Demonic Possesionby SquidSwarmChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1The moon sits high in the sky, bathing Equestria with silver light. The stars glisten amongst the dark sea, painting beautiful portraits throughout the inky blackness. Crickets can be heard chirping in the fields, as well as toads croaking by the ponds and rivers. The wind gently washes over the land rustling the leaves of the forests and bringing a relaxing coolness in its wake. Every night Luna raises her moon, she subsequently creates a symphony across the land. Marius stands on the balcony outside of Luna’s bed chambers next to the door watching as Luna gently lands her hooves, looking up into the sky to check her work, the stars glittering in his brown eyes, his clean shaven face and head chilled by the breeze. The moonlight bounces off of his silver breastplate, bracers, and greaves all covering his black tunic and black breeches as well as his high rising leather boots. His leather bound hand rests on the silver pommel of his longsword, a blue wrap around the hilt. The cloak around his neck gently flows in the breeze as Luna steps back to look at her work “I think I’ve outdone myself tonight,” She says, the stars glittering in her eyes as her ethereal mane gently flows in the wind almost mirroring the sky. “Indeed you have your highness,” Marius says giving her a gentle nod and looking back to the sky. “Tis unbecoming to lie to one’s princess Marius, what do you truly think?” She turned to him and stared into his brown eyes, searching for any lies he may speak. “It is beautiful your grace, although, the stars in Orion's belt seem to be misaligned,” He says thoughtfully, watching as the princess’s smirk turned to that of surprise and embarrassment, snapping around and looking to the Orion constellation. After subjecting the constellation to a few quiet moments severe scrutiny, “I know not of what you speak, it looks perfect,” She turns back to Marius, and seeing the small grin on his face she realizes she had been the victim of a prank, “you realize I will get you back for that later,” She says with a giggle, trotting by him and into her quarters. “I would expect nothing less your grace.” He says as he turns and follows her inside, closing the doors behind him. “Actually, would you mind keeping those open, the breeze is lovely,” she says sitting at her desk, enveloping a quill in a blue aura and filling out the beginning of a sizable amount of paperwork. Marius stops and re-opens the two glass doors, then moves to stand at his usual post next to the two tall rich mahogany doors that lead out into the castle. He scans the room like he does at any position in the castle, he glances over the four post bed, the wood with a black finish and blue drapes cast over it, and drawn to the posts. The bed itself has blue sheets and comforters with silver linings, all neatly pressed and laid out over the mattress. To the left of the bed is a small night stand where the princess keeps her regalia when she sleeps during the day. The walls are all violet with portraits of mountains, forests, and rivers adorning them. Several book cases line the walls filled spell books. Under the portrait of a moonlit lake is Luna’s desk, a simple thing made of oak with a couple of drawers on either side, littered with paperwork and an ink-pot with a couple of quills on the far side next to the wall. To the right of that is a small walk in closet. Two small blue couches sit in the center of the room on a violet circular rug with a coffee table in between them with a defensive spell book on top of it open to a page on shields off to one edge. There are two tall windows on either side of the double doors leading to the balcony and to the left of those is an open door leading to the bathroom. The time passes uneventfully, occasionally Luna sighs, bored with the new forms. Then knocking is heard from the main door. Marius opens the door and looks over the responsible party of the knocking. It is a bat pony, a young mare, with grey fur, bat wings, glowing yellow cat eyes, and purple armour. She salutes Marius which he returns in kind, and says that there is business which requires the princess’s attention in the throne room. Marius swears he can hear the princess quietly celebrating this opportunity to escape her paperwork. The Princess rises and steps into view of the guard, “Please notify the court that I shall be there quite soon,” With that the guard bowed and cantered off to the throne room. Luna puts on her crown and leaves the room, Marius in tow. They walk in silence for a short time, their footsteps echoing in the dimly lit halls, decorated with fine lunar and solar tapestries, all enchanted to produce light during their respective times. Additionally, towering windows offer an entrance for the moonlight, and an escape for tired eyes hoping to relax by looking to the forest. “Princess, might I remind you that you will have to go back to that paperwork at some point tonight, you have several new treaties to review,” Says Marius walking a few paces behind the Princess. The Princess was smiling, delighted at the chance to forget some of her responsibilities if only for a few minutes, now she is frowning, “Oh don’t remind me, I am all too aware of those, they are all disasters which is why my sister puts them on me,” she says putting a little bit of frustrated emphasis on the word sister, “I have the calling of watching over the dreamworlds of Equestria, I hardly have any time to review them and then when I do they are such a mess that I would need to confer with my sister for far longer than I have the time for.” She stops in front of a window looking to the distant glow of a nearby town. “Yes but your sister must also watch over the day