This Nightby BlazzingInfernoChaptersWe MeetWe TalkWe WishWe SeeWe MeetLuna scanned the cityscape before her, noting surprisingly little damage. Canterlot looked unusually picturesque, considering how little time had passed since the changeling invasion. This was partly a virtue of the dim evening light masking minor imperfections with the veil of darkness, but even in the harsh light of day there wouldn’t have been much to see. Nothing drove construction quite like a desperate want to reestablish normalcy. The sooner a collapsed roof was fixed, the sooner the bakery operating beneath it could reopen. The sooner a broken window was replaced, the sooner the bedroom beyond it could be used. Most importantly, the sooner Canterlot looked like its old self, the sooner its residents could forget running for their lives from changeling drones. Ponies nowadays were so willing to forget. With only a few decades separating birth and death, Luna could hardly blame them. Life, especially mortal life, was too short to harrow oneself up with grief and worse. She knew that with absolute certainty. None of that explained why there was a pegasus standing under her private balcony. From her vantage point, dozens of stories above the city but only three above the gardens that bordered the castle walls, the figure below her looked more statue than pony. The black plate armor girding his azure frame guaranteed that his stillness was merely part of his training as a Royal Guard. What wasn’t clear was why he was essentially guarding the doorless wall beneath her chambers. “Guard, why are you stationed there? Surely there are more important places for you to be than the castle gardens.” Night’s cool, still air carried his stoic voice to her ears, despite his not turning to face her. “This is where I’ve been stationed, Your Highness. It isn’t my place to question it.” Luna leaned over the balcony’s stone railing, even though the view from three inches closer was largely the same. “Need I remind you that it is highly improper to remain facing away from a Princess when she addresses you?” He didn’t move. “You need not, Your Highness.” Her wings flared out to their full length. “Then explain this continued insolence! I demand that you face me at once!” “You yourself ordered me and all other on-duty guards not to, Your Highness. It’s part of our increased security measures in light of the changeling threat and the… incident last week during the wedding.” Luna vaguely remembered issuing such an order, but continued to glare down at him all the same. “Do you expect praise for adhering to the letter of the law, even when it makes your Princess look the fool?” “I’d settle for not being a suspected changeling spy.” Luna caught herself before she uttered a distinctly unprincesslike snort. Any changeling spy, as well as any Royal Guard who valued sleeping in a room without bars on the windows, would have more sense than this silver-tongued miscreant. “Very well. Carry on.” With that she returned to her chambers, intent on writing a very stern letter to the Royal Staffing Agency. Day was once again giving way to night. Luna paced across her balcony, never taking her eyes off the guard standing far below. Returning for a second evening’s watch instead of seeking out a new assignment said something about his mettle, and possibly his stupidity. Tonight she’d find out for certain. Her ultimate weapon, the barely polite letter she’d sent to the Royal Staffing Agency, wouldn’t be answered for several nights. For the time being, she’d adopt a different approach. “Good evening.” As before, he remained perfectly stationary with a gaze fixed on the garden’s outer wall. “Good evening, Your Highness.” “I assume you intend to keep this post for the foreseeable future, Guard?” “As long as I am ordered to keep it, Your Highness.” “Then you may refer to me as Luna. This supposedly modern age has dispensed with nearly all formality; I might as well throw out the remainder. Or would you prefer Princess Luna The Dragon’s Bane as I was known in a bygone era, or Luna The Petunia Devourer as my elder sister once christened me in our youth?” She craned her neck over the balcony’s edge. He continued to stand there, an armored statue among the flowers and topiaries that didn’t move a single feather. Seconds of perfect silence passed, during which she couldn’t even hear his breathing. Finally he let out a deep breath. “I humbly request to refer to Your Highness as Princess Luna… Princess Luna.” Luna’s triumphant smile nearly gave way to a laugh. “A most respectable choice. You may do so, provided that slanderous Petunia title is never repeated.” “Is that an order, Your High—I mean, Princess Luna?” “Must I really say so?” “What about the other one?” “Dragon’s Bane? In truth, it is merely the name of a potent spice found in the Dragon Lands, one that few ponies other than myself were able to bear the taste of when it was first brought to Canterlot.” “Ah… I see.” She could sense something in his monotone voice, something that lacked the albeit-muted enthusiasm of the moments prior. “Are you disappointed?” “Never.” “Then pray tell us your thoughts.” “I… know what Dragon’s Bane is. My grandma puts it on crackers with cheese.” Luna groaned and held a foreleg over her eyes. “Truly nothing is sacred anymore.” “I swear I almost burned my lips off the first time I…” She returned her gaze to his unmoving form. “Must I bait you further to loosen your tongue?” “I-I don’t want to take up too much of your time, Princess Luna. Unwanted fraternizing is frowned upon. According to the Royal Guard Code of Conduct, I shouldn’t—” “Do you assume that we Princesses aren’t ponies as well, that we don’t eat, breathe, and, stars forbid, enjoy a good palaver from time to time?” “Of course, Princess Luna, I just—“ She leaned against the railing and smiled down at him. “And why are you so quick to dismiss our conversation as ‘unwanted fraternizing’? When the time comes for my nightly duties to commence, I will take my leave. For now, while the sun’s greater light still touches the sky, I am without anything better to do than to pass the idle moments with the guard inexplicably stationed beneath my balcony.” “Wait, your balcony? Do you mean I’m right under—” “My bedchambers, yes. I intend to have a very long discussion with your commanding officer over what is and isn’t appropriate placement for members of the Night Guard.” “My apologies, Princess Luna! If I’d known—” “You are fulfilling your assigned duty. Provided you continue to keep your respectful tone, and you continue your earlier story about your first experience with Dragon’s Bane, I see no reason for blame to fall to you… You do have a name, don’t you?” “It’s… Rain Shadow.” “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Rain Shadow of the Night Guard.” “A-and I yours, Princess Luna.” We TalkLuna didn’t need to glance over the balcony’s edge tonight, nor had she needed to for the past week. Instead, she reclined on the stonework, watched the stars in the heavens above, and spoke to the only pony who could hear her. “Good evening, Rain Shadow.” “Good evening, Princess Luna.” If she closed her eyes, she could imagine he was next to her. But she didn’t want to do