was the sort to help small animals in distress.

While Fluttershy hemmed and hawed in her hiding spot trying to work up the courage to approach Moonwhisper, a unicorn colt dashed around the corner levitating a large ice cream cone in front of him. Not looking where he was going, the youth collided with Moonwhisper, leaving the guard captain covered in ice cream and the colt sprawled out on the ground. Moonwhisper loomed over the colt, his expression devoid of any emotion as he cast a cold glare down at the terrified youngster. Finally, after a few agonizing moments, Moonwhisper addressed the young colt.

“Sorry about that, young stallion, I should have been watching where I was going more carefully.” Moonwhisper’s tone was surprisingly pleasant as he spoke to the colt, seemingly paying no heed to the melting ice cream dripping down his coat. Without waiting for the colt to respond, Moonwhisper took out a pair of bits and tossed them down to the colt. “Here, this should cover the cost of your ice cream cone. Have a good day.” Moonwhisper added curtly, nodding before he walked off, his horn already glowing with magic as he cast a spell to clean off his coat.

As Moonwhisper trotted off, Fluttershy peeked out of her hiding spot, her mind having been made up. The encounter she had just witnessed was not an example of a pony prone to anger or violence, and Fluttershy was now certain that reaching out to Moonwhisper was the best thing she could do. With her previous doubts having been silenced, Fluttershy quickly moved out into the open and trotted after Moonwhisper, catching up to him just as he finished eradicating the lasts bits of ice cream clinging to his fur. “Um, excuse me, Moonwhisper,” Fluttershy haltingly began.

“Ah, good afternoon, Miss Fluttershy. Is there something that I can help you with today?”

“No, well, not exactly. It’s just that I saw you help that kitten out of a tree, and then when that colt ran into you-“

Moonwhisper cut Fluttershy off with a wave of his hoof. “Oh, that.” Moonwhisper replied sourly. “Assisting the citizenry of Ponyville is part of my duty as a member of the Royal Guard, even if that assistance is for a relatively trivial matter. As for my encounter with the colt, it’s incumbent on all officers of the guard to convey themselves in a civil manner at all times. And to be honest, Miss Fluttershy,” Moonwhisper added before Fluttershy had a chance to respond, “I really don’t think that basic civility is something worth drawing attention to.” With that, Moonwhisper marched off, leaving a disappointed Fluttershy in his wake.

Fluttershy stood in the street for several moments, watching Moonwhisper until he was out of sight. It was a disappointing start, and Fluttershy wasn’t sure what to make of Moonwhisper’s dismissal of his acts as simply doing his duty. Pondering this, Fluttershy turned to find herself staring into a pair of light blue eyes peering out from a bush which had appeared behind her. Letting out a startled yelp, Fluttershy flew off in a fright, leaving the strange bush to sprout four pink hooves and trot after Moonwhisper.

*********

The Princess of Friendship watched as her bodyguard examined the chessboard before him. It was clear to her that there was something hiding in Moonwhisper’s past that had soured him on the concept of friendship, but talking to him about it directly had proven fruitless. Therefore, Twilight had decided that her best course of action now was to at the very least get Moonwhisper to admit that he was unsatisfied with his status quo. “I’m just curious,” Twilight finally began as she watched Moonwhisper move one of his chess pieces, “don’t you ever regret not letting anypony be your friend?”

Moonwhisper let out a deep sigh before shrugging in response. “I’m not certain that regret is the word I’d use, but I do recognize that there are tradeoffs regarding my stance on the subject.”

Inwardly Twilight practically cheered as she moved one if her own pieces, scarcely even paying attention to what she was doing. Getting Moonwhisper to acknowledge there were downsides to his general rejection of friendship may have been a tiny victory, but at least it was progress. “I only ask because you really don’t seem very happy.”

“I suppose not, although to be honest achieving happiness has never been a particular priority for me. What I would say I am, though, is content, at least for the time being in any event.”

“Content?” Twilight replied quizzically.

“Yes, well at least that’s probably the best word for it. You see, here in Ponyville I have the opportunity to do far more good than I would have behind a desk in Canterlot or even at my last real posting, and that’s what truly matters to me. To be perfectly honest, being useful has always been far more important to be than being happy. Checkmate, by the way.”

*********

It was the morning of Starlight Glimmer’s return to Ponyville following her extended stay in the Crystal Empire, and Twilight Sparkle was leaving her castle a predictable fourteen minutes before the train was scheduled to arrive. High up above Ponyville, Pinkie Pie watched from a hot air balloon as her friend rushed to the train station, her bodyguard marching by her side. Moonwhisper was, in fact the actual target of Pinkie Pie’s surveillance, her binoculars trained firmly on him so that she could read the reserved unicorn’s every facial expression. Pinkie Pie’s seeming obsession with Moonwhisper had hardly gone unnoticed by her friends, but for the most part they had simply dismissed it at more of Pinkie Pie just being herself. At most, they saw it as a manifestation of Pinkie Pie’s overwhelming need to befriend everpony around her and see everypony around her smile.

“But there's more to all of this than just me wanting to see Moonwhisper finally smile, Gummy.” Pinkie Pie declared to her pet alligator. “It’s not just that Moonwhisper doesn’t smile, it’s like he’s never happy at all, or even anything at all. Even Cranky had times when he didn’t seem so, well, cranky, but Moonwhisper…” Pinkie’s voice trailed off as she watched Twilight and Moonwhisper reach the train station. Even though she couldn’t make out what the two were talking about (it was too bad she couldn’t read lips, or had binoculars for her ears was well) she could guess that Twilight was trying to think of a delicate way to let Moonwhisper know about Starlight’s past, and Moonwhisper was telling Twilight how he knew all about that already.

“No, he’s NOT the same as Maude, Gummy.” Pinkie Pie finally stated irritably. “Maude doesn’t smile on the outside much, but that doesn’t mean that she’s isn’t happy. Moonwhisper doesn’t smile on the outside or the inside. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met anypony as unsmiling as him before, ever.”

“Well, yeah I’ve met plenty of mean-meanie pantses that didn’t really smile before too, but Moonwhisper isn’t one of those either.” Pinkie continued. “Sure, he acts kinda grumpy, but I don’t think he really means it. Honestly, it seems like deep down he’s more sad than anything else.” By now, Starlight Glimmer’s train had arrived, and after making a round of introductions Twilight and the others were headed back to the castle. Based on what Pinkie Pie could see, Moonwhisper and Starlight Glimmer’s first meeting was going about as well as could be expected. For the most part the encounter consisted of uncomfortable conversation, with Starlight trying to laugh off her past and Moonwhisper responding with a mix of reassurances about it not mattering and blunt assessments as to how things would have played out had he been present. Pinkie Pie was so engrossed with watching the exchange that she completely failed to notice the cyan pegasus flying up to her balloon.

“Hey Pinkie Pie, what’s up?” Rainbow Dash cheerfully greeted her friend as she landed inside the hot air balloon’s basket. “Are you still stalking Moonwhisper?”

“I’m not stalking him,” Pinkie Pie replied in an offended tone, “I’m just secretly following him around and watching his every move without him knowing it.”

“Uh, Pinkie Pie, that’s pretty much exactly what…” Rainbow Dash’s voice trailed off as she looked at her friend. “What the hay are you doing now?”

While Rainbow Dash was talking, Pinkie Pie had flopped onto her back, her legs flailing about in the air. This continued for several seconds before the spasms finally subsided, at which point Pinkie Pie uneasily righted herself. “Oh wow, I think that’s a new combo. Let’s see, pinchy knee, then an eye twitch, then a leg wobble. I wonder what this one means?”

*********

Twilight let out a sigh as she walked through Ponyville, her bodyguard and student trailing behind her. Granted, Moonwhisper’s first meeting with Starlight Glimmer was going about as well as Twilight had dared hope, but her expectations hadn’t been particularly high to start with. While Moonwhisper seemed to be at least attempting to be personable, Starlight Glimmer was clearly terrified of him. Not helping matters were Moonwhisper frank assurances that he would have been easily able to ‘neutralize’ Starlight had he been present during her past misadventures.

“It definitely sounds like I’m lucky you weren’t around back when I was still evil.” Starlight said with a nervous laugh, eyeing Moonwhisper as though he were a hungry chimera.

If Moonwhisper noticed Starlight Glimmer’s discomfort he certainly didn’t show it, simply offering a “mhmm” by way of response. In fact, it seemed to Twilight that Moonwhisper was increasingly preoccupied, frequently glancing up towards the sky above the Everfree Forest.

“Moonwhisper, is something the matter? You seem a little distracted.”

“Something’s frightening the birds out in the forest.” Moonwhisper replied ominously, his attention now firmly fixated on the Everfree Forest. Before Twilight had a chance to reply, a thunderous roar echoed out from the Everfree Forest, accompanied by the sound of tree branches snapping in half. As Twilight watched in horror, a huge reptilian creature awkwardly heaved itself above the forest canopy, its bat-like wings flapping madly. As the creature lifted itself up into the sky, the town square erupted into chaos with ponies running in every direction and panicked screams of “Dragon!” filling the air. Moonwhisper, however, was rushing towards the edge of the Everfree, with Twilight and Starlight following closely behind.

“I don’t understand, what’s a dragon that size doing this close to Ponyville?”

“That isn’t a dragon, Twilight, see how it lacks any forelimbs? That creature is a wyvern, a close cousin to dragons, but not nearly as intelligent.” Moonwhisper began picking up his pace, making it difficult for Twilight to keep up. “They’re also extremely dangerous and almost mindlessly aggressive. I can’t let it reach Ponyville, otherwise there’s no telling how much havoc it could wreak.” With that, Moonwhisper sped off, Twilight quickly losing sight of him in the crowds.

Almost as soon as Moonwhisper vanished, however, Twilight found her attention seized by yet another of her friends. A frantic Applejack rushed towards Twilight, her eyes wide in panic. “Have y’all seen Apple Bloom anywhere? She went to go visit Zecora this mornin’ and Ah haven’t seen her since. An’ now that thing…” Applejack’s voice trailed off, unable to voice the horrific thoughts clearly running through her mind. The wyvern, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to dive back into the forest without much success. The creature repeatedly flew up several yards into the air before crashing back down into the forest canopy, only to bounce off the tops of the trees and find itself forced to awkwardly flop back into the air. Twilight might have found the sight quite comical, in fact, were it not for the fact that the ravenous monster was steadily making its way towards the edge of Ponyville. As a matter of fact, it almost seemed to the purple alicorn that the massive creature was trying to chase something running through the forest.

As the terrible implications of what she was seeing slowly dawned on Twilight, a high-pitched scream echoed out from the Everfree Forest. Apple Bloom, scared out of her mind, tore out of the edge of the woods only to trip on an exposed tree root and be sent sprawling to the ground. In that moment, time seemed to slow down for Twilight as she and her friends leapt into action. Applejack burst into a full gallop towards her little sister while Starlight Glimmer fired off a blast of magical energy towards the wyvern and Twilight charged her horn to teleport herself close enough to the wyvern so she could immobilize it with her magic. The wyvern had other plans, however, dropping out of the sky like a meteor towards its tiny prey. As Twilight dematerialized, one single, nightmarish fact pounded in her mind; Apple Bloom was too far away and they weren’t going to be able to save her. As Twilight rematerialized, she heard a sickening crash as the wyvern landed. As if in a dream Twilight opened her eyes, her mind reeling at the scene she expected to see before her. Twilight’s field of vision was initially dominated by the wyvern, its leathery wings spread wide as it loomed over Apple Bloom. The creature’s slavering maw was partly open, revealing a set of razor sharp teen any dragon would have been proud of. As Twilight’s gaze drifted down past the monster’s mouth, however, she saw something that briefly made her question her sanity. Standing above Apple Bloom was what appeared to be a stallion completely encased in faintly luminescent dark blue armor, similar in style to the suits of armor that Twilight had seen in the Castle of the Two Sisters. More fantastically, the stallion had reared up on his hind legs and was holding the wyvern’s jaws back with his forelegs.

Twilight might have stared dumbfounded at the scene before her even longer had the stallion not turned and screamed at her and Apple Bloom “WHAT ARE THE TWO OF YOU DOING? RUN!” Not needing any further encouragement, Apple Bloom leapt to her hooves and bolted towards Twilight, who quickly teleported the two of them safely away. It wasn’t until the pair rematerialized at the edge of the town proper that Twilight realized that she recognized the stallion’s voice as none other than Moonwhisper.

Meanwhile, the sight of its intended meal running off and vanishing in a flash of magenta light had enraged the wyvern. The huge creature whipped its head to the side, breaking away from Moonwhisper then quickly lunging at the armored unicorn. However, as soon as the wyvern’s head moved to the side Moonwhisper launched himself upwards like a rocket. To Twilight’s complete disbelief, Moonwhisper smashed into the wyvern at the base of its neck with enough force to lift it bodily into the air. Letting out a cry of surprise and pain, the wyvern started desperately beating its wings in an attempt to take to the sky. Moonwhisper, however evidently had other plans and, in defiance of every law of physics Twilight could think of, the unicorn stallion kicked back in mid-air with enough force to somehow send him cannoning into the wyvern’s mid-section. Apparently not satisfied with this, Moonwhisper then repeated the maneuver, clipping one of the wyvern’s wings as he shot past it. As he reached the apex of his leap Moonwhisper flipped around and launched what looked to be a chain comprised of the same dark blue material as his armor at the wyvern, wrapping it around the monster’s neck. Once satisfied that the chain was secure, Moonwhisper proceeded to launch himself at the wyvern yet again while trailing the other end of the chain behind him, this time colliding with the base of its tail. The wyvern did its best to stop Moonwhisper, thrashing about madly in the air and snapping at the armored unicorn whenever it could. Despite its efforts however, it was powerless to do anything to stop Moonwhisper from repeatedly slamming into it from every direction, slowly wrapping the chain he had conjured around its body as he did so. The strange, one-sided battle continued in the sky for several minutes until finally Moonwhisper’s chain snagged one of the wyvern’s wings, sending both of them crashing into the Everfree Forest.

Throughout the battle, Twilight and Applejack had watched speechlessly from the edge of Ponyville. The sheer impossibility of what they were witnessing was mindboggling, Twilight never even having heard of magic capable of enabling a pony to perform the acts she was seeing.

“Sweet Celestia, Ah figured Moonwhisper was stronger ‘n zapp apple cider, but Ah didn’t think anypony could take on a dragon like that,”

“Wyvern. It’s actually a wyvern.” Twilight corrected her friend almost reflexively.

As Twilight tried to put her thoughts in order, a familiar voice called out to her from above. “Guys, did you see that? What the hay just happened?” Rainbow Dash asked as she landed next to Twilight and Applejack. “I was pulling Pinkie Pie and her hot air balloon away from that thing, and when I get back somepony’s kicking its rump. Who the hay was that?”

“That was Moonwhisper, and I’m glad you’re here.” Twilight replied, sounding much surer of herself then she did only moments before. “I’d like you and Starlight to come with me.” Twilight paused and turned to Applejack. “I’d ask you to come with use, but it would probably be best if you took Apple Bloom home.”

“Ah ain’t gonna argue with you there, but where are y’all goin’?”

“In there.” Twilight stated, pointing towards the Everfree Forest. “Moonwhisper could have been hurt during the fall, and besides we have to make sure that that wyvern isn’t going to try to hurt anypony else.”

Starlight Glimmer, still in shock from the spectacle she had just witnessed, looked more than slightly apprehensive about the possibility of facing the wyvern herself. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof…”Awesome!” The colorful pegasus practically cackled with delight at the thought of a potential fight with the wyvern. Differences in eagerness aside, both mares followed Twilight into the woods, the only words spoken being Rainbow Dash’s mumbled exclamations as she fantasied about battling the creature. It didn’t take the trio long to find the site of the wyvern’s impact. The reptilian monster lay motionless, sprawled over the wreckage of several trees. Nearby, Moonwhisper leaned against the broken stump of what had formerly been a large oak, one of the casualties of the crash. Moonwhisper’s dark blue armor was nowhere to be seen, and deep blue lights could be seen glowing under his skin, particularly along his limbs and the front half of his torso.

“Twilight,” Moonwhisper gasped out, his voice labored as though he were having difficulty catching his breath, “are you alright? What about the filly, Applejack’s sister?”

“We’re both fine, I had Applejack take Apple Bloom back to Sweet Apple Acres. What about you, are you-“

“I’ll…I’ll be fine. Thankfully the same can’t be said for the wyvern, it would appear that it broke its neck during the fall.” Sure enough, as Twilight took a closer look at the wyvern, she could see that it wasn’t breathing. Seeing her horrified expression, Moonwhisper continued. “To be honest, this was probably the best possible outcome. Wyverns are known to be almost impossible to chase away once they’ve discovered a populated area, so there’s a very strong chance that if this one had survived it would have simply returned to attack Ponyville at a later date. In the end, it’s likely I would have been forced to terminate it regardless.” Moonwhisper staggered to his hooves, the glowing lights under his skin finally having subsided. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get a message to Canterlot requesting a cleanup crew to deal with the cadaver, and after that I’m going to need to have a talk with the officer in charge of the guard’s recon division.” With that, Moonwhisper trotted off, leaving Twilight and her friends alone in the clearing.

Questions and Answers

“I really hate to admit this, but I’m about ready to give up with that stallion.” A dejected Twilight Sparkle buried her face in her hooves. “I’ve tried every remotely applicable friendship strategy in my portfolio and nothing has even come close to working. It just feels like every time it finally feels like Moonwhisper’s going to let me get to know him a little better he turns around and closes himself off even more.” Slumping back into her seat, Twilight looked around at the group of unicorn mares sitting around the doughnut shop table. Twilight’s increasing frustration with Moonwhisper had driven her to seek out a fresh perspective on the situation. Luckily for Twilight, her circle of Canterlot friends fit the bill nicely, although some of them seemed a touch distracted.

“So, that’s your new royal bodyguard?” Minuette said, practically salivating at a photo of Moonwhisper that Twilight had brought with her. “Do you know if he’s single?” The blue unicorn added before looking up at the disapproving glares of her friends “What?”

“I don’t think you’re his type, Minuette.” Twilight stated, heading off the impending argument. “To be honest, I’m not sure Moonwhisper even has a type.”

Somewhat disheartened by her friend’s assessment, Minuette set the photograph down and savagely bit into a jelly-filled donut. “It figures,” she grumbled, “the good looking stallions are always either taken or have some sort of issues. Or, they turn out to be changelings.”

Twilight started to open her mouth to question Minuette’s last assertion, but she changed her mind upon noticing the warning looks given to her by Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine. “Trust me, Twilight, you do not want to ask too many questions about Minuette’s dating history.” Twinkleshine whispered as she leaned in closer to Twilight. “By the way, Twilight, where is Moonwhisper, anyway? And for that matter, where’s Spike? I thought you said they had come with you to Canterlot.”

“Moonwhisper went with Spike to the castle. Spike had some sort of royal business that he wanted to take care of, and I talked Moonwhisper into going with him. I didn’t really want him hanging around while I talked about him with you.” Twilight added a bit sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Moon Dancer had picked up the discarded photo of Moonwhisper and was examining it closely. “Hey, Twilight, do you happen to know where Moonwhisper was stationed before they assigned him to be your bodyguard?”

“I think I remember him mentioning once that he was stationed here in Canterlot before he came to Ponyville. Why do you want to know?”

“I thought he looked familiar.” Moon Dancer said with a note of triumph. Seeing her friends’ confused expressions, Moon Dancer continued. “I used to see him at the Canterlot Library all the time doing all sorts of research. I tried talking to him once or twice, but I could never get past the two guardsponies that were always with him.” When Moon Dancer noticed the quizzical look Twilight gave her at that last statement, she elaborated further. “Whenever I saw Moonwhisper, he always had a pair of guardsponies with him, a pegasi mare and a unicorn stallion. I think they were assistants or something, but I’m not really sure. To be honest, I’m not really all that familiar with the structure of the modern Equestrian guard.”

“Moon Dancer, do happen to remember what color those guards’ armor was?” Lemon Hearts asked.

“Actually, now that you mention it I do remember that they both had on light blue armor, which I thought was kind of unusual.”

Lemon Hearts allowed herself a self-satisfied smile at Moon Dancer’s answer. “I had a feeling that was the case. The light blue armor means that they were lieutenants, probably Moonwhisper’s direct subordinates.” Lemon Hearts’ face suddenly lit up as she turned to Twilight. “You know, Twilight, if you really want to figure out what makes Moonwhisper tick you should probably try tracking down those two.” Lemon Hearts turned back to Moon Dancer “I don’t suppose you remember their names, do you?”

Moon Dancer sadly shook her head. “Sorry, I never really paid attention to what their names were. I’d definitely recognize them if I saw them, though.” Moon Dancer added, her face brightening. “Especially the stallion; he only had one eye and there were a bunch of scars going down the side of his face. Not exactly the sort of face I’d be likely to forget.”

Moon Dancer’s description of the mystery lieutenant immediately grabbed Twilight’s attention. “Do you remember anything else about him? Like, did he speak with an accent, for example?”

“Now that you mention it, he did have a kind of, how should I put it, a kind of country accent. What I mean is, he sounded a lot like the ponies that come in for the Canterlot Rodeo. Almost exactly like them, now that I think about it.”

“I think I’ve met that guard before,” Twilight exclaimed, “he was one of the guards that escorted me to Canterlot Castle the day Princess Celestia told me I was being assigned a bodyguard. If I remember correctly, his name was-“

“Sharpshooter. Lieutenant Sharpshooter.” Lemon Hearts let out a sigh. “Which means that the pegasi mare was almost certainly Lieutenant Silverstreak.”

“Do you know them?” Twilight asked with surprise. Admittedly she didn’t know her Canterlot friends as well as she would have liked, but Lemon Hearts didn’t seem like the sort of pony who’d be include to socialize with the one-eyed lieutenant.

“Twilight, I’m an event planner for Canterlot Castle, remember? A big part of that involves working with the Royal Guard to make sure security runs smoothly, so I know a lot of the guards stationed in Canterlot.” Lemon Hearts furrowed her brow. “I mainly know Sharpshooter and Silverstreak by reputation though; they were part of a group of guards that were transferred to Canterlot after you defeated Tirek. From what I’ve heard, most of the guards who were brought in back then came from a really nasty posting up north.” Lemon Hearts paused to polish off the remains of her doughnut before continuing. “Most of those guards tend to hang out at a pub called the Saltworks that’s not too far from the barracks when they’re off duty. If you want to find those two lieutenants that’s would probably be the best place to start.”

“Well let’s go then!” Twilight yelled out, practically leaping out of her seat. “This might be the best chance I’ve had yet to finally figure out why Moonwhisper is so closed off.”

*********

The Saltworks was a far cry from the trendy cafes that lining Restaurant Row that most ponies associated with Canterlot. While the building was reasonably clean and well-maintained, it also clearly showed its age, particularly when one entered the building. The wooden furniture and floorboards had been worn smooth from years of heavy use, and it seemed like everything had a slight film of dirt on it. The décor itself was simple and functional, which certainly seemed to suit pub’s clientele just fine. Most of the pub’s patrons were pegasi and unicorn stallions, and even without their armor Twilight could easily tell that virtually all of them were guardsponies.

As Twilight and her friends entered the pub the laughing and chatter that filled the air slowly petered out. Patron after patron stopped eating, quieted mid-sentence and nudged their companions at the sight of the Princess of Friendship. Inwardly, Twilight cringed at the attention, fighting the urge to cover herself with her wings. This was the sort of attention, the sort that made her feel like an utter outsider, that Twilight loathed more than anything else. “Pardon me,” Twilight finally began after clearing her throat, “but can anypony tell us where we can find Lieutenant Silverstreak and Lieutenant Sharpshooter?” Several patrons wordlessly pointed Twilight and her friends towards the back of the pub. There, seated at a small table were the two guards that had escorted Twilight that rainy afternoon, easily recognizable even without their armor. As soon as the pair noticed Twilight heading towards them they both scrambled to their hooves, sending their stools clattering to the ground.

“Your highness,” Silverstreak yelped nervously as she snapped to attention, “what in Equestria are you doing in a place like this?”

“If y’ were payin’ attention, Silverstreak, th’ princess was pretty clear in sayin’ she wanted t’ talk t’ us.” Sharpshooter interjected before Twilight had a chance to respond. The one-eyed unicorn then turned towards Twilight and gave an exaggerated bow. “that bein’ said, as much as a pleasure it is t’ see y’ again, y’ highness, Ah do have t’ ask what it is y’ want t’ see th’ two of us about.”

Having already met Sharpshooter once before, Twilight took the stallion’s unique mannerisms in stride. “Actually, I was to talk to the two of you about a former commander of yours.”

Silverstreak looked somewhat uncomfortable, though not particularly surprised, upon hearing Twilight’s reason for seeking her and Sharpshooter out. For his part, Sharpshooter simply grunted in response as he righted his stool and plopped down. “Ah had a feelin’ y’ were gonna come by sooner or later ‘bout him. Ah’m guessin’ y’ weren’t expectin’ yer new bodyguard t’ be pricklier than a porcupine in a cactus patch.” There was something distinctly defensive about Sharpshooter’s tone, as though he were readying himself for an argument.

Before the situation had a chance to get out of hoof, however, Silverstreak quickly interjected. “I think what Lieutenant Sharpshooter means, you highness,” Silverstreak said, placing particular emphasis on her use of formal address while glaring at her companion, “is that we expected that you would seek us out eventually given the Captain’s…personality.” Twilight started to open her mouth to respond, but Silverstreak continued, cutting her off. “The thing is, your highness, the Captain might not be the most personable pony out there, but he’s also the reason Sharpshooter and I are here right now, in more ways than one, so you’ll have to excuse us if we’re a little protective of him.” With that, Silverstreak righted her stool and sat back down.

Twilight, who actually found the exchange to be encouraging given her purpose, quickly levitated several stools over to the table for herself and her friends. “I’m not sure why you think I’m here, but the truth is I’m trying to help Moonwhisper and I’d like your help. I’ve been trying to get him to open up to the idea of friendship, but I’ve gotten the feeling that there’s something in his past that’s keeping him closed off. I was hoping that the two of you might have some idea of what that might be.”

Silverstreak and Sharpshooter exchanged glances before turning back to Twilight, apparently mollified. “I am really glad to hear that’s why you wanted to talk to us. Sorry if we seemed a little hostile at first, but we used to get approached by a lot of Canterlot elites who wanted dirt on the Captain after he offended them somehow.”

“The Cap’n always did have a knack fer irritatin’ the more highfalutin types around here, on account of how wouldn’t treat ‘em as anythin’ special.” Sharpshooter added with a chuckle.

“In any event, if you’re really trying to help the Captain, we’ll help however we can.” Silverstreak gave a small sigh. “Though to be honest I’m not really sure how much help we’ll be. The Captain has never exactly been what I’d call particularly friendly. In fact, I don’t think anypony’s ever even seen him smile, not even Sharpshooter here and he’s known him longer than just about anypony.”

Sharpshooter shrugged at Silverstreak’s last assertion. “Ah’m not sure Ah’d go that far. True, Ah went through basic trainin’ with ‘im, but after that Ah didn’t see the Cap’n again ‘til the whole mess with th’ gargoyles. Shinin’ Armor met ‘im ‘round the same time Ah did, only he also went through th’ Officer’s Academy with ‘im, an’ they’ve been durn near the same rank ever since.”

Twilight blinked several times in surprise, as one bit of Sharpshooter’s reply in particular caught her attention. “Wait, did you just say you went through basic training with my brother?”

“Heh, that’s right, Shinin’ Armor’s y’ older brother, ain’t he? Yeah, we went through basic together, doubt he remembers me all that much though. Hay, Ah barely remembered ‘im mahself ‘til Ah heard he was gettin’ hitched to a princess.” Sharpshooter let out a chuckle as he leaned back in his seat. “T’ be fair, the Cap’n was the only one of us that really stood out, an’ a good bit of that was ‘is age. Back then, he was just some lanky colt who looked like he barely had ‘is cutie mark. The story at th’ time was that they weren’t gonna let ‘im in the guard at all at first on account of his age, but they change their tune when he kicked th’ tar outta two of the guard’s fightin’ instructors.” Both Sharpshooter and Silverstreak burst into laughter at that, as though the idea of an adolescent Moonwhisper thrashing a pair of full grown stallions was somehow hilarious. As their laughter subsided, however, Sharpshooter’s expression turned deathly serious. “’Course, it weren’t just ‘is age that made the Cap’n stand out. Y’ could see it in ‘is eyes, like he had already been dragged through Tartarus and nothin’ anypony could put ‘im through could’ve get to ‘im. Ah overheard our drill sergeant once say that the Cap’n was the only raw recruit he had ever seen that already had ‘is thousand-yard stare.” Sharpshooter paused and let out a deep sigh before continuing. “Ah’ll tell y’ one story that’ll tell y’ everythin’ y’ want t’ ‘bout what the Cap’n was like back them. Y’ see, every mornin’ after breakfast we were supposed t’ stand at attention in front of th’ mess hall ‘til our drill sergeant came t’ run us through our mornin’ drills. Well, this one day it was rainin’ like y’ wouldn’t believe, Ah mean cats an’ dogs, pourin’ buckets, y’ get the idea. Anyway, none of us were too keen on standin’ out in that, so we all stayed inside an’ figured th’ worst that’d happen is we’d get chewed out, which’d be better than gettin’ rained on. Well, all of us ‘cept the Cap’n that is, He waited out there in the rain for durn mean an hour ‘til the drill sergeant finally showed up an’ chewed all us out; everypony who stayed inside for not waitin’ in the rain an’ th’ Cap’n for not draggin’ us out there with ‘im.”