courts when citizens line up for miles to speak to her, I would almost argue that your duties are far less tenuous than that of your sisters.” Marius says stepping forward to stand by her side. “Indeed, while she retains all of the praise and glory, while I, well, I don’t think that many of them even know of me…” She looks down at her hooves. “Yes, but is it not glorious that your nights are so peaceful, all is at rest and all are lost in their own lands of wonder, they know of you princess, they love you, and they show it by trusting you to watch over them and giving them these safe nights.” He places a hand on her shoulder. “Ha, I suppose you are right,” She looks up to the moon and takes a deep breathe, “alright, let’s go see what tonight's courts will bring.” with a small smile she begins to canter down the hall, leaving Marius to jog just to keep pace. Luna steps through the archway behind the throne, a tall stone seat with runes engraved in the sides and the lunar/solar crest of the sisters at the top, and takes her place at the head of the court, Marius standing at her side. All in attendance bow deeply as she sits. There are a few ponies and a few humans in the room, most of whom are guards, all wearing the purple armour of the night guard. There is a small line formed in front of the throne, the Princess gazes down with a stoic expression, and asks the first guest to step forward. The first speaker is a middle aged green stallion in a simple wool shirt with a brown skull cap, which he is taking off to show respect to the princess. “Your grace,” he says bowing deeply, “I have come from two towns over to request that I gain an extension on my taxes,” “You may have your extension,” the princess interrupts, unconcerned of the reason, “You may pay by the next full moon. Next please.” she says, the stallion bowing and thanking her many times over as a guard nudges him away. The next person steps forward and bows deeply, he is wearing a fine tailed coat, black shoes, and white stockings, he is by every definition, a noble. “Your Majesty, I have come to request an extra guard detail be dispatched to the warehouse districts in Trottingham, there has been a marked increase in break ins as of late, even rumors of gang activity, it is my understanding that if this is to go on unchecked, it will become too large an issue to handle.” He says standing to his full height and looking into the princess's eyes. “Yes that is troublesome news, although rather than send an extra guard detail, I want you to raise the wages of your employees,” She stares down at the man. “Beg your pardon your grace?” He says, surprised by the command. “I have already looked into this issue, I have discovered that the poverty level in that region is quite higher than anywhere else in the nation, additionally, you are the employer as well as the landlord for most property’s, which are also quite high in rent,” She said gazing down on him with a look that would make a hydra shy away. “Why, I simply cannot your majesty,” he says, a smirk on his face, regaining his composure “my company is already about to hemorrhage money and if we were increase the pay of our employees we would no longer profit, more over we could no longer donate as much as we do to the crown’s army.” “Are you trying to extort the crown?” the tone of frustration slowly builds into contained fury Luna slowly rises and the noble begins to comprehend his mistake, “I can assure you, the military will survive without your ‘donations’, as such you may either repair the district with a healthier distribution of wealth and lowered costs of living, or the crown will seize everything, your businesses as well as your home and bank accounts, do I make myself clear?” “You can’t do that! Everything you suggest goes against the business codes, it’s theft!” He says stepping forward. “As is paying your employees nothing,” says the princess, “so, I will give you one more chance, increase the wages of your employees!” her voice is icy. He stares at the princess for a moment, considering his words carefully. “I will not, I have done nothing outside of the law, I will not yield to this!” “You think that matters? We lay down these laws with the intent of providing a framework for all to live by and assumed that the citizens would abide by what is right and not use the law to justify such horrific behavior, the likes of which we will not tolerate. We want the masses to govern themselves through these laws, however if actions are taken that are not expressly forbidden but are clearly outside the realm of good morality, we will step in, this is just such an occasion.” The princess waves a hoof to a guard, “place him in the dungeon, we will be seizing all of his assets by morning, you are stripped of title, and will remain in the dungeons until a time to be appointed by my sister and I.” she says, turning away and re-taking her seat as two human guards grabbed the raging noble, dragging him to the depths of the castle. “Would the next please step forward,” Luna says regaining her calm and stoic expression. A young white unicorn mare steps forward weak and skinny from hunger, a sling with something in it around her neck. “Forgive me your grace, I would not have disturbed you but I was unable to gain a meeting anywhere else,” She says with as low a bow as her sling allows. “There is no need for apology, why is it you have come?” Luna says, eyeing her curiously. “I cannot afford to care for my child, her father died recently from starvation,” she says with a sniffle, “I know not of her abilities or anything of what she might become, but I hope you would be able and willing to take her in and into the school of gifted unicorns.” She finishes her cheeks turning red. “There are orphanages for this