that. Not yet. “And what deeds of bravery and conquest have you accomplished this fine day?” “Does surviving yet another ‘surprise inspection’ in the barracks count?” “Provided my staying awake through a four-hour sermon on tax reform counts, then most certainly.” “Does that mean I’m getting the withheld part of my paycheck back?” Rain asked. Luna swept her hoof across her view, momentarily eclipsing whole constellations. “Nay.” “Then what’s there to reform?” “I sincerely hope I find out during tomorrow’s riveting installment. But enough about the travails of royal disinterest. What is this inspection you mentioned?” “Everypony’s still jumpy about changeling spies, especially the new captain of the guard. These days I keep getting asked where I was five minutes ago, or what’s today’s code word, or what my mother’s name is. I get that filling Shining Armor’s horseshoes is a big job, but at least he knew how to handle a crisis.” “And what if said role should one day fall to you?” “Me?” “Rain Shadow, Captain of the Guard.” Rain gave a long, slow sigh. “Yikes.” “That is hardly an attitude befitting a pony to whom I am supposed to entrust my very life. Surely you aspire to be more? Surely you… dream?” “I dream about being a painter sometimes, but that’s different.” “Enlighten me.” “My dad was a Royal Guard. My grandfather was a Royal Guard. My great grandfather… you get the picture. If there’s one thing I heard again and again growing up, it’s what a Royal Guard is supposed to be.” Her eyes slid shut, a little sliver of midnight big enough only for her and the voice in her ears. “Ah. The noble knight. The great hero…” “Not really.” “Oh? The dreams of your comrades say otherwise. What if a giant, ravenous manticore were to leap over the castle wall that you watch so intently?” “Okay, so maybe being a Royal Guard lets me pretend to be a hero sometimes, but… How do I say this… When I was little, I asked my dad why the Princesses even needed guards if they’re powerful enough to move the sun and the moon. He put his helmet on me and said that’s what the guards are to the Princesses. We’re not here to be monster-fighting heroes saving damsels in distress. We’re here to be like the helmet. I’m here to be a shield for you. I’m here to keep that pony-eating manticore busy so you can blast it.” Luna frowned. “Do you think being cannon fodder is somehow noble? In centuries past, there would be no shortage of peasants who would fulfill that role purely as an act of worship.” Rain’s smile was audible. “I never said I’d just lie down and let the thing eat me. If I’m the helmet, then you’re the spear. I do my job and you do yours.” “Hmm. It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good helmet, especially one that I’ve spent many a pleasant evening conversing with. I concede you the point, but I remain in the lead.” “The point?” She batted her eyelashes at the balcony’s edge. The thought of him standing down there, attempting to unravel her latest turn of phrase while keeping perfectly still was positively delicious. “A conversation is its own battle, is it not? A game of wills and words between two worthy combatants.” “Hah. I don’t see how I’m a ‘worthy combatant’ for a Princess.” “More than you know,” Luna whispered. “What was that?” She blushed. “I-I merely was rehearsing my next conversational assault, but I’m afraid it must wait for the morrow.” She rose to her hooves and adopted a much more dignified tone, devoid of her earlier playfulness. “Night is upon us, and my royal duty calls.” She turned towards her chambers, but didn’t manage to take a single step before his voice floated up from the gardens below. “Goodnight, Princess Luna.” She replayed his three words in her mind, omitting the suddenly insufferable title in the middle. “Goodnight, Rain.” Luna stepped onto her balcony, sat down, and stared at the high wall separating the manicured gardens from the wild trees beyond. “What would you like to paint?” Rain Shadow chuckled. “Good evening.” “If given the finest supplies in the land and free reign over the wall you are duty-bound to stare at, what would you paint?” “Flowers.” Luna frowned. “Flowers? On the wall of the royal gardens, in full view of a Princess’s private residence, surrounded by flora from the far reaches of the known world… you would paint flowers?” “I like flowers.” “So much that your current field of view does not contain enough of them?” “Painting one is different, and I’m not talking about the smell or the taste.” “In what way, then? Do you suppose that you can improve upon nature’s own designs?” “No. It’s more about the experience, the act of painting and then looking at the finished product to remember what it was like… how tough the red petals were, how strong the green paint smelled… It’s all about reliving the act. But I guess I should pick something different if it’s going on a castle wall.” “As opposed to your private collection?” “Yes… if you can call a single wall in a small apartment a collection. I’ve only painted for me before, stuff I never expected anypony else to see. But if I was going to paint a castle wall… hmm.” Luna inched closer to the balcony’s edge until his helmeted head entered her view. “Scratch your chin in artistic contemplation if you must.” “Hah, that’s okay. Do you ask all your guards stuff like this?” “Only those who demonstrate wit enough not to simply say ‘the moon’ or ‘thy radiant beauty,’ a list that thus far includes only you. Consider yourself honored.” “I am.” “Your lineage aside, what possessed you to become a guard instead of pursuing a career in the arts?” Rain sighed. “Because I’m not very good at it. If I was going to paint that wall… I’d want to paint us how we are right now, talking. Except I’d look like a blue blob surrounded by green blob trees in front of a messy grey background and… You deserve a better portrait artist than the likes of me. I’m good at painting flowers, though. I’ve had years of practice with those.” “I would imagine the duties of a guard allow little in the way of free time.” “Yeah… Sometimes I stay up late to paint—err, early. Whatever. I knew what I was getting into, though, and I’m fine with it.” “You would abandon your dreams so easily?” “It’s not my only one. I like being a guard. I like getting to protect ponies, and pony society. And I really like… this.” Luna bowed her head and shut her eyes. He couldn’t see her cry, nor would he ever, she feared. “As do I.” Alas. As do I. We WishThe stars were especially bright this evening. Luna saw no reason for the gardens to grow dim in the middling time between sunset and moonrise. Despite the stellar display, she didn’t feel like watching the heavens, and she definitely didn’t feel like opening the letter from the Royal Staffing Agency that had been waiting on her bedside table for far too many nights. Instead she lay on her stomach, her head resting between the stone pillars holding up the railing. Rain Shadow stood below her as he always did: never moving, and yet somehow never ceasing to consume her attention. “What do you wish to discuss on this fine evening?” “You’re asking me, Princess Luna?” Luna nodded to the form standing so far below. “Indeed. I have accosted you with my own topics for many