“They punished him for that?” Twilight interrupted, her tone a mix of surprise and disapproval. “That just doesn’t seem fair.”

Sharpshooter simply shrugged in response. “That’s basic trainin’ fer y’, an’ fer what it’s worth th’ Cap’n thought they were right. ‘Course, that ain’t the end of th’ story either. Day or two later, we’re runnin’ our usual drills an’ the Cap’n’s laggin’ behind everypony else, which was odd seein’ how he was usually at th’ head of the pack. Anyway, eventually th’ drill sergeant got up in his face ‘bout how he wasn’t keepin’ up, an’ halfway through getting’ chewed out th’ Cap’n keels over right there an’ passes out cold. Turns out he got sick from standin’ in th’ rain an’ had been runnin’ exercises all day with a nasty fever. Well, we took th’ Cap’n to medical, but soon as he woke up he tried t’ get right back t’ trainin’. Drill sergeant finally had t’ order him t’ stay in bed ‘til he recovered.”

After Sharpshooter finished recounting his tale the table fell uncomfortably silent. Finally, Twinkleshine turned to Silverstreak in an effort to break the silence. “So, how did you meet Moonwhisper?”

“Me? I didn’t actually meet the Captain until the gargoyle migration. I had heard a few rumors about him before that, but up until then I was part of the guard’s search and rescue division, so we didn’t really run in the same circles.”

“Wait, hold on a second,” Moon Dancer spoke up, her interest in the conversation piqued for the first time. “You said and Sharpshooter both mentioned something about gargoyles. From what I’ve read, gargoyles only live in remote areas well outside of Equestria, and their migration patterns don’t take them anywhere near the inhabited parts of Equestria.”

Silverstreak and Sharpshooter shared an uneasy glance before Silverstreak responded. “That’s…usually the case, but not always. Every so often you get a rogue who wanders into Equestria and…well, have any of you ever actually seen a gargoyle?”

As Twilight and her friends shook their heads, Moon Dancer spoke up. “I haven’t actually seen a gargoyle personally, but I’ve read-“

“That’s not the same thing!” Silverstreak angrily snapped, glaring furiously at Moon Dancer. However, Silverstreak’s expression quickly softened when she noticed the shocked expressions on the faces of Twilight and her friends. Taking a moment to compose herself, Silverstreak continued. “I’m sorry about that, it’s just…maybe I should start from the beginning. A few years ago an entire eyrie of gargoyles broke off from their normal migration route and took a path that would have cut through several populated areas.”

“And before any of y’all ask, that was a problem on account of th’ fact that gargoyles are some of th’ nastiest varmints in Equestria.” As Sharpshooter spoke, he rose from his seat and began theatrically pacing around the table. “Since none of y’all have ever seen a gargoyle first hoof, let me paint y’all a picture. Imagine if y’ will a cross between a dragon an’ a shaved gorilla, big as bison an’ meaner than a hydra with a migraine. A giant flyin’ set of teeth an’ claws that’d eat y’ just as soon as look at look at y’. Now, picture over a hundred of those things flyin’ towards Equestria, ready t’ devour anythin’ an’ anypony unlucky enough t’ be in their path.” His spiel completed, Sharpshooter returned to his seat with a satisfied expression.

Silverstreak, evidently accustomed to monologues like this from her friend, snorted as Sharpshooter seated himself. “Well, I’m glad you managed to get that out of your system.” Silverstreak said with a roll of her eyes before turning back to Twilight and her friends. “Cyclops’ compulsive need to put on a show aside, he was pretty much on point about the situation. There were easily a few hundred civilians in harm’s way, so the decision was made to send in the guard, first an advance force of about a hundred fifty or so to secure a base, with a much larger force to come in later to actually repel the things. Sharpshooter and I were part of the advance force; we were still privates back then.” Silverstreak allowed herself a nostalgic smile and turned to face Twilight. “Your older brother and Moonwhisper were part of the advance force as well. They were the first and second lieutenants under Captain Glory Hound.” Silverstreak’s smile slowly faded, replaced by a deadly serious expression. “The mission was a complete shi-pardon, a complete disaster right from the get go. We were supposed to set up camp inside a forest bordering a mountain pass the gargoyles were going to be heading through. The idea was that they would slow down and lose some cohesion when they went through the forest, so a sufficiently strong resistance would force them to divert away from any inhabited parts of Equestria.” As Silverstreak spoke she noticeably tensed up, her face darkening with rage. “And it might not have been a bad plan if recon hadn’t rutted the intelligence they gave us. The gargoyles came through the pass over a week ahead of when they were supposed to, when most of the advance force were out in small, vulnerable patrols and the main force was still days away. To top it off, our useless gelding of a captain Glory Hound abandoned the camp at the first sign of danger.” Shaking with barely contained fury, Silverstreak paused and took several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. “If things had gone just a little bit differently, it would have turned into the worst massacre in the guard’s history. Virtually every member of the advance force would have been killed, along with Celestia knows how many hundreds of civilians.”

“Luckily fer everypony concerned, th’ lieutenants on hoof actually happened t’ know what they hay they were doin’.” Sharpshooter interjected, giving his friend a chance to calm down. “Y’ older brother put up a massive shield over th’ part of the forest our camp was in, an’ th’ Cap’n went out a made sure every last dang patrol made it back safely, carryin’ them on his back if he had to. Over th’ next three days, th’ Cap’n saved forty seven of us from bein’ killed outright. Didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, just kept chargin’ back an’ forth through th’ woods trackin’ us down an’ gettin’ us t’ safety.”

“I was number twenty eight,” Silverstreak stated solemnly, “I was leading a gargoyle away from another patrol and I got careless. A second gargoyle dropped right on top of me and hit my wing almost in half, practically pulled it out of the socket. When we hit the ground I tried to crawl away, but it stayed on me trying to get at my neck with its claws. I was certain that I was about to die, and then BAM! The gargoyle was gone, and I looked up and saw Captain Moonwhisper in that blue armor of his standing over me. He got me back to the field hospital back at base and that was pretty much it for me for the rest of the mission.”

After Silverstreak finished her story, Twilight and her friends spent several moments in stunned silence. Twilight in particular found herself affected by Silverstreak’s account, in no small part due to something she recalled her brother telling her. “Sharpshooter, you said Moonwhisper saved about forty seven guardsponies, was my brother…?” Twilight trailed off before she finished her question, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence.

“Shinin’ Armor was number forty seven, as a matter of fact.” Sharpshooter replied in a measured tone, noting Twilight’s obvious discomfort. “Ah had a front row seat t’ th’ whole mess since th’ Cap’n was carryin’ me on his back when it happened.” As Sharpshooter spoke, he unconsciously traced the scars on his face with his hoof.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what happened?” I didn’t even know that Shining Armor had almost…” Twilight screwed her eyes shut as she forced herself to say the words, “…that he had almost died until he mentioned it when I was told I needed to choose a bodyguard. I want to know exactly what happened to him.”

“T’ be honest, yer highness, there ain’t all that much t’ tell. Shinin’ Armor had been keepin’ his shield up fer three days, an’ eventually a gargoyle managed to smash itself through an’ crashed into him. Now, t’ his credit he blasted one hay of hole in th’ durn thing before it hit him, but that didn’t stop it from openin’ him up like a burst seed bag. Luckily fer him, th’ Cap’n was takin’ me t’ th’ field hospital, an’ he was able t’ patch Shinin’ Armor up an’ get him t’ the medics as well. ‘Course, at that point Shinin’ Armor weren’t in any shape t’ keep his shield up, an’ that meant our whole base was practically defenseless. T’ make matters worse, part of th’ reason Shinin’s shield was so good at keepin’ th’ gargoyles from gettin’ past our camp was that it focused their attention on us, what with it bein’ a big sparkly thing an’ all. Which meant with Shinin’ out of commission our camp, an’ the field hospital we had set up, were about t’ get hit hard. By th’ time th’ Cap’n turned Shinin’ an’ me over t’ the doctors ponies were already startin’ t’ panic. There was even talk of abandoning th’ camp an’ fallin’ back. Well, th’ Cap’n wasn’t havin’ none of that, so he orders everypony who can still walk front an’ center t’ th’ middle of camp, an’ he proceeded t’ give a gall-durned speech about how we were th’ last hope fer everpony about t’ get overrun by th’ gargoyles. Then, he told everypony he was goin’ out t’ hold back the gargoyles and that anypony ready t’ give everythin’ t’ uphold th’ oaths we took as guardsponies should follow him.” Sharpshooter paused for a moment with a faraway look in his eye. “An’ Ah’ll be durned, but after he was done everypony was so fired up he could’ve been leadin’ us into th’ gates of Tartarus itself and we’d have been right behind him. As it was, soon as th’ gargoyles started showin’ their scaly rumps we hit them as hard as we could, yellin’ and screamin’ like we were possessed. An’ Ah swear t’ Princess Celestia herself everywhere Ah looked Ah saw th’ Cap’n right in th’ thick of things. Ah couldn’t tell y’ how long it went on, somepony told me later it was ‘bout an hour or so but it felt a hay of a lot longer than that. Anyway, right about when it was startin’ t’ look like things were completely hopeless, th’ main force finally shaped up an’ saved our rumps. ‘Course, if it hadn’t been fer th’ Cap’n rallyin’ us, then by th’ time they showed up th’ gargoyles would’ve ripped everypony in th’ camp apart.” Sharpshooter let his final assessment sink in for a moment before suddenly chuckling. “Y’ wanna hear somethin’ kinda funny. Ah talked t’ th’ Cap’n ‘bout that speech he gave, an’ y’ know what he told me? Th’ whole thing was a complete pile of horse apples. Accordin’ t’ him, he was just spoutin’ whatever clichéd nonsense he could think of off th’ top of his head an’ th’ rest of us were just too tired an’ scared t’ realize it.”

As Sharpshooter finished his account of the disastrous mission, Twilight and her friends found themselves dumbstruck yet again. Equestria was largely peaceful, the occasional monster attack notwithstanding. Hearing the stories of ponies who had fought and nearly died in combat they hadn’t even heard of previously left them more than slightly shaken. After a minute or two of uncomfortable silence, Silverstreak finally spoke up. “As fun as it’s been reminiscing about the time Captain Moonwhisper saved us all from being eaten by gargoyles, I don’t think that it really helps answer your questions, does it your highness? The fact is, the Captain has pretty much been the same cheerful stallion he is today far as long as anypony’s known him. Odds are, whatever made him that way happened when he was growing up. Good luck getting any details out of the Captain himself, though. The Captain always gets really testy when it comes to his family, especially his father.”

“I have noticed that Moonwhisper does get a little tense whenever anypony brings up the subject of his family comes up.” Twilight said, recalling the way her bodyguard would cringe whenever the subject broached. “I guess I’ve always just assumed that he didn’t want to talk about it because he thought it was too personal.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was part of it, but there is some seriously bad blood between the Captain and his father. I remember the Captain used to have me sort his mail for him; I was to read any mail from Trotsylvania and bring it to him if it said his father was dead, dying, or had done something that he could be arrested for. Otherwise, I was to burn the letters without even letting him know they arrived.”

“At least is sounds like he was worried about his father’s wellbeing a little bit.” Twinkleshine suggested halfheartedly.

Sharpshooter let out a derisive snort at the suggestion. “Th’ only thing th’ Cap’n was worried about was that he might miss a chance t’ toss his pa in th’ deepest, darkest jail cell he could find an’ throw away th’ key.”

“Unfortunately Sharpshooter’s probably right on the money,” Silverstreak added. “Based on what I saw, the Captain truly hates his father and from what I’ve heard I’m not sure I can really blame him.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight exclaimed, somewhat alarmed by the direction the conversation was taking. “What do you mean by that?”

“Ah’m guessin’ she means that th’ Cap’n’s father is one of th’ nastiest pieces of work y’d ever be likely t’ meet.” Sharpshooter replied, a slight snarl in his voice. “If even half of th’ things Ah’ve heard about that low down snake in th’ grass as true, then…” Sharpshooter paused with a shudder before continuing. “Anyway, from what Ah’ve heard when it comes t’ th’ Cap’n an’ his pa, that apple didn’t just fall far from th’ tree, it rolled down a hill, fell into a river an’ floated out t’ sea.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I understand,” Twilight interjected, “what’s so horrible about Moonwhisper’s father? Do you even know his name?”

“His name’s Penumbral Dusk, your highness.” Silverstreak stated. “I’ve never actually met him personally, but I’ve heard enough stories about him to paint a pretty unpleasant picture.”

Twilight had never heard of Penumbral Dusk, so this new revelation meant little to her. For Lemon Hearts, however, the name clearly held some significance as she noticeably blanched at the mention of the name. “Hold on a second, Moonwhisper’s father is Penumbral Dusk? As in Count Penumbral Dusk von Umbra?”

“Do you know him?” Twilight asked with surprise.

Lemon Heats shook her head. “I’ve never met him personally, but I do know of him. Mainly because he’s at the top of the list of ponies that have been blacklisted from attending any of the events at the castle. From what I understand it’s at least partially because he’s a really nasty unicorn supremacist.”

Silverstreak nodded in agreement. “That much I can pretty much confirm myself. Like I said before, I used to screen the Captain’s mail to keep him from seeing any letters that might be from his father. As a result I had the ‘pleasure’ of reading everything Penumbral Dusk wrote him, and he had a habit of referring to pegasi and earth ponies…well let’s just say I wouldn't repeat the terms he used in polite company. Hay, I remember the Captain once told me his father wouldn’t even celebrate Hearth’s Warming Eve because he didn’t approve of the message.”

Lemon Hearts nervously cleared her throat. “Um, do you know if any of the other rumors about Penumbral Dusk are true? Because I’ve heard-“

“Look, I’ve never actually met the guy, alright? I can vouch for the fact that he’s a tribalist scumbag based on the letters I read, and anypony who’s known the Captain long enough knows that he despises his father, but that’s about all I can confirm.” Silverstreak heaved a sigh. “Beyond that, I’d really just be repeating gossip.”

“That’s alright, Silverstreak, you’ve helped me enough already.” Twilight could sense the discomfort in the silver pegasi’s voice, and as curious as she was about the nature of the rumors surrounding Moonwhisper’s father she didn’t want to press the issue. Besides, she could always question Lemon Hearts about the rumors at a later date. For now, what Twilight was more interested in was the fact that the cause of Moonwhisper’s brooding nature was much deeper than what she had originally thought. It was obvious to Twilight that the answers she was looking for lay in Moonwhisper’s relationship with his father, but digging any deeper into Moonwhisper’s past would be a daunting challenge. That, however, would be a task for another day. “Thank you both for talking to us, but I think it’s time we left.” Twilight’s friends quickly nodded in agreement, having grown increasingly uneasy, especially following the revelations about Moonwhisper’s father. As the five mares filed out of the pub, however, Silverstreak rushed out the door after them.

“Your highness, could you wait up a second? There’s something I forgot to ask you about.” As Silverstreak caught up, she glanced about uncomfortably at Twilight’s friends, who had stopped as well. “Um, actually this is kind of a personal matter, so…”

Twilight’s first instinct normally would have been to question why exactly Silverstreak needed to talk to her alone. However, something about the tone of Silverstreak’s voice caught Twilight’s attention. “Alright then,” Twilight replied as she turned to her friends, “could the rest of you meet me back at Donut Joe’s? I’m sure this won’t take long.”

Silverstreak watched Twilight’s friends trot off until they rounded a corner and went out of sight. “The truth of the matter is there’s something else about Captain Moonwhisper that I think you should know.” Silverstreak let out an uncomfortable sight before continuing. “It’s just, even Sharpshooter doesn’t know what I’m about to tell you. Hay, the only reason I know it is because I read about it in one of the letters the Captain’s father wrote him.” Silverstreak looked Twilight directly in the eyes, her expression deadly serious. “Now, I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anypony what I’m about to tell you, and you especially can’t let the Captain find out who told you.”

Alright, I’ll promise you that I won’t tell anypony.” Twilight assured Silverstreak, burning with curiosity as to the nature of the secret.

Even having heard Twilight’s assurances, Silverstreak still seemed reluctant to actually divulge her information. “Well, the thing is, you’ve seen the Captain’s cutie mark, right?”

“Of course I have, what about it?” Truthfully, to Twilight Moonwhisper’s cutie mark was probably his least remarkable attribute. The mark itself, a brown and black shield with a jagged circle in the center, bore a strong resemblance to the cutie mark of other guardsponies she knew, particularly her older brother’s. “Isn’t a shield a fairly common cutie mark for a member of the Royal Guard?”

“The issue isn’t the shield itself, but the crest on the shield. You see, that’s the Captain’s family crest, but at one point it was the personal crest of one of the family’s more notorious members.” Silverstreak paused, as though continuing was physically painful for her. “And from what I’ve heard, you’ve…encountered the member in question once already.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re-“

“King Sombra. What I’m trying to say is Captain Moonwhisper is the direct descendant of King Sombra.”

Twilight stared at Silverstreak in complete shock. “What? How is that even possible?” This latest revelation left Twilight feeling completely overwhelmed. She wasn’t even sure how to being processing the idea that her bodyguard was related to arguably one of the most evil ponies to have ever lived.

For her part Silverstreak didn’t seem particularly surprised by Twilight’s reaction. “Yeah, kinda helps explain why family is such a touchy subject for him, doesn’t it? And believe me when I tell you that the Captain is especially touchy when it comes to that particular rotten branch of the family tree. I actually asked him about it once, when I first found out about it, and, well, that was the only time I’ve ever seen the Captain that upset.”

Twilight merely nodded in response, still digesting what he had just learned about her bodyguard. Truthfully, once the initial shock wore off, the knowledge of Moonwhisper’s ancestry didn’t seem all that important. Twilight had already seen and heard enough about Moonwhisper to conclude for herself that he was a good pony at heart, albeit not a particularly sociable one. In fact, as Twilight mulled over what she had learned, she found herself far more concerned by what she had learned about Moonwhisper’s father. Twilight found the notion that Moonwhisper had been raised by somepony loathsome enough for Princess Celestia to ban from Canterlot Castle to be far more worrisome than anypony he might be related to from a thousand years ago. Still, upsetting or not, Twilight at least now had a little more context for Moonwhisper’s demeanor. “Silverstreak, thank you for telling me this, all of it.” Twilight finally said. “I’m not one hundred percent sure how I’ll get through to Moonwhisper, but the more I can learn about him the better.”

*********

“Alright, seriously, what the hay is the deal with Moonwhisper anyway?” Rainbow Dash angrily asked her assembled friends. She and Twilight’s other Ponyville friends, including Starlight Glimmer, had gathered together at Sugarcube Corner for a light lunch. Much to Rainbow Dash’s irritation, however, the topic of conversation had quickly drifted to the recent wyvern incident.

However, Rainbow Dash’s continued suspicions of Moonwhisper weren’t necessarily shared by her friends. “Are y’all still goin’ on about that?” Applejack responded. “Ah’ll admit Moonwhisper ain’t exactly the friendliest of ponies, but Ah really don’t see any reason to be so suspicious of him.”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to start a yelling match with her friend. Applejack had become an increasing vocal defender of Moonwhisper ever since the wyvern attack. However, given that Moonwhisper had saved Apple Bloom’s life, Rainbow Dash could at least understand the sentiment. “Look,” she began in a measured tone, “I get that Moonwhisper saved Apple Bloom and you’re grateful and everything, but you can’t tell me there isn’t something weird about him.”

“An’ just because somepony ain’t cheerful is no reason to be suspicious of them,” Applejack retorted. “Personally, Ah think the real reason y’all are always harpin’ on about Moonwhisper is ‘cause y’all are jealous of him.”

“Jealous?” Rainbow Dash yelled back. “Why the hay would I be jealous of some grumpy jerk of a stallion?”

“Probably ‘cause that ‘grumpy jerk of a stallion’ has been just about the only thing anypony’s talked about since he saved mah little sister.” Applejack said with a smug grin.

Rainbow Dash squirmed at her friend’s accusation, which hit closer to the mark than she cared to admit. “Alright, maybe I am a little jealous, but I’m just so sick of hearing everypony talk about how awesome Moonwhisper is. I mean, he showed up at Wonderbolt HQ the other day and Spitfire was squeezing like some crazed fanfilly. Spitfire!” Rainbow Dash let out a disgusted snort at the memory.

“What was Moonwhisper doing all the way up there?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking up from what appeared to be some manner of cupcake sandwich.

“He was visiting the head of the guard’s recon division. The Wonderbolts coordinate with the guards on a lot of search and rescue operations, so the guard keeps a few offices at HQ for…y’know…administrative stuff. Anyway, from what I heard Moonwhisper chewed out the recon captain so badly about the whole wyvern thing that the poor guy wound up crying like a little foal.”

“Good.” Applejack snapped, much to the shock of her friends. “And before any of y’all say somethin’, Ah don’t really care if Ah sound mean. Mah little sister was almost eaten by that dang wyvern, so Ah think Ah can be excused fer bein’ a might testy on the subject.”

“I just can’t for the life of me figure out how Moonwhisper pulled that spell off.” Starlight Glimmer said absentmindedly, more to herself than anypony else, as she took a bite of her lunch.

Rainbow Dash sighed angrily. “Yeah, ok, the way he took out the wyvern was pretty cool, but it’s not like we’ve never seen a unicorn doing awesome magical stuff before.”

“I’m fairly sure you’ve never seen anypony use an armored augmentation spell before. To be honest I was under the impression that that spell was impossible to pull off, at least without crippling yourself in the process.” Starlight shuddered a little as she spoke.

“Now hold on just one apple-pickin’ minute, are y’all sayin’ y’all know how Moonwhisper managed to pull off that whole spectacle?”

“Well, I know of the spell he used, at any rate. It’s actually pretty infamous among students of combat magic.”

Rainbow Dash let out dismissive grunt in response. “Oh please, give Twilight ten minutes and she’d be able to pull that spell off no problem.”

“Knowing Twilight, I seriously doubt that she could even manage a regular augmentation spell without hurting herself; the armored version would probably outright kill her.” Starlight’s last pronouncement left the other mares in stunned silence.

“Kill her?” Applejack practically shouted, recovering quickly from the shock. “Now just hold on a durn minute here, what the hay kind of spell is this armored-thing anyway?”

“I do have to say that does sound like a rather extreme assessment.” Rarity added. “I’ve heard of spells that can put an awful strain on somepony who isn’t properly prepared, but a spell that could be potentially fatal…”

“It’s mostly because of the way augmentation spells work. The idea is that by running magic through your own body you can radically increase your physical abilities. In theory, a regular unicorn could make themselves as fast as you,” Starlight pointed a hoof towards Rainbow Dash, “or as strong as you,” she added, pointing a hoof towards Applejack.

“Pfft, yeah right. You’re saying this spell could turn an egghead like Twilight into a better athlete than me or Applejack?”

“Well, that’s where the ‘in theory’ part comes in. You see, even a basic physical augmentation spell puts a huge strain on your body. If a unicorn who isn’t already in peak physical condition tries using it they can end up hurting themselves pretty badly.”

“Now, when y’all say ‘pretty badly’, just how serious are y’all talkin’ about?”

“Muscle tears and bone fractures are the most common injuries, at least from what I’ve heard. I mean, practically every combat magic instructor has one or two horror stories about somepony who gave themselves a heart attack, but I’m pretty sure those are just old mare’s tales.”

“As interesting, through unpleasant, as that all sounds, the magic that Moonwhisper was using seemed quite a bit more powerful than the magic you’re describing.” Rarity said.

“That’s because Moonwhisper was using a much more powerful version of the spell called armored augmentation. That spell encases you in magical conjured armor that acts like an echo chamber for the augmentation magic, amplifying the effect. So instead of just becoming a bit stronger and faster-“

“Y’all wind up with somepony able to buck a wyvern out of the dang sky.” Applejack said finishing Starlight’s thought. “Now, how the hay do y’all know so much about this sort of thing anyway?”

“I actually spent some time studying combat magic before I…well, before I took up brainwashing villages. Anyway, the problem with the armored variant of augmentation magic is that it doesn’t just amplify the physical boost; it amplifies the physical strain on the body as well.” Starlight added quickly, eager to move the subject away from her past indiscretions. “Pretty much everypony who’s ever tried to make use of the spell…well it’s kind of unpleasant.”

“What do you mean ‘unpleasant’?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, how bad could it possibly-“

“Their major muscle groups would be shredded to ribbons, their bones would shatter like glass and their hearts would pop like a water balloon.”

“Oh, wow, yeah, that sounds pretty unpleasant.” After thinking it over for a moment, however, Rainbow Dash’s face suddenly darkened. “Hey, wait a second, if this armor-spell thingy is so dangerous then how the hay did Moonwhisper pull it off?”

“Like I said, I don’t have a clue how he managed it. There have been stories circulating for years that the members of one of the older unicorn noble families had figured out the secret, but I always assumed that they were just stories.”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake, so now Moonwhisper’s supposed to be some kind of noble?” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Every time we turn around it’s something new with this guy, and somehow we still don’t really know anything about him.” Suddenly, Rainbow Dash stopped mid-tirade as an idea struck her. “So,” she began, a devious grin spread across her face, “why don’t we see if we can learn a little bit more about who Moonwhisper really is?”

“What exactly are y’all suggestin’?” Applejack asked suspiciously, not sure if she liked the expression on her friends face.

“Well, Moonwhisper is in Canterlot with Twilight, right? I say we sneak into the room he’s renting from Bulk Biceps and-“

“Oh no. No, no, no, count me out.” Starlight Glimmer stammered, “I don’t want any part of something like that.”

“Ah can’t really say Ah disagree with her.” Applejack added. “It’s not that Ah can’t see where y’all are comin’ from, Rainbow, but snoopin’ around in somepony else’s room behind their back ain’t the way to go about it.”

“Come on, AJ, what else are we supposed to do? Talking to Moonwhisper doesn’t work, Twilight’s been trying that since he got here and she still hasn’t gotten anywhere.” Desperate for some support, Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie Pie. “Come on, you agree with me, right?”

“Actually, Applejack, I think Rainbow Dash might be right. I know snooping isn’t normally a nice thing to do, but I’m just completely out of ideas. Moonwhisper is definitely hiding something, and I think it’s really hurting him.”

“Well, I for one have no intention of invading Captain Moonwhisper’s privacy like that.” Rarity declared, much to Applejack’s pleasure.

“At least one of mah friends has a lick of sense in her.”

Before Applejack could continue admonishing her friends, however, Rarity continued. “I won’t invade his privacy, but I would be willing to keep Bulk Biceps occupied while the two of you invaded his privacy.”

While Applejack sputtered incoherently in response, Fluttershy spoke up as well. “Um, I don’t know about the snooping part, but I guess I could help Rarity distract Bulk Biceps.”

“Fluttershy,” Applejack said in an anguished tone, “not you too?”

“Come on, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said, grinning triumphantly, “you can’t tell me you aren’t just a little bit curious about what Moonwhisper might be hiding.” Rainbow Dash’s grin widened further as she watched Applejack’s conflicted expression. Applejack had always tended to wear her emotions on her metaphorical sleeve, and it was clear that Rainbow Dash’s last comment had been right on target. As strenuously as Applejack might have objected to Rainbow Dash’s plan, she was still as curious about Moonwhisper as the next of her friends.

“Ah suppose if Ah can’t talk y’all out of this Ah should at least come along to keep an eye on y’all.” Applejack said. “Just to make sure y’all don’t get carried away or nothin’, Ah mean,” she hurriedly added.

*********

With a consensus finally reached, it didn’t take the group of friends long to reach Bulk Biceps’ home. The only pony missing from the group was Starlight Glimmer, who had steadfastly refused to partake in the excursion. And, as the friends approached their destination, Applejack wondered if the reformed unicorn hadn’t had the right idea.

“Alright, Rainbow, this is yer rodeo, so how the hay do y’all propose we actually do this?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled at Applejack’s question. “What’s the matter, AJ, you don’t think we can pull this off? Anyway, Bulk Biceps is still a member of the Wonderbolts Reserves, so right now he should be at headquarters with the rest of the reserve members for refresher training. That means we should have plenty of time to sneak in and check out Moonwhisper’s room before Bulk Biceps gets back. Rarity, you and Fluttershy wait outside and keep watch. If Bulk Biceps gets back early, try to give us a signal and keep him distracted so we can sneak out the back. Once we’re finished we should all head back to my place so we can over what we find out.”

Applejack have her friend a suspicious look. “Y’all sure seem like y’know what yer doin’. Ah’m guessin’ this ain’t the first time y’all have done somethin’ like this.”

“Who, me?” Rainbow Dash replied with an exaggerated tone of surprise. Applejack, recalling Rainbow Dash’s uncontrolled pranking spree, decided not to press the issue any further.