purpose, why have you come here?” She says gazing down on the young mare. “I am sure you have heard the rumors, they are poorly managed and poorly funded, I want my daughter to live a happy life, not one of strife and sadness.” She says looking up to the princess tears welling in her eyes. “I am sorry but I cannot, if I were to take her in all parents hoping to give up their children would come here.” she says softly. Marius ponders this a moment, leans toward the princess, and whispers in the princess’s ear, “Your grace, if we bring her in, I can train her as my apprentice with the intent to replace myself when I am old and feeble.” Luna looks at him surprised, then a small smile graces her face. “I have re-considered with the council of my guard,” She says standing and walking down the stairs on the left of the throne, and to the young mare, whose face lights up as soon as she hears the words, “we will take her in. I cannot guarantee that she will go to the magic school, however, she will be trained by Captain Marius to become my personal guard, and if the prerequisites are met, shall go to the school as well.” Luna encases the young filly in her blue aura, lifting her so she can see the child. She has a blue mane and tail, gray fur, and deep blue eyes. She giggles a little and reaches out to the princess. All eyes are on the princess, the side conversations silenced once more at this strange sight. “What is her name?” The princess asks, never breaking eye contact with the filly. “Shade, Your majesty.” She says tears beginning to fall. “Marius, come over here if you would,” Luna says looking over her shoulder, “now, I assume you already know, that in taking this action, your contact will be extremely limited if at all.” Luna looks back to the crying mare while Marius descends the steps to the throne, the young mare nods in agreement. Marius stands off to the side between the two mares in front of the filly. “Yes, your grace?” “Captain Marius, I hereby grant you all responsibility and authority in the upbringing of this child, with the intent of training her to become my personal guard.” Luna says, levitating the child into Marius’s arms. “Thank you, your grace,” the mare says with a tearful smile as she is lead out of the room seeing her child for the last time through the crack of the closing door when she looks back. Luna re-takes the throne, Marius at her side the child in his arms, “Is there any other business which needs my attention in the court at this time?” there is no response from any of the bodies present, “then I will take my leave for the time being, should anything arise, then notify the lieutenant,” she says waving a hoof to the armour clad pony at the base of the stairs, “she will bring it to my attention.” With that, stands, and walks out of the throne room, Marius in her wake. As they walk down the dim corridors, Luna asks, “So why did you advise we take her in Marius?” Marius stops and held out the filly looking into her tired eyes, “I knew you wanted to from the start your grace, I simply gave you a means to do so, additionally, I will need to be replaced one day, my youth only has so long before my body begins to wither away.” he cradles the exhausted filly in his arms and looks into Luna’s eyes. Luna smiles gently and gives a light chuckle, “With how much of your hair has been discolored I’d say those days are sooner than you think,” she says stepping forward and looking at the sleeping child. “Ha, you won't be rid of me yet, I’m still quite young, my hair grays because being your guard may be one of the most difficult jobs in all of Equestria!” He says as they continue walking to the princess’s quarters. “Oh is that so? Perhaps you would like to take over my job for the night then?” “I wouldn’t dream of it my lady,” He chuckles. They continue on in relative silence, the only sounds are the echoes of their footfalls and the gentle snoring of Shade until they arrive in front of Luna’s quarters. Luna stops and turns to look at Marius. “Well if you won’t do my job for me, then I must return to my dreaded paperwork, I must finish the revisions to all of those treaties and my decisions on them before dawn which is not far off. You are dismissed for the rest of the night Marius, see that Shade has a warm bed in your quarters, she will be staying with you until she is old enough to be by herself.” She says opening her doors and stepping through, “goodnight Marius.” she says, the doors doors closing. “Goodnight your grace,” replies Marius, turning and walking towards his quarters carrying the sleeping filly in his arms. Chapter 2Princess Luna sits at her desk reviewing the final treaty, a trade and agreement of alliance between Equestria and the griffon kingdom. She turns her head and looks out the window, the moon is low, almost touching the horizon, Celestia will be raising the sun any minute now, she thinks to herself. Luna sighs, looking back to the document before her. She is only halfway through, and it already is making outrageous demands in exchange for military support. The Griffon King, Grover, is claiming that it is only fair that the older country which is providing support, should hold more territory on the grounds that they are far better equipped to protect such large territories. Luna lets her head fall to the desk with a sigh. “We can’t ratify any of these treaties,” she says, sitting up and walking over to the balcony, watching the moon slowly dip below the horizon while the sun crests the edge of the world, raising all from their slumber, “Every one of these treaties comes with outrageous demands which we simply cannot yield too!” she shakes her head. The princess turns around and walks towards the doors, enveloping the stack of treaties in a blue aura along