evenings in a row. The choice now falls to you.” “I… uh… How was your day?” She rolled her eyes. “A mundane sentiment.” “Not when talking to a Princess.” “Very well. My day began as they always do, with my being carried from my chambers on a jewel-encrusted litter by my incomprehensibly masculine honor guard while the fairest of maidens fed me grapes from the royal storehouse. After spending three hours selecting a crown from my vast collection, I—” His laughter stopped her, shortly before her own broadening smile could do the same. “Wow, and I thought royals were just ponies or something. What do I have to do to get that ‘honor guard’ job?” “Convince me that you aren’t more suited to play the part of the maiden, first of all. I can hardly judge your stature from a distance such as this.” “You mean you don’t also have the eyes of a hawk?” She grinned. “No more than you have the stare of a cockatrice, or so I presume. Would you care to come up here for but a moment and prove me wrong?” “Hah, and get court-martialed?” “Must I feign distress to force you to abandon your post?” “Please don’t.” His bluntness stole away her smile. “Have I upset you?” “No… I just… I’m supposed to stand right here, so that’s what I’m going to do.” “As you wish. I suppose my own playfulness is getting out of hoof. To properly answer your question, I reviewed letters from foreign dignitaries on matters of trade, discussed said matters of trade with a team of advisors, and drafted a peace treaty for two warring factions of yaks that have chosen Equestria as a neutral third party.” “Sounds like a busy day.” “That was all prior to my breakfast of oats and cheese. The life of a Princess is demanding, doubly so when my duties aren’t as straightforward as I would like.” “What do you mean?’ She bit her lip. “There are times when… when sworn duty and practiced forbearance are at odds with what merely feels right… when what I seek to make right for one pony does not align with what I know I must do for the good of all, and sometimes that pony is me.” “Princess—” “My dream duties are at times blissfully simple: rescue a filly from an imaginary monster, remind a colt of the kindness his schoolmates show him… At other times, the pony I wish to help is unreachable, and no amount of dream magic can guide them back to reality.” Seconds passed before Rain spoke. “What do you do when that happens?” “I give them my best effort, and when that effort fails… my heart breaks anew.” “I’m so sorry.” “You need not trouble yourself, and I would prefer that you not dwell on it. Should my waking hours prove to be taxing or mundane, this is the time I look forward to. This is my time to relax, to feel at ease, and to share words with a kindred spirit that isn't bound by a crown.” “I still wish I could help.” Luna clamped her eyes shut, but darkness alone couldn’t dispel her mounting guilt. “Then join me. Spread your wings, take to the air, and alight by my side. Sit here and watch the glorious night begin. Come to me, and I shall regale you with the grand design of the firmament. I might even be persuaded to reposition a star of your choosing.” “I… I would, but…” She sighed. “You cannot.” “I’m sorry.” Luna stood and retreated to her chambers. She’d dragged this fantasy on long enough. “No, no. The fault is mine. It is all mine.” The grass felt cool and damp under Luna’s bare hooves. The castle gardens were deserted as expected, save for the one statuesque figure standing beneath her balcony. He didn’t move as she approached, at least not in a way the eye could see. She could almost feel his heart thumping in his chest. No longer was she the unseen Princess perched on the stonework far above. Tonight she was the manticore scaling the castle walls. Tonight she’d come to hunt, not talk. “Rain Shadow!” His lips quivered. “Princess—” She stood just beyond his peripheral vision. “I once likened conversation to a battle. All this time I thought I possessed the upper hoof… All this time you have been on the cusp of delivering the killing blow. I could have checked your credentials so much earlier, and in fact I have slept with the very letter within hoof’s reach… Instead I fell victim to your charade.” “I don’t understand what you’re—” “You’re not a member of the Night Guard.” “I—” She scraped her hoof against his armor. Freshly applied paint smeared her coat, and the brass beneath shone through with all the brilliance that the remaining daylight would allow. “Rain Shadow. A Royal Guard of the Day.” Sweat poured down his face, but still he didn’t move. “I-I can explain.” “That would be preferable to charging you with trespassing, dereliction of duty, endangerment, unwanted fraternizing…” She stepped into his peripheral vision, if only to allow her greater size to complement the threat. “Explain your deception to me this instant, or prepare to spend centuries explaining it to four windowless walls!” “Yes, I’m a Day Guard!” “Do not admit! Explain!” Luna bellowed. Birds fled from nearby trees as her voice echoed through the gardens. He took a great breath, almost as if he was savoring his last. “It started with the invasion… I-I was pulling a double shift by the castle gate during the wedding, letting guests in for the reception. A changeling smashed through one of the battlements above me and huge stones were landing everywhere. I tried to save the civilians around me, but…” Luna nodded. “I am familiar with the incident. That hardly justifies—” “And now I can’t sleep anymore!” he wailed. “Ever since then, I just don’t get tired. After my day shift is over, I paint my armor black and just go back to work where I won’t be noticed because… because that’s the best I can do with whatever time I have left. It’s like I’m stuck here… frozen…” A cold wind filled the lull in the interrogation, tugging at Luna’s free-flowing mane while not disturbing a single hair on Rain. She sighed. “Frozen… How apt a term. What would you have me do, Rain? Would you continue to stand here, night after night, wasting away beneath my balcony? Surely you don’t expect to go undiscovered forever; sooner or later the genuine Night Guard will take notice, and they will treat you with far less kindness than I.” He didn’t move, and yet his stillness said something all its own. Within his unmoving frame there was a sadness that his voice couldn’t fully convey. “I know. I’m not going to ask for special treatment, either. Just lock me away. It’s not like I can live much longer like this, never sleeping… never resting… I can’t even remember the last time I ate. I’m just glad we got to talk… I wouldn’t trade that for anything!” “Nor I… save for you to look at me.” “Why? Why does that even matter?” “As the Princess of the Night, as your ruler, and as your confidant for these past few evenings, I demand it! I order you to turn and face me!” He stared ahead, unmoving and unblinking. “I… I can’t.” “You must!” “It’s… It’s like I’m stuck. It’s like I forgot how.” She touched her hoof to his ear, one of the few parts of his head his armor didn’t protect. “Do you feel that?” “I… I think I do.” “That is the feeling of my hoof. My shoes, my crown… the entirety of my regalia is in my chambers. I stand before you as a pony wishing for nothing more