Fortunately for the group of friends, Bulk Biceps lived in a relatively secluded part of Ponyville, likely to avoid upsetting ponies who failed to appreciate the sounds of his 4am morning workouts. As such, there was little danger of being spotted as they snuck up to the house. While Rarity and Fluttershy positioned themselves across from the entrance, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack crept up to the door. With one final series of glances to confirm that nopony was watching, Rainbow Dash opened the door and she and the others snuck inside.

Shutting the door behind her, Applejack took stock of the home’s interior. The décor, if you could call it that, was about what she had expected. There was relatively little in the way of furniture, with a dizzying array of workout machines and weightlifting gear in their place. That being said, Bulk Biceps’ softer side was on full display as well, with pictures of himself and what Applejack presumed were his family members covering the walls. The one aspect of the home that truly surprised Applejack, however, was the smell, or rather that lack thereof. Applejack had expected Bulk Biceps’ house to smell like the inside of a gym bag, but it actually smelled surprising clean, almost to the point of being aseptic.

“Yeah, I had almost forgotten that about Bulk.” Rainbow Dash said suddenly. “The whole smell thing, I mean. You looked like you thought the house was going to reek of sweat.” As she spoke, Rainbow Dash began wandering through the house. “The Wonderbolts Reserves members take turns cleaning out their locker rooms and barracks, and Bulk Biceps always took it really seriously. I mean, everything ended up smelling like pine trees and lemons seriously. I’m pretty sure it’s something he picked working at Ponyville Spa to be honest.” Rainbow Dash peered up the stairs leading up to the home’s second story before turning back to Applejack. “So, AJ, where exactly is Moonwhisper’s room, anyway?”

“What the hay makes y’all think Ah would know where it is? Applejack asked indignantly.

“Weren’t you and Rarity with him when he moved in here?”

“Rarity and Ah stayed outside while Moonwhisper and Bulk Biceps did the actual movin’. This is the first time Ah’ve ever even been inside this place.”

Before Rainbow Dash was able to respond, Pinkie Pie called out from the second story. “Hey girls, I think I found Moonwhisper’s room!”

The two mares quickly rushed upstairs, where they found their friend excitedly bouncing outside one of the doorways in the hall. “How’d you find it so quickly?” Rainbow Dash asked as she approached the bubbly earth pony.

“I just checked all of the rooms up here until I found it.” Pinkie Pie replied with a grin. “It’s just one little house, silly, so it’s not like it took very long.”

Wisely deciding not to pursue the subject any further, Rainbow Dash slipped past Pinkie Pie into the room, with Applejack following close behind. The bedroom itself was small, spartanly furnished and absolutely immaculate. The furniture consisted of a neatly made bed, a small writing desk, a few bookshelves and, to Applejack’s surprise, what appeared to be a dress form under a drab olive tarp. “Huh, I wonder what this thing is.” Rainbow Dash mused as she made a beeline for the tarp.

“Maybe Moonwhisper sews his own cloths in his spare time.” Applejack replied sarcastically. Truthfully, there was something about the room that seemed off to Applejack, but she couldn’t put her hoof on precisely what it was.

While Applejack pondered what exactly it was about the room that made her uncomfortable, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie investigated the tarp. Working together, they quickly pulled it off to reveal an armor stand sporting a pristine suit of purple and gold armor. “Aha!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed triumphantly as the armor was unveiled.

“What are y’all so excited about?” Applejack asked. “It’s just a suit of guard armor, which ain’t exactly surprising to find on account of Moonwhisper bein’ a guard captain and all.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like ever wears it or anything…” Rainbow Dash replied, her excitement rapidly deflating.

As Rainbow Dash slunk away to investigate the bookshelves, Applejack took a closer look at the armor. She vaguely remembered Moonwhisper once mentioning that he didn’t wear his armor due to his ‘unique talents’, presumably referring to the spell he had used to fight the wyvern. That said, the armor was remarkably well-cared-for for something that was never used. Every inch of the armor’s metal surfaces had been polished to a mirror-like sheen, a fact which Pinkie Pie promptly took advantage of. Leaving Pinkie Pie to her funny faces, Applejack trotted to join Rainbow Dash at the bookcases. As Applejack trotted past Moonwhisper’s writing desk, however, she suddenly realized what it was about the room that felt off to her. The room was completely devoid of any real personal touches, not even so much as a photograph of Moonwhisper’s family. To Applejack, it was as though the room was a place where Moonwhisper simply existed in, rather than lived.

“Geez, if it weren’t for the whole wyvern-pounding magic armor thing I’d say Moonwhisper might be the most boring pony I’ve ever met.” Rainbow Dash’s commentary on Moonwhisper’s choices in reading material snapped Applejack back to the present. “I mean, most of these are just books on guard protocols, and the ones that aren’t-“ Rainbow Dash pointed towards a few choice examples, “The Art of Logistics by Clever Stratagem, A Complete Military History of Equestria by Methodical Narrative, Tactical Planning by, get this, Flanking Maneuver.” Rainbow Dash broke into a furious bout of snickering at the name of the final author.

“Well, Ah’ll admit it looks like Moonwhisper’s got a bit of a one track mind, but that still don’t tell us too much more about him.” Applejack glanced down at Rainbow Dash, who was still giggling uncontrollably. “Dagnabbit RD, grow up, it ain’t that funny.” Letting out a sigh, Applejack looked around the room. “Frankly, it’s startin’ to look to me like this whole thing was a complete waste of time. There just ain’t anythin’ in here that’s gonna tell us anythin’ about Moonwhisper that we don’t already know.”

“I don’t know, we haven’t checked in here yet.” Pinkie Pie piped up, standing next to the bedroom’s closet. Without waiting for either of her friends to respond, Pinkie Pie threw open the door with an exaggerated flourish. Unsurprisingly, however, the closet was nearly empty, save for a single outfit on a hanger. “Hey,” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “this looks just like the outfit that Shining Armor had on when he got married!”

“That’s probably his fancy dress uniform, Pinkie.” Applejack said as she busied herself with replacing the tarp on the armor stand. “Again, that ain’t somethin’ all that surprisin’ to find in the closet of a guard captain.”

“What about this?” Pinkie Pie asked, sliding what appeared to be a battered cardboard box into the center of the room.

“Nice find, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said as she virtually pounced on the box. “What do you think is in here?”

Applejack snorted in frustration. “Oh who the hay knows, Dash, Maybe it’s armor polish, or copies of old reports, or-“

“Or maybe it’s full of all the medals Moonwhisper has earned.” Rainbow Dash replied in a concerned tone.

“Dash have y’all spit your bit or somethin’? There’s no way somepony like Moonwhisper would keep his medals in some old beat-up box stuffed in the back of his closet.

“Um, AJ, are you sure about that?” Rainbow Dash countered, pushing the box towards Applejack. Sure enough, as Applejack peered in she saw that the box contained a large number of medals and ribbons, all jumbled together as though they had been tossed in like trash. Before Applejack had a chance to ponder the meaning of this, however, she and her friends heard a loud commotion from outside.

“Consarnit, that’s Bulk Biceps! We need to get out of here right now!” As Applejack spoke she slapped the box’s top back on and slid it towards Pinkie Pie. “Ah just hope Rarity and Fluttershy can keep him distracted.”

*********

“Anyway, I’ll tell Moonwhisper you wanted to talk to him when he gets back.” Bulk Biceps said in his characteristic near-yell.

“Oh, that’s quite alright, darling; really I just wanted to ask his opinion on my idea for a military-chic line. It completely slipped my mind that he was accompanying Twilight on her visit to Canterlot today.” Rarity let out a brief laugh, silently hoping that Bulk Biceps’ volume would be sufficient to warn Rainbow Dash and the others. “Speaking of Moonwhisper, Bulk, may I call you Bulk? Anyway, how have you found having the good Captain as a tenant?”

“Eh, he’s a pretty cool guy. Keeps to himself mostly, quiet, tidy, but he still really knows how to get PUMPED!” Bulk Biceps paused to clear his throat. “I can really respect a stallion like that, y’know?”

“I completely understand,” Rarity said as she scoured the sky for any signs that her friends had made their getaway. Much to her relief, Rarity soon spotted Rainbow Dash flying away into the clouds. “Oh my, would you look at the time. It’s been a pleasure talking with you, but I really must be going.” Before Bulk Biceps had a chance to respond, Rarity grabbed Fluttershy and bolted away. “Thank Celestia,” Rarity said once she and Fluttershy had put some distance between themselves and Bulk Biceps, “I wasn’t sure how much longer I could have kept him distracted with small talk.”

“Um, Rarity,” Fluttershy asked as she wriggled loose from her friend, “where exactly are we going?”

“To Rainbow Dash’s home, naturally,” Rarity replied. “I have to admit I am curious to hear what she and the others were able to find out.”

*********

“We didn’t find out anything!” Rainbow Dash lamented as she fell back onto her couch. “It turns out Moonwhisper’s room is just as boring as he is.”

“Oh dear, you really didn’t find anything of interest at all?” Rarity asked. It hadn’t taken Rarity and Fluttershy long to reach Rainbow Dash’s home, where they found Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash already waiting for them.

“Well, Ah wouldn’t say we didn’t find anythin’, but Ah guess what gets me is more what we didn’t find.” Applejack had been particularly quiet since she and her friends had snuck out Bulk Biceps’ backdoor. “To tell the truth, Ah’m startin’ to think Rainbow Dash might be on to somethin’. Now, Ah’m not sayin’ Ah think Moonwhisper’s up to no good, but…well, what kind of pony doesn’t keep any pictures of their family around?”

“Probably somepony who doesn’t like their family very much.” The five friends froze as Twilight Sparkle trotted into the room, relaxing only when the realized that Moonwhisper wasn’t with her. “Anyway, how do you know that Moonwhisper doesn’t have any pictures of his family in his room?”

An awkward silence descended on the room for several moments as Twilight’s friends squirmed uncomfortably. “We may have kinda snuck into Bulk Biceps’ house and might have snooped around Moonwhisper’s room while you two were in Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash finally said.

“You WHAT?” Twilight exclaimed. “Why would you…if he finds out…Gah!” Twilight paused and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

“We didn’t mean any harm by it, Twilight, honest.” Applejack assured her friend. “We were just tryin’ to get inside Moonwhisper’s head a little. Speakin’ of which, what exactly did y’all mean when y’all said Moonwhisper doesn’t like his family?”

“I managed to track down a pair of Moonwhisper’s former lieutenants today and from what they told me it sounds as though Moonwhisper has some issues with his father.” Twilight looked distinctly uncomfortable as she recalled some of the things Sharpshooter and Silverstreak had hinted about Penumbral Dusk. “They couldn’t tell me any specifics about why Moonwhisper is the way he is,” Twilight continued, “but according to them he’s always been the way he is.”

“So, basically you didn’t really find out anything new about him.” Rainbow Dash snarked as she leaned back into her seat. “We didn’t really find out anything either, except that Moonwhisper has the most boring taste in books ever. And that he keeps all his medals in an old box in the back of his closet.”

“Wait, Moonwhisper does what?” Twilight asked slightly alarmed. “That just doesn’t seem right.” Twilight paused for a moment as she put her thoughts in order. “Alright, I still don’t understand why Moonwhisper is the way he is, but the more I learn about him, the more certain I am that he needs our help. And I do mean ‘our’ help; whatever’s the matter with Moonwhisper, I’m going to need all of you to help me get through to him.” As her friends all murmured assurances of their support, Twilight inwardly celebrated. After all, with her friends help there was no challenge that she wouldn’t be able to overcome.

Scenes of the Past

Being home to the Apple family, Sweet Apple Acres was almost always a lively place. Rarely, however, was it quite as lively as today, as this happened to be Applejack’s birthday. As such, the interior of the Apple family barn along with a sizable portion of the farm itself had been thoroughly festooned with every manner of party decoration conceivable. All of this, of course, was courtesy of the premier part pony of Ponyville, Pinkie Pie.

“Wow, it looks like Pinkie Pie really went all out this year.” Twilight exclaimed as she admired the apple-shaped balloon sculptures lining the path to the barn.

“I will admit, these decorations are very impressive, but as far as I’ve been able to tell ‘all out’ seems to be par for the course for Miss Pie.” Moonwhisper replied dryly. The large stallion trotted just behind Twilight, partly out of deference and partly because he was carrying the presents that he and Twilight were giving to Applejack.

“I can’t really argue with you there.” Twilight said, chuckling a bit at Moonwhisper’s assessment of her friend. Since her trip to Canterlot, Twilight had grown increasingly confident in her ability to draw Moonwhisper out his shell. While things still weren’t progressing quite as quickly as Twilight would have preferred, it at least no longer seemed like a completely hopeless endeavor. Moonwhisper had gradually begun allowing himself to interact with Twilight and her friends on a more casual level. That said, no matter how comfortable Moonwhisper seemed to become he still seemed reluctant to talk about himself. “You know, I’m actually a little surprised that you agreed to come to Applejack’s birthday party. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m glad you did,” Twilight hastily added, “I just thought you didn’t really like parties all that much.”

“Whether I particularly care for them or not is largely irrelevant. The fact of the matter is you do enjoy attending parties, and moreover given your official title one could make a reasonable argument that you have something of an obligation to enjoy them. Therefore, as I am your bodyguard, it is in my best interest to learn to enjoy them as well given that I will need to attend them regardless as to how I personally feel about the situation.” Moonwhisper paused for second before continuing. “That being said, I admit it will be a pleasant change of pace to attend a part where I’m not the center of attention.”

Twilight briefly considered responding to Moonwhisper’s statement before deciding to simply let it pass. Hearing that Moonwhisper considered attending parties to be something he had to do out of duty just wasn’t all that shocking to her anymore. Besides, it seemed as though Moonwhisper was at least trying to enjoy the situation, which to Twilight was a victory in and of itself. As the pair approached the Apple family barn they could hear that the party was already in full swing. Sounds of music and laughter filled the air as Twilight knocked on the barn doors, which promptly swung open to reveal Pinkie Pie.

“Twilight, you finally made it!” Pinkie Pie cried out happily as she gave her friend a huge hug. “And look, you brought a date with you,” she added with a sly grin as she eyed Moonwhisper.

“What! Moonwhisper isn’t my…I mean it’s not like…we aren’t…” Twilight sputtered as her face turned bright red.

Pinkie Pie giggled helplessly at her friend’s obvious embarrassment. “Calm down, Twilight, I was only kidding. Why don’t the two of you come on in?”

Her face still burning with embarrassment, Twilight quickly trotted past Pinkie Pie into the barn. As Twilight did so she briefly glanced back towards her bodyguard. Moonwhisper was deliberately avoiding her gaze and it seemed to Twilight that Moonwhisper looked as though her were blushing furiously. There wasn’t much time to dwell on that, however, as Twilight was greeted by the rest of her friends the moment she set hoof in the barn.

“Howdy, Twilight!” Applejack exclaimed as she saw her friend. “Ah was startin’ to get worried y’all weren’t gonna make it?” Applejack glanced past Twilight at Moonwhisper. “And Ah see y’all managed to convince Moonwhisper to come along too.”

“Happy birthday, Miss Applejack.” Moonwhisper said as he trotted into the barn. “Is there somewhere particular where you would like me to put these?” As he spoke, Moonwhisper levitated the presents he had been carrying out in front of him.

“Y’all can put those over there with the others.” Applejack replied, gesturing towards a pile of gifts in the back of the barn. As Moonwhisper headed off to deposit the gifts, Applejack turned back towards Twilight. “So, what exactly took y’all so long? Spike and Starlight mentioned somethin’ about how y’all have been workin’ on a new spell, but Ah didn’t catch the details.”

“Well, do you remember when we helped Princess Luna defeat the Tantabus? She told us that she was the only pony who could use magic to enter the dreams of other ponies.”

“Are y’all sayin’ that this spell that yer workin’ on would let y’all go inside other ponies’ dreams like Princess Luna?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“Maybe eventually,” Twilight admitted, “but for right now I’m still trying to perfect the ability to just be able to look into other ponies dreams. Even doing that’s turned out to be really complicated, so I’m nowhere near actually achieving actual interaction yet.”

“Well, if anypony can figure out how to pull somethin’ like that off, it’d have to be you, Twilight.” Applejack said. “’Sides, it looks to me like y’all’ve pulled one miracle off already.”

“Are you talking about Moonwhisper?” Twilight asked hesitantly. Looking over to her bodyguard Twilight could see Moonwhisper surrounded by several of her friends as he received a lesson on the finer points of pin-the-tail-on-the-pony courtesy of Rainbow Dash.

“’Course that’s who Ah’m talkin’ about. When Moonwhisper first came to Ponyville he must’ve been one of the most standoffish ponies Ah’d ever met. Now…well Ah’ll admit he still ain’t exactly the cheerful sort, but at least it seems like he’s makin’ an effort.”

“I’m not so sure,” Twilight replied, keeping her voice low, “I sometimes get the impression that Moonwhisper’s just...I don’t know how to put it, going through the motions so we won’t bother him.”

“Ah wouldn’t fret too much about it, Twilight. From what y’all told us it sounds like Moonwhisper ain’t ever really had many friends to begin with, so he probably just needs some more time to get used to it.”

Twilight merely smiled at Applejack as she trotted over to join the festivities. She didn’t particularly feel like arguing with her friend further, especially not on her friend’s birthday. Moreover, Twilight earnestly hoped that Applejack’s instincts would prove to be correct.
As the party went on, Twilight began to think that Applejack may had been right about Moonwhisper after all. Despite his stone-faced demeanor Moonwhisper seemed to actually enjoy himself reasonably well. In fact, by the time Applejack was ready to open her gifts Twilight had put her worries about Moonwhisper completely out of her head.

“Thank y’kindly fer these here cider mugs RD.” Applejack said as she lifted a set of pewter mugs out of a mound of crumpled wrapping paper.

“Those aren’t just any cider mugs,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin, “they’re limited edition engraved commemorative Wonderbolts mugs. They’re usually really hard to get ahold of, but, since I am a Wonderbolt and all…” Rainbow Dash casually buffed a hoof on her chest with an air of false modesty.

Applejack, however, had known Rainbow Dash long enough that she was accustomed to her friend’s frequent bouts of unrestrained ego. As such, Applejack merely rolled her eyes at her friend as she moved on to her next gift. “Let’s see now…says here this one’s from Moonwhisper.” Applejack said as she inspected the tag. Curious to see what was inside, Applejack quickly tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a set of four well-worn pie tins. “What in tarnation…”

“I had spoken to Miss Rarity about what you might have wanted, and she mentioned an interest you had in a specific variety of vintage pie tins. So, I managed to track down a set of tins with the discontinued alloy.”

“Golly, thank y’, Moonwhisper.” Applejack said as she gave Twilight a look that practically screamed ‘Ah told y’all so’. “Ah just wanna say how glad Ah am that y’all decided to come.” Apple added, eliciting murmurs of agreement from the rest of her friends.

“I just can’t wait until it’s time for your birthday!” Pinkie Pie explained with a massive grin. “I’m going to throw you the best birthday party you’ve ever had. By the way, when exactly is your birthday, anyway? That file on you that Twilight had only had the year.”

“Well, if you’re really interested my birthday was about five days ago.” Moonwhisper stated casually.

Moonwhisper’s revelation regarding his birthday was met with stunned silence by the assembled ponies. “Moonwhisper,” Twilight finally said, “why didn’t you tell anypony it was your birthday?”

“Well, to be perfectly honest I didn’t really feel that it was important enough to warrant mentioning. I’ve never really celebrated my birthday before and it just seemed to me that it would be silly to start now.”

While everypony present seemed taken aback by how casually Moonwhisper dismissed his own birthday as unimportant, Pinkie Pie seemed particularly affected. The pink pony’s eyes were visibly twitching as she turned to face Moonwhisper. “You didn’t think mentioning your own birthday was important? You thought celebrating your birthday would be silly?” Pinkie Pie demanded in a tone that was equal parts incredulousness and anger.

“I’ve just never seen my birthday as something particularly worth celebrating. It didn’t occur to me that anypony else would have had any interest in celebrating it.”

“Not worth…GAH!” This last statement by Moonwhisper left Pinkie Pie visibly shaking and unable to speak. All Pinkie Pie could do was unleash an anguished scream of exasperation.

Seeing how upset Pinkie Pie was, Moonwhisper began rapidly backing away. “Twilight, I believe that under the circumstances it would be best if I headed back to the castle. Miss Applejack, it was a pleasure to see you.” With that, Moonwhisper quickly dashed out of the barn before anypony could say another word.

“Dagnabbit.” Applejack said with a sigh of resignation. “And everythin’ was goin’ so well too.” Letting out an irritated growl Applejack then turned to Pinkie Pie. “Now, why the hay did y’all have to go and make a fuss like that?”

“I’m sorry, Applejack,” Pinkie Pie apologized, looking completely crestfallen, “it’s just that…birthdays are supposed to be a chance for everypony to show how happy they are that you were born. Why would somepony think that their own birthday wasn’t worth celebrating?”

“Hmmm, why indeed?” An uncomfortably familiar voice postulated, seemingly coming out of the air itself. Moments later, the voice’s patchwork owner appeared above the assembled friends in a flash of light.

“Discord! What the hay are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked angrily as she flew up to look the draconequus in the eye.
“Who, me?” I was only dropping by to wish my dear friend Applejack a happy birthday,” as he spoke, Discord snapped his claws causing a present to materialize in front of Applejack, “when I just happened to overhear the commotion Twilight’s bodyguard caused. It really is a pity about the dear Captain, such a sad story.”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, don’t tell me you know Moonwhisper too?” Rainbow Dash cried out in annoyance.

“Why of course I do, my prismatic friend. After all, before the…incident with Tirek, Captain Moonwhisper was in charge of warehousing some of the persistent remnants for my less morally upright past.” For a brief moment after Discord mentioned Tirek, a look of what appeared to be genuine contrition flashed across Discord’s face. The moment quickly passed, however, as Discord dropped down to look Twilight in the eye with a smug grin. “But that’s enough reminiscing about the past, there’s something much more interesting to talk about. I have to say, I’m a little surprised that the ‘Princess of Friendship’ has been having so much trouble coaxing Moonwhisper out of his shell.”
Twilight glared at Discord for several seconds before replying. “You know something about why Moonwhisper is so closed off, don’t you?” Twilight finally said in a flat, measured tone, her irritation with the spirit of chaos boiling just below the surface.

“Who, me?” Discord asked innocently as he fluttered his eyelashes, a golden halo manifesting over his head. “Well, of course I know how he turned into the grim grumpy stallion he is today. And I suppose you want me to tell you the whole story, don’t you?” In a flash of light, Twilight found herself tucked into a bed with Discord leering over her holding a storybook. “On the other hoof, though,” Discord added, snapping the book shut, “what kind of friend would I be if I denied you a valuable learning experience by just telling you the answer?” As Discord spoke, the bed Twilight was in and the book Discord was holding vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. “Although,” Discord added with a smirk before Twilight could respond, “I suppose I could be convinced to show you the answer.”

“Show me? What are you-“ Before Twilight could finish her sentence Discord dramatically waved his paw to reveal an ornate beaker containing a pure white liquid. “The alicorn elixir!” Twilight cried out. She vividly remembered how the mysterious potion had shown her visions of the past previously when she had faced her first crisis as a princess.

As Twilight levitated the beaker towards herself, however, Applejack spoke up. “Are y’all sure drinkin’ that stuff is such a good idea? Last time y’all drank that some of the thing’s it showed y’all didn’t sound all that pleasant.”

“Um, I get the feeling that I’m missing an important part of this conversation.” Starlight Glimmer interjected as she cautiously eyed Discord and the elixir. “What exactly is that stuff?”

“It’s a potion called the alicorn elixir,” Twilight began as she eyed the mysterious potion, “and drinking it shows you scenes from the past, the only catch is that it requires the magic of an alicorn in order to work. The first time I used it, it showed me when Princess Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia banished her to the moon.” Twilight cringed as she recalled how hard it had been witnessing her mentor being forced to battle and subsequently banish her younger sister before turning back to Applejack. “Believe me Applejack, I remember how hard it was to watch what the elixir had to show me last time, and I seriously doubt that Moonwhisper’s past is going to be any nicer. But nopony seems to know what happened to make Moonwhisper the way he is, and he certainly isn’t going to tell me himself. This might be the only chance that I’ll ever have to actually get some real answers.” With that, Twilight closed her eyes and took a sip of the elixir.

*********

Opening her eyes, Twilight Sparkle found herself in what looked to be a primordial forest in the dead of night. As Twilight acclimated herself to her surroundings, the first thing that struck her was the noise. The sounds of ponies yelling echoed faintly through the air, just loud enough to constantly be at the edge of Twilight’s consciousness. The yells seemed to come from every direction, most likely an acoustical trick played by the trees. Furthermore, every so often the noise would be punctuated by a loud thump, as though something large was crashing into a wall. One particularly loud crash was accompanied by a flash of magenta light coming from above the treetops. Reflexively looking up in response to see if she could determine the source of the noise, Twilight felt the blood freeze in her veins as she saw what was causing the racket. A magical barrier had been erected over the forest canopy, and perched on the other side of that barrier was a hideous monster. At first glance Twilight thought that it was a young dragon of some kind, given that it was a winged reptilian creature of approximately the right size and body shape. However, the creature’s head, illuminated by the light of the magical shield, was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before. The top of the creature’s head was crowned by a pair of backwards curling, ran-like horns, which sprouted from its bulging forehead. The monster had no nose to speak of, just a pair of ragged slits at the end of its short muzzle. The muzzle itself wouldn’t have been particularly remarkable were it not for the fact that it was filled with far too many jagged teeth that appeared far too large for the creature’s mouth. Its eyes, however, were the feature that disturbed Twilight the most. They were pure black orbs of darkness, completely and utterly devoid of any comprehensible thought or emotion. As Twilight stood transfixed with fear looking up at the creature it seemingly met her gaze. Then, without warning the creature reared back and slammed its head into the barrier. It repeated this action several more times until a magenta beam of magical energy struck the barrier, startling the creature and causing it to ply off in a panic.

The sight of the creature flying away snapped Twilight out of her daze, and she quickly looked around for the beam’s source. Twilight didn’t have to look for long, as moments later none other than her older brother Shining Armor came crashing out of the underbrush. She as immediately struck by how terrible Shining Armor looked; his sky blue armor was absolutely filthy, his mane matted and tangled, his ears were twitching spasmodically and his eyes were so bloodshot they looked completely red. Twilight watched as her older brother paused for a moment to steady himself before firing off several more blasts of magic into the barrier. As Shining Armor went about reinforcing the magical shield, Twilight suddenly realized where and, more importantly, when the elixir had taken her; the near-disastrous mission Moonwhisper and Shining Armor had taken part of to intercept a horde of gargoyles. Before Twilight could process the implications of this, her attention was seized by a horrendous crashing sound. A gargoyle, perhaps the same one that Shining Armor had chased off, had partially smashed through Shining Armor’s barrier. The monster was now stuck halfway through the barrier and was frantically trying to pull itself completely through. Shining Armor immediately leapt into action, launching several bolts of energy at the breach in a desperate effort to seal it, but it was too late. With a roar, the gargoyle pulled itself through the hole and launched itself at Shining Armor like a rocket. Exhausted as he was, however, Shining Armor wasn’t about to go down without a fight, firing off one last powerful blast of magical energy right before the gargoyle collided with him. Unfortunately, the gargoyle’s momentum was too great to overcome and it slammed into Shining Armor, sending him sprawling onto the forest floor. The gargoyle itself tumbled along the ground before coming to a stop several feet away. It then lay on the ground completely motionless, and as Twilight cautiously approached it she could see thin tendrils of smoke right up from a gaping hole in its chest.
Hesitantly, Twilight then turned back to check on her brother, who was still lying prone on the ground. Twilight could still remember the look in Shining Armor’s eyes when he had told her that Moonwhisper had saved his life, not to mention the way Sharpshooter had described how the events took place. Nothing, however, could have adequately prepared Twilight for the grisly scene laid out before her. Shining Armor lay on his side, his armor torn away by the force of the gargoyle’s impact. A hideous gash running from the top of his withers all the way to the edge of his cutie mark had been torn into his flesh, so deep that Twilight could see glimpses of her brother’s ribcage. Blood was flowing freely from the wound, forming a pool that was steadily spreading outward from Shining Armor’s still form. As Twilight looked down at her older brother’s mutilated body she felt as though time was slowing down to a crawl. The sounds of the forest seemed to fade away into nothing and it took Twilight several moments to realize that she was screaming in horror.

Twilight’s attention was so completely absorbed by the sight of her brother that she didn’t hear a second stallion galloping out of the forest until he came to a stop right in front of Shining Armor. Still slightly dazed, it took Twilight a second to register that this new stallion was Moonwhisper, encased in his luminous blue armor. Laying across Moonwhisper’s back was another stallion, who Twilight quickly recognized as Sharpshooter. As Sharpshooter turned to get a look at Shining Armor, Twilight could see that the left side of Sharpshooter’s face had been completely torn to bloody shreds.