with two quills and an ink pot. Opening the doors with a push of her hooves, then proceeds to walk toward the breakfast nook in the kitchens on the eastern side of the castle, to meet with her sister over dinner/breakfast. The bright morning light streams into the windows of the halls burning Luna’s eyes slightly having been in darkness during her waking hours. She can hear the birds of the forests singing their songs and playing in the morning sun, warming themselves after the cool night. A couple of butterflies pass by the window, catching her eye, Luna stops and watches them for a moment, it’s a sight she rarely sees in her duties. The leaves of the forest sway gently in the morning breeze and after a moment of staring at the sight before her, Luna breaks free from her trance and continues toward the kitchen. After a short walk Luna arrives at the Kitchens, greeting the two Lunar guards as she passes them. The guards, one human and one pony, respond in kind followed by a short bow and continuing on their way, no doubt headed towards the barracks for some food and rest after being relieved by her sisters Solar guards. The Princess bids good morning to the two Solar guards, two white unicorn stallions in shining gold armour, making their route through the castle on a routine patrol stopping only to return the greeting, bow, and open the door for their princess. Luna thanks them for their polite gesture and walks into the kitchen. Luna looks around for a moment, noticing the the tall arched ceilings decorated with the same tapestries one could see throughout the castle, although none of them glowed at this time as the brilliant light from the sun streaming through the cathedral windows sprawling over the kitchen walls let in more than enough light to allow the staff to see their work. The smell of a freshly baked breakfast fill Luna’s senses as she walks to the cozy nook off to the side of the kitchen, the smell of the croissants and bagels, as well as the eggs and the tea all make her stomach growl in anticipation. Luna steps through the doors to the nook, a small bright room lined with windows, bathing it in yellow light. A small, round, polished mahogany table sits at the center, decorated with delectable baked goods all sitting on gleaming silver platters, filling the room with their delicate aroma. The floor of the room is covered with the softest decorative seating pillows on which Princess Celestia sits, sipping her breakfast tea, waiting for her sister. Celestia greets her sister with a gentle nod and smile. “Good morning Luna, have you reviewed the treaties?” Luna lets out a sigh as she sits down across the table from her sister where there is already a place set for her with two over easy eggs, toast, and orange juice; she takes a moment before answering to take a bite of her eggs. After she finishes chewing, she looks at Celestia to respond. “I have, all of them,” Luna clears a small space on the table with her magic and sets down all of the treaties in a neat stack on the table, “I believe that we cannot ratify any of these, it is clear that in all cases, the nations which have offered us help are trying to take advantage of Equestria while its government is still new, they assume we are fools!” Luna takes a sip of her juice. “I agree that their demands are more than we should give in too, however, we are not in a position of power right now, and we must make concessions if we are to rebuild this country. We only defeated discord ten years ago and the economy is still in shambles, our military is still far to weak to protect us, and ponies are starving, the farms are still being rebuilt from Discord’s rule and trying to produce enough crops to feed everypony after those arduous years, it would seem that his magic still lingers in the soil and farmers end up losing crops because they run away.” Celestia trails off, taking a bite of a bagel with cream cheese. Luna finishes chewing a bite of toast, “Yes but if we were to give in now, we will never be respected and our country will remain in the shadows, being controlled by foreign leaders bent on keeping their place at the top of the world. We must demonstrate our strength as leaders, and as a country, if we don’t now, how long do you think it will be before another tyrant like Discord wages a battle of supremacy?” Celestia ponders this for a moment, “Luna, I understand your position, but we must make these concessions, we need everything that all of the other nations offer desperately, it’s the only way for us to rebuild our economy as well as our military force. If we fail to attain the assistance we require now, we will be overrun sooner rather than later, and hopefully by that time Equestria will have its strength once more.” “I cannot give any consent to these treaties, not without making a new offer. We can offer to make weaponry and armour for the griffons, our blacksmiths magic creates some of the strongest equipment in all the lands.” “Luna that is enough! We will not risk these alliances because you don’t like them, we will do whatever it takes to secure these alliances; and as for your impromptu trial last night regarding the Baron Drackis, I will be overturning your sentence, and you will apologize to him, I understand why you took such actions, but we need him, and all he offers.” the solar princess glares at her sister. Luna doesn’t say anything, just stands and walks out of the nook, after which, a blue aura envelops the stack of treaties and throws them, scattering them all over the room. Celestia lets out a long sigh, then continues with her breakfast. Chapter 3Lieutenant Haze is walking off to the barracks, she had just went through a long shift dealing with drunken fools trying to find their way home and instead caused all