than to meet your gaze. Face me, and all will be well.” His ear twitched, and he let out a pained grunt. “It hurts! Moving hurts so much! Why does it hurt?” “We once spoke of a monster storming the castle walls. Do you remember?” His ear twitched again, and his voice came out as a whisper. “Yes.” “The monster is here right now, and has taken aim at my heart. It shall strike me down if you do not act as my guard, my shield!” His armor shifted as his muscles twitched and strained. “I’m… trying! No monster’s getting past me!” She touched her glowing horn to his forehead. “And I shall try with you.” Another cold breeze cut through the garden, this one so strong that the grass was flattened against the earth. The unrelenting wind roared in their ears, tearing leaves from trees. Rain’s whole body shuddered, and his scream drowned out the wind. “What’s happening?” he shouted. “You are coming back… back with me.” “Back where?” “Where you belong.” The wind became a continuous shockwave, tearing up the soil beneath their hooves. The castle wall directly in front of them, the unchanging scene he’d never taken his eyes off of, soon followed. Each stone that fell away revealed a patch of brilliant light, white as snow and bright as the sun. We SeeLuna smiled down at Rain as he opened his eyes. He shut them again when the hospital’s harsh lights hit his dilated pupils. “Where am I?” She raised her wing to shade him from the overhead lights. “Somewhere safe, Rain Shadow. Perhaps not as picturesque as as the castle gardens, but safe regardless. Within these walls, I am your helmet, your shield.” His body convulsed beneath the bedsheets, and he moaned. “Still hurts… Hurts everywhere.” “Then be still. Open your eyes when you can.” Luna waited for several minutes, her smile broadening as his forelegs twitched and then finally began to move. She watched his hooves gently inspect the body he’d woken up in, not the burly frame of a seasoned Royal Guard, but that of an emaciated pony connected to monitoring equipment and wrapped in white bandages. When his shaking hooves finally found the bandage around his forehead, his tear-filled eyes opened. “Princess Luna?” She smiled as she met his gaze. “A respectful address, even in greatest turmoil. Please call me Luna.” Rain’s hooves returned to his torso. They caught on the ribs bulging against his skin. “What happened to me?” “Look around you. Something here might stimulate your memory.” After staring at her for several seconds, seconds she would forever cherish, his eyes found the many bouquets, cards, and balloons piled on every available surface in the brightly lit room. A small banner over the door read “Canterlot’s Hero.” “There was… an accident… something about the wedding… and changelings…” “You described the incident to me quite accurately: rubble from the damaged castle wall fell, and you flew to the rescue of many civilians who would otherwise have perished. In so doing, you took their place… nearly dead, and rendered unconscious for months.” His whole body convulsed again, and he returned his gaze to her. “Months? The invasion was just a few days ago… I know it was!” “You merely have no memory of it. The doctors assumed you would never wake again, and so I… attempted to rouse you myself. I entered the dream world your mind created. Do you remember?” He nodded, this time without wincing. “Unwanted fraternizing.” “The mind is very adept at adapting to new situations, sometimes to its own detriment. Yours mistook deep sleep for constant wakefulness and locked you into a familIar place and a familiar routine. As for my presence… my methods… Had I merely inquired into your duties as a guard and the finer points of your accident prior to entering your dreams…” “I'm awake now. Thank you.” She turned away. “Regardless, I must apologize. Princesses have a code of conduct as well, one that I set aside all too quickly. I could have been more direct once simple suggestion failed to further invigorate your mind and reconnect it to your body. Instead I toyed with you… I adopted your fantasy for my own selfish pleasure rather than adhering to my duty. I chose to live and relive our private evenings together rather than doing all that I could to immediately return you to the waking world by forcing you from your routine.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw his foreleg slowly rise, the closest he could come to touching her. “But it was my pleasure, too! It’s not like I'd ever get stationed under your balcony… especially not now. I’m pretty sure my left wing is broken… I can’t even feel the other one.” Luna gave a quick nod. “Yes. Your injuries… healing will take time. A medal of valor and a less physically demanding assignment await you, Rain Shadow, Hero of Canterlot. You have fulfilled all that could be asked of a Royal Guard, including weathering a Princess’s unbecoming conduct.” “I never wanted to be a hero… but I’m thinking about becoming a painter.” Luna flinched. She glanced at him, blushed, and looked away. “Surely you can not end your family’s generations-long tradition… not on account of me.” “Then I’ll start a new one, and I’ll do it for me. I like painting, I’ll get better at it with practice… and there aren’t any fraternizing rules for painters and Princesses. We could talk as much as we wanted.” A smile crept onto her face. “True. There are also no provisions for painters standing beneath a Princess’s private balcony, alas.” She pushed the happy thought away just as quickly. “But I still must protest. I will not condone you doing such a thing in the foolish hope of you and I continuing… whatever we may choose to call this. Such is the difference between dreams and reality.” “Protesting is about all you can do, Princess. Keep the hero medal… I’ve got painting to do. It’s my turn to be the spear… or brush, I guess.” She wrinkled her muzzle and frowned. “Insolence does not suit you. Are you truly determined to follow this dream of yours?” His smile remained, albeit with waning strength. “You should try it sometime. Do something for you… just for you. Don’t let the wall you’re paid to stare at… control everything… be everything.” “I can hardly abdicate my throne for personal whims, nor will I ever, not even if this… this interest I’ve taken in our conversing so regularly persists.” “I didn’t mean that. I just hoped you’d come visit… Come by my studio once in a while. I can’t promise my work will be any good… but I’d like to share the experience with you. I’d like to share… everything.” Luna stared at him, and soon found herself leaning in closer. She stared directly into his eyes, into the world she’d spent so many wonderful hours within. Peering in through these twin amber pools was every bit as wonderful. This was the one element all their previous evenings together had lacked. He was no longer a phantom voice in her ears. He was pony before her eyes: strong, frail, endearing, and troublesome all at once. “Luna?” A warmth filled her, a sensation that banished all lingering guilt and misgivings. She smiled a smile that felt as natural, and unshakable, as her desire to breathe. “Perhaps I could spare a few hours at the close of each day, provided you continue to look at me as you are now… and provided that you never stop.”