“Sweet Celestia, is that th’ First Lieutenant?” Sharpshooter exclaimed, his voice remarkably intelligible despite his injuries.
Not bothering to respond, Moonwhisper fired a coruscating beam of dark blue magical energy into Shining Armor. Almost immediately, Shining Armor’s wounds began to knit together right before Twilight’s eyes. Soon, nothing was left of the hideous wound across Shining Armor’s barrel beyond a deep purple scar. The process seemed to take its toll on Shining Armor, however, as he let out weak cries of agony throughout the process. Moreover, even after the wound had been closed Shining Armor still appeared awful. His breathing was shallow and labored, and it looked as though he could pass out completely at any moment.

“Lieutenant Shining Armor I need you to listen to me.” Moonwhisper barked, “You have lost a tremendous amount of blood, and as this will prevent you from carrying out your duties as commanding officer I am hereby relieving you as acting commander effective immediately. Furthermore, as my first command I am ordering you to STAY AWAKE!” Moonwhisper roared, bringing his face mere inches away from Shining Armor’s. “If you lose consciousness you will in all likelihood die, therefore you are to focus on remaining conscious. I am not giving you permission to die, and I swear to Princess Celestia if you do die I will personally see to it that you are brought up on charges for dereliction of duty!”

The sheer audacity of Moonwhisper’s threat actually manage to elicit a weak laugh from Shining Armor. “You…you really would do something like that, wouldn’t you?” Shining Armor wheezed as Moonwhisper levitated him into the air.

“You know well enough that I never make threats I’m not prepared to carry out, lieutenant.” Moonwhisper sternly replied. “Now, keep quiet and save your strength.” Without another word, Moonwhisper exploded into a mad gallop, kicking up a massive spray of dirt and pine needles as he rocketed out of sight with his injured compatriots in tow. Reflexively, Twilight threw up her foreleg to shield her face from the debris.

*********

As Twilight lowered her hooves, she once again found herself in Applejack’s barn. Her friends had surrounded her in a rough semi-circle, each with a look of concern on their faces.

“Sweet Celestia, what the hay did y’all see?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, you were yelling worse than that time I tricked Rarity into thinking plaid was going to be the next big fashion thing.” Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight took a deep breath to steady her nerves before responding. “The elixir took me back to when Moonwhisper saved my brother’s life. It-“ Twilight paused as she tried to force the image of her brother lying on the ground, body horribly torn open, out of her mind. “It wasn’t a pleasant sight,” Twilight’s face darkened, “and I didn’t even learn a single thing about Moonwhisper that I didn’t know already!” As Twilight spoke, she levitated the elixir’s beaker and gave it a look of disdain. “I’m just going to have to try this again.”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Fluttershy asked.

“I really do have to agree with Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity added, “it seems as though every time you drink that elixir it shows you something horrible.”

“I’ve already made up my mind,” Twilight replied, “I knew going in that looking into Moonwhisper’s part probably wasn’t going to be enjoyable, but I have to know.” Before anypony else could voice their objections, Twilight took another sip of the elixir.

*********

Shaking off the initial wave of disorientation brought on the elixir, Twilight found herself in what looked to be small dormitory bedroom. On either side of her was a small desk that had a bed suspended above it. One of the desks had a number of photographs taped on the walls around it, including, much to Twilight’s shock, a number of a younger Princess Cadence. Seated at the other desk, poring diligently over a large book, was Moonwhisper. It was immediately apparent, however, that the elixir had taken Twilight much further back this time. The Moonwhisper seated at the desk still had the lanky build of an adolescent and Twilight found herself glancing down at his cutie mark to confirm that it was really him.

As Twilight started to wonder why the elixir had brought her to this place, the door to the room burst open. Standing in the doorway was none other than Shining Armor, grinning broadly with a lei around his neck. “Hey, roomie! What’re you doing still cooped up in here? There’s a party going on outside; music, dancing,” Shining Armor nudged Moonwhisper and waggled his eyebrows, “a bunch of female cadets in cute grass skirts.”

Moonwhisper let out a snort of annoyance. “That’s funny, I was under the impression that you were still infatuated with Princess Cadence.”

“Hey! Cadence is still the only mare for me, but just because I’m spoken for doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy the view. Besides,” Shining Armor added with a sly grin, “from what I’ve heard at least half of the mares at the academy are more interested in somepony a little younger, if you know what I mean.”

As Shining Armor mentioned the academy, it suddenly occurred to Twilight that the elixir must have taken her to the time Moonwhisper and Shining Armor attended the Royal Guard Officer’s Academy. Twilight could remember that Sharpshooter had mentioned that her brother and Moonwhisper had attended the academy together, but she hadn’t realized that they had been roommates. Glancing back at what she assumed was Shining Armor’s desk, Twilight reflected on the fact that she also hadn’t realized quite how long Shining Armor and Cadence had been romantically involved. Mentally, Twilight made a note to have a ‘talk’ with her brother about what else he might have neglected to tell her.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor’s last statement finally got Moonwhisper to look up from the book he had been studying, his face a mask of complete irritation. “Tell me, Shining Armor, have you lost the inert mass that passed for your mind? You do realize that we have an exam on the history of the guard in a few days, right? What in the name of Princess Celestia makes you think that I have time to take off from studying? For that matter, why in Equestria aren’t you studying for the upcoming exam?”

“Come on, Moonwhisper, it’s just one history test.” As Shining Armor spoke Twilight could her eye start to twitch at the sound of the words ‘just’ and ‘test’ being used in the same sentence. “Besides,” Shining Armor continued, oblivious to the death glare Twilight was giving him, “the history exam is just some easy pass/fail deal. I could get through it in my sleep.”

Twilight could practically feel her blood boiling as she listened to her brother casually dismiss his need to study for an exam. The only thing that was preventing Twilight from loudly expressing her displeasure with her brother was the knowledge in the back of her head that it would have been an utterly empty gesture.

If it was any small consolation to Twilight, Moonwhisper appeared to be almost as angered by Shining Armor’s attitude as she was. “Tell me, you gibbering idiot, has it ever occurred to you that if you ever actually expect to advance to the rank of captain you should start taking things seriously? ‘Good enough’ might be sufficient for you but I have no intention of settling for anything less than perfection.” Moonwhisper dismissively waved a hoof at Shining Armor. “If you want to waste your time partying that’s your business, but I have more important things to do.”

Shining Armor slowly started to turn around before suddenly pausing. “You know, Moonwhisper, you remind me a lot of my little sister sometimes.”

“Would this be the same younger sister who was accepted to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, as the princess’ protégé, no less? Frankly I’d the comparison as a compliment.”

“Well, I didn’t mean it as an insult,” Shining Armor countered, raising his voice a bit, “the two of you are probably the two smartest ponies I know. It’s just…Twilight spends all of her time studying, so she doesn’t really have many friends. To be honest, I worry about both of you.”

“Bah!” Moonwhisper snarled as he buried his face back in his book. “Save your big brother instinct for your actual younger sibling and leave me alone.”

Twilight watched as her brother dejectedly turned and left the room. She had never really thought about how the ponies closest to her had felt about her previous anti-social behavior. It was odd for her to hear how she had affected her older brother. As Twilight reflected on this, she heard what sounded like Moonwhisper muttering to himself. Leaning in closer, Twilight could almost immediately tell there was something wrong. Both of Moonwhisper’s ears were folded back, his eyes were wide in panic and his whole body was quivering slight as though all his muscles had tensed up. What truly concerned Twilight, however, was what she could hear Moonwhisper saying.

“It’s for the best, really, I should be alone, I need to be alone. It wouldn’t matter anyway; I’m always going to be alone. I deserve to be alone. Everypony will be better off if I’m alone.” Moonwhisper continuously muttered to himself, ceaselessly repeating iterations of the same though like some sort of twisted mantra.

Twilight quickly backed away, recoiling in shock. This was a side of Moonwhisper that she had never even imagined existed. Not watching where she was going, Twilight tripped over her own hooves and landed on the ground with a thud.

*********

As Twilight picked herself up, she once again found herself in Applejack’s barn, surrounded by her friends.

“So, you find anything out that time?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Twilight admitted. “I think I’m getting closer, though. One more dose should take me back far enough.”

Before Twilight could take another sip of the elixir, however, Discord snatched it out of her hooves. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do that, Twilight? That last sip only gave you the tiniest peek behind Moonwhisper’s mask; do you really think you’re ready to pull back the curtain completely?”

“What in Celestia’s name are y’all gabbin’ about now?” Applejack demanded. Realizing, perhaps, that trying to get a straight answer out of Discord would be an exercise in futility, Applejack turned to Twilight herself. “Twi, what in the hay is this ‘peek’ nonsense he’s talkin’ about?”

“The elixir showed me a conversation Moonwhisper had with my brother back when they were still in the officer’s academy. Shining Armor was trying to convince Moonwhisper into coming to a party instead of studying for a test.”

“And let me guess, Moonwhisper told him he didn’t want to be bothered.” Rainbow Dash said with a snort.

“Well, pretty much, Twilight admitted, “but there was something else. After Shining Armor left, Moonwhisper started muttering something to himself about how it was better that he was alone.”

“He really thinks that he’s better off without any friends?” Pinkie Pie asked with concern.

“No…I mean, maybe? I’m not really sure. It sounded more like he was scared of having friends, or that he didn’t deserve to have any. To be honest I’m not entirely sure what he meant by it, which is why I need to try another dose of the elixir.” Twilight added pointedly.

“Well, if you insist.” Discord replied with a shrug as he placed the beaker atop Twilight’s head. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, Discord vanished into thin air.

Not about to let Discord dissuade her, Twilight closed her eyes and took a third sip of the elixir.

*********

At first, when Twilight opened her eyes she thought that the elixir had made some sort of mistake. She found herself standing in what appeared to be a pitch dark cellar, or possibly even a dungeon of some sort. All Twilight could tell for certain was that it was an empty, windowless stone room of some kind. Twilight had little time to ponder her situation, however, before her attention was seized by the sounds of muffled cries coming from above. The cries steadily grew louder, until finally Twilight heard the sounds of a door being thrown open. Turning towards the source of the noise, Twilight could see light streaming down from a doorway at the top of a staircase at the far edge of the room. Moments later a figure appeared in the doorway, throwing a shadow into the darkened room. With a grunt, the dark figure sent out a wave of magic, igniting a series of torches set along the chambers walls, illuminating the entire room. In the flickering light Twilight could see that the figure was a middle-aged unicorn stallion with an ash-gray coat and a long, bone-white mane. He was dressed in a dark suit that even Twilight could tell was decades out of style and his right foreleg was twisted and stunted, necessitating his use of a crutch. His face, however, was what seized Twilight’s attention. Cruelty seemed to be engraved on every inch of the stallion’s features, from the hate-filled eyes to the way his mouth was twisted into an angry scowl. The stallion started to trot down the steps before pausing and violently jerking his head to one side, his horn flaring with magic as he did so. A clearly terrified unicorn colt was then levitated into view, his legs failing in a desperate attempt to break out of the older stallions levitation spell.

“Oh stop your whining, you worthless little gelding.” The older stallion snarled as he dragged the colt through the doorway and unceremoniously tossed him down the stairs. The colt bounced off several of the steps before landing at the bottom. He quickly picked himself off the floor and proceeded to scuttle backwards into the chamber, never taking his eyes off of the older stallion. As the colt dashed past her, Twilight was able to get a better look at him without the older stallion’s magic aura obstructing her view. The colt appeared to be a year or so younger than the Cutie Mark Crusaders, his flank the same jet black as the rest of his coat. Like the older stallion the colt’s mane was a bone-white, though the colt’s mane had been haphazardly cropped short. It was with a churning sensation in the pit of her stomach that Twilight realized that the colt was in fact a very young Moonwhisper. Which in turn meant that the older stallion was almost certainly his hated father, Penumbral Dusk.

“Moonwhisper! Center of the room NOW!” Penumbral Dusk barked as he descended the stairs, both confirming his identity and snapping Twilight back to the events unfolding before her. Slowly, Moonwhisper complied with his father’s order, and as he stepped into the center of the room Twilight could see him quivering in terror. Penumbral Dusk paid no attention to his son’s obvious fear beyond muttering curses under his breath. As Twilight watched, Penumbral Dusk’s horn glowed with magical power and several concentric circles of runes formed under Moonwhisper’s hooves. Twilight recognized the runes as a form of magical seal, a particularly old form of magic that she admittedly had little direct experience with. There was little time for Twilight to ponder where Penumbral Dusk may have learned such a spell, however, as the runes quickly flared with power, sending arcs of crackling magical energy shooting into Moonwhisper from all sides.

At first Moonwhisper scarcely made a sound even as his face contorted in anguish. He even went so far as to bite his lower lip until blood trickled down his chin in rivulets in a desperate effort to hold back the pain. Eventually it was too much for the small colt, however, and an unbearable scream of agony ripped itself from his throat. The sight of the young colt practically convulsing with pain, coupled his tormented wails proved too much for Twilight to take. The Princess of Friendship fell to the cold stone floor, her eyes screwed shut and her front hooves covering her ears as she silently begged for the horrible scene to end.

Finally, after what seemed to Twilight like an eternity Moonwhisper’s screaming ceased. Cautiously opening her eyes, Twilight could see that the reason for her respite was that Moonwhisper had collapsed and was lying motionless on the ground. Penumbral Dusk was clearly infuriated by this turn of events, snarling with rage as he dismissed the magic seal before approaching his pone son.

“Get up you lazy little good-for-nothing!” Penumbral Dusk shouted. When Moonwhisper failed to respond, Penumbral Dusk flew into a rage and began raining down blows with his crutch onto the unmoving foal. The savage beating failed to elicit a response from Moonwhisper, however, his blank expression giving no indication that he even felt the assault. “I said GET UP!” Penumbral Dusk roared as he slammed the end of his crutch into one of Moonwhisper’s forelimbs and proceeded to grind it into the floor. When even this failed to produce so much as a whimper from Moonwhisper Penumbral Dusk finally relented, fuming as he stepped away from his son. “Little brat’s tougher than I thought” Penumbral Dusk muttered with an odd mix of irritation and pride. “I guess I’ll just have to find some other way of motivating him.” Leaving Moonwhisper where he lay Penumbral Dusk turned and disappeared up the stairs. As he left, Twilight silently prayed that the vision would end before he returned, unsure of how much more cruelty she could stand to witness. Unfortunately the elixir seemed to have other plans as minutes later the sounds of Penumbral Dusk’s shouting could be heard coming from above. Mixed in were the sounds of a terrified mare begging and pleading for mercy.

“Oh dear Celestia, please no.” Twilight whimpered. As horrible as the things she was witnessing were, they were made infinitely worse by the feeling of complete helplessness that came with them. There was nothing Twilight could do to stop what was coming or to change the outcome. For all her magical power Twilight was, at that moment, utterly powerless.

When Penumbral Dusk returned he was magically dragging a slender, dark-coated unicorn mare behind him, looking completely terrified. She appeared to be several years younger than Penumbral Dusk, with a cerulean mane and a jet black coat. As Penumbral Dusk pulled the mare down the stairs, she started to plead with him to let her go. “Penumbral, please, whatever I did I’m sorry, you don’t have to do this.”

“Shut up!” Penumbral Dusk snapped as he tossed her down the last several steps. “Half the reason the brat is such a lazy piece of garbage is because you’re always coddling him!”

At the mention of Moonwhisper the mare immediately looked up towards the prone foal in the center of the room. A single glance at the mournful expression on her face confirmed to Twilight that she was looking at Moonwhisper’s mother.

It looked as though Moonwhisper’s mother was about to say something, but before she could Penumbral Dusk struck her across the face with a vicious swipe of his crutch. “I said shut up.” Penumbral Dusk snarled down at her before turning to Moonwhisper. “Are you watching this, colt? You may be able to take a beating, but how much do you think your worthless mother can handle?” To illustrate his point, Penumbral Dusk brought his crutch down across Moonwhisper’s mother’s withers, causing her to cry out in pain. “You want to stop this? Then get back on your hooves.” As Penumbral Dusk continued, he began raining down blows, punctuating each word with a strike across his wife’s helpless form. “I. Told. You. To. Get. Up. Now!”

For Twilight, this was more than she could possibly take. She simply couldn’t stomach another moment of the naked malice, the sheer sadism on display. Picking herself up off the floor, Twilight drew in her breath to scream at the top of her lungs-

“Stop it!” Twilight turned and saw that Moonwhisper had pulled himself to his hooves, tears streaming down his face. “I’ll do whatever you want, just leave her alone!” As Moonwhisper spoke, a flash of light shimmered along his flank. It took Twilight a few seconds to process the fact that evidently, this horrific scene was how Moonwhisper had earned his cutie mark.

For his part, Penumbral Dusk seemed rather pleased with this turn of events. “Well, maybe you’re not completely worthless after all,” he sneered, leaving Moonwhisper’s mother curled up and quietly sobbing on the floor as he trotted over to his son. As Penumbral Dusk drew closer, he began roughly prodding Moonwhisper with his crutch trying to get a better view of his cutie mark. “The family crest,” Penumbral Dusk finally said approvingly, “at least there’s something about you that isn’t a disappointment. Now, for your sake and hers you had better last at least a full ten minutes this time.”

As Twilight watched Penumbral Dusk ready himself to cast another runic circle, she felt her stomach churn with utter disgust. The expression of smug satisfaction that was plastered across his features after he had tortured his son, beaten his wife will forcing his son to watch and finally prepared to torture his son yet again was too much. As the runes began forming underneath Moonwhisper once again Twilight’s vision went red with anger. Her blood boiling with rage at the realization that Penumbral Dusk had actually enjoyed every twisted moment of what she had witnessed, Twilight leapt towards the stallion, her horn flaring with power.

*********

Mid-pounce, however, Twilight found herself frozen in the air. As her eyesight cleared, Twilight realized that she was back in Applejack’s barn and had quite nearly tackled Pinkie Pie. Thankfully, Starlight Glimmer had been quick enough to immobilize Twilight before any damage had been done.

“Geez, Twilight, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked as she cautiously approached her friend. “It looked like you were seriously freaking out there.” Seeing the distraught look on Twilight’s face, Rainbow Dash motioned for Starlight to lower their friend to the ground.

Twilight stumbled as Starlight released the spell holding her, as though the weight of what she witnessed was still pressing down on her. Seeing her in such a state, Twilight’s friends clustered protectively around her, a single question on everypony’s lips; what did she see?

Aftermath

It took Twilight several minutes to relay what she had witnessed through the elixir, and by the time she was finished it was clear the story had had a definite effect on her friends. Starlight Glimmer and Rarity could only stare at Twilight in horror, struggling to find words that could adequately express how they felt. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, meanwhile, had been brought to tears by Twilight’s recounting. Both mares were openly sobbing while clinging to Spike, who was struggling to hold back tears himself. For Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, sadness seemed to be taking a backseat to another emotion; blind rage.

“What the hay kind of low-down rotten snake-in-the-grass could even think of doin’ somethin’ like that? To their own wife and foal, no less. Least now we know why Moonwhisper’s a little off, goin’ through somethin’ like that…” Applejack’s voice trailed off as she tried to fathom what an entire foalhood of horrors like that would do to a pony. “And that’s how Moonwhisper got his cutie mark to boot,” Applejack added, the weight of the recent revelations starring to wear on her, “land sakes it seems like the world really had it in for him.”

“It wasn’t the world that did all that to him.” Rainbow Dash snarled through clenched teeth. “I say we track down Moonwhisper’s dad and break every bone in his jerk body.”

“And just what the hay do y’all think doin’ somethin’ like that would actually accomplish?” Applejack snapped back. “Ah ain’t sayin’ Ah don’t see where y’all are comin’ from, believe me Ah do, but goin’ off half-cocked ain’t gonna do anythin’ to help anypony.”

“Well it’d sure as hay make me feel better.” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“Ladies, please! Arguing like this isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Rarity interjected, having mostly recovered from her initial shock. “Now, I think we can all agree that we should do something, the only question is what exactly we should do.”

“Well if y’all have any suggestions Ah’m all ears, but frankly Ah think we’re in over our heads on this one.”

“Yeah, well from what Twilight told us it sure sounded like Princess Celestia was pretty sure we could handle it.” Rainbow Dash replied, flying right into Applejack’s face.

“And if the only thing wrong was that Moonwhisper was just a bit moody Ah might be inclined to agree, but Ah wouldn’t even know where to begin with somepony who’s been through what Moonwhisper has.”

“Now, Applejack,” Rarity said, “do you honestly think that Princess Celestia would really have arranged for Moonwhisper to come here if she didn’t feel we would be able to rise to the challenge?”

“No, Ah suppose not,” Applejack conceded, “but Ah ain’t convinced the princess knew about everythin’ that happened, either. Or are y’all actually suggestin’ that Princess Celestia would know that somethin’ like that was happenin’ and not do anythin’ about it?”

“What if that’s exactly what happened?” Twilight said softly.

“Now wait just a minute, darling,” Rarity objected, “I can understand that you’re upset over what’s been uncovered, we all are, but you can’t really believe that-“

“I don’t know if she knew what exactly was going on at the time,” Twilight began, “but Princess Celestia did know Moonwhisper was suffering. And I’m pretty certain she knew why, too. Lemon Hearts said Princess Celestia had blacklisted Penumbral Dusk from the castle, and Silverstreak mentioned that there were a lot of nasty rumors circulating about him.” Twilight let out a frustrated yell before continuing. “Princess Celestia must have at least had an idea about what had happened and she never said a thing. She just set things up so I’d pick Moonwhisper as my bodyguard and let me make a fool of myself trying to help him.” As Twilight spoke she became increasingly agitated, pacing around the barn as she steadily worked herself into a frenzy.

“Easy there, sugar cube,” Applejack said in an effort to calm her friend down, “gettin’ yerself worked up like that isn’t gonna solve anythin’.”

Twilight, however, was in no mood to calm down. “She let him get away with it, Applejack. Penumbral Dusk beat his wife senseless, tortured his son, and his only punishment is that Princess Celestia won’t let him come to any royal parties! I have to know why she let this happen, why she didn’t do anything to stop it.”

“Twilight, just what the hay are y’all suggestin’? It’s startin’ to sound like y’all are planning to do somethin’ crazy.”

“I’ll tell you want I’m going to do, I’m going to go to Canterlot and I’m going to demand that Princess Celestia tell me what she knew!”

“Now just hold on there, sugar cube, let’s not get too hasty.” Applejack said, greatly alarmed by what Twilight was saying. “Maybe y’all should take a few deep breaths and calm yerself down before y’all do somethin’ y’ could wind up regrettin’.”

“Yeah, seriously,” Rainbow Dash chimed in, “I get that you’re majorly peeved right now, but maybe you want to dial it back from accusing Princess Celestia of letting Moonwhisper’s dad get away with everything. I mean, how would she have stopped it in the first place? It’s not like Princess Celestia knows absolutely everything that goes on in Equestria.”

“Besides, darling, you said yourself that what she may have heard were only rumors. You can’t really expect that she would throw somepony in a dungeon over a rumor, can you”?” Rarity added.

Twilight closed her eyes as she tried desperately to sort herself out. Logically, she knew that her friends were right, that there was no way that Princess Celestia could have known or stopped what was happening. But knowing that did nothing to stop the screaming that was still echoing in her mind. Nor did it suppress the nagging feeling in the back of Twilight’s mind that her mentor had once again chosen not to share everything she knew. The more that Twilight thought about it, the more she realized that it was the latter issue that truly bothered her. While Twilight had always been able to overlook Princess Celestia’s tendency to withhold information from her before, this latest instance was too much for her to take. If only for her own peace of mind, Twilight felt she had to confront Princess Celestia about what she knew. As she made up her mind Twilight felt herself a little, having at least settled one internal conflict.

Applejack, assuming that Twilight’s relaxing was an indication that she had decided against seeking out a confrontation with Princess Celestia, moved to put her hoof around he friend. “Don’t y’all fret none, we’ll figure this thing out together. For now, why don’t we-“

Twilight shook herself free of Applejack’s hoof, cutting her friend off. “I’m sorry, Applejack,” Twilight said, unable to look her friend in the eye, “but Princess Celestia and I need to have a talk.” Before anypony could stop her, Twilight vanished in a bright flash of magenta light.

*********

Twilight rematerialized with a flash in the foyer of Canterlot Castle, sending several of the palace guards scrambling to respond to the intrusion. As soon as they realized who she was, however, they promptly snapped to attention and moved out her way. Twilight barely paid the guards any attention beyond a cursory nod or two as she rapidly made her way to Princess Celestia’s throne room. Throwing the doors to the chamber open with her magic, Twilight stormed in to find Princess Celestia meeting with one of the palace functionaries.

“I’m sorry, Paper Pusher, but it would appear that we may need to continue this conversation at a later date.” Princess Celestia said mildly as she watched Twilight march into the chamber. While Paper Pusher quickly backed out of the room, repeatedly bowing deeply as he went, Princess Celestia turned to her former student. Smiling warmly as if she didn’t even notice the simmering rage in Twilight’s eyes Celestia cheerfully addressed the young alicorn. “Hello, Twilight, I wasn’t expecting you to visit today. Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?” The only aspect of Princess Celestia’s demeanor that even hinted at the fact that she was anything other than delighted to see Twilight was a slight, almost imperceptible edge to her voice as she greeted her.

Twilight, however, either didn’t notice the implicit warning in Princess Celestia’s voice or didn’t care. “Why yes, in fact there is something that we need to talk about.” Twilight replied through her tightly clenched teeth. “Actually, if you don’t mind there’s something I’d like to ask you in private.”

Princess Celestia’s pleasant expression hardly changed as she listened to her protégé. Only a careful study of her face would have uncovered the faint twitching at the corners of her mouth and the glint in her eyes that hinted at her mounting anger. Wordlessly, Princess Celestia nodded to the guardsponies and staff present, all of whom quickly scurried out. In moments, the two princesses found themselves found themselves alone in the cavernous chamber. “I certainly hope there’s a good reason that you’re acting this way.” Princess Celestia said sternly as she approached Twilight, her smile giving way to a serious expression. “It isn’t like you to act like-“

“Did you know what happened to Moonwhisper when he was a foal?” Twilight snapped, cutting her longtime mentor off.

Princess Celestia blinked several times in surprise at Twilight’s outburst. “Twilight, what are you-“

“The day you told me I was being assigned a bodyguard I overheard you and Cadance talking about how you had arranged things to guarantee that I’d pick Moonwhisper.” Initially annoyed at being interrupted a second time, Princess Celestia winced at the revelation that Twilight had heard that particular exchange as Twilight continued. “I want you to tell me if you knew what Moonwhisper had gone through when he was younger, what his father had done to him.”

Princess Celestia’s expression rapidly changed from irritation to concern at Twilight’s mention of Penumbral Dusk. “Twilight,” Princess Celestia softly replied, “what precisely have you found out about Moonwhisper’s father?”

“I found out he tortured Moonwhisper when he was little! I found out he beat his wife, and forced Moonwhisper to watch, and…and…” As Twilight spoke, the terrible images that the alicorn elixir had shown her came flooding back into her mind, reducing her to tears. Seeing Twilight break down sobbing Celestia approached her and enveloped Twilight in one of her wings, hugging her tightly. “I saw it happen! I used the alicorn elixir to look into Moonwhisper’s past and I saw what his father did to him!”

Celestia held Twilight close as she gave her a chance to calm down. Finally, after Twilight’s sobbing had given way to the odd sniffle, Celestia gave her the answer she had demanded. “I admit, I did suspect much of what Moonwhisper’s father had put him through by the time you selected him to be your bodyguard.” Celestia said quietly. “I didn’t tell you at the time because,” Celestia sighed mournfully, “because I had hoped you wouldn’t need to know.”

“But,” Twilight protested “if you knew about it, then why didn’t you do anything to stop it? There must have been something that you could have done.”

Celestia released Twilight from her grip before replying. “I’m afraid there really wasn’t anything I could have done, Twilight. I only realized what had been happening when Moonwhisper joined the Royal Guard; up until then Penumbral Dusk had kept both Moonwhisper and his mother isolated in Trotsylvania.” Celestia took a deep breath to steady her nerves before continuing. “I’m sure by now you’re aware of the fact that Moonwhisper was enlisted into the guard at an unusually young age. Have you ever wondered why that was?”

“Some of the guards who used to serve under him told me that you allowed him to join the guard after he overpowered some of the guard’s close combat instructors.” Twilight said.

“That’s technically true, but Moonwhisper’s fighting prowess wasn’t the real reason I decided to permit a colt of his age to enlist. When Moonwhisper sparred with the instructors he demonstrated his ability to use his armored augmentation spell, and I knew what that meant for him. At that point I interceded and permitted Moonwhisper to enlist as a way to get him away from his father.”

“I don’t understand, what do you mean by ‘what that meant for him’?” Twilight asked.

“You told me that you saw Moonwhisper being tortured by his father when you looked into his past. Tell me, did his father use a spell to create a runic circle under Moonwhisper? One that seemed to cause him intense pain?” As Twilight nodded in affirmation Celestia continued. “The spell you witnessed is called the seal of pain, and it was created for the express purpose of training ponies to be able to withstand the armored augmentation spell. For Moonwhisper to have been able to use that spell at his young age, it would have meant that his father would have had to have started training him with the seal when he was still only a young foal.”

“What? Why in Equestria would somepony need to be tortured in order to learn a spell? That’s just insane!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Knowing you the way I do, I’m fairly certain that you’ve already done some research on Moonwhisper’s armored augmentation spell already, am I correct?” More specifically, that virtually nopony has ever been able to successfully use that spell without causing themselves serious injury.”