manner of annoyances by wandering off into the forest. While walking down the corridor pondering all of the night's events she sees a door crack open to her left and a head poke out. “Ah, Lieutenant, I was wondering, could you help me with something for a moment.” “Sorry sir, but my shift is over, ask a solar guard.” “It is not work related, I’m just in a little over my head.” Her wings droop a little and she sighs, “Fine, five minutes, but then I’m off to the barracks, I had to break up several fights tonight and I want to sleep.” she takes a step towards the door to Marius’s quarters, then she hears it. She gives Marius a quizzical look and opens the door with her hoof, there on the floor is a little grey filly. “Why do you have a foal?” deadpans Haze, walking up to the little pony. “A mare asked that the Princess take her in, she wasn’t able to so I suggested we bring her in too train under my watch with the intent to take my position.” “So that’s what I’ve been hearing about, you know, you care too much for your own good Marius, do you even know how to care for a unicorn foal?” She asks, tired eyes never leaving the foal. “No,” he admits, “that’s why I am asking for your help.” he says, picking up the giggly filly. She thinks for a moment, “Well unfortunately I can’t help you very much. All I can do is tell you the very basics of caring for a foal, unless it is a pegasus, for unicorns, go talk with Private Starburst.” she says, turning to leave. “Do you know where I would find her?” “I would start with the mess hall, she’s one of the solar guards, got out of basic one month ago, she’ll likely be with all the other newbies in the corner.” her sentence trails off as she exits the room, closing the door behind her. Marius looks to the foal in his arms, “Well I suppose we’re off the the mess,” he says as he opens the doors, turning right towards the mess hall, “Let’s go find the private.” It’s a short walk to the mess hall from the section of the castle housing the royal quarters. Shade is mesmerised by all the bright colors of the morning light, giggling at all of the little birds singing gleefully outside the windows. Marius only smiles, but he still wonders how he will care for this foal, he still has his standard duties to attend to. As Marius steps into the mess hall, he sweeps his gaze from left to right, searching for the private, he sees several guards staring at him. There is no rivalry between the two guard divisions, but it was still odd for the solar guards to see someone from the Lunar guards in the mess with them, and Marius, in his black tunic and breeches, makes it very clear that he is the odd man out, although they could also be staring at the filly in his arms. Upon looking to the corner table to his right, he finds the table with all of the privates, their ranks only visible by the the small insignia on their pauldrons underneath the sun emblem engraved in every solar guards armour. There is about twenty-five guards around the table as he approaches, all chatting and laughing amongst themselves, while eating the morning meal of eggs, fruit and hay cakes, while the human guards have regular toast instead of the hay cakes. Marius approaches the young man at the corner seat closest to the wall, saying, “Private, I am looking for Starburst.” He looks up, somewhat surprised and a bit startled, “Yes sir, she’s right over there,” he says, pointing down the table, “Starburst!,” he calls, “got someone looking for you!” At that, a yellow unicorn mare leans forward, looking at the Captain, as she inspects him her face begins to form a great smile as she sees the little foal, “I’ll be right over!” she says, standing and walking towards Marius, her helmet floating along in an amber aura. The rest of the privates are staring at them both by now, as well as some of the other guards, even most of the conversation has died down in the immediate vicinity. Marius takes notice of this turning back to Starburst, “Would you mind if we speak in the hall Ms. Starburst?” “By all means,” she says, passing Marius while taking Shade in her amber aura. Marius stands there, a bit surprised, but ultimately accepts this as he turns and follows her out the main entry way and into the hall where Starburst turns around, sits on the floor, making silly faces at the little filly she sets on the floor in front of her, eliciting fits of giggles from the foal. “Well aren’t you the cutest thing!” she cries smiling at the giggly filly, “What is her name? Is she yours?” she asks, looking up at Marius, “I mean obviously she’s not YOURS, but are you her father?” Marius thinks this over a moment before responding, “I suppose I am, yes, Shade’s adoptive father.” it hadn’t really occurred to him up until now, and even now it can probably be said that the full weight of that meaning has not yet sunk in, “Which is why I am here, I was informed that you have experience with unicorn foals, and I need advice on the subject.” “Haha, in over your head, goodness, that’s how my husband and I felt with our first foal, she’s about fifteen now, and she has two brothers too, both around eleven, I can tell you now it doesn’t get easier. How old is she?” says Starburst, still in a bit of a reverie. “I believe the paperwork shows her age to be about two months.” “Oh then I hope you are ready for quite a bit of cleaning, when unicorns are first born they are prone to bursts of magic, nothing too serious but when you walk into a room and find things levitating where they shouldn’t, it can still cause a headache,” she watches the foal shakily walking around on the floor. “So how do I help teach her to control her magic?” he says, crouching next to Shade. “Do you use magic at all?” She asks, looking up to Marius. “No, I had a mentor when I was