We MeetLuna scanned the cityscape before her, noting surprisingly little damage. Canterlot looked unusually picturesque, considering how little time had passed since the changeling invasion. This was partly a virtue of the dim evening light masking minor imperfections with the veil of darkness, but even in the harsh light of day there wouldn’t have been much to see. Nothing drove construction quite like a desperate want to reestablish normalcy. The sooner a collapsed roof was fixed, the sooner the bakery operating beneath it could reopen. The sooner a broken window was replaced, the sooner the bedroom beyond it could be used. Most importantly, the sooner Canterlot looked like its old self, the sooner its residents could forget running for their lives from changeling drones. Ponies nowadays were so willing to forget. With only a few decades separating birth and death, Luna could hardly blame them. Life, especially mortal life, was too short to harrow oneself up with grief and worse. She knew that with absolute certainty. None of that explained why there was a pegasus standing under her private balcony. From her vantage point, dozens of stories above the city but only three above the gardens that bordered the castle walls, the figure below her looked more statue than pony. The black plate armor girding his azure frame guaranteed that his stillness was merely part of his training as a Royal Guard. What wasn’t clear was why he was essentially guarding the doorless wall beneath her chambers. “Guard, why are you stationed there? Surely there are more important places for you to be than the castle gardens.” Night’s cool, still air carried his stoic voice to her ears, despite his not turning to face her. “This is where I’ve been stationed, Your Highness. It isn’t my place to question it.” Luna leaned over the balcony’s stone railing, even though the view from three inches closer was largely the same. “Need I remind you that it is highly improper to remain facing away from a Princess when she addresses you?” He didn’t move. “You need not, Your Highness.” Her wings flared out to their full length. “Then explain this continued insolence! I demand that you face me at once!” “You yourself ordered me and all other on-duty guards not to, Your Highness. It’s part of our increased security measures in light of the changeling threat and the… incident last week during the wedding.” Luna vaguely remembered issuing such an order, but continued to glare down at him all the same. “Do you expect praise for adhering to the letter of the law, even when it makes your Princess look the fool?” “I’d settle for not being a suspected changeling spy.” Luna caught herself before she uttered a distinctly unprincesslike snort. Any changeling spy, as well as any Royal Guard who valued sleeping in a room without bars on the windows, would have more sense than this silver-tongued miscreant. “Very well. Carry on.” With that she returned to her chambers, intent on writing a very stern letter to the Royal Staffing Agency. Day was once again giving way to night. Luna paced across her balcony, never taking her eyes off the guard standing far below. Returning for a second evening’s watch instead of seeking out a new assignment said something about his mettle, and possibly his stupidity. Tonight she’d find out for certain. Her ultimate weapon, the barely polite letter she’d sent to the Royal Staffing Agency, wouldn’t be answered for several nights. For the time being, she’d adopt a different approach. “Good evening.” As before, he remained perfectly stationary with a gaze fixed on the garden’s outer wall. “Good evening, Your Highness.” “I assume you intend to keep this post for the foreseeable future, Guard?” “As long as I am ordered to keep it, Your Highness.” “Then you may refer to me as Luna. This supposedly modern age has dispensed with nearly all formality; I might as well throw out the remainder. Or would you prefer Princess Luna The Dragon’s Bane as I was known in a bygone era, or Luna The Petunia Devourer as my elder sister once christened me in our youth?” She craned her neck over the balcony’s edge. He continued to stand there, an armored statue among the flowers and topiaries that didn’t move a single feather. Seconds of perfect silence passed, during which she couldn’t even hear his breathing. Finally he let out a deep breath. “I humbly request to refer to Your Highness as Princess Luna… Princess Luna.” Luna’s triumphant smile nearly gave way to a laugh. “A most respectable choice. You may do so, provided that slanderous Petunia title is never repeated.” “Is that an order, Your High—I mean, Princess Luna?” “Must I really say so?” “What about the other one?” “Dragon’s Bane? In truth, it is merely the name of a potent spice found in the Dragon Lands, one that few ponies other than myself were able to bear the taste of when it was first brought to Canterlot.” “Ah… I see.” She could sense something in his monotone voice, something that lacked the albeit-muted enthusiasm of the moments prior. “Are you disappointed?” “Never.” “Then pray tell us your thoughts.” “I… know what Dragon’s Bane is. My grandma puts it on crackers with cheese.” Luna groaned and held a foreleg over her eyes. “Truly nothing is sacred anymore.” “I swear I almost burned my lips off the first time I…” She returned her gaze to his unmoving form. “Must I bait you further to loosen your tongue?” “I-I don’t want to take up too much of your time, Princess Luna. Unwanted fraternizing is frowned upon. According to the Royal Guard Code of Conduct, I shouldn’t—” “Do you assume that we Princesses aren’t ponies as well, that we don’t eat, breathe, and, stars forbid, enjoy a good palaver from time to time?” “Of course, Princess Luna, I just—“ She leaned against the railing and smiled down at him. “And why are you so quick to dismiss our conversation as ‘unwanted fraternizing’? When the time comes for my nightly duties to commence, I will take my leave. For now, while the sun’s greater light still touches the sky, I am without anything better to do than to pass the idle moments with the guard inexplicably stationed beneath my balcony.” “Wait, your balcony? Do you mean I’m right under—” “My bedchambers, yes. I intend to have a very long discussion with your commanding officer over what is and isn’t appropriate placement for members of the Night Guard.” “My apologies, Princess Luna! If I’d known—” “You are fulfilling your assigned duty. Provided you continue to keep your respectful tone, and you continue your earlier story about your first experience with Dragon’s Bane, I see no reason for blame to fall to you… You do have a name, don’t you?” “It’s… Rain Shadow.” “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Rain Shadow of the Night Guard.” “A-and I yours, Princess Luna.”