“Well, yes, but I still don’t see why-“

“The secret to performing the spell successfully involves a combination of magically reinforcing one’s skeletal and muscular systems to reduce the damage the spell causes and continuous magical repair of injuries as they occur. Both of these aspects are horrifically painful. I’ve been told that the reinforcing feels like having red-hot wire running through your entire body, and the type of healing spells that have to be used…you would feel your body continuously rip itself apart and put itself together with every step.”

Twilight was left speechless by this new revelation as she silently recalled the state Moonwhisper had been in after his battle with the wyvern. “So, you knew what he had gone through to learn that spell, and you knew what using that spell does to him, and you just let him keep on using it?” She asked incredulously.

“I doubt very much that there would be much I could do to stop him. Moonwhisper takes his role as a protector very seriously, and there’s practically nothing he wouldn’t be willing to endure for that purpose.”

Grudgingly, Twilight thought it over and conceded the point. If there was one aspect of Moonwhisper’s character that was unquestionable it was his dedication to his duties as a guardspony. “I guess I can’t really argue about that, but what about Moonwhisper’s mother? Penumbral Dusk was almost as horrible to her as he was to Moonwhisper.”

“Twilight,” Celestia said sadly, “Moonwhisper’s mother, Forlorn Melody, died a few years before Moonwhisper joined the guard.”

“Are…are you saying that Moonwhisper’s father…?”

“I can’t say for certain. Supposedly Forlorn Melody died of an illness, and from what little I knew of her I understood that she was never particularly healthy. It’s quite possible that Moonwhisper doesn’t know for sure himself; I suspect that if he did he would have likely reported his father for the murder years ago.” Celestia paused for a moment. “Although…Moonwhisper has kept silent about the acts you witnessed, long enough to shield his father from punishment, so who can say.”

“So, after everything Penumbral Dusk did, he just gets away with it? There’s nothing anypony can do?”

Celestia reluctantly nodded in affirmation. “Legally my hooves are tied. Anything Penumbral Dusk may have done to Moonwhisper or his mother, short of actual murder, would have occurred too long ago for any charges to be filled. I’ve done what I can to render Penumbral Dusk a social pariah, but beyond that there’s little I can do.” Looking down at Twilight it was plain to see that this state of affairs had left her severely downtrodden. “Twilight, if it’s any small consolation I am truly sorry for pulling you into this misery. It was unfair of me to expect you to be able to fix Moonwhisper’s issues, especially without warning you about his past. And above all, I should have been upfront with you about what I was doing. I just hope you can forgive me for putting you in this position. In the meantime,” Celestia continued before Twilight could respond, “you can leave Moonwhisper to me. There’s no further need for you to force yourself to try to help him.”

“Wait, what are you saying? You’re not going to transfer him away from Ponyville, are you?” Twilight asked, alarmed by this new development.

“Doing so would likely be for the best, Twilight. Even you have to admit that friendship alone isn’t going to be sufficient to alleviate the trauma that Moonwhisper has endured. Besides, if you’re worried about not having a bodyguard there are plenty of other well-qualified candidates in the guard.”

“I’m not worried about losing a bodyguard, I’m worried about losing a friend!” Twilight yelled. “Even if friendship by itself isn’t going to be enough to fix everything he’s been through, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still need friends. If anything, Moonwhisper needs friends more than almost anypony I’ve ever met. It doesn’t matter to me if it isn’t my responsibility as the Princess of Friendship or a task that you expect of me; Moonwhisper is my friend, he needs help, and that’s all that matters.” Out of breath, Twilight glared at Celestia as she concluded her rant, as though she were daring her to argue.

Celestia blinked several times in surprise at Twilight’s declaration before breaking into a warm smile. “I see, I hadn’t realized that you actually considered Moonwhisper to be a friend. Very well then, if you’re not willing to give up on Moonwhisper yet then I won’t stand in your way. That being said, are you sure you’re ready for this? Moonwhisper’s issues aren’t like anything you’ve dealt with previously.”

“I’m ready, princess. In fact, I think I may know the best place to start. There is one thing I have to ask, though; if you already had a pretty good idea about what Moonwhisper had gone through as a foal, why didn’t you do anything to help him yourself?”

Celestia cringed at Twilight’s question. “I will admit there may have been options available to me through my authority as princess that I could have used to force Moonwhisper to address his issues, but truthfully I always hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Honestly, I’m not even entirely certain how effective trying to force the issue would be. It’s unlikely that Moonwhisper will ever overcome his traumas until he’s ready.”

“That’s why it’s so important that Moonwhisper have friends to support him.” As Twilight spoke, it suddenly struck her that she truly did consider Moonwhisper to be her friend. True, he could be abrasive at times, and he seemed utterly determined to keep everypony around him perpetually at hooves length. But, beneath the surface there was a truly good-hearted stallion who deeply cared for those around him. “Right now Moonwhisper needs help realizing that he needs help. If I can get Moonwhisper to accept that other ponies care about him then he’ll finally be able to get better.” Her new realization about how she saw Moonwhisper had given Twilight newfound determination to help him. This really wasn’t about not wanting to disappointment Princess Celestia or about fulfilling her duties as the Princess of Friendship anymore, but rather about trying to help a friend who was in desperate need of being helped.

For her part, Princess Celestia recognized that trying to dissuade Twilight would be a pointless endeavor, a fact that left Celestia immensely pleased. “I think Moonwhisper is in excellent hooves, and I’d say he’s very fortunate to have a friend such as you to look out for him.”

“Thank you, princess,” Twilight said as she blushed slightly at the compliment. “I should probably head back to Ponyville now. My friends are probably all worried sick about me.” Twilight’s blush deepened as she took on a somewhat guilty expression. “I may have been freaking out a little when I left, and I think they were afraid that I was going to do something crazy.”

“I can’t imagine why they’d think something like that.” Celestia teased, well accustomed to her protégé’s tendency towards histrionics.

Twilight let out a nervous laugh at Celestia’s comment before suddenly pausing. “Actually, before I go back there is one thing I’d like to take care of first. Do you know where I could find a full collection of the rules and protocols for the Royal Guard?” Seeing Princess Celestia raise an eyebrow at her request, Twilight quickly continued. “Moonwhisper can be a little stubborn, but if I can show him that the guard’s rules say he needs to get help than I know he’ll listen.”

“Very well then, the most complete collection of the protocols for the Royal Guard would be in the Learned Hoof wing of the Canterlot Library. I should warn you, though, in addition to the general rules and protocols it has copies of virtually every legal case related to the guard, so finding specifically what you’re looking for may be somewhat difficult.”

“Don’t worry about me, princess, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s research.” With that, Twilight galloped off, the beginnings of a new plan already forming in her mind.

*********

It wasn’t until Twilight reached the Learned Hoof wing of the Canterlot Library that she truly understood why Princess Celestia had felt the need to caution her. On their own, the complete protocols of the Royal Guard occupied two entire bookshelves. Given that said protocols were an attempt to address the proper way for a member of the Royal Guard to handle themselves in literally almost any circumstance, though, this wasn’t all that surprising. What Twilight hadn’t considered, however, was the sheer volume of legal supplements dealing with the protocols minutia. At least a dozen additional bookcases contained every legal ruling and rules clarification that had been made over the course of the Royal Guard’s thousand-year history. It was certainly an intimidating mass of knowledge, and for most ponies pouring through it for specific rules and rulings could easily represent weeks of effort at least. Fortunately for Twilight, however, she most certainly wasn’t most ponies. A side benefit to having Starlight Glimmer as a student of both friendship and magic was that Twilight had made several advances in her own magical research. One particular discovery she had made recently was what could be accomplished if one combined Haycartes’ research method with the accelero spell Starlight Glimmer had unearthed. While Twilight hadn’t had a good opportunity to test the resultant spell before, in theory it would enable her to sift through mountains of data in mere minutes.

“Well,” Twilight said to herself as she looked apprehensively at the rows of bookshelves, “here goes nothing.” Without another word Twilight cast her spell, her horn glowing bright incandescent pink with magical power. Then, in a flash of light she vanished into thin air.

Several minutes later Twilight reappeared with a second flash looking, as Rarity would likely have put it, rather frazzled. Unable to hold herself steady on her hooves, Twilight drunkenly stumbled forward until she collided headfirst into what felt like a wall of steel.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re-highness!” Came a stern mare’s voice as the mass Twilight had ran into snapped to attention. Rubbing her head with her forehoof, Twilight looked up and saw that she had crashed into a tall mare clad in the armor of Captain of the Royal Guard. The guardsmare’s coat was an off-white color, although her face was nearly as red as her mane from embarrassment. “I’m terribly sorry, your highness, I didn’t realize that-“

“It’s alright,” Twilight interrupted as she tried to shake herself out of the daze her spell had left her in. “I haven’t had a cram session that intense since I though Princess Celestia was planning on testing me on the complete history of the levitation spell.” Her head finally clearing, Twilight realized that the guardsmare was still standing at attention. “You can relax now,” Twilight said as she cast a spell to straighten out her mane, “I really don’t need anypony to salute me like that.”

“Thank you, your highness.” The guardsmare replied as she allowed herself to relax slightly. “Please permit me to introduce myself; my name is Captain Fearless Blade, and Princess Celestia requested that I check in on you. If you’ll pardon my asking, your highness, what exactly were you doing in here?”

“Oh, just researching all of the protocols and legal addendums for the Royal Guard.” Twilight replied offhandedly as she levitated several volumes over to her. As she had suspected, her spell didn’t really allow for much in the way of retention of specific details, but it had enabled her to determine precisely where to look for the information she needed.

Fearless Blade, meanwhile, could only stare at Twilight in complete shock. “You can’t possibly mean all of them, the complete protocols alone comprise over a hundred volumes. It should take somepony weeks to go through all of that.”

Already deeply engrossed in her research, Twilight barley acknowledged Fearless Blade’s amazement beyond a distracted hum of affirmation. For several minutes the two mares sat in silence, Twilight pouring over the various volumes she levitated off the shelves while Fearless Blade stood nearby. Eventually, however, the awkwardness of the situation began to wear on Twilight, so she decided to break the ice a bit. “So, I’m guessing you’re the one who took over for Shining Armor after he and Cadance moved to the Crystal Empire.”

“That’s correct, your highness,” Fearless Blade replied, “I was promoted to the position shortly after the situation in the Crystal Empire was stabilized. My former commanding officer, Captain Moonwhisper, felt my background being raised in Canterlot’s high society left me particularly qualified for the position.”

Fearless Blade’s mention of Moonwhisper promptly grabbed Twilight’s attention. “You served under Moonwhisper?” Twilight asked incredulously. Along with Silverstreak and Sharpshooter this made three officers in the same city who had all served under Moonwhisper.

“You sound surprised.” Fearless Blade replied, noting the tone in Twilight’s voice.

“It’s just that I’ve met a few other guard officers her in Canterlot who had served under him as well, and-“

“And you find it unusual that there are so many of Captain Moonwhisper’s former subordinates in Canterlot.” Fearless Blade said knowingly. “There’s actually a fairly simple explanation for that. When Tirek attacked Equestria he demolished Captain Moonwhisper’s former posting. Afterwards it was decided to abandon the area entirely, and most of the guards there were subsequently transferred here to Canterlot.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Twilight replied halfheartedly as she glanced over a case brief.

A few more awkward moments of silence followed before Fearless Blade spoke up. “Speaking of Captain Moonwhisper, he was assigned to be your bodyguard, wasn’t he? How has he been doing?”

Listening to Fearless Blade, Twilight was struck by how the tone of her voice shifted when the subject of Captain Moonwhisper came up. Intrigued, Twilight closely watched the guardsmare’s face as she responded. “Moonwhisper’s been doing fine, why do you ask?” Seeing Fearless Blade start to blush Twilight’s eyes widened. “You have a crush on him, don’t you?”

Fearless Blade’s blush deepened as she coughed nervously. “No! Well, alright, maybe I did at one point, but so has almost every mare that’s ever served with him. Along with one or two of the stallions as well, from what I understand. In any event I’ve long since put that behind me.” Fearless Blade took a moment to compose herself before continuing. “Nothing was ever going to come of it anyway, you see. The Royal Guard has strict rules about fraternization between enlisted members and absolutely forbids relationships between commanders and their subordinates.”

“Interpony relationships, chapter 2, section A.” Twilight recited reflexively, that being one of the portions of protocol sections that she had paid particular attention to.

Fearless Blade nodded. “Captain Moonwhisper used to quote that section whenever anypony got up the courage to tell him how they felt. Usually he was fairly pleasant about it, all things considered, but every so often some ditz would decide that he was playing hard to get. That typically would end with Captain Moonwhisper chewing them out until they broke down crying, after which they would usually be transferred to another post.”

“He’d really yell at mares until they’d start crying?” Twilight asked in a horrified tone. Something like that sounded completely contrary to everything she knew about Moonwhisper.

“To be fair, your highness, by the time things would get to that point Captain Moonwhisper would have already had several conversations with them spelling out the fact that A, he wasn’t interested in a relationship and B, even if he was, a relationship would have been against guard rules. If things escalated past that it was because you had a guard ignoring their commander while actively trying to breach protocol. I can assure you, there are very few things that enrages Captain Moonwhisper quite so much as insubordination by a guardspony.”

Hearing this mollified Twilight somewhat, she knew enough guard officers at this point to understand that yelling seemed to be their preferred method of communicating when addressing the ponies under them. That being said, the conversation had raised another, very different question for her. “To tell the truth, I’m just a little surprised Moonwhisper had so many mares attracted to him.”

“Really?” Fearless Blade replied, apparently bemused by Twilight’s statement. You’re honestly surprised to learn that the stoic, devoted, trotting definition of tall, dark and handsome tends to inspire romantic feelings in the mares around him?”

“I’ve just never really thought of him that way before.” Twilight said. In truth, ever since Moonwhisper had arrived in Ponyville Twilight had been too preoccupied with solving the tangled knot of a friendship problem that he represented to even consider thinking about him in a romantic light. That said, Twilight had to admit that Moonwhisper was in fact a very handsome stallion. Not to mention brave, completely dedicated to everypony around him…Twilight shook her head as she tried to refocus herself. There were more pressing matters at hoof concerning Moonwhisper than his potential as a romantic partner. Mutter a few barely audible remarks as to how she had other concerns Twilight buried her face in the books she had selected. Sensing Twilight’s embarrassment, Fearless Blade maintained a respectful silence until Twilight finally returned the books to the shelves.

“Were you able to find what you were looking for, your highness?” Fearless Blade asked as Twilight levitated the books back.

“More than I expected, actually.” Twilight said, shelving the last volume. “At least now I’m fairly certain I’ll be able to get Moonwhisper the help he needs.”

*********

Given how draining the day had been thus far, Twilight opted to take the train back to Ponyville rather than fly or attempt another teleport spell. Fearless Blade insisted on escorting Twilight to the train station despite Twilight’s protests that doing so was unnecessary. The two mares spent most of the short trip trotting in silence and to Twilight it seemed as though Fearless Blade was quietly sizing her up. Whatever Fearless Blade’s reasons were, the scrutiny made Twilight distinctly uncomfortable and she was relieved when she was finally able to board the train back home to Ponyville.

Twilight spent most the train ride back going over in her head how she wanted to approach the subject of seeking help with Moonwhisper. It was easy enough to declare that she would be able to finally get Moonwhisper the help he needed, but Twilight grew increasingly apprehensive the closer she got Ponyville. Moonwhisper had done his best to hide his past from everypony around him, and now Twilight had magically unearthed some of his deepest secrets. Not only that, but now she was preparing to use that knowledge along with her own position as a princess to coerce him into facing his issues. Twilight honestly had no idea how Moonwhisper was going to react, all she could do for the moment was tell herself over and over again that she was doing what needed to be done.

As the train pulled into the Ponyville station Twilight could see Moonwhisper waiting on the platform. Moonwhisper appeared somewhat agitated, continually shifting his weight from one hoof to the other as he nervously eyed the train. When Twilight finally disembarked Moonwhisper rushed over to greet her, snapping to attention as he did so. “You high-pardon me, Twilight, I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” Twilight asked, somewhat confused.

“Your friends seemed to be concerned that you were planning to do something rash in Canterlot, although they wouldn’t tell me precisely what. Speaking of your trip to Canterlot, in the future I would prefer if you could give me some sort of notice before leaving Ponyville like that. It’s more than slightly difficult to ensure you’re personal safety if I can’t even be certain of which city you’re in.”

Twilight gave Moonwhisper a sidelong glance. “Did…did you just make a joke?” Twilight asked with a grin.

“No, I was being quite serious. It really is quite difficult to protect you if I can’t even be sure if you’re in Ponyville or Canterlot.” Moonwhisper replied, his tone completely sincere if slightly flustered.

“How did you even know which train I was going to be on?” Twilight asked, changing the subject. “Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting for me since I left?”

“No, of course not. Captain Fearless Blade relayed a letter to me via Spike letting me know which train to expect you on after you departed Canterlot. Which actually reminds me, since the commotion at Applejack’s party your friends, including Spike, have been behaving…oddly.”

“What do you mean by ‘oddly’?” Twilight cautiously asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.

“Well, how should I put this, ever since the party everypony who was present has been acting as though they’ve learned I’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness. You don’t think that it has something to do with my failure to mention my birthday, do you? I really didn’t mean to upset anypony by not bringing it up, it just-“

Twilight raised a hoof to silence Moonwhisper before he could continue. “I can pretty much guarantee that that isn’t the reason they’re acting that way. The real reason is…actually, could we get back to the castle first? I’d prefer to talk to you in private about this.”

“Of course. Is there something wrong?”

“No! Well, sort of. It’s…complicated.”

*********

If Moonwhisper held any suspicions about what Twilight wanted to talk to him about he didn’t show them, and it didn’t take long for the pair to reach Twilight’s castle. Twilight quickly led Moonwhisper into the castle library, thankful that they didn’t cross paths with Spike or Starlight Glimmer along the way. From what Moonwhisper had mentioned it sounded as though her friends were still affected by the revelations about Moonwhisper’s past and the last thing Twilight wanted was for things to be any more awkward than they were going to be already. Once the pair entered the library Twilight swiftly shut the doors behind them before motioning for Moonwhisper to take a seat. “Moonwhisper,” Twilight began once he was sitting down, “I don’t know if you know this already, but I’ve been looking into your past for a while now.”

“I had assumed as much, though I’m not sure why you felt the need for secrecy. After all, my time with the Royal Guard is essentially a matter of public record.” Moonwhisper stated matter-of-factly.

“Actually,” Twilight replied, “I’ve been looking a bit further back than that.”

The implication behind Twilight’s words seemed to have an immediate effect on Moonwhisper. His ears flatted back against his head, his eyes narrowed and his entire body seemed to tense up as he responded to his princess. “Twilight, I really don’t see how that part of my life is any concern of yours. Now, I don’t know what rumors about me that you’ve dug up so far, but-“

“I’ve ‘dug up’ more than just rumors, Moonwhisper.” Twilight snapped back before quickly regaining her composure. “I know what you went through as a colt, what your father put you through.”

At the mere mention of his father Moonwhisper shot to his hooves, eyes blazing and teeth clenched in rage. For a split second it looked like he was going to start screaming, but he quickly got his anger under control. “How in Equestria could you-no, it doesn’t matter. You’re not the type who would confront me if all you had to go by was some idle Canterlot gossip.” Closing his eyes, Moonwhisper took several deep breaths before continuing in his customary even tone. “Alright, so supposing you have somehow acquired accurate intelligence regarding my past, what do you intend to do?

“That really depends on you. What I want is for you to stay here in Ponyville, but,” Twilight took a moment to brace herself before continuing, “but I think you should start seeing somepony. A doctor, I mean, a psychologist.” Twilight added quickly with a blush.

“With all due respect, Twilight I think you’re overreacting a bit here. Yes, I will admit my father was, and remains, a cruel, sadistic bastard, but I hardly think my experiences as a colt warrant seeking psychological help.”

“I saw how you got your cutie mark, Moonwhisper.” Twilight coldly retorted. “I watched what your father did to you, what he did to your mother while he made you watch. And I can tell that you’re still suffering because of it.” Twilight’s expression softened as she approached Moonwhisper. “Please, I just want to help you, not just as your princess but as your friend. You need help, you need professional help.”

Moonwhisper trembled a bit as he glanced back at his cutie mark. “You saw…?” Shaking his head vigorously, Moonwhisper snapped himself back to the present. “Regardless of what you may or may not have seen, Twilight, I do not need help, either from you or from some psychologist, and quite frankly this really is none of your business.” As Moonwhisper spoke he pulled away from Twilight and started edging towards the library doors.

Twilight sighed inwardly at Moonwhisper’s response. She had fervently hoped that Moonwhisper would listen to reason, but Twilight knew Moonwhisper well enough to expect otherwise. Luckily, Twilight had had the foresight to prepare for Moonwhisper’s stubbornness. “I had really hoped it wasn’t going to come to this, but if you won’t agree to get help on your own, then I’ll just have to force you.”

“Force me?” Moonwhisper said with a snort, “Twilight, don’t be absurd. You can’t force me to start seeing a psychologist, even if you are a princess.”

“Actually,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, “I can do exactly that. Under Royal Guard Protocol Chapter 3, Section 6, Article 32, I have the authority to mandate that you seek treatment for any condition that could materially impede your ability to carry out your duties. Furthermore, as a Princess of Equestria who directly oversees you I have near-complete discretion when determining what sort of treatment would be necessary.”

An uncomfortable silence descended on the library for several seconds as Moonwhisper digested Twilight’s ultimatum. “I see.” Moonwhisper finally replied through tightly clenched teeth. “It would appear I was mistaken, you can force me to seek psychological counseling. Very well then, if that is your order I will of course follow it. Will there be anything else you require of me, your highness?”

Twilight winced at Moonwhisper’s use of her title. While the tone of Moonwhisper’s voice might have fully settled back into its typical calm state, Twilight could see pure icy rage in Moonwhisper’s eyes. Wordlessly, Twilight nodded to Moonwhisper, and he promptly marched out of the library, firmly shutting the doors behind him.

Unpleasant Dreams

“Twilight, darling, have a seat. There’s something that we feel we need to discuss,”

Twilight looked around at the café table in front of her uncertainly. Originally she had been delighted when Rarity had asked her to join the rest of her friends for lunch. A diversion like that was exactly what Twilight felt she needed, especially given the recent troubles she had been having with her bodyguard. Several weeks had passed since Twilight had confronted Moonwhisper, and thus far things were showing little sign of improving. Granted, Moonwhisper had apologized to her soon after the incident regarding his reaction and at the time he had seemed genuinely remorseful. What’s more, Moonwhisper had dutifully made arrangements to begin having weekly sessions with a local psychologist named Conscious Mind who worked at Ponyville General. However, despite all of that it seemed as though to Twilight that Moonwhisper was more distant than ever before. He rarely spoke to her anymore, unless she addressed him directly, and even then his response seemed even more terse and impersonal than usual.

“The truth of the matter is, Twi, it just seems like y’all’ve been a bit out of sorts lately, and we’re startin’ to get worried.” Applejack said as Twilight took a seat.

“Ever since Applejack’s birthday you’ve really been, I don’t know, mopey. Like, almost all the time.” Rainbow Dash added.

“I know, I know,” Twilight sighed, “it’s just I don’t know what to do about-“

“Moonwhisper?” Rarity said flatly, to which Twilight responded with a nod. “That’s part of what we wanted to talk to you about. It just seems to us that you’re, how should I put this delicately, obsessing a touch over the dear captain.”

“Obsessing?” Twilight exclaimed, somewhat offended.

“He’s practically the only thing you talk about these days.” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Look, we get it, you feel sorry for him. Hay, all of us feel sorry for him, he went through some really messed up stuff. But, seriously, maybe it’s time to accept that Moonwhisper just isn’t somepony that you’re going to be able to help.”

“Ah really hate to say it, but Rainbow Dash may be right about this,” Applejack added. “Fact of the matter is y’all’ve done everythin’ anypony could ask of y’ and then some already. Moonwhisper just might not be somepony we can help, leastways not with him the way he is right now.”

Twilight looked around the table in complete shock. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, you don’t really feel that way too, do you?”

Both mares looked distinctly uncomfortable as Twilight addressed them. In particular, Pinkie Pie started contorting herself as though it was physically painful to put her response to words. “Moonwhisper’s just totally unhappyable right now!” Pinkie Pie finally managed to blurt out. “He isn’t interested in having fun or making friends, or, or, or being happy! Happiness just makes him sad or angry.” Pinkie Pie let out a sob and collapsed forwards onto the table. “How can you get somepony to smile when being happy makes them unhappy?”

“I think what Pinkie Pie means is that there really isn’t all that much more we can do for Moonwhisper right now.” Fluttershy added. “We’re not saying that we should give up on Moonwhisper forever, but he’s sick right now and I think the best thing we can do is let his doctor help him get better.”

“And what if Conscious Mind can’t help him?” Twilight asked solemnly.

“Twilight, dear, don’t be ridiculous. Conscious Mind is the finest psychologist in Ponyville.” Rarity assured her.

“Beggin’ yer pardon, Rarity, but Ah’m pretty sure she’s the only shrink in Ponyville.”

Rarity shot Applejack a annoyed glare before continuing. “Be that as it may, Conscious Mind is still a very reputable psychologist. There’s really no reason to think that she would have any difficulty in helping Moonwhisper overcome his past.”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Actually, I’m not so sure about that. I’ve been talking with Conscious Mind, and it seems like she’s having even less luck with Moonwhisper than we had.”

“And just how in the hay did y’all get Conscious Mind to tell y’ somethin’ like that?” Applejack demanded. “Now, Ah ain’t exactly an expert on this sort of thing, but isn’t the stuff that somepony tells their shrink supposed to stay between the two of ‘em?”

“Well, yes, and doctor-patient confidentiality means that Conscious Mind can’t tell me about anything that she and Moonwhisper actually discuss, at least not without his consent. But the regulation I used to get Moonwhisper to see her in the first place also allows me to request updates on his general progress.” Twilight let out a sad sigh as she continued. “And from what she’s told me, Moonwhisper hasn’t made any progress at all. Moonwhisper won’t even talk to her, he just sits there and glares at her for an hour every week.”

“Twilight, I had to sound callous, but what in Equestria do you think you could actually do about that?” Rarity asked. “You’ve already done everything in your power to befriend Moonwhisper, and even found a way to get him professional help despite him fighting you tooth and hoof on the issue. Even if you do see him as your friend, there are limits to how far you can go to help him.” Rarity coughed nervously and glance around the table before going on. “And besides, darling, all this focus on Moonwhisper is, how shall I put this…ponies are starting to talk.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked, cocking her head to one side in confusion.

“She means ponies are saying you’re only going through all this for Moonwhisper because you have a crush on him.” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Seriously, you can be so clueless sometimes.”

“That’s just ridiculous! I’m doing all of this because Moonwhisper is my friend, not because I want to date him or anything!” Twilight lifted herself up on her forelegs as she responded, blushing uncontrollably.

“We ain’t sayin’ it’d be anythin’ to be ashamed of if y’ did.” Applejack said in an effort to calm her friend down. “Y’all certainly wouldn’t be the first mare to go a little nutty over a stallion she liked, and there are certainly worse ways to do it than tryin’ to help him sort out the mess in his head.” As Applejack spoke she gave Rarity a meaningful glance. “Like tryin’ to pass yerself off as a farm pony, for example.”

Rarity winced at being reminded of that particular fiasco. “I will admit that I’ve made some…questionable decisions in the past when trying to impress one stallion or another. Our point, however, is that if you are going to these lengths for Moonwhisper due to your having romantic feelings for him then you should at least be able to admit it, to yourself at least if nothing else.”

“I can’t believe this. Do you all really think that the only reason I’m trying to help Moonwhisper is because I have a crush on him?” Twilight asked, slumping back into her seat.

“Well, we don’t think it’s the only reason,” Fluttershy admitted, “but it would help explain why you seem so, um, focused on him.”

Twilight gritted her teeth in frustration as she tried to form a coherent response, without much success. “That’s because…I’m trying to…Moonwhisper’s…I mean…GAH!” Twilight sputtered before finally letting out an exasperated yell. Without another word Twilight hopped out of her seat and stormed off, leaving her friends looking on in concern. “I can’t believe them,” Twilight fumed as she made her way back to her castle, “they honestly think that I’d really be doing all this because of some crush. What do they think I am, some silly little love-struck schoolfilly?” It wasn’t that Twilight found the idea of attracted to Moonwhisper to be unappealing, but rather it was that she found the notion that her friends would think that would be her primary motivation to be insulting. Moonwhisper was her friend, he was clearly suffering, and nopony, not even Moonwhisper himself seemed to care enough to really do something about it. “The fact that he’s my friend should be reason enough,” Twilight muttered to herself, “so what if Moonwhisper is brilliant, and devoted, and looks kind of dreamy…wait, dreamy…dreams…THAT’S IT!” Twilight suddenly exclaimed. “If I can’t get through to Moonwhisper consciously, then I’ll just have to get through to him through his subconscious instead.” Twilight picked up her pace, practically galloping towards the castle as a new plan formed in her mind. “I’ll just have to leave a note for Moonwhisper so he doesn’t start to ask questions about where I am. I’ll say I needed to go to Canterlot to speak with the princess about an urgent friendship problem. I mean, that would all be technically true…”

*********

“You’d like me to do WHAT?” Asked an incredulous Princess Luna.