very young but since practicing takes a couple of decades off of a human’s life span I chose to pursue the sword in lieu of the arcane.” “An understandable position but in this situation a tad unfortunate, I would suggest you find a tutor for her, she won’t understand most of what’s being told to her but she’ll try to mimic the teacher and that's good for development.” she says bumping her hooves together with Shade’s. It is at this point that a small frown begins to overtake the foal’s face, and tears begin to well in her eyes. Not a moment later, Shade begins bawling on the floor, all the while releasing what can only be described as shrieks. “Haha, it sounds like you need to find her something to eat, speaking of,” she says standing upright, “I need to go finish my meal, I have to start my shift shortly.” she gestures towards the few guards beginning to wander out of the mess. Replying with, “Well thank you for your time Ms. Starburst,” picking up the weeping foal in the process, “your advice is much appreciated.” “Oh, be sure she has mostly milk for the first four months, you could probably find what you need at the apothecary, they generally have that sort of thing, after that she can start eating more solids like alfalfa and such, good luck!” she says, rounding the corner and headed to somewhere in the mess. Marius begins to gently rock Shade in his arms as he walks down the hall to the main entry way into the castle speaking in a soft voice to the child. “I remember the first time I laid eyes on the night watch, I saw them and knew straight away that I was meant to be a soldier of the night.” he says rounding a corner, passing a patrol, “It can be said though, that I never even imagined that I would become the personal guard for Princess Luna; at the time, this position belonged to a unicorn stallion named Iron Heart, and my god, he scared the piss out me, and everyone else.” “Iron Heart always had a scowl on his face, also never said more than five words, generally, if you heard more, it meant someone was about to go to the stockade.” as he continues his story shade quiets slightly, “I don’t think that pony had a single friend, not even the Princess, she always seemed bored with him lingering about, which was always. Don’t misunderstand, he was an excellent guard, a shining example of what it means to wear the armour, he stopped his fair share of assassination attempts, Iron was the one who made it known that the Princess was not to be trifled with.” “He really was a bore, but he definitely made your job far easier Marius.” a voice calls from behind. Marius stops in his tracks, turning to the voice that has interrupted his story, only to find Luna emerging from a side hall he had just passed. He sees her and smiles, as does Shade, seeing a familiar face. “And I will not soon forget it.” he says, offering a small bob of the head. Luna walks toward him and Shade, “And much like Marius replaced Iron Heart, you will one day replace him, and likely do an even better job than he.” giggles Luna, “So where are you two off to?” “Shade needs food, it was suggested that I go to the apothecary for milk.” “Then might I join you two, I must get some fresh air after the meeting with my dearest sister.” says Luna, putting a little too much emphasis on ‘dearest’. “By all means Princess,” replies Marius “I take it the meeting did not end well?” “It most certainly did not,” Luna says with a sigh, “Celestia won’t listen at all to my position regarding the treaties, She will likely go through with all of them without taking my opinions to heart! She even went so far as to undermine my authority, she is overturning last night’s sentencing and then on top of all of this I have to apologize to him!” she raises her voice slightly at the end of the last statement, stopping in her tracks and looking up into Marius’s eyes. “Did she explain at all why?” he says, still rocking the foal. “She says that we can’t risk the treaties and that we need all of the money that rat gives!” she says, continuing forward. Marius can feel her anger rising, during the silence he thinks of how to switch the subject, settling on using Shade for this job, “do you think she will be a strong magic user?” It is clear by the look on Luna’s face that she is still upset about the meeting and she knows what he’s doing but she welcomes the opportunity to distract herself with something more light hearted. “It is hard to say, she may have no natural ability but if she puts her focus on the arcane arts then she could be just as powerful as Starswirl.” Marius stops, stepping off to the side to allow a maid to pass after she gives a quick bow to the princess of the night. After the maid has rounded the corner behind them, he continues walking, keeping pace just behind Luna. “Marius you are not on duty, you need not walk behind me.” Luna says; taking note of his reluctance, she prods him forward a bit with her magic. “My apologies, it’s a habit that is not easily ignored, that reminds me, do you know who would be a good mentor for controlling her magic?” “Speak to Starswirl, he will be able to teach her, he may be a bit reluctant to take on a student so just tell him it is a personal favor that I ask of him.” Luna says looking up at him. They arrive at the main entrance to the castle, the doors are wide open, granting all who wish to see the princess of the sun access to do so. The mid morning sun hangs low in the sky when they step outside, it warms their faces as a cool spring breeze washes over them. Marius follows Luna down the steps into the city. The streets are packed tightly with humans and ponies on their usual business, either running errands or going to work Marius imagines. As they walk down the street, Marius watches in all directions, ever