We TalkLuna didn’t need to glance over the balcony’s edge tonight, nor had she needed to for the past week. Instead, she reclined on the stonework, watched the stars in the heavens above, and spoke to the only pony who could hear her. “Good evening, Rain Shadow.” “Good evening, Princess Luna.” If she closed her eyes, she could imagine he was next to her. But she didn’t want to do that. Not yet. “And what deeds of bravery and conquest have you accomplished this fine day?” “Does surviving yet another ‘surprise inspection’ in the barracks count?” “Provided my staying awake through a four-hour sermon on tax reform counts, then most certainly.” “Does that mean I’m getting the withheld part of my paycheck back?” Rain asked. Luna swept her hoof across her view, momentarily eclipsing whole constellations. “Nay.” “Then what’s there to reform?” “I sincerely hope I find out during tomorrow’s riveting installment. But enough about the travails of royal disinterest. What is this inspection you mentioned?” “Everypony’s still jumpy about changeling spies, especially the new captain of the guard. These days I keep getting asked where I was five minutes ago, or what’s today’s code word, or what my mother’s name is. I get that filling Shining Armor’s horseshoes is a big job, but at least he knew how to handle a crisis.” “And what if said role should one day fall to you?” “Me?” “Rain Shadow, Captain of the Guard.” Rain gave a long, slow sigh. “Yikes.” “That is hardly an attitude befitting a pony to whom I am supposed to entrust my very life. Surely you aspire to be more? Surely you… dream?” “I dream about being a painter sometimes, but that’s different.” “Enlighten me.” “My dad was a Royal Guard. My grandfather was a Royal Guard. My great grandfather… you get the picture. If there’s one thing I heard again and again growing up, it’s what a Royal Guard is supposed to be.” Her eyes slid shut, a little sliver of midnight big enough only for her and the voice in her ears. “Ah. The noble knight. The great hero…” “Not really.” “Oh? The dreams of your comrades say otherwise. What if a giant, ravenous manticore were to leap over the castle wall that you watch so intently?” “Okay, so maybe being a Royal Guard lets me pretend to be a hero sometimes, but… How do I say this… When I was little, I asked my dad why the Princesses even needed guards if they’re powerful enough to move the sun and the moon. He put his helmet on me and said that’s what the guards are to the Princesses. We’re not here to be monster-fighting heroes saving damsels in distress. We’re here to be like the helmet. I’m here to be a shield for you. I’m here to keep that pony-eating manticore busy so you can blast it.” Luna frowned. “Do you think being cannon fodder is somehow noble? In centuries past, there would be no shortage of peasants who would fulfill that role purely as an act of worship.” Rain’s smile was audible. “I never said I’d just lie down and let the thing eat me. If I’m the helmet, then you’re the spear. I do my job and you do yours.” “Hmm. It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good helmet, especially one that I’ve spent many a pleasant evening conversing with. I concede you the point, but I remain in the lead.” “The point?” She batted her eyelashes at the balcony’s edge. The thought of him standing down there, attempting to unravel her latest turn of phrase while keeping perfectly still was positively delicious. “A conversation is its own battle, is it not? A game of wills and words between two worthy combatants.” “Hah. I don’t see how I’m a ‘worthy combatant’ for a Princess.” “More than you know,” Luna whispered. “What was that?” She blushed. “I-I merely was rehearsing my next conversational assault, but I’m afraid it must wait for the morrow.” She rose to her hooves and adopted a much more dignified tone, devoid of her earlier playfulness. “Night is upon us, and my royal duty calls.” She turned towards her chambers, but didn’t manage to take a single step before his voice floated up from the gardens below. “Goodnight, Princess Luna.” She replayed his three words in her mind, omitting the suddenly insufferable title in the middle. “Goodnight, Rain.” Luna stepped onto her balcony, sat down, and stared at the high wall separating the manicured gardens from the wild trees beyond. “What would you like to paint?” Rain Shadow chuckled. “Good evening.” “If given the finest supplies in the land and free reign over the wall you are duty-bound to stare at, what would you paint?” “Flowers.” Luna frowned. “Flowers? On the wall of the royal gardens, in full view of a Princess’s private residence, surrounded by flora from the far reaches of the known world… you would paint flowers?” “I like flowers.” “So much that your current field of view does not contain enough of them?” “Painting one is different, and I’m not talking about the smell or the taste.” “In what way, then? Do you suppose that you can improve upon nature’s own designs?” “No. It’s more about the experience, the act of painting and then looking at the finished product to remember what it was like… how tough the red petals were, how strong the green paint smelled… It’s all about reliving the act. But I guess I should pick something different if it’s going on a castle wall.” “As opposed to your private collection?” “Yes… if you can call a single wall in a small apartment a collection. I’ve only painted for me before, stuff I never expected anypony else to see. But if I was going to paint a castle wall… hmm.” Luna inched closer to the balcony’s edge until his helmeted head entered her view. “Scratch your chin in artistic contemplation if you must.” “Hah, that’s okay. Do you ask all your guards stuff like this?” “Only those who demonstrate wit enough not to simply say ‘the moon’ or ‘thy radiant beauty,’ a list that thus far includes only you. Consider yourself honored.” “I am.” “Your lineage aside, what possessed you to become a guard instead of pursuing a career in the arts?” Rain sighed. “Because I’m not very good at it. If I was going to paint that wall… I’d want to paint us how we are right now, talking. Except I’d look like a blue blob surrounded by green blob trees in front of a messy grey background and… You deserve a better portrait artist than the likes of me. I’m good at painting flowers, though. I’ve had years of practice with those.” “I would imagine the duties of a guard allow little in the way of free time.” “Yeah… Sometimes I stay up late to paint—err, early. Whatever. I knew what I was getting into, though, and I’m fine with it.” “You would abandon your dreams so easily?” “It’s not my only one. I like being a guard. I like getting to protect ponies, and pony society. And I really like… this.” Luna bowed her head and shut her eyes. He couldn’t see her cry, nor would he ever, she feared. “As do I.” Alas. As do I.