“I’d like your help to show my friend Moonwhisper that he should let himself be happy. I think if I can finally get him to let go of the idea that he needs to be alone and miserable all the time then he’ll finally be able to start accepting friendship. Please, princess,” Twilight implored, “Moonwhisper is suffering and I’m running out of ideas on how to help him. You know better than almost anypony how hard it can be to let go of the past.” Twilight added.

Princess Luna regarded Twilight for a moment before responding. “While I do indeed sympathize with your bodyguard’s plight, what you’re asking isn’t as simple a task as you may think. I’ve been well aware of Captain Moonwhisper’s pain for quite some time. However, to enter his dreams, as I presume you are asking me to do, will be challenge even for me.”

“What? Why? You enter ponies’ dreams to help them all the time, why would Moonwhisper’s dreams be any different?” Twilight asked.

“The difference lies in Moonwhisper himself. He has apparently gone through extensive training to resist most forms of magical mental intrusion, including the magic I use to enter the dreams of others.”

“I see,” Twilight said, clearly crestfallen at this news. Never had the possibility even remotely crossed her mind that Princess Luna would be unable to penetrate Moonwhisper’s dreams. “If you really can’t enter Moonwhisper’s dreams, then I guess-“

“I beg your pardon, I never said that I couldn’t enter Moonwhisper’s mind, only that doing so would be quite difficult.” Princess Luna interrupted in a tone of mock offense. “To tell the truth I’ve been looking for an excuse to look into Moonwhisper’s dreams for some time now. Even without entering his dreams I’ve noticed that Moonwhisper seems to suffer from nightmares with alarming frequency.”

“That doesn’t really surprise me,” Twilight said sadly. “How soon do you think you’d be able to try? I know I asked you kind of suddenly, is there anything you’d need to do to prepare? If there’s anything you’d need to know about Moonwhisper and his past I could-“

Princess Luna quickly raised a hoof to silence Twilight before she could continue. “I can assure you I am already well-versed in Moonwhisper’s past, perhaps even more so than you yourself. You can return to Ponyville; I will visit Moonwhisper in his dreams tonight.”

Thanking Princess Luna for her help, Twilight quickly exited, leaving the Princess of the Night to whatever preparations she would need. So far everything was going according to her plan, though Twilight hadn’t expected that getting Luna’s cooperation would be particularly difficult. The real question would be Luna would have any greater success in reaching Moonwhisper than anypony else had. While Twilight had great faith in Luna’s abilities, she had no intention of simply sitting back and doing nothing in the meantime. Twilight may not have possessed the magic needed to confront somepony in their dreams directly, but that didn’t mean she was completely without options of her own.

*********

Despite trying to save time by flying back, by the time Twilight returned to Ponyville Princess Celestia had already started to lower the sun. With nightfall rapidly approaching, Twilight knew that Moonwhisper would be soon beginning his evening routine. First he would check in at her castle, confirming with whoever answered the door that everything was alright. Inevitably Moonwhisper would follow this up by circling the castle’s exterior to check for anything that looked out of place. Once he was satisfied that there was nothing suspicious at the castle that needed his attention, Moonwhisper would begin making a full patrol of Ponyville itself, first marching through the town proper and then along the edges, paying particular attention to the places where the Everfree Forest abutted ponies’ homes. Finally, Moonwhisper would return to the castle for one more perimeter inspection before heading back to the room he rented from Bulk Biceps and turn in for the night. It was an incredibly steady routine, predicable almost to the point that one could set their clock by it. Tonight, that routine meant that Twilight would be easily able to guess when Moonwhisper would be going to sleep. As Twilight approached the castle from the sky she could see that Moonwhisper was already checking in with Spike. Not wanting to speak with Moonwhisper before Luna had a chance to confront him, Twilight landed on one of the castle balconies, bypassing the doors altogether. However, as Twilight started to go inside she suddenly paused and cautiously inched over to the balcony railing. Nearing the edge, Twilight quietly cast a spell to enhance her hearing, enabling her to make out the conversation below.

“-evermind, it would appear that Princess Twilight just returned.” Twilight could hear Moonwhisper say, as clearly as if he were standing right next to her.

“Wait, really, where is she then?” Came the familiar voice of Twilight’s favorite dragon. It wasn’t particularly surprising to Twilight that Spike had been the one to greet Moonwhisper, given that the young dragon seemed far more comfortable around Moonwhisper than Starlight Glimmer did. Privately, Twilight suspected at least part of that stemmed from the fact that Spike was just happy to have another stallion to talk with (Big Macintosh may have been a good listener but he wasn’t much of a conversationalist).

“I say the princess land on the north balcony a few moments ago.” Moonwhisper said, snapping Twilight back to the present. “At least, I presume it was Princess Twilight. She and Princess Cadance are close enough in size that I may have misidentified her due to the distance and lighting, but I consider that to be an unlikely scenario.

“If you say so.” Spike replied, not sounding particularly convinced.

“In any event, a winged pony just landed on the castle balcony overhead. Based on the shape of their wings I can tell that they are an alicorn as opposed to a pegasi, and a rough estimate of her height rules out Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. So, baring Princess Cadance paying the castle a visit, it would be safe to assume that Princess Twilight has just arrived home.”

“Huh.” Spike said simply evidently unsure of how to react to Moonwhisper’s deductive skills. “Say, if Twilight’s really back why don’t you come in for a bit? I know Twilight misses those chess games you used to have with her.”

Frantically, Twilight began trying to think of an excuse to send Moonwhisper away should he take Spike up on his invitation. Luckily for her, it turned out to be a moot issue. “I…I’ll have to decline. I really should be getting back to my evening patrols.” Strangely, it seemed to Twilight that there was a distinct tinge of sadness in Moonwhisper’s voice as he turned down Spike’s offer. “Please give my regards to Princess Twilight.” Moonwhisper added after a moment’s silence before galloping off into the night.

Twilight spent a minute of two pondering if there was any special meaning to the exchange between her bodyguard and assistant before putting it out of her mind. Most of Moonwhisper’s behavior made little sense to Twilight, particularly since her confrontation with him over his past. Besides, at that moment Twilight had more pressing concerns regarding Moonwhisper than one overheard conversation. While Twilight may not have been able to shape other ponies’ dreams the way Princess Luna could, through careful study she had reached the point that she could reliably enter and observe them. Granted, taking on a role other than invisible observer was still beyond Twilight’s abilities, but tonight that would be all she needed. Twilight’s plan was simple; once Princess Luna entered Moonwhisper’s mind she would sneak in behind her and watch Luna go to work. With any luck, Moonwhisper’s dreams, and Luna’s with them, would provide valuable insight into Moonwhisper himself. At least that was what Twilight kept telling herself anyway. Of course, that would all have to wait for Moonwhisper to actually go to sleep, which Twilight guessed wouldn’t be for another hour or two at the very least. That left her plenty of time to prepare herself for the night ahead.

*********

“Anyway, Trixie and I are going to be heading into Canterlot tomorrow night.” Starlight Glimmer said as she munched on her dinner. “Apparently the Canterlot Museum is having this special exhibit on Hoofdini and Trixie’s really excited about it.”

“Uh huh, that’s nice.” Twilight half-heartedly replied. Normally the mere mention of Trixie’s name was enough to set Twilight’s teeth on edge, but tonight her mind was occupied with other matters. A state of affairs that did not go unnoticed.

“Twilight, are you feeling alright?” Starlight asked. “It seems like you’ve been a little out of it all night.”

“She’s probably just disappointed that she missed seeing Moonwhisper when he stopped by.” Spike said before Twilight had a chance to respond. “Honestly, I don’t get why you’re always edgy around him, Starlight.” Spike continued as helped himself to seconds. “Moonwhisper’s actually a really nice guy once you get to know him. Sure he’s a little uptight, but who wouldn’t be if their dad used crazy torture magic on them?”

“I know, it’s not that.” Starlight said. “It’s just something about him, I don’t know, makes me a little nervous. I think the best way to describe it is that it’s the same sort of feeling I get around Fluttershy’s bear friend.”

“Now I know you’re being ridiculous, Harry wouldn’t hurt a fly, right Twilight?”

“Mmhmm.” Twilight replied, pushing the found around on her plate with a levitating fork. By her calculations, Moonwhisper was most likely on his way home by now. While Twilight wasn’t certain what kind of routine Moonwhisper might have had for once he returned to his room, she did know that he habitually was up even earlier than Applejack. That meant that Moonwhisper would likely be in bed within the next hour or so at most.

“Hey! Equestria to Twilight!” Spike called out, startling Twilight badly. “Geez, Twilight, Starlight’s right, you really are out of it tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized, “I’ve just been preoccupied lately with…a project of mine that Princess Luna is helping me with.” For some reason, Twilight found that she didn’t want to admit all the details of what she had planned that night.

“Does this have anything to do with that dreamwalking spell you’ve been working on?” Starlight asked, her interest suddenly piqued. “Because if it is I’d love to hear what Princess Luna had to say about the progress you’ve been making. Speaking of which, I have a few ideas about boosting the manifestation power I’d like to run by you later.”

“Wait, dreamwalking? You mean like going into other ponies’ dreams and stuff?” Spike asked in a panicked tone. “You haven’t looked into any of my dreams, have you? Because I don’t mean to dream any of that stuff, it just happens. And besides, I don’t even like butterscotch pudding.”

“And on that note I think I’m going to call it a night.” Twilight said as she excused herself from the table. While it was certainly true that Twilight did not want any context for Spike’s last remark, it had provided her with an excellent excuse to head to her room and begin the preparations for her spell. Leaving Spike to Starlight’s bemused questions, Twilight quickly slipped out of the dining room and made a beeline straight for her bedroom. Once there Twilight promptly locked the doors behind her and then wedged a chair against them for good measure. Finally satisfied that she wasn’t going to be interrupted, Twilight magically opened a drawer and levitated out several scrolls as she climbed up onto her bed. After taking a moment to make herself comfortable Twilight unfurled the largest of the scrolls and began channeling her magic through it. The spell itself was a bit of a hodgepodge of several different pieces of magic, several of which were quite advanced and one of which had been buried deep within the Canterlot Archives. The challenge of casting the spell came from the difficulty in pushing one’s consciousness into the realm of dreams without losing control. Several of Twilight’s early attempts had resulted in her being rendered unconscious for several hours, during which she experienced particularly vivid dreams (her attempts to investigate a cult of Trixie worshipers accompanied by a deformed talking rat had been especially memorable). As the spell began to take effect, Twilight could feel her mind start to press against the barrier between dreams and reality. To Twilight the process felt as though she were trying to force her head through a rubber sheet, the barrier between Equestria and the dreamworld stretching out and trying to pull her back to reality. Until, eventually, Twilight found a tiny weak spot, a single pinprick in the metaphysical boundaries between the worlds. After what felt like an eternity of straining herself, Twilight finally pushed through, her body collapsing onto the bed. To an outside observer it would have appeared that Twilight had simply fallen asleep, a faint glow surrounding her horn the only sign that her mind had entered another world.

*********

At first, Twilight’s entrance into the dreamworld was initially so subtle as to be barely perceptible. A thin lavender wisp of cloud leaked into the dreamworld from some unseen hole. Gradually the cloud grew, slowly coalescing into the approximate shape of a pony until it finally snapped into the form of Twilight Sparkle. Or, at the very least most of the form of Twilight Sparkle.

“Darn it, I still can’t manage a complete manifestation.” Twilight huffed as she looked herself over. While her front half had taken its proper shape, everything behind her wings was still just a hazy cloud of lavender smoke trailing off behind her. This state of affairs didn’t Twilight overmuch, however, particularly since if all went well nopony would actually see her anyway. With a shrug Twilight dismissed the issue and took stock of her surroundings. She found herself floating in a vast star-filled void, nothing but twinkling lights visible in any direction. When Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated, however, hundreds of doors rushed by her to either side, each one leading to the dreams of a different pony. The first several times Twilight had visited the dreamworld the sheer vastness of it had intimidated her, but repeated trips had taught her the trick of navigating her way through the vast emptiness via sheer willpower. Focusing her mind, Twilight willed herself towards the door concealing Moonwhisper’s dreams, expecting that by now he would be asleep. As Twilight reached her destination, however, she was faced with a pair of surprises.

The first surprise was the fact that Princess Luna was already there. In retrospect it should have been no shock that the Princess of the Night would have been ready the moment Moonwhisper fell asleep. Even so, Twilight had been certain that she would have reached the door first given her knowledge of Moonwhisper’s habits. What came as a much bigger shock was the appearance of the door that led into Moonwhisper’s mind. Most of the dream portals took the form of simple wooden doors, the sort one might expect to find as the front door of somepony’s home. The portal into Moonwhisper’s mind, however, appeared to be a heavy steel security door, barred shut against any intruders. Drawing closer, Twilight could see that the door was surrounded by a shimmering dark blue aura as Princess Luna did her best to magically pry it open. Princess Luna’s horn shone with a blinding light as she struggled to force the stubborn barrier open, and Twilight recalled what Princess Luna had said about how Moonwhisper’s mind was warded against intrusion. Just when Twilight began to worry that even Princess Luna’s magic wouldn’t be up to the task, the door suddenly shuddered. Moments later the door creaked open a hairsbreadth, just enough to signal that whatever force had been holding it shut was now defeated. Any pleasure that Twilight may have taken in this development quickly vanished, however, as panicked screams, muffled though unmistakably Moonwhisper, soon began emanating from beyond the door. Hearing this, Twilight rushed forward towards the door, only to be halted by the sound of Princess Luna clearing her throat. Looking up, Twilight saw that Princess Luna was staring down at her, disapproval written across her features. For a brief moment Twilight was confused by this; her previous excursions into the dreamworld had shown her that her spectral form was invisible to other ponies. In her haste, Twilight had never actually considered the possibility that Princess Luna would be any different. Before Princess Luna had a chance to voice her disapproval at Twilight’s presence, however, another series of screams emerged from the portal leading into Moonwhisper’s mind. Letting out a sigh of resignation, Princess Luna turned and threw the door wide open before striding inside. Quickly recovering from the shock that Princess Luna was able to see her, Twilight hurried inside as well, the door slamming shut behind her.

As Twilight entered the dream, she found herself floating over the streets of the Crystal Empire, or rather a dark, twisted caricature of it. While the Crystal Empire Twilight knew in the waking world was filled with warmth and love, here it was cold and bleak. Everywhere Twilight looked the colors were dark and muted, the jagged crystalline spikes jutting out from the buildings casting weird, grasping shadows into the empty streets. Looking closer, Twilight could see countless cold, malice-filled eyes peering out from the shadows. As Twilight took in the disturbing view a desperate cry echoing out from one of the side streets seized her attention.

“No, please! That’s not me, I swear that isn’t who I am!” Moonwhisper came galloping down a cross street, only to rear up in terror as he reached the main thoroughfare. After looking wildly around, Moonwhisper turned around and began cautiously backing into the street, his ears folded back and eyes wide in terror. As he crept back, however, his rear hoof knocked over a bucket of water that Twilight would have sworn wasn’t there before, sending its contents splashing onto the ground. A puddle quickly formed next to Moonwhisper, and to Twilight’s shock the reflection in the water wasn’t Moonwhisper’s, but rather that of King Sombra. Seeing this, Moonwhisper bolted away, but now it seemed that every surface he passed had been polished to a mirror-like finish, and in every case Moonwhisper’s reflection had been replaced with King Sombra’s grinning visage. As Moonwhisper jumped from one twisted reflection to the next the various reflective surfaces began to lift themselves up and move to encircle him. Moonwhisper didn’t seem to notice this until it was too late and he was completely surrounded. Realizing he was trapped, Moonwhisper was reduced to curling himself up into a ball, whimpering as the reflections began laughing manically.

“Enough!” Princess Luna thundered, letting loose a wave of magic that shattered the monstrous reflections. “It would appear to me that our meeting is one that quite overdue,” Princess Luna said as she landed. “Tell me, Captain Moonwhisper, is this,” Luna gestured towards the shattered crystals littering the ground, “truly how you see yourself?”

Moonwhisper pulled himself to his hooves and vigorously shook himself in an effort to regain his composure before answering. “With all due respect, your highness,” he said, all traces of vulnerability erased from his features, “what in Equestria are you doing here? I have to imagine that the Princess of the Night would have far better things to do than poke around in my mind.”

“As I said, this is a meeting that is long overdue. I’ve come to help show you your own worth, since you seem to be having difficulty seeing it on your own. Whether you realize it or not, captain, Equestria would be a far darker place in your absence.”

Several seconds ticked by as Moonwhisper regarded Princess Luna before eventually responding. “Tell me the truth, your highness, did Princess Twilight put you up to this nonsense?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle did voice some concerns she had about your wellbeing.” Princess Luna admitted somewhat guiltily. “However, I would not be here if I did not truly feel that I was needed,” she swiftly added.

If Moonwhisper was listening, however, he certainly didn’t look it. Upon hearing Princess Luna confirm Twilight’s involvement, Moonwhisper had brought his hoof to his forehead, his eyes squeezed shut as though he had suddenly developed a headache. As he did so, it seemed to Twilight that the entire dream started to violently shudder and quake. The shaking quickly ceased as abruptly as it had started, however, and neither Moonwhisper nor Princess Luna seemed to have noticed a thing. “Very well then,” Moonwhisper sighed with an air of resignation, having apparently recovered from his headache, “since there’s not really much I can do to stop this I may as well get it over with. So tell me, your highness, how exactly do you intend to prove to me that Equestria benefits from my continued existence?” As surprised as Twilight was to hear the acid in the tone Moonwhisper used to address Princess Luna she had to admit she was curious about how Luna was planning to go about this herself.

“You’ll soon see,” Princess Luna cryptically replied, “but first I feel a slight adjustment in our surroundings is in order.” With that, Princess Luna raised her head and unleashed a massive wave of brilliant magical energy from her horn. As Twilight’s vision cleared, she saw that the twisted nightmare version of the Crystal Empire had been transformed into the Crystal Empire she knew from the working world. At least, that’s how it appeared to Twilight at first glance, but something about it felt distinctly off. Everything, from the crystalline buildings to the crystal ponies themselves, seemed to be missing the vibrancy that made the Crystal Empire truly shine.

While Twilight may not have been able to put her hoof on what was wrong with this version of the Crystal Empire, the effect it was having on Moonwhisper was painfully obvious. Moonwhisper’s ears were folded back against his head as his eyes rapidly darted back and forth, a look of pure panic stamped onto his features. “Is there a particular reason your lecture needs to take place here, your highness?” Moonwhisper asked as he struggled to maintain his composure.

“If it would help put you at ease, nopony here can see or hear you. As far as the ponies here are concerned you are nothing more than an invisible, insubstantial phantom.” As if to prove her point, Princess Luna nudged Moonwhisper into the path of one of the crystal ponies walking down the street. To the shock of both Moonwhisper and Twilight, the pony simply walked straight through Moonwhisper as if he were a ghost. “You see, captain? From their perspective you don’t even exist.” Princess Luna said with a mischievous smile. “That said, there are perhaps other places in Equestria that may illustrate my point even more effectively. Shall we?” Seeing Moonwhisper quietly nod his head, Princess Luna stamped one of her forehooves on the ground, sending the entire world spinning madly around them. As the world slowed and finally came a stop, Twilight could see that Princess Luna had transported them to Canterlot. Once again, however, something felt very wrong to Twilight about the city she found herself floating over. While visually nothing about the city seemed any different, save perhaps for the grey overcast sky, there was something about the sad, anxious looks in the eyes of the ponies on the streets that left Twilight with an uncomfortable sense of foreboding.

Whatever it was that Twilight was sensing, it was quickly apparent that Moonwhisper had picked up on it as well. “Your highness, what exactly are you up to? I was stationed in Canterlot long enough to know that there’s something different here.”

“Why don’t you try taking a walk down that avenue over there?” Princess Luna replied, gesturing towards a nearby intersection. “I’m certain you’ll find the answers you’re looking for there.”

Letting out an irritated sigh, Moonwhisper headed towards the avenue, muttering under his breath the entire time. Twilight followed closely behind, floating overhead as she watched Moonwhisper plow through the ponies on the street, passing through them as he had done so with the crystal pony earlier. As they made their way onward, Twilight quickly realized that they were headed towards a small plaza not far from where she had grown up. It wasn’t anything particularly elaborate, just a roundabout with a small patch of grass and flowers in the center, but Twilight had fond memories of reading there when she was a filly. When the pair reached the plaza, however, Twilight was shocked at what she saw. The garden at the center was gone; in its place was a large sculpture depicting several guardsponies. The sculpture was on a raised base, the sides of which were covered with inscriptions of some kind with a plaque set into the bottom. Though Twilight was too far away to make out the writing on either the plaque or the base itself, the various flowers that had been laid along the base indicated to her that it was a memorial of some kind. After staring at the memorial for several seconds, Moonwhisper’s face took on a disgusted expression. “You have to joking, are you really resorting to this tired old cliché?”

Unsure of what Moonwhisper was talking about, Twilight decided to take a closer look at the monument. Floating over to it, Twilight could see that the inscriptions on the memorial’s base were in fact a list of names. Initially Twilight was confused as to the significance of this, until a small object laid amid the flowers at the memorial’s base caught her eye. A small doll had been placed at the base of the memorial, specifically Shining Armor’s favorite foalhood toy, Brutus Force. Moreover, as Twilight looked up from the doll to the inscriptions above it she saw Shining Armor among the assembled names. Slowly, Twilight backed away from the memorial, a palpable sense of horror weighing down on her. As she floated past the plaque at the base, Twilight paused to look down and read it, confirming her suspicions in the process.

This memorial stands in memory of the brave mares and stallions who gave their lives to protect the citizens of Equestria. Their valor is an example to us all, and their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

“Well, Captain Moonwhisper, what do you have to say so far about this Equestria, one where you never existed?” Princess Luna’s voice rang out as she made her down the avenue towards Moonwhisper. When Moonwhisper only let out an irritated snort in response Princess Luna continued. “Without your heroics, the infamous gargoyle migration would have resulted in a massacre. Dozens upon dozens of ponies would have died, including Shining Armor. Without him, Princess Flurry Heart will never be born, and Princess Cadance will live out her life without her true love beside her.”

“By that logic, Canterlot should be overrun with changelings by now, since Shining Armor won’t be there to banish them with his magic.” Moonwhisper grumbled. “Unless,” he added after thinking about it for a moment, “without Shining Armor’s love to feed on, Chrysalis wouldn’t be about to stand up to Princess Celestia in actual combat.”

“An astute analysis, captain.” Princess Luna replied with a nod. “You are correct, even without Shining Armor, the changeling invasion of Canterlot would have been thwarted. However, that victory would have come at a cost nonetheless, as the unveiling of the changeling threat would have crippled the ability for ponies to trust one another.”

“Frankly, it sounds to me as though this whole spectacle has more to do with Shining Armor than it does me.” Moonwhisper growled. “Then again, it figures that my great contribution to the welfare of Equestria would be saving Princess Twilight’s…half-wit…” Moonwhisper screwed his eyes shut and abruptly turned away from Princess Luna. “You know what, never mind. I have to assume that you have more planned for me than,” Moonwhisper jerked a hoof towards the memorial, “that nonsense, so show me what else you have up your sleeve.”

If Princess Luna was bothered by Moonwhisper’s combative attitude she didn’t show it, instead simply opening up a shimmering portal and striding through it. Scowling fiercely, Moonwhisper quickly followed suit, with Twilight floating close behind. Waiting on the other side of the portal was a path that led through a starry void, which to Twilight appeared nearly identical to the realm that Princess Celestia had taken her to when she first became an alicorn. Only here, instead of visions of Twilight’s time spent in Ponyville with her friends, there were dozens of scenes of disasters of every variety along with ponies mourning their aftermath. As Princess Luna led Moonwhisper down the path she would periodically poignant displays. “Over there you can see the remains of the fire in Manehattan’s Haypacking district, one of the first disasters you responded to after graduating from the Officer’s Academy.” Princess Luna remarked as they passed a scene of several burning apartment buildings. “Of course, in a world where you never existed nopony would have been able to pull those ponies from the fire before the buildings collapsed. And over here is the town of Hoofington, or at least what’s left of it. As I understand it you once drove off a rampaging hydra that tried to attack that little village. That was quite brave of you, considering how few guards would have stood a chance against such a beast. Unfortunately for Hoofington, that would mean that in a world where you were never born, well…” Princess Luna let her voice trail off as she passed a scene of an abandoned village, many of its houses smashed to pieces.

Moonwhisper, however, seemed completely unmoved by the parade of tragedies that Princess Luna had brought forth. Instead, Moonwhisper simple trudged along the path with his head down, grumbling under his breath the entire time. “Just how much more of this do you intend to inflict on me?” Moonwhisper finally asked.

“There is one final scene I have yet to show you, something a bit more recent.” As Princess Luna spoke she spread her wings and took off into the ether. The instant Princess Luna’s hooves left the ground the path beneath Moonwhisper vanished, sending him plummeting into the darkness below. Moonwhisper soon landed with an undignified thump, finding himself in the center of Ponyville not far from the town hall. As Moonwhisper picked himself up off the ground, Twilight, who had followed him during his descent, took stock of their surroundings. What struck Twilight almost immediately was how empty this version of Ponyville seemed. Normally Ponyville’s central hub would be bustling with ponies going about their daily business, but here it felt as though the town had been abandoned. Moonwhisper seemed to notice that something was wrong as well, and as soon as he finished dusting himself off he began cautiously wandering through the empty streets. Floating behind him, Twilight occasionally noticed signs that the town wasn’t quite as empty as it had initially appeared. A pony quickly closing her curtains, shadows cautiously peering out of a window, brief glimpses that showed that ponies were at least present, if not out in the open. It wasn’t until they approached the edges of Ponyville that they started to see ponies out in the open. Curiously, all of the ponies they saw appeared particularly solemn, and many of them were dressed in black. Moreover, everypony seemed to be heading in the general direction of Sweet Apple Acres. This observation came coupled with a sickening realization for Twilight as she quickly made the connection between Sweet Apple Acres and Princess Luna’s mention of Moonwhisper’s recent heroics.

Moonwhisper himself seemed to have made the connection as well, having frozen in his tracks as he noticed the townsponies filing towards the Apple family farm. Floating closer, Twilight could see that Moonwhisper was breathing heavily as he trembled with rage. “No,” Moonwhisper finally managed to snarl through clenched teeth. “No, no, NO! I have had ENOUGH!” As Moonwhisper shouted, he emitted a powerful shockwave that left massive tears in the dreamworld Princess Luna had created, as though it were a painting whose canvas was being torn asunder. “I will not stand here and watch you exploit some little filly’s near-death experience for some tailor-made guilt trip.” Strong winds began to whip around Moonwhisper as he continued to rage, buffeting Twilight as she tried to maintain her position. Shielding her eyes with a forehoof, Twilight could see that the winds were having an even greater effect on the structures and ponies within the dream itself, blowing them away as if they were nothing more than piles of dust. By the time Moonwhisper calmed down, the winds dying down simultaneously, there was little left of the Ponyville Princess Luna had conjured.

“Feel any better?” Princess Luna’s voice asked, seemingly echoing from the dark void that had replaced the sky. Moments later Princess Luna herself appeared overhead in a flash of light. “While I can understand why you’re upset, I hope you can at least see the purpose behind all of this,” she said as she gracefully descended to the ground. “Your actions have saved countless lives and averted untold amounts of sorrow. Regardless of your family’s unfortunate history, Equestria has been incredibly fortunate to have you in it.”

Moonwhisper responded by first closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened, Moonwhisper face looked oddly calm, almost serene. Twilight wanted to believe that it was a sign that Princess Luna had finally managed to reach Moonwhisper, but something about it felt off. It almost felt as though Twilight were witnessing the calm before a terrible storm. “To be perfectly honest, your highness,” Moonwhisper began in a surprisingly pleasant tone, “I’m actually grateful that you showed all of this to me. I’ve often questioned whether or not I really making a real difference in Equestria, and I will admit it is good to learn that I’d be leaving Equestria in a better state than I entered it in.”

“I’m relieved to hear you say that.” Princess Luna cautiously replied. It was clear from her tone that something about Moonwhisper’s demeanor left her suspicious. “From what I had heard about you I had assumed that you would be more resistant.”

Moonwhisper simply shrugged in response. “I know myself well enough to understand why you’d assume that. Now, with all this in mind, there is one thing that I would like to ask of you.”

“Of course, captain, what is it that you wish to ask of me?”

“Princess Luna, in light of the contributions I’ve made to the general safety and well-being of the citizens of Equestria, I feel that I’ve earned the opportunity to finally rest.”

“Are you telling me that you wish to retire from the guard?” Princess Luna asked in alarm.

“No, your highness. What I’m saying is that I wish to retire from living entirely.” As Moonwhisper replied with complete seriousness Twilight felt as though her stomach was plummeting into an abyss.