vigilant for any dangers that may be lingering about, but there is really nothing noteworthy happening as everyone in the Luna’s path part much like water flowing around a stone, offering her a space of roughly ten feet. Even though he has seen this many times before, yet it still somewhat amazes him, finding it a bit odd as he spends all of his time in relatively close proximity to the Princess, but then, only he sees her as she is and not the leader of a nation. It is only a short walk to the apothecary and when he and the Luna arrive, Marius can smell the strong scent of various herbs hanging from the ceiling and outside in the sun to dry. It is not unpleasant, merely overpowering to the point where Marius cannot smell anything save for the shop in front of him, and while he is thinking of this, he finds Luna walking inside prompting him to follow suit. It is an old unicorn mare behind the counter, her lavender coat has paled over her long years, who smiles as they enter, “Welcome! Do forgive me Princess for not properly greeting you, but these old knees don’t work the way they used too,” stepping out from behind the counter she pushes a stray gray hair from her mane out of her face, and offers her hoof to the Luna. “It is quite alright Granny Dreams,” she says, pulling the old mare into a hug. She accepts the hug with a warm smile, the kind you really would expect from a grandmother, and returns it in kind,“So what brings you to my shop?” she asks, breaking away from the hug. “Oh I only tagged along, Marius is the one shopping today.” “Well it’s about time you found a coltfriend, though I will say I didn’t think you were interested in humans, what with how you used to look at some of the colts that walked in,” she says walking up to Marius, a mischievous smile spreading across her muzzle. “Granny!” Luna cries, her face blushing almost imperceptibly. “Haha, oh I kid, I kid, I know this strapping fellow is your guard,” she leans a little closer to Marius, “though that shouldn’t stop you from trying your hand…” Luna walks forward, pushing the somewhat pervy old mare away from Marius, “Enough!” she says in a huff, face burning, “Marius, tell her what you came for!” “Yes… I am looking to buy milk for Shade,” he says gesturing to the filly. It takes a moment for cackling Granny dreams to respond, “Ah yes, I do sell that, but not to you,” she says wiping a tear from her eye, “take what you need, I won't have a friend of Luna’s pay for anything in this shop.” “Please, I must repay you in some way,” he says, grabbing the bag of milk out of the air. “Well there is one thing…” she says trailing off as a wry smile forms. “Granny,” Luna’s voice is low and menacing as she turns and walks towards the spice wall behind her. “Oh alright, I’ve had my fun, but I still stand by what I said.” Granny retakes her place behind the counter after floating a bag from somewhere in the back full of bottles of milk and nipples to Marius. “Perhaps you could send Shade here to learn how to mix potions like I did all those years ago,” says Luna, stepping away from the wall of spices she was looking at, likely using them to hide any embarrassment still lingering on her face. Granny ponders this for a moment, “that would be splendid, I haven’t had a student since you mastered the art Luna, and I miss the company! If you wish to repay me then when she can speak fluently, bring her here and I will teach her my craft.” smiles and looks at Shade. “One last thing, how do I feed her?” Marius says, holding up the bag. “Haha, that’s easy,” Granny says, levitating one of the bottles out of the bag placing one of the nipples on top, and letting it glide into the hooves of the excited foal, who immediately starts guzzling her meal, “foals aren’t too difficult, just have to give them what they need and they’ll do it themselves for the most part, only thing you have to really do for them for the first year or so is change them and bathe them.” “Well thank you Granny for all of your help, I will certainly be sure to send her here for potions training.” After all have said their goodbyes, Luna and Marius depart the cozy shop, headed back to the palace to rest before the evening's duties begin. It is a quiet walk back as Shade falls asleep while Marius and Luna both pass the time by looking at the townsfolk and the shops. Partly out of habit and partly out of politeness, Marius walks Luna back to her quarters where they both bid good day. “Sleep well Luna,” Marius says offering a slight bob of the head so as not to disturb the sleeping foal. “You as well Marius, and if need be, feel free to take tonight off to spend time with Shade, the more time you spend with her the more likely it is that she will adhere to your training.” “No, I will continue my duties as usual, but I will have to have Shade with me, it would be good to start her seeing the work, although I understand she may become a distraction so would you rather I stand guard in the hall while on duty.” “You may take up your usual post,” she says with a wave of her hoof, “I should likely spend time with her as well seeing that she will become my guard, best she learn now that formalities are not to be used in private hours unlike someone.” Marius chuckles at that, “My sincerest apologies your grace,” he says, giving a curtsy, “please forgive me for any offence, and please accept this curtsy as I may not bow!” his voice is dripping in sarcasm. Luna holds her hoof up to her mouth to stifle her laughter into nothing more than a giggle, “haha, I accept your apologies, good day Marius.” she says with a slight bob of the head, and closing the door behind her as she enters. As he watches the doors close, in front of him, he turns to his left and wanders down the hall to his quarters not far from the Luna’s, where upon entering, he lies on his bed with Shade in the crook of his arm and drifts off into sleep.