We WishThe stars were especially bright this evening. Luna saw no reason for the gardens to grow dim in the middling time between sunset and moonrise. Despite the stellar display, she didn’t feel like watching the heavens, and she definitely didn’t feel like opening the letter from the Royal Staffing Agency that had been waiting on her bedside table for far too many nights. Instead she lay on her stomach, her head resting between the stone pillars holding up the railing. Rain Shadow stood below her as he always did: never moving, and yet somehow never ceasing to consume her attention. “What do you wish to discuss on this fine evening?” “You’re asking me, Princess Luna?” Luna nodded to the form standing so far below. “Indeed. I have accosted you with my own topics for many evenings in a row. The choice now falls to you.” “I… uh… How was your day?” She rolled her eyes. “A mundane sentiment.” “Not when talking to a Princess.” “Very well. My day began as they always do, with my being carried from my chambers on a jewel-encrusted litter by my incomprehensibly masculine honor guard while the fairest of maidens fed me grapes from the royal storehouse. After spending three hours selecting a crown from my vast collection, I—” His laughter stopped her, shortly before her own broadening smile could do the same. “Wow, and I thought royals were just ponies or something. What do I have to do to get that ‘honor guard’ job?” “Convince me that you aren’t more suited to play the part of the maiden, first of all. I can hardly judge your stature from a distance such as this.” “You mean you don’t also have the eyes of a hawk?” She grinned. “No more than you have the stare of a cockatrice, or so I presume. Would you care to come up here for but a moment and prove me wrong?” “Hah, and get court-martialed?” “Must I feign distress to force you to abandon your post?” “Please don’t.” His bluntness stole away her smile. “Have I upset you?” “No… I just… I’m supposed to stand right here, so that’s what I’m going to do.” “As you wish. I suppose my own playfulness is getting out of hoof. To properly answer your question, I reviewed letters from foreign dignitaries on matters of trade, discussed said matters of trade with a team of advisors, and drafted a peace treaty for two warring factions of yaks that have chosen Equestria as a neutral third party.” “Sounds like a busy day.” “That was all prior to my breakfast of oats and cheese. The life of a Princess is demanding, doubly so when my duties aren’t as straightforward as I would like.” “What do you mean?’ She bit her lip. “There are times when… when sworn duty and practiced forbearance are at odds with what merely feels right… when what I seek to make right for one pony does not align with what I know I must do for the good of all, and sometimes that pony is me.” “Princess—” “My dream duties are at times blissfully simple: rescue a filly from an imaginary monster, remind a colt of the kindness his schoolmates show him… At other times, the pony I wish to help is unreachable, and no amount of dream magic can guide them back to reality.” Seconds passed before Rain spoke. “What do you do when that happens?” “I give them my best effort, and when that effort fails… my heart breaks anew.” “I’m so sorry.” “You need not trouble yourself, and I would prefer that you not dwell on it. Should my waking hours prove to be taxing or mundane, this is the time I look forward to. This is my time to relax, to feel at ease, and to share words with a kindred spirit that isn't bound by a crown.” “I still wish I could help.” Luna clamped her eyes shut, but darkness alone couldn’t dispel her mounting guilt. “Then join me. Spread your wings, take to the air, and alight by my side. Sit here and watch the glorious night begin. Come to me, and I shall regale you with the grand design of the firmament. I might even be persuaded to reposition a star of your choosing.” “I… I would, but…” She sighed. “You cannot.” “I’m sorry.” Luna stood and retreated to her chambers. She’d dragged this fantasy on long enough. “No, no. The fault is mine. It is all mine.” The grass felt cool and damp under Luna’s bare hooves. The castle gardens were deserted as expected, save for the one statuesque figure standing beneath her balcony. He didn’t move as she approached, at least not in a way the eye could see. She could almost feel his heart thumping in his chest. No longer was she the unseen Princess perched on the stonework far above. Tonight she was the manticore scaling the castle walls. Tonight she’d come to hunt, not talk. “Rain Shadow!” His lips quivered. “Princess—” She stood just beyond his peripheral vision. “I once likened conversation to a battle. All this time I thought I possessed the upper hoof… All this time you have been on the cusp of delivering the killing blow. I could have checked your credentials so much earlier, and in fact I have slept with the very letter within hoof’s reach… Instead I fell victim to your charade.” “I don’t understand what you’re—” “You’re not a member of the Night Guard.” “I—” She scraped her hoof against his armor. Freshly applied paint smeared her coat, and the brass beneath shone through with all the brilliance that the remaining daylight would allow. “Rain Shadow. A Royal Guard of the Day.” Sweat poured down his face, but still he didn’t move. “I-I can explain.” “That would be preferable to charging you with trespassing, dereliction of duty, endangerment, unwanted fraternizing…” She stepped into his peripheral vision, if only to allow her greater size to complement the threat. “Explain your deception to me this instant, or prepare to spend centuries explaining it to four windowless walls!” “Yes, I’m a Day Guard!” “Do not admit! Explain!” Luna bellowed. Birds fled from nearby trees as her voice echoed through the gardens. He took a great breath, almost as if he was savoring his last. “It started with the invasion… I-I was pulling a double shift by the castle gate during the wedding, letting guests in for the reception. A changeling smashed through one of the battlements above me and huge stones were landing everywhere. I tried to save the civilians around me, but…” Luna nodded. “I am familiar with the incident. That hardly justifies—” “And now I can’t sleep anymore!” he wailed. “Ever since then, I just don’t get tired. After my day shift is over, I paint my armor black and just go back to work where I won’t be noticed because… because that’s the best I can do with whatever time I have left. It’s like I’m stuck here… frozen…” A cold wind filled the lull in the interrogation, tugging at Luna’s free-flowing mane while not disturbing a single hair on Rain. She sighed. “Frozen… How apt a term. What would you have me do, Rain? Would you continue to stand here, night after night, wasting away beneath my balcony? Surely you don’t expect to go undiscovered forever; sooner or later the genuine Night Guard will take notice, and they will treat you with far less kindness than I.” He didn’t move, and yet his stillness said something all its own. Within his unmoving frame there was a sadness that his voice couldn’t fully convey. “I know. I’m not going to ask for special treatment, either. Just lock me away. It’s not like I can live much longer like this, never sleeping… never resting… I can’t even remember the last time I ate. I’m just glad we got to talk… I wouldn’t trade that for anything!” “Nor I… save for you to look at me.” “Why? Why does that even matter?” “As the Princess of the Night, as your ruler, and as your confidant for these past few evenings, I demand it! I order you to turn and face me!” He stared ahead, unmoving and unblinking. “I… I can’t.” “You must!” “It’s… It’s like I’m stuck. It’s like I forgot how.” She touched her hoof to his ear, one of the few parts of his head his armor didn’t protect. “Do you feel that?” “I… I think I do.” “That is the feeling of my hoof. My shoes, my crown… the entirety of my regalia is in my chambers. I stand before you as a pony wishing for nothing more than to meet your gaze. Face me, and