Several seconds of silence passed following Moonwhisper’s declaration as Princess Luna struggled to formulate her response. “Captain, you can’t possibly mean…”

“What I mean is that I don’t want to continue living anymore. I just can’t take it, any of it.” Moonwhisper’s voice started to crack with pain and anger as he erased any possible alternate interpretation of his declaration.

“Captain Moonwhisper, please!” Princess Luna pleaded, “I can understand how Sombra’s legacy must be difficult to endure. Believe me, I know better than most ponies how hard it can be to live with a past that you’re ashamed of. But as bad as it may be you cannot allow yourself to be overwhelmed by it all. You’ve shown such courage in the past, surely you can recall some of that strength.”

“Courage? You honestly think the things I’ve done had anything to do with courage?” Moonwhisper shouted back. “You really don’t know anything about me, do you your highness? Every so-called act of bravery, every alleged heroic deed, it’s all been a lie! I didn’t do any of those things because I’m some kind of hero; I did what I did because I was trying to get myself killed. Time and time again I’d throw myself into harm’s way, hoping with every fiber of my being that whatever danger I faced would finally end me.” Tears began streaming down Moonwhisper’s face as he continued his rant, scarcely pausing to breather. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be constantly praised for a complete lie?” It was almost outright painful for Twilight to listen to Moonwhisper’s anguished confession. The self-loathing in Moonwhisper’s voice was so unbearable that for a moment Twilight wished she had a physical presence in the dream so she throw her hooves around him and shake him until he snapped out of it.

“Even if what you say is true, that still doesn’t change the fact that you’re actions saved countless lives.” Princess Luna retorted. Despite her best efforts, there was a distinct sound of desperation in her voice. “Think of all the guards who are still alive today thanks to your actions during gargoyle migration, for example.”

“My actions during the gargoyle migration were nothing to be proud of.” Moonwhisper snapped bitterly. “Any good I might have initially accomplished while Shining Armor was still conscious I nearly squandered as soon as I took command. By all logic my vaunted charge against the gargoyles should ended in the deaths of everypony involved. If our reinforcements hadn’t arrived when they did the only thing I’d be remembered for would be getting myself and everypony under my command killed. And don’t try to tell me how it turned out all right in the end either.” Moonwhisper added, anger creeping into his voice. “Nopony under my command may have died, but that doesn’t mean that everything turned out fine.” As Moonwhisper spoke, spectral images of guardsponies began to appear in the air, virtually all of them bearing horrific injuries. “Try telling Private Quick March that everything turned out just fine.” Moonwhisper snarled as an image of a pegasus stallion floated nearby. To Twilight’s horror, she could see that one of the stallion’s front legs had been torn off, leaving behind a ragged stump. “Quick March was an incredibly promising soldier, fresh out of the officer’s academy. His dream was to one day reach the rank of captain, to serve Equestria the same way his father and grandfather had. Of course, that dream came to an abrupt end when a gargoyle ripped one of his legs off. But, everything’s alright because he didn’t die, isn’t that right? Or, what about Sergeant Mess Deck?” The image of another stallion floated down, this one a unicorn with a hideous gash cutting across both of his eyes. “Mess Deck and his wife were expecting their first foal at the time of the migration. Thanks to the injuries he received he’ll never be able to see his daughter’s face, but he lived so everything’s alright in the end, isn’t it?” By now Moonwhisper was so upset he was visibly shaking. “That’s my real legacy, a suicidal idiot whose stupidity left countless good ponies crippled. A coward who let the monster who tormented his mother get away scot-free because he was too ashamed.” As Moonwhisper continued his rant, weeping openly, the images he had conjured all transformed, taking the form of his mother. “I couldn’t protect her, I was too weak to protect her from him. I wasn’t even able to turn the bastard in because I was afraid of the stigma of being related to somepony like that. What the hay good is a cutie mark for protecting others if I couldn’t even keep my own mother safe?”

“As horrible as what happened to you was, you can’t allow tragedies like those to define your entire life.” Princess Luna slowly moved closer to Moonwhisper as she tried to calm him down. “I know things must seem impossible for you right now, but you’re stronger than this, I know you are.”

“I’m sick of being strong.” Moonwhisper screamed as he pulled away. “All my life I’ve been the strong one, the stallion everypony else could lean on, and I can’t take it anymore! Haven’t I earned the chance to be weak for a change, to be selfish for once in my damned life?” Seeing Moonwhisper finally break down sobbing was almost more than Twilight could bear. Forgetting that she was incorporeal for a moment Twilight nearly rushed down to embrace Moonwhisper, only to find that the winds that had obliterated the dream-Ponyville had returned, pushing her and Princess Luna away.

“Surely there must be something in your life that’s worth holding onto?” Princess Luna called out as she struggled against the buffeting winds. “Maybe somepony you care about?”

At first Moonwhisper looked like he wanted to say something in response, but he quickly turned away. “I…there is…no, no it’s not worth wasting my time. It’s just an idiotic fantasy, nothing could ever possibly come of it.” As Moonwhisper muttered to himself, strangely audible to Twilight despite the roaring winds, a shockwave emanated out from him shattering the images of his mother. Strangely, it seemed to Twilight that the fragments that the images broke into almost resembled chess pieces. “Anyway, it’s too late by now.” Moonwhisper’s continued ravings pulled Twilight’s attention away from the mystery of the fragments, which were already melting like bits of ice on a hot summer day. “There’s no point in pretending anything could ever come of it, I’ve just kept pushing her away like I’ve done with everypony else. It’s hopeless, nothing will ever get better, it’s all hopeless…” Moonwhisper continued repeating himself over and over again, interrupted only by the occasional sob. Throughout Moonwhisper’s disjointed ramblings the winds blowing around him steadily increased in intensity, to the point that Twilight could see that Princess Luna was unable to keep herself from being blown back. Meanwhile, the black void of the sky seemed to have somehow developed physical mass and had begun oozing down onto the ground. The tar-like coils of darkness soon curtained Moonwhisper off and Twilight could see thin tendrils of pitch black snaking their way towards him. As the tendrils began to try to wrap themselves around Moonwhisper, Twilight thought she could see faint lavender lights flare up from within the dark. Looking closer as she strained against the wind, Twilight realized that the light seemed to emanate from a glowing symbol that blazed into being whenever one of the tendrils got too close to Moonwhisper to ward them off. However, the tendrils were far too numerous for the light to combat for long, and Moonwhisper was soon almost completely engulfed by the darkness. It was just as the darkness swallowed Moonwhisper’s head that Twilight was finally able to get a clear view of the glowing symbol, which made one final, though futile, effort against the dark before it was extinguished.

For Twilight, the symbol was arguably the most easily recognizable shape in the world; the starburst of her cutie mark. Before Twilight could fully process the significance of this revelation, however, the force of Moonwhisper’s mental storm finally intensified to the point that it was able to force her out of the dream, forcing her consciousness back into the waking world.

*********

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she awoke back in her bedroom. While she was still trying to absorb everything she had seen and heard in Moonwhisper’s dream, there were a few things that Twilight was certain of. The first was that Moonwhisper was clearly in far greater pain than Twilight had ever imagined. The second was that, giving by what had overheard at the end Moonwhisper seemed to be suppressing feelings for somepony, and Twilight strongly suspected that that pony was her. And as Twilight sat on her bed and reflected her feelings, she slowly came to the realization that those feelings were mutual.

Confrontation

Twilight Sparkle sat on her bed for several minutes, tears silently streaming down her face. Hearing Moonwhisper plainly state that he actually wanted to take his own life had left Twilight feeling as though somepony had bucked her square in the stomach. This would have been hard enough for Twilight to deal with, but Moonwhisper’s final ramblings led her to suspect that Moonwhisper was also harboring romantic feelings for her. Moreover, that revelation had forced Twilight to recognize the fact that she herself had developed an attraction towards Moonwhisper in return. Up until now, Twilight had been able to convince herself that her feelings for Moonwhisper were entirely platonic in nature. Now, however, all Twilight could think of was how she wanted to take Moonwhisper, throw her forehooves around him and kiss him until everything was all better. These thoughts weren’t particularly helpful when it came to deciding how to approach dealing with the more immediate issue of Moonwhisper’s suicidal inclinations, however. Especially since Twilight continually found herself fantasizing about what she and Moonwhisper would do after she finished comforting him.

Twilight continued to fret about what she should do about Moonwhisper for the better part of an hour, graduating from sitting on her bed to pacing around her bedroom. There wasn’t anything in any of the books in Twilight’s library that could help her with a crisis like this, at least that she could recall. Furthermore, it was too late at night for Twilight to confer with any of her friends and even if it hadn’t been there was nopony Twilight could think of that she could talk to. Even if it had been a more reasonable time of day, Twilight couldn’t think of anypony in Ponyville that she could actually ask for help. It wouldn’t feel right to ask Starlight Glimmer for relationship advice, especially given her admission that Moonwhisper made her nervous, and Spike was right out. As for Twilight’s other Ponyville friends, Twilight simply didn’t feel ready to ask them for help so soon after her outburst earlier that day. Twilight knew she would have to apologize to her friends soon, but she already felt overwhelmed just dealing with Moonwhisper’s drama. Eventually, Twilight came to the conclusion that answers weren’t going to simply come to her and decided to sleep on it in the hopes that things would be clearer in the morning. Settling into bed, Twilight hoped that a good night’s sleep would help her come up with answers, or at the very least enable her to put her thoughts in order.

*********

Twilight found herself chasing after Moonwhisper as he galloped away from her. No matter how fast Twilight ran or how loudly she called after him, however, Moonwhisper always seemed to stay just out of reach. Given their respective levels of physical fitness this wasn’t particularly surprising to Twilight, and it wasn’t until she saw that Moonwhisper was headed straight for a cliff that she became truly concerned. Realizing Moonwhisper’s likely intentions, Twilight pushed herself as hard as she possibly could in a desperate effort to close the distance. By the time Moonwhisper reached the cliff’s edge Twilight had almost completely closed the gap and with one final burst of energy she leapt into the air in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. However, when Twilight descended on Moonwhisper she passed right through him as though he were comprised of water. Unhindered, Moonwhisper proceeded to gallop off the cliff as Twilight could only look on helplessly. Fearing over the edge, Twilight watched as Moonwhisper plummeted out of sight into the darkness below. Twilight continued to stare down into the abyss for several seconds before backing away and falling down onto her haunches. Tears began pouring down Twilight’s face as the sheer hopelessness she felt overwhelmed her. Nothing she had tried had even come close to helping Moonwhisper and all she could do was watch as he raced towards his own seemingly inevitable self-destruction.

Twilight continued sobbing for some time, so consumed with her mental anguish that she didn’t even notice the flash of light that accompanied Princess Luna’s arrival. It wasn’t until Twilight felt a comforting hoof on her withers that she even realized she wasn’t alone. “I am sorry, Twilight,” Princess Luna ruefully began, “but it appears that your bodyguard is beyond my abilities to help. It had never occurred to me that Moonwhisper misery had already consumed him to the extent that…” Luna let out a sad sigh before shaking her head and continuing. “In any event, I can understand how seeing all of that must have upset you. Seeing the inner workings of a mind as tormented as Moonwhisper’s is never easy, even under the best of circumstances. At least in my case I’ve seen similar cases in the past, I can only imagine how hard it was for you.”

“I…I…I don’t know what to do.” Twilight admitted between sobs, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I’ve just never felt so helpless before. Nothing I’ve tried has even come close to working, and now somepony that I…I…” Another set of sobs wracked Twilight before she could finish.

“Somepony that you care about is suffering to the extent that he wishes to end his life.” Luna said, finishing Twilight’s thoughts. For several seconds more Luna simply sat with Twilight, patiently waiting for Twilight to calm herself. “Twilight, please, try to pull yourself together. I realize this is hard for you, but this isn’t the first time one of your friends has faced a crisis.” As Luna watched Twilight struggle to regain her composure, the Princess of the Night was struck by a sudden realization. “Twilight, could it be that you see Moonwhisper as more than just a friend?”

Twilight merely nodded her head in response before taking a few deep breaths. “At first I didn’t really think about it, I was more concerned with helping Moonwhisper than really thinking about how I felt about him. But when I was listening to him in the dream and I realized how it made me feel…” Twilight let her voice trail off as she found herself unable to look Princess Luna in the eye. “I swear, I didn’t ask you to do all of this just so I could see inside the mind of a stallion I had a crush on.”

“I never thought that you had,” Luna said mildly. “Sometimes understanding one’s own feelings can be difficult, and it takes something drastic to show you what’s really in your heart. That being said, it would appear that in your particular case your feelings are leading you down a particularly difficult path. I can only assume that you are already familiar with Captain Moonwhisper’s reputation when it comes to matters of romance.”

“You mean how Moonwhisper has turned down everypony who’s ever tried to get involved with him?” Twilight replied sadly as she nodded her head. “But, from what I’ve heard the reason for that has always been because of the rules the guard has against fraternization, so-“ “That isn’t exactly what I meant,” Luna interrupted, “the fact of the matter is, Moonwhisper has rather thoroughly closed himself off from everypony around him. It’s unfortunately quite likely that your feelings for Moonwhisper will not be returned.”

“I’m not so sure that part is going to necessarily be an issue. Right at the end of Moonwhisper’s dream I saw something some sort of light that was trying to fight off the darkness. And I know how this is going to sound, but when I got a clear look at the light, it looked as though it was taking the shape of my cutie mark. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but I think that that might be a sign that Moonwhisper…well…” Twilight started blushing furiously, “I think that maybe Moonwhisper thinks of me as more than just his princess.”

“Interpreting the contents of a dream is never an exact science, even for somepony such as myself. While I will admit that your conclusions are reasonable, there is no guarantee that you’re correct and that Moonwhisper feels the same way about you that you do about him. What’s more, even if Moonwhisper does reciprocate your feelings I suspect he may be hesitant to admit it.” Twilight gave Luna a confused loot at her last statement, but didn’t say anything. As absurd as what Luna was saying sounded to her, there was a great deal about Moonwhisper’s behavior that made no sense to her. “Moonwhisper absolutely despises himself, deservedly or not, and it would appear that he feels that he deserves to be unhappy. It may even be that Moonwhisper fears what it would mean to care for somepony else.”

Twilight sighed at this, recalling some of her previous talks with Moonwhisper and how he had told her his reservations at the prospect of caring for somepony else as a friend. If Moonwhisper had been that reluctant to open himself up to friendship Twilight could only imagine how skittish he would be at the idea of actual romance. “You’re probably right about Moonwhisper being afraid to care for somepony else. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and get through to him,” Twilight added with a note of increasing resolve.

“What do you intend to do?” Luna asked.

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do; I’m going to talk to Moonwhisper and I’m going to get him to tell me how he really feels about me, even if I have to drag it out of him,” Twilight declared fiercely. “Every time I try subtlety with Moonwhisper I run straight into a wall of stubbornness from him. Up until now I thought that taking things at Moonwhisper’s pace would make him more willing to open himself up, but things are much too serious for that anymore.”

“Are you certain that proceeding like that is a wise decision?” Luna replied. “What will you do if it turns out you’re wrong and Moonwhisper doesn’t feel the same way about you that you feel about him?”

“Then at least I’ll know for certain. If I’m wrong and Moonwhisper really doesn’t feel that way about me than I can move on from there. But to do that I need to know how he feels about me, how he really feels about me.” Twilight stood up, wiping away the remnants of her tears as she did so.

At first it looked as though Princess Luna was going to try to argue with Twilight further about her chosen course of action. But, after giving it a moment’s thought the Princess of the Night simply gave a sigh of resignation. “I cannot say that I entirely agree with your decision, but it’s obvious to me that trying to dissuade you would be a futile endeavor. That said, I do sincerely wish you the best possible, luck both for your sake and for Moonwhisper’s.”

“Thank you, princess,” Twilight replied as she tried to maintain her confident exterior. It was all well and good to say that she was going to confront Moonwhisper and force him to confess how he really felt about her, but actually doing so was another matter entirely. They would need privacy, of course, which would mean finding a way to ensure that Starlight Glimmer and Spike were out of the castle for the evening. Suddenly, a mostly forgotten bit of conversation from that night’s dinner popped into Twilight’s mind, which gave her an idea as to how to solve at least part of her dilemma. “Princess Luna, I hate to keep asking you for favors, but if you wouldn’t mind there’s just one more thing I’d like your help with.”

Princess Luna lowered her head closer to Twilight’s as a bemused expression spread across her features. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

*********

When Twilight awoke the next day she almost immediately dashed to library and pulled out several volumes of guard protocols, which she had acquired after ordering Moonwhisper to attend therapy. While Twilight may have been largely confident regarding her recollection of the protocols she had read about she had no intention of leaving anything to chance. Twilight was so engrossed in her research that it wasn’t until she heard a knock on the library door that she realized that it was already noon. “Hold on, Spike, just give me one second,” Twilight called out as she carefully marked her place in the volume she had been reading. Idly wondering what Spike had prepared for lunch, Twilight found herself nearly bowled over as the library doors burst open and Pinkie Pie bounced into the room. Rarity and Spike entered close behind their bubbly friend, the latter pushing a cart laden with sandwiches.

“I do hope we’re not interrupting anything important,” Rarity said as she sauntered in, “but Pinkie Pie and I wanted to check in on you after yesterday’s…conversation.” Rarity looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment before turning to Spike with a sultry expression on her face. “Spikey-poo, would you be a dear and go make us some tea?”

“Sure thin, Rarity, I’ll be right back,” Spike replied as he practically floated out the door.

“Don’t worry, darling, there’s no rush. Take as long as you need,” Rarity called out to him as he left. Once Spike was safely out of sight, Rarity turned back to Twilight. “I assumed that this wasn’t really a subject that you wished to discuss in front of Spike,” Rarity said by way of explanation. “In any event, we both wanted to apologize for putting you on the spot like that yesterday.”

“We didn’t mean to make you mad, we were just really worried about you and wanted to help,” Pinkie Pie added.

“I know, I know. And, the thing is, as it turns out you were…well, you were right,” Twilight finally admitted. “Last night I came to a realization about how I feel about Moonwhisper and you girls were absolutely right, I…” Twilight’s voice trailed off as she began to blush furiously, letting her expression speak for itself.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both left speechless by Twilight’s confession, their mouths hanging agape. Pinkie Pie was the first to recover from the shock, the corners of her mouth twitching until it snapped into a massive smile. “So does this mean that you and Moonwhisper are going to be a couple?” Pinkie Pie asked, following her question with a high-pitched squeal of delight. “And I bet this is what finally gets Moonwhisper to smile, too! I mean, how could it not? I‘ll have to get started on planning a combination ‘Twilight’s got a coltfriend/Moonwhisper’s finally happy’ party right away!”

“Pinkie dear, as delightful as that sounds perhaps before you start planning your party we should first figure out whether Twilight’s feelings for Moonwhisper are mutual,” Rarity cautioned before turning back to Twilight. “I’m guessing that you haven’t quite had the chance to tell Moonwhisper how you feel about him yet, have you?”

“I’m planning on telling him tonight,” Twilight said as she glanced back at the volume of legal cases she had left lying on the library table. “And I’m almost positive that Moonwhisper feels the same way about me that I do about him. The trick is going to be getting him to actually admit.”

“Well if there’s anything that we can do to help don’t hesitate to ask,” Rarity offered. “For example, if you need help securing some privacy for this evening I’m certain something could be arranged to get Spike or Starlight Glimmer out of the castle.”

“Actually, I’ve already gotten that taken care of.” As Twilight spoke, an excited shout could be heard from down the hall, followed by the sounds of rapid footsteps.

“Twilight! You’re not going to believe this!” Spike yelled as he rushed into the library. “I got a scroll form Princess Luna and guess who’s been summoned to Canterlot to brief everypony on the new dragonlord.” Spike puffed out his chest as he smugly gestured to himself. “This guy!”

“That’s great Spike,” Twilight said, giving a wink to Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “So, how soon do they want you to come to Canterlot?”

“Um, yeah, that’s the thing,” Spike said, deflating a bit, “the letter said that they want me to come right away. Are you going to be alright by yourself tonight?”

“Oh, I think I’ll be able to manage,” Twilight replied with a small grin.

“Ok then, I’d better start getting ready, I don’t want to disappoint the princesses.” Spike turned to leave the library before suddenly stopping in his tracks and slapping himself in the forehead. “I almost forgot,” Spike said as he performed an abrupt about face, “Princess Luna sent you a letter too, Twilight.” As Spike spoke, he pulled out a scroll, which Twilight promptly levitated over to herself and partially unrolled. “What’s it say?” Spike eagerly asked.

“Nothing important,” Twilight replied as she quickly rolled the scroll back up, “just something Princess Luna sent me to help with a friendship problem I’ve been working on. In any case, shouldn’t you be getting going? I’d hate for you to be late to Canterlot.”

“Yeah you’re right,” Spike exclaimed, “I’ll see you tomorrow when I get back!” With that, Spike dashed out of the library and quickly disappeared down the hall.

Once Spike was gone, Rarity gave Twilight a curious look. “Well, that was certainly a convenient turn of events, “Rarity said with a raised eyebrow. “I’m guessing that was what you were referring to when you said you had everything taken care of?”

“I may have asked Princess Luna to help make sure I had some privacy tonight,” Twilight said with a sly grin. “This won’t be the first time that Spike has had to go to Canterlot overnight for royal business, and it turns out Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been meaning to talk to Spike about Dragonlord Ember for a while now anyway.”

“Now all you need to do is make sure Starlight Glimmer is out of the castle for the night too,” Pinkie Pie said. “I know! We can trick her into thinking that King Sombra came back and kidnapped everypony and then Starlight and Trixie and Discord and Thorax can go on an adventure to save us-“

“I’ve actually got that covered too, Pinkie,” Twilight quickly interrupted. Privately, Twilight marveled at Pinkie Pie’s apparent ability to talk unceasingly without ever apparently needing to breathe. “When I asked Princess Luna to help with Spike, I also asked her for this,” Twilight said, levitating the scroll she had been sent.

“What in Equestria did she send you?” Rarity asked.

Before Twilight could explain, however, the sounds of hoofsteps came from the down the hall. Moments later, Starlight Glimmer poke her head through the library doorway. “Oh, hi Rarity, hi Pinkie Pie, I didn’t realize you two were here. Anyway, does anypony know what’s got Spike so excited? I just saw him running down the hall like he heard somepony was handing out free gemstones.”

“Spike just found out he’s been called to Canterlot on urgent royal business,” Twilight said as she unfurled the scroll Princess Luna had sent her. “I’m actually glad you’re here, I have something to give you.” Twilight levitated a pair of tickets out from the scroll and passed them to Starlight. “Here, there are a present for you and Trixie. It’s kind of my way of apologizing for not giving Trixie the benefit of the doubt earlier.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Starlight said as she enveloped the tickets in her own magical aura. “What exactly are they?”

“They’re VIP passes to the Hoofdini exhibition in Canterlot. I knew you and Trixie were planning on going tonight and those will give you full access to the entire event, including an after party they’re holding at Canterlot Castle.”

“Oh, wow, that’s really nice of you,” Starlight said, clearly taken somewhat aback. “It’s just, going to all this, I may not make it back to Ponyville tonight. Is that going to be alright?”

Once again, Twilight shared a knowing smile with Rarity and Pinkie Pie before responding. “Don’t worry, I’m certain I’ll be just fine.”

*********

“Good evening, your highness,” Moonwhisper greeted Twilight as he stood in the doorway of her castle. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had left not long after Twilight had given Starlight her tickets, both promising that they’d meet Twilight for breakfast the next day along with her other friends to talk about how things went. Starlight herself had left along with Spike on the Canterlot Express not long afterwards. Now, Twilight had the entire evening to spend alone with Moonwhisper. “Pardon me, your highness, is everything alright? You appear to be a little uneasy.” The sound of Moonwhisper’s voice made Twilight realize that she had spent the last minute or so standing silent in her doorway as Moonwhisper stared at her.

“What are you talking about?” Twilight replied with a nervous laugh. “I’m not uneasy, everything’s…” the image of Moonwhisper, overwhelmed by misery as oozing darkness engulfed him forced its way into Twilight’s mind. “Everything’s…” Twilight recalled the sickening sensation of watching Moonwhisper plummet into darkness as she looked on helplessly. “No, everything’s not alright,” Twilight said. “Actually, Moonwhisper, there’s something important that I need to talk to you about.”

“I see,” Moonwhisper said cautiously as he eyed Twilight. “What precisely is it that you need to speak with me about?”

“Um, actually this really is something that I’d rather talk about in private. Would you mind coming inside with me?”

Moonwhisper took a moment, as though he were thinking it over, before simply offering a simple shrug by way of response. Twilight led Moonwhisper into the castle’s map room in silence, magically closing the doors behind them with an ominous thud. “Your highness,” Moonwhisper began, “I still have the rest of my evening patrol to attend to, so if you don’t mind could you please tell me what it is you wanted to speak with me about?”

Twilight took a deep breath to steady her nerves before responding. “Moonwhisper, since you came to Ponyville I’ve been trying to figure you out, I can honestly say I’ve never really met anypony like you before. And, after all the digging and researching your past I think I finally understand the sort of pony you are. The funny part is, figuring that out has helped me realize something else as well; how I feel about you. I’ve realized that I…I really like you, Moonwhisper. No, more than just ‘like’, I…well…”

While Twilight found herself unable to fully put her feelings to words, her meaning was all too clear. For a brief moment a look of absolute terror crossed Moonwhisper’s features, only to immediately be replaced with one of tired exasperation. “Your highness,” Moonwhisper said with the tone of somepony repeating a conversation for the umpteenth time, “while I’m certainly flattered that you would think of me that way, I’m afraid a relationship would be simply out of the question. The guard has regulations which very explicitly ban relationships between enlisted personnel and their superiors, so-“

“Don’t worry, those regulations wouldn’t apply in this case,” Twilight cheerfully interrupted. “The rule you’re referring to specifically bans ‘romantic relationships between members of the same chain of command’. However in Parade Dress v. Princess Celestia, it was ruled that alicorn princesses are considered above and apart from the chain of command and therefore are not subject to the regulations thereof.” Twilight couldn’t stop herself from grinning triumphantly as she levitated a lawbook over to Moonwhisper. “Here, see for yourself,” Twilight said helpfully as she opened the book to the relevant case.

As Moonwhisper read through the case brief Twilight had uncovered his expression gradually shifted from bored irritation back to utter panic. This mounting terror was only added to as Moonwhisper looked up from the book and saw that Twilight had used his momentary distraction to circle around him, placing herself between him and the door leading out, cutting off his primary means of escape. “I can see you’ve given this considerably more thought than I had realized,” Moonwhisper said as he struggled to maintain his composure. “But, honestly, are you absolutely certain that I’m somepony you would really want to pursue a romantic relationship with? You’re the Princess of Friendship for Celestia’s sake! Whereas I am an irritable, morose, anti-social loner. You can’t really think getting involved with somepony like me is a good idea?”

“Somepony like you?” Twilight countered in a bemused one. “You mean somepony who cares more about the ponies around him than almost anypony else I’ve ever met? Somepony who’s smart enough to beat me at chess over twenty times in a row?”

“To be fair, that had less to do with raw intellect than it did with my talent for reading my opponents,” Moonwhisper said, almost reflexively.

“My point is that you’re a far better pony than you give yourself credit for. I’ll freely admit you aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you.” Twilight smiled as she moved closer to Moonwhisper. “The fact is, I’ve fallen for you, flaws and all, and you’re not going to be able to change my mind that easily.”

Moonwhisper closed his eyes as he rapidly backed away from Twilight until he ran into the room’s map of Equestria. Realizing that retreat wasn’t an option, Moonwhisper took several deep breaths before speaking. “You may not be bothered by the personal shortcomings of mine that you’re aware of, but there are things about me that you don’t know. Things about my family-“

“Like the fact that you’re related to King Sombra?” Twilight said, interrupting before Moonwhisper could work himself up any further. “I already know about that, and I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me who you’re descended from, or what your family’s like, what I care about is you!” As Twilight spoke she inched forward until she was directly in front of Moonwhisper. “Now, I’ve told you how I feel about you, but what I really want to know is how you feel about me.” Moonwhisper’s eyes snapped open upon hearing Twilight’s demand. “I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me, honestly, how you feel about me,” Twilight continued, not giving Moonwhisper any opportunity to voice any objections. “If you really don’t feel the same way about me than fine, I can accept that, but at least have the decency to look me in the eye and tell me! What are you waiting for, do you need me to give you a direct order before you’ll answer me?” Twilight asked, tears starting to form in her eyes as she grew increasingly upset at Moonwhisper’s continued silence. Fine then! As a Princess of Equestria I hereby command you, Captain Moonwhisper, to give me a straight and honest answer about how you feel me about me!”

“Enough!” Moonwhisper roared, his face more inches form Twilight’s. “You want an answer, then fine, I love you! Are you satisfied now? I fell in love with you almost as soon as I arrived in this damned town! You’re one of the most incredible, brilliant ponies I’ve ever met and I-mpfh”

Without warning Twilight darted her head forward and pressed her lips against Moonwhisper’s, quieting him before he could rant any further. Twilight held the kiss for several seconds before slowly pulling back. All traces of panic and anguish had been wiped from Moonwhisper’s face, replaced by a look of complete befuddlement. At first it looked as though Moonwhisper was going to say something, but his voice completely failed him. All Moonwhisper could manage to do was silently open and close his mouth until his back legs gave way and he plopped down onto his hindquarters. Sliding forward, Twilight slowly pressed herself up against Moonwhisper, whispering a single word as she gently nuzzled her stallion. “Checkmate.”