Chapter 1The moon sits high in the sky, bathing Equestria with silver light. The stars glisten amongst the dark sea, painting beautiful portraits throughout the inky blackness. Crickets can be heard chirping in the fields, as well as toads croaking by the ponds and rivers. The wind gently washes over the land rustling the leaves of the forests and bringing a relaxing coolness in its wake. Every night Luna raises her moon, she subsequently creates a symphony across the land. Marius stands on the balcony outside of Luna’s bed chambers next to the door watching as Luna gently lands her hooves, looking up into the sky to check her work, the stars glittering in his brown eyes, his clean shaven face and head chilled by the breeze. The moonlight bounces off of his silver breastplate, bracers, and greaves all covering his black tunic and black breeches as well as his high rising leather boots. His leather bound hand rests on the silver pommel of his longsword, a blue wrap around the hilt. The cloak around his neck gently flows in the breeze as Luna steps back to look at her work “I think I’ve outdone myself tonight,” She says, the stars glittering in her eyes as her ethereal mane gently flows in the wind almost mirroring the sky. “Indeed you have your highness,” Marius says giving her a gentle nod and looking back to the sky. “Tis unbecoming to lie to one’s princess Marius, what do you truly think?” She turned to him and stared into his brown eyes, searching for any lies he may speak. “It is beautiful your grace, although, the stars in Orion's belt seem to be misaligned,” He says thoughtfully, watching as the princess’s smirk turned to that of surprise and embarrassment, snapping around and looking to the Orion constellation. After subjecting the constellation to a few quiet moments severe scrutiny, “I know not of what you speak, it looks perfect,” She turns back to Marius, and seeing the small grin on his face she realizes she had been the victim of a prank, “you realize I will get you back for that later,” She says with a giggle, trotting by him and into her quarters. “I would expect nothing less your grace.” He says as he turns and follows her inside, closing the doors behind him. “Actually, would you mind keeping those open, the breeze is lovely,” she says sitting at her desk, enveloping a quill in a blue aura and filling out the beginning of a sizable amount of paperwork. Marius stops and re-opens the two glass doors, then moves to stand at his usual post next to the two tall rich mahogany doors that lead out into the castle. He scans the room like he does at any position in the castle, he glances over the four post bed, the wood with a black finish and blue drapes cast over it, and drawn to the posts. The bed itself has blue sheets and comforters with silver linings, all neatly pressed and laid out over the mattress. To the left of the bed is a small night stand where the princess keeps her regalia when she sleeps during the day. The walls are all violet with portraits of mountains, forests, and rivers adorning them. Several book cases line the walls filled spell books. Under the portrait of a moonlit lake is Luna’s desk, a simple thing made of oak with a couple of drawers on either side, littered with paperwork and an ink-pot with a couple of quills on the far side next to the wall. To the right of that is a small walk in closet. Two small blue couches sit in the center of the room on a violet circular rug with a coffee table in between them with a defensive spell book on top of it open to a page on shields off to one edge. There are two tall windows on either side of the double doors leading to the balcony and to the left of those is an open door leading to the bathroom. The time passes uneventfully, occasionally Luna sighs, bored with the new forms. Then knocking is heard from the main door. Marius opens the door and looks over the responsible party of the knocking. It is a bat pony, a young mare, with grey fur, bat wings, glowing yellow cat eyes, and purple armour. She salutes Marius which he returns in kind, and says that there is business which requires the princess’s attention in the throne room. Marius swears he can hear the princess quietly celebrating this opportunity to escape her paperwork. The Princess rises and steps into view of the guard, “Please notify the court that I shall be there quite soon,” With that the guard bowed and cantered off to the throne room. Luna puts on her crown and leaves the room, Marius in tow. They walk in silence for a short time, their footsteps echoing in the dimly lit halls, decorated with fine lunar and solar tapestries, all enchanted to produce light during their respective times. Additionally, towering windows offer an entrance for the moonlight, and an escape for tired eyes hoping to relax by looking to the forest. “Princess, might I remind you that you will have to go back to that paperwork at some point tonight, you have several new treaties to review,” Says Marius walking a few paces behind the Princess. The Princess was smiling, delighted at the chance to forget some of her responsibilities if only for a few minutes, now she is frowning, “Oh don’t remind me, I am all too aware of those, they are all disasters which is why my sister puts them on me,” she says putting a little bit of frustrated emphasis on the word sister, “I have the calling of watching over the dreamworlds of Equestria, I hardly have any time to review them and then when I do they are such a mess that I would need to confer with my sister for far longer than I have the time for.” She stops in front of a window looking to the distant glow of a nearby town. “Yes but