all will be well.” His ear twitched, and he let out a pained grunt. “It hurts! Moving hurts so much! Why does it hurt?” “We once spoke of a monster storming the castle walls. Do you remember?” His ear twitched again, and his voice came out as a whisper. “Yes.” “The monster is here right now, and has taken aim at my heart. It shall strike me down if you do not act as my guard, my shield!” His armor shifted as his muscles twitched and strained. “I’m… trying! No monster’s getting past me!” She touched her glowing horn to his forehead. “And I shall try with you.” Another cold breeze cut through the garden, this one so strong that the grass was flattened against the earth. The unrelenting wind roared in their ears, tearing leaves from trees. Rain’s whole body shuddered, and his scream drowned out the wind. “What’s happening?” he shouted. “You are coming back… back with me.” “Back where?” “Where you belong.” The wind became a continuous shockwave, tearing up the soil beneath their hooves. The castle wall directly in front of them, the unchanging scene he’d never taken his eyes off of, soon followed. Each stone that fell away revealed a patch of brilliant light, white as snow and bright as the sun.
We SeeLuna smiled down at Rain as he opened his eyes. He shut them again when the hospital’s harsh lights hit his dilated pupils. “Where am I?” She raised her wing to shade him from the overhead lights. “Somewhere safe, Rain Shadow. Perhaps not as picturesque as as the castle gardens, but safe regardless. Within these walls, I am your helmet, your shield.” His body convulsed beneath the bedsheets, and he moaned. “Still hurts… Hurts everywhere.” “Then be still. Open your eyes when you can.” Luna waited for several minutes, her smile broadening as his forelegs twitched and then finally began to move. She watched his hooves gently inspect the body he’d woken up in, not the burly frame of a seasoned Royal Guard, but that of an emaciated pony connected to monitoring equipment and wrapped in white bandages. When his shaking hooves finally found the bandage around his forehead, his tear-filled eyes opened. “Princess Luna?” She smiled as she met his gaze. “A respectful address, even in greatest turmoil. Please call me Luna.” Rain’s hooves returned to his torso. They caught on the ribs bulging against his skin. “What happened to me?” “Look around you. Something here might stimulate your memory.” After staring at her for several seconds, seconds she would forever cherish, his eyes found the many bouquets, cards, and balloons piled on every available surface in the brightly lit room. A small banner over the door read “Canterlot’s Hero.” “There was… an accident… something about the wedding… and changelings…” “You described the incident to me quite accurately: rubble from the damaged castle wall fell, and you flew to the rescue of many civilians who would otherwise have perished. In so doing, you took their place… nearly dead, and rendered unconscious for months.” His whole body convulsed again, and he returned his gaze to her. “Months? The invasion was just a few days ago… I know it was!” “You merely have no memory of it. The doctors assumed you would never wake again, and so I… attempted to rouse you myself. I entered the dream world your mind created. Do you remember?” He nodded, this time without wincing. “Unwanted fraternizing.” “The mind is very adept at adapting to new situations, sometimes to its own detriment. Yours mistook deep sleep for constant wakefulness and locked you into a familIar place and a familiar routine. As for my presence… my methods… Had I merely inquired into your duties as a guard and the finer points of your accident prior to entering your dreams…” “I'm awake now. Thank you.” She turned away. “Regardless, I must apologize. Princesses have a code of conduct as well, one that I set aside all too quickly. I could have been more direct once simple suggestion failed to further invigorate your mind and reconnect it to your body. Instead I toyed with you… I adopted your fantasy for my own selfish pleasure rather than adhering to my duty. I chose to live and relive our private evenings together rather than doing all that I could to immediately return you to the waking world by forcing you from your routine.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw his foreleg slowly rise, the closest he could come to touching her. “But it was my pleasure, too! It’s not like I'd ever get stationed under your balcony… especially not now. I’m pretty sure my left wing is broken… I can’t even feel the other one.” Luna gave a quick nod. “Yes. Your injuries… healing will take time. A medal of valor and a less physically demanding assignment await you, Rain Shadow, Hero of Canterlot. You have fulfilled all that could be asked of a Royal Guard, including weathering a Princess’s unbecoming conduct.” “I never wanted to be a hero… but I’m thinking about becoming a painter.” Luna flinched. She glanced at him, blushed, and looked away. “Surely you can not end your family’s generations-long tradition… not on account of me.” “Then I’ll start a new one, and I’ll do it for me. I like painting, I’ll get better at it with practice… and there aren’t any fraternizing rules for painters and Princesses. We could talk as much as we wanted.” A smile crept onto her face. “True. There are also no provisions for painters standing beneath a Princess’s private balcony, alas.” She pushed the happy thought away just as quickly. “But I still must protest. I will not condone you doing such a thing in the foolish hope of you and I continuing… whatever we may choose to call this. Such is the difference between dreams and reality.” “Protesting is about all you can do, Princess. Keep the hero medal… I’ve got painting to do. It’s my turn to be the spear… or brush, I guess.” She wrinkled her muzzle and frowned. “Insolence does not suit you. Are you truly determined to follow this dream of yours?” His smile remained, albeit with waning strength. “You should try it sometime. Do something for you… just for you. Don’t let the wall you’re paid to stare at… control everything… be everything.” “I can hardly abdicate my throne for personal whims, nor will I ever, not even if this… this interest I’ve taken in our conversing so regularly persists.” “I didn’t mean that. I just hoped you’d come visit… Come by my studio once in a while. I can’t promise my work will be any good… but I’d like to share the experience with you. I’d like to share… everything.” Luna stared at him, and soon found herself leaning in closer. She stared directly into his eyes, into the world she’d spent so many wonderful hours within. Peering in through these twin amber pools was every bit as wonderful. This was the one element all their previous evenings together had lacked. He was no longer a phantom voice in her ears. He was pony before her eyes: strong, frail, endearing, and troublesome all at once. “Luna?” A warmth filled her, a sensation that banished all lingering guilt and misgivings. She smiled a smile that felt as natural, and unshakable, as her desire to breathe. “Perhaps I could spare a few hours at the close of each day, provided you continue to look at me as you are now… and provided that you never stop.”