Moonwhisper could only silently agree as Twilight went in for another kiss.

Now What?

Twilight shifted uncomfortably as she awoke the next morning. For some reason, Twilight’s bed felt strangely cold and hard, and the large pillow she was hugging was unusually firm. Not to mention that said pillow was also strangely warm and fuzzy…and felt like it was breathing. Twilight’s eyes snapped open as the morning grogginess was swept away in an instant, the events of the previous night coming back to her. Looking down, Twilight saw that the ‘pillow’ she had been clutching was Moonwhisper himself. The newly minted couple had never actually made it out of the castle’s map room, having been far too engrossed in kissing and nuzzling each other to think to find somewhere more comfortable to sleep than the cold tile floor.

As Twilight regarded her new paramour, not quite ready to relinquish her grip on him, she felt Moonwhisper stir and turn to face her. “Good morning, Twilight,” Moonwhisper said, “I see you’re finally awake.”

“Good morning to you too,” Twilight replied, giving Moonwhisper a peck on the nose. “Ugh, next time we do something like this let’s try and make it back to an actual bed before we fall asleep,” Twilight said as she shifted her weight, “or at least a couch. I’m all stiff from sleeping on the floor all night.” As Twilight spoke she stood up and spread out her wings in an effort to work the kinks out. “Definitely worth it, though,” Twilight added with a sly grin.

Moonwhisper barely managed a nod in response as he pulled himself to his hooves, still trying to process Twilight’s use of the term ‘next time’. “I will say, last night was a rather enjoyable alternative to traditional therapy,” he finally managed to joke.

Unfortunately for Moonwhisper, Twilight didn’t seem to find his remark humorous in the slightest. “You are not going to stop seeing Conscious Mind!” Twilight snapped as she spun around to face Moonwhisper. As Moonwhisper began stammering a response Twilight quickly closed the gap between them and pressed herself against him to help calm him down before she continued. “Moonwhisper, listen to me carefully,” Twilight began, keeping her voice low, “you’ve been through some truly horrific experiences, and I can’t simply kiss and cuddle it all away. Celestia knows I’d love it if I could, but things just don’t work that way. You’re still going to need help if you’re going to get better, and that means you need to keep seeing Conscious Mind.” Moonwhisper let out a snort of irritation and tried to look away, but Twilight pulled his face back to force him to look her in the eye. “Now, I want you to promise me that you’re going to keep seeing Conscious Mind. And,” Twilight added before Moonwhisper could respond, “you’re going to start taking you’re therapy seriously. No more just spending the entire session glaring at your therapist.”

Moonwhisper grumbled a bit before finally letting out a defeated sigh. “All right, I suppose I can endure a certain amount of tedium for the sake of your peace of mind.”

Twilight simply smiled and rolled her eyes at Moonwhisper’s grudging agreement. Just knowing that Moonwhisper was going to finally take his therapy seriously was a huge relief. “I should really get cleaned up,” Twilight finally said after a few moments, “I promised Rarity and Pinkie Pie that I’d meet them and the others for breakfast today to let them know how last night went. Also, I still need to apologize to Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for blowing up at them earlier,” Twilight added sheepishly.

“I’m going to need to head out as well. As it is I’m already late for my meaning patrol, not to mention the fact that I’ve missed my morning exercises entirely.” Moonwhisper folded his ears back as a self-conscious look came over him. “I think I may need to make some adjustments to my daily schedule going forward. Although,” Moonwhisper added, “as you put it, it’s ‘definitely worth it’.”

“Well, if anypony understands how important a schedule is, it’s me,” Twilight assured him. “To be honest, I get the feeling that both of us are going to need to make some adjustments from now on. Why don’t you come by tonight and we can talk about it some more over dinner?”

“That’s an excellent suggestion,” Moonwhisper said as Twilight walked him to the castle’s foyer, “it’s a date then.” A slight dazed look spread over Moonwhisper’s features as he slowly realized what he had just said. “It’s a date…we have a date…” Moonwhisper mumbled to himself as he unsteadily trotted out the front door of the palace, the corners of his mouth involuntarily twitching upwards. Seeing the apparent changes in Moonwhisper’s demeanor brought a smile to Twilight. As Twilight turned to get ready for the day (she could only imagine what a mess her mane must have been), the sound of a familiar voice coming from outside stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey, Moonwhisper, you’re sure here early,” Twilight could hear Spike cheerfully say. “Hey does this mean that things aren’t weird between you and Twilight anymore?”

Moonwhisper nervously cleared his throat at Spike’s question. “Well, I can confirm that things have certainly…improved between Twilight and myself.” Twilight could practically hear Moonwhisper blushing furiously as he spoke. “That said, you may wish to speak with Twilight herself. I’m sure she would be more than happy to fill you in on the details of the recent developments.”

Twilight inwardly sighed at the realization that she was going to have to have a talk with Spike before doing anything else. Granted, Twilight had logically known that Spike was going to be one of the first of her friends that she talked to, but that wasn’t going to make the impending conversation any less awkward. Taking a deep breath, Twilight put on a large smile and went to greet her assistant as he marched through the front door. “Hi Spike,” Twilight said as naturally as possible, “how did you big important briefing with the princesses go?”

“Great! Princess Celestia said it was the best briefing on a new dragonlord she’s ever had. Which makes perfect sense, seeing how that was the first briefing she’s ever gotten from somepony who was actually friends with the new dragonlord. The thing is, I’m not really sure how much Princess Celestia actually got out of it,” Spike added in a slightly more serious tone. “Right before we got started Princess Luna came in and whispered something to Princess Celestia, and after that Princess Celestia seemed kinda distracted. Wait a second; Princess Celestia worried about something, Moonwhisper here first thing in the morning…”

“Oh dear Celestia, Spike’s figured it out for himself already,” Twilight thought to herself, hoping that Spike didn’t jump to any embarrassing conclusions.

“There’s some horrible disaster coming, isn’t there?” Spike wailed in horror. “What is it, Twilight, tell me! Did some monster escape from Tartarus? Is Chrysalis back already for revenge for what happened with Thorax and the other changelings? Or-“

“Spike!” Twilight yelled, interrupting her Spike’s panicked babbling. “There’s no major disasters heading our way, so you can relax. Although,” Twilight added, “there is something that we need to talk about. You see, last night Moonwhisper and I talked and…well…as of last night we’re officially a couple.”

Spike started at Twilight in complete shock for several seconds before letting out a high-pitched squeal of excitement. “Are you serious? You and Moonwhisper are gonna be dating from now on? That’s awesome, way to go Twilight! So, does this mean that Moonwhisper’s going to be hanging out around the castle more from now on?”

“Yeah, I guess it does,” Twilight said a little uncertainly. Hearing Spike’s question had made Twilight come to the realization that, for all the energy she had put into worrying about the previous night she had barely given any thought to what would happen afterwards. Mentally, Twilight added that particular worry to the growing list of things that she wanted to talk to her friends about at breakfast.

Whatever Twilight’s concerns were on the subject, however, Spike seemed rather pleased with the possibilities. “Aw man, this is gonna be great! Hey, if Moonwhisper’s finally warming up to everypony maybe I can talk him into coming over for guy’s night.” Spike paused for a moment, a suddenly thoughtful expression on his face. “Huh, I wonder what everypony else is gonna thing about this?”

*********

“Are y’all serious?” An incensed Applejack asked. “After all the hullaballoo Twilight kicked up when she found out we thought she had a thing for Moonwhisper she’s gone and decided she like him after all? What the hay changed her durn mind that fast?” As Applejack vented she looked around the table at the rest of her friends. None of them had thought much of it when Pinkie Pie and Rarity had invited them to breakfast at Sugar Cube Corner. It wasn’t until everypony had arrived that Rarity revealed what Twilight had discovered about her feelings for Moonwhisper, and some were talking the surprise better than others.

“Now Applejack, darling, to be perfectly fair to Twilight, at the time she hadn’t fully realized how she felt. Out talk the day before last was likely just the nudge she needed.” Rarity paused to take a sip of tea before continuing. “Besides, when Pinkie Pie and I met with her the other day she felt just awful about her little outburst.”

“I just wonder how last night went for her,” Rainbow Dash mused out loud. “I mean, Moonwhisper doesn’t really seem like he’s the romantic type. You think he’ll really be all that interested in dating?” Rainbow Dash sighed as she idly prodded her muffin. “I really don’t want to think about what Twilight’s gonna be like if Moonwhisper turned her down.”

“I don’t think you’re going to need to worry about that,” Pinkie Pie replied with a grin.

“Yes, I do have to say Twilight did seem rather confident that Moonwhisper was secretly harboring feelings for her,” Rarity added. “Although I do have to agree with Rainbow Dash on one point, it will be simply dreadful if Moonwhisper were to reject her.”

At the moment the bell on the entrance to the Sugar Cube Corner tinkled as Twilight trotted into the bakery. A hush quickly fell on the table as all eyes were drawn to the alicorn princess. “Well,” Applejack said impatiently, breaking the silence, “don’t just stand there. Tell us how it went with Moonwhisper last night.”

“Um, well…” a slow blush crept into Twilight’s cheeks as she nervously pawed at the ground. This, along with the smile that quickly spread across her face told her friends all they needed to know about the events of the previous night. Twilight was promptly inundated with cheers and congratulations, with Pinkie Pie going so far as to leap up from her seat and embrace Twilight in a flying tackle/hug.

“Oh darling, that’s wonderful news!” Rarity exclaimed. “I have to admit I am a touch jealous of you, to have finally found a special somepony of your very own.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said before turning to the rest of her friends seated at the table. “I owe all of you an apology for the way I acted the day before last. You were just trying to help me and I-“

“Don’t y’all fret none about it, we forgive y’,” Applejack interrupted. “Like we said back then, romance can do funny things to a pony. Besides, sounds like everythin’ turned out alright in the end.”

“At least this means you’re not going to be moping around all the time,” Rainbow Dash added, chuckling to herself. “Honestly, I still can’t believe Moonwhisper was really interested in you like that.” A stunned silence followed, and it took a moment for Rainbow Dash to realize what she had just said. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!” Rainbow Dash yelped. “What I meant was it’s weird to think of Moonwhisper being interested in anypony at all like that.”

“I guess I can understand why,” Twilight said. “To be honest I wasn’t really sure how Moonwhisper felt about me until I finally got him to say it out loud. He’s just so reserved that it’s hard to tell how he’s feeling.”

“Well it was pretty easy to tell how Moonwhisper was feeling earlier today,” Pinkie Pie said with a sly grin.

*********

Ever since he had woken up that morning on the floor of Princess Twilight’s castle, with the princess’s hooves wrapped around him no less, Moonwhisper had felt, for the lack of a better term, good. Truthfully it was something a novel experience for him. If somepony had forced him to put how he felt to words, Moonwhisper would have described it as a feeling of lightness. It felt to Moonwhisper as though a massive weight that he had carried for all his life had been suddenly whisked away. The one downside that Moonwhisper found was that his newfound mood made it difficult for him to maintain what he felt was the properly dignified demeanor of a Captain of the Equestrian Guard. While Moonwhisper could have tolerated the fact that he couldn’t keep himself from grinning like a loon, his inability to stop skipping around like a schoolfilly was too much. Eventually Moonwhisper was able to restrain himself to something between a prance and a collected trot, but he still felt ridiculous. Any irritation Moonwhisper felt, however, was vastly eclipsed by the sheer elevation he felt at the recent developments between himself and Twilight.

The change in Moonwhisper’s attitude didn’t go unnoticed by the residents of Ponyville. Most of the townsponies simply shook their heads and smiled, content to speculate and gossip about what had prompted such a change in him overnight. This particular state of affairs suited Moonwhisper just fine. As happy as he may have been, Moonwhisper wasn’t quite prepared to explain the reason for his newfound joy to anypony else. Fortunately for Moonwhisper even those few ponies who did decide to talk to him were hesitant to ask him outright. Just when Moonwhisper started to believe that he would be able to go the whole morning without a discussion of his personal life, however, a familiar pegasus in lieutenant’s armor swooped out of the sky and landed in front of him.

“Sir, Lieutenant Silverstreak reporting with a message from Canterlot, sir.” As Silverstreak spoke she pulled out a scroll with her wing and proffered it to Moonwhisper.

“Thank you, lieutenant,” Moonwhisper replied, his newfound cheerfulness seeping into his voice. As he unfurled the scroll, Moonwhisper glanced up at Silverstreak. “So tell me, lieutenant, how are things in Canterlot these days?”

Silverstreak, however, didn’t seem to particularly interested in small talk. The guardsmare had noticeably tensed up and was coldly eyeing Moonwhisper as though something were profoundly wrong with him. “Sir, if you don’t mind I’m going to have to ask you to levitate that scroll about one foot in front of you, up at about eye level.”

Moonwhisper stared at Silverstreak in half-disbelief before complying with her demand, letting out an irritated snort as he did so. The seemingly inane drill Silverstreak was running him through was in reality a test intended to determine if he was actually an imposter by checking the color of his magical aura. Moonwhisper had designed and implemented the test himself after the first changeling invasion, and while the test was far from exact it was able to out a careless imposter. As much as Moonwhisper appreciate caution in on the part of a member of the guard, however, he felt in this case Silverstreak was being ridiculous. “Well, lieutenant,” Moonwhisper said as he completed the drill, his face having reverted back to his typical irritated scowl, “are you satisfied that I’m not a rogue changeling yet?”

“Sir, I, uh, yes sir!” Silverstreak stammered as she quickly took a few steps backwards. Any doubts that Silverstreak may have been harboring about Moonwhisper’s identity had evaporated the moment she had met his annoyed stare. “It’s just that…well…permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Granted,” Moonwhisper replied simply.

“To be honest, it’s just very unusual to see you, well happy. I can’t even remember ever actually seeing you smile before. If you don’t mind me asking, sir, what happened? Did you get word that something happened to your father?”

Moonwhisper couldn’t resist chuckling at Silverstreak’s question. If there was anything that could have lifted his spirits as much as the events of the previous night, it would have been news of this father’s ideally painful and humiliating demise. “No, lieutenant, to the best of my knowledge my father is regrettably still alive.” Moonwhisper paused for a moment as he regarded Silverstreak. The lieutenant was inevitably going to learn about his new relationship sooner or later, and as he reflected on it Moonwhisper concluded that in the long run it would be better to set the record straight now rather than wait for rumors to start. “The truth of the matter is, as of last night Princess Twilight Sparkle and I can be considered to be romantically involved.”

For the next several seconds Silverstreak simply stared at Moonwhisper as she slowly processed what he had just told her. “SWEET CELESTIA, YOU’RE DATING THE PRINCESS?” Silverstreak suddenly yelled, her wings flaring out in shock.

“Lieutenant! You will refrain from making a scene in the middle of the street,” Moonwhisper snapped. “You are an officer of the Equestrian Guard and I expect you to behave accordingly.” Moonwhisper let out a sigh; he hated to admit it but this was actually going better than he had expected. “That being said, you are correct in that Princess Twilight and I are now, as you put it, dating. Last night Princess Twilight informed me that she was interested in entering a relationship with me, and she proved to be remarkably well-prepared when it came to countering my concerns.”

“Why that clever little…” Silverstreak muttered to herself before breaking into a grin. “I have to say, sir, this is amazing news. If you’ll permit me to say, it’s good to see you finally actually happy for a change. I just have to ask, though, now that you and the princess are a thing, what’s next?”

*********

Twilight froze and blinked several times, as though she hadn’t quite heard Rainbow Dash’s question. “Hello, Equestria to Twilight, I asked you ‘what’s next’? You know, now that Moonwhisper’s your coltfriend.”

“I…I…” Twilight stammered as she glanced around at the eager faces of her friends. “I really hadn’t ever thought of that. But, being in a relationship is basically like friendship, right? I mean, the word ‘friend’ is right there in ‘coltfriend’, and I’m the Princess of Friendship!” Twilight’s declaration elicited a series of half-hearted murmurs of agreement from her friends, which did little to improve her confidence. “Ugh, to be honest I really don’t know how any of this is supposed to work. I’ve never even thought about being in a relationship before, at least not a serious one anyway.” Twilight’s face suddenly brightened as a thought occurred to her. “But, at least I have all of you to help me. I mean, it’s not like I’m the first one of us to actually find a coltfriend, right?” Twilight’s question was answered by an awkward silence as several of her friends shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“Ah just haven’t met the right stallion yet,” Applejack finally said, breaking the silence. “Besides, my chores on the farm don’t really leave me with much time fer romance anyhow.”

“It’s pretty much the same deal for me,” Rainbow Dash added. “I’m too busy with the Wonderbolts to go around looking for a stallion as awesome as I am.”

“I, um, haven’t really met anypony that…” Fluttershy mumbled, her voice quickly vanishing into inaudibility.

“And I believe that everypony present is already sufficiently acquainted with my own romantic misadventures,” Rarity said, practically daring anypony to utter the names ‘Blueblood’ or ‘Trenderhoof’. “It would seem, darling, that your relationship with Captain Moonwhisper is taking you into uncharted territory for our little social circle.”

“Honestly, though, Ah wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Applejack reassured Twilight. “Like y’all said, most of its probably gonna be just like any other friendship-“

“Just with added make out sessions,” Rainbow Dash added with a grin. “What?” Rainbow Dash asked as most of the table turned to glare at her. “That’s what ponies do when they’re dating, isn’t it?”

“That may be true, but you could have at least tried to find a more tactful way of putting it.” Rarity said with a huff.

The conversation at the table quickly shifted to the act of ‘making out’, along the techniques and propriety thereof. Much of the conversation was purely speculative, owing to Twilight’s friends’ general lack of experience. For her part, Twilight spent most of the conversation deflecting questions about her own experiences on the subject. It wasn’t until the conversation drifted to the potential merits of Spike’s tongue that Twilight finally excused herself. With everything else going on the last thing Twilight needed on her mind was Rainbow Dash’s musings on the possibilities offered by a three-foot long prehensile appendages. As Twilight made her way back to the castle she continued to ponder what the future had in store for her Moonwhisper. Of course, Twilight knew that she would always be able to turn to her friends for emotional support if needed it, but she still would have preferred to be able to talk with somepony with actual relationship experience. The only pony Twilight could think of that fit that description, and who Twilight would have felt comfortable talking to, was Princess Cadance. However, aside from the practical issues presented by the fact that Cadance lived in the Crystal Empire, Twilight wasn’t entirely certain she wanted to rely on her sister-in-law for relationship advice. It was only when Twilight trotted past the hole where the Golden Oak Library had once stood that the answer to her problem struck her like a thunderbolt. If Twilight couldn’t find somepony with relationship experience to ask for advice, then she could find a book on the subject instead. This would have been an absolutely perfect solution were it not for two small problems. The first was that Twilight’s library currently lacked any actual books on the subject. Granted, Twilight did have a number of romance novels, but she was keenly aware of the fact that trying to apply romance novels to real life was a recipe for disaster. Complicating the problem was the fact that the selection it Ponyville’s bookstore was rather limited when it came to self-help books. Fortunately all Twilight would have to do rectify the situation would be to seek out a larger bookstore, such as the bookstore she had frequented when she lived in Canterlot. There were a few things Twilight would want to see to before she left, but by the time she reached her castle Twilight was certain she had almost everything worked out. The only factor that Twilight was still concerned about was Moonwhisper himself, given that a round trip to Canterlot and back would likely take most of the day meaning that there was no guarantee that Twilight would be back in time for her dinner date. Twilight was still trying to figure out how to resolve this dilemma when she entered the castle to find Moonwhisper waiting for her.

“Ah, Twilight, I have something that I need to talk to you about. I’ve just received a message from Canterlot approving a few requests that I had submitted shortly after a first came to Ponyville.”

“What sort of requests are you talking about?” Twilight cautiously asked.

“Well, specifically it was a request for additional personnel, as well as the establishment of a permanent base near the Everfree Forrest. Once of my first responsibilities upon coming to Ponyville was to evaluate what sort of force would be needed to properly secure the town. And, to be honest,” Moonwhisper added, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks, “given recent developments the fact that Canterlot is responding to my evaluations now is something of a relief. I’ve been stretched fairly thin between my responsibilities as your bodyguard and the need to monitor the Everfree Forrest, so having extra guards on hoof will be a welcome change.”

“I suppose that makes sense, but just how many guards are you talking about?” Twilight asked, fervently hoping that the situation wasn’t going to spiral out of hoof.

“There wouldn’t be any need for a full garrison, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Moonwhisper assured Twilight. “My request was only for a dozen or so guards, just enough to maintain regular patrols along the border of the forest. Even that will have to wait for a proper barracks to be constructed, though. Until then, the only additional guards will be my two former lieutenants, Lieutenant Silverstreak and Lieutenant Sharpshooter. From what I understand you’ve met them before, correct?”

Twilight nodded her head, mostly just grateful that Moonwhisper wasn’t going overboard. Mentally, Twilight was already making plans to help welcome Silverstreak and Sharpshooter to Ponyville, which would almost inevitably be supplemented by a Pinkie Pie welcome party.

While Twilight pondered how best to introduce the two guardponies to the rest of Ponyville Moonwhisper shifted uneasily on his hooves. “There is one slight complication associated with this news, however. I’m afraid I’m going to need to go into Canterlot today to finalize some of the transfer paperwork. As such, regarding our date tonight…”

“Actually, that will work out just fine,” Twilight replied as she silently cheered this bit of serendipity. “While I was out I remembered that there’s something that I need to go to Canterlot to take care of. I was a little worried that I was going to miss our first date, but since we’re both going to Canterlot we can just go out to dinner there.” Twilight’s suggestion left Moonwhisper looking visibly relieved and he offered no resistance as she herded him towards the door. “I still have a few things that I need to take care of before I leave, so why don’t you meet me at the train station in about half an hour?” Moonwhisper barely had time to nod his head in agreement before Twilight pushed him outside and closed the door behind him. Once Moonwhisper was gone, Twilight quickly made her way to one of the storerooms in the castle’s lower levels. The room’s contents were a shockingly disorganized collection of boxes and bins, many of which Twilight hadn’t looked through since she moved into her castle. As a result it took Twilight several minutes to find the specific box she was looking for. Opening it up, Twilight was rewarded with the sight of a collection of her old dresses from before he had transformed into an alicorn. None of the dresses had fit properly after Twilight had grown her wings so she had stored them in a box in the basement of the Golden Oak’s Library. Twilight had always meant to have the dresses altered to fit her new appendages but had never actually gotten around to it. Thankfully, this procrastination had meant that the box had survived the destruction of the library’s upper levels by Tirek. After a few minutes sifting through the collection of outfits Twilight found what she had been looking for, namely the sundress that Rarity had made her for her birthday. Carefully folding the garment so that it would fit in her saddlebags Twilight trotted out of the room to finish the rest of her preparations, mentally making a note to see about properly organizing the room later.

*********

The train ride into Canterlot itself was largely uneventful. Moonwhisper and Twilight spent the trip sitting next to each other in silence, which was broken only by the occasional attempt at small talk. Twilight found the entire experience to be unbearably awkward. Everything, even something as simple as sitting down next to each other, suddenly seemed like it had acquired a host of new unwritten societal rules. It was actually a relief when the train finally pulled into the Canterlot station, signaling an end to the awkwardness.

“So, once we’ve finished our respective tasks, why don’t we meet at the palace end of Restaurant Row and look for a place to have dinner there,” Moonwhisper said as they stepped onto the platform.

“Restaurant Row?” Twilight asked, wrinkling her nose. “Are you sure you’d want to go there?”

“From what I’ve heard, the quality of the food there has vastly improved in the last few months,” Moonwhisper replied. “But, if there’s somewhere else in particular that you’d rather go-“

“No, it’s alright, I’m sure we can find someplace there that would be fine,” Twilight said quickly. Giving Moonwhisper a quick peck on the cheek, Twilight took off into the air. As much as Twilight hated to leave in a rush she was anxious to complete her business. It only took Twilight a few minutes to reach her first destination, namely her former Canterlot home. Moon Dancer appeared to be absent, which suited Twilight just fine as it meant that she wouldn’t have to explain what she was doing to anypony else. Once inside, Twilight removed her saddlebags and pulled out her sundress. To Twilight’s relief the dress still fit reasonably well provided she kept her wings folded, which became much easier to maintain once she put her saddlebags on over her dress. The result wasn’t exactly the most fashionable ensemble imaginable, but it would sever Twilight’s needs perfectly. Twilight was frankly a little embarrassed that she, the Princess of Friendship, needed to seek out a book on relationships and thus wanted to go to the bookstore incognito. Luckily, thanks to the generally self-absorbed nature of most Canterlot unicorns going unnoticed would be as simple as keeping her wings out of sight. As far as anypony would be concerned, Twilight would just be another unicorn going about her business.

The trip from Twilight’s old home to the bookstore wasn’t particularly long and Twilight knew the route by heart. As she had hoped, nopony on the street gave her a second glance as they went about their business of being more important than everypony else. Twilight’s good fortune continued when she reached the bookstore itself, as the pony at the register was relatively new and therefore didn’t recognize her as a former regular. “Pardon me, sir, do you happen to have any books on relationship advice?” Twilight asked the cashier, a portly unicorn sporting a short, unkempt beard.

The stallion slowly put down the book he had been reading and looked Twilight over for a moment before gesturing down one of the aisles of bookshelves. “Those are gonna be in with the self-help books in the back. Quickest way to find them would be to go down through the romance novel section until you reach the far wall, that’ll take you right to ‘em.”

Twilight thanked the clerk, who responded with a grunt as he returned to his book. His directions proved quite accurate and Twilight soon found herself in front of a large shelf of books bearing covers featuring hearts and happy couples. Mercifully, the section was almost completely deserted aside from a single stallion wearing a stetson hat and duster standing at the far end of the shelves. Ignoring him, Twilight began pouring over the various titles, occasionally pulling one down and flipping through it. After Twilight looked through each of the books she would either return them to the shelves or place them in a neat pile next to her. “Let’s see…Finding Your Perfect Stallion, no I’ve already found him, the problem is I’m not sure what to do next…Managing Healthy Relationships, now this sounds more like it…How to Please Your Special Somepony, huh, I wonder what it means by-“ Twilight opened the book, only to immediately snap it closed. “Oh, that’s what it means. I don’t really think I’m going to need to worry about anything like that quite yet,” Twilight muttered to herself as she blushed furiously. After thinking about it for a moment, however, Twilight surreptitiously slipped the book into the middle of her pile. Mumbling something to herself about how the book might become relevant at a later date, Twilight turned back to the shelf to grab another book. When Twilight tried to levitate the book off the shelf, however, she felt it pull away from her. Glancing at the book, Twilight saw that in addition to her aura there was a second, dark blue aura trying to envelop it as well.

“Pardon me, miss, but do you—TWILIGHT?” A deep voice to Twilight’s right suddenly yelped. As Twilight looked up at the voice’s source she felt her jaw fall open in surprise. The unicorn in the duster that Twilight had noticed earlier was now standing next to her, and looking down at her from underneath his stetson was none other than Moonwhisper.

“Moonwhisper? What in Equestria are you doing here?” Twilight asked, desperately trying to keep her voice at a whisper. “And where the hay did you get that outfit?”

“Ah, the outfit was a parting gift form Lieutenant Sharpshooter from when I was first assigned to Ponyville. I had left it in storage here in Canterlot as officer’s aren’t normally permitted to accept gifts from their subordinates, but apparently there are exceptions if, for example, somepony is being transferred to a different command.” As Moonwhisper spoke, he slowly shifted his position to interpose himself between Twilight and a pile of books at the far end of the shelves.

“That doesn’t really answer my main question, though,” Twilight said, giving Moonwhisper a hard stare. “What are you doing here?”

Moonwhisper coughed nervously before letting out a deep sigh. “The truth of the matter is, Twilight, earlier today I came to the realization that I’m not really certain how to approach being in a romantic relationship. What’s more, all of the stallion’s I know who have experience with healthy relationships live too far away to rely on for advice, and in once case the stallion in question would be your older brother. And as the local bookstore in Ponyville doesn’t stock what I was looking for, coming here seemed to be the next logical step.”

A smile slowly spread across Twilight’s features as she listened to Moonwhisper’s explanation and by the time finished she found herself giggling uncontrollably. “I’m not laughing at you,” Twilight said as she saw noticed the slightly offended expression on Moonwhisper’s face, “it’s just that that’s exactly why I came her myself. I’ve never really dated anypony before and I’ve been so nervous about messing things up…” Twilight was struck by another giggle fit at the realization that she and Moonwhisper had approached their shared dilemma in exactly the same way, right down to their concealing outfits. “You know,” Twilight said as she finally regained her composure, “I’m actually feeling better about all this already. So, did you find any books that look promising?” For the next half an hour or so, Twilight and Moonwhisper discussed the books they had found, and by the time they were ready to make their purchases the worst of Twilight’s fears had been put to rest. While it was inevitable that they would face challenges in a relationship that was uncharted territory for both of them, Twilight was confident that they would be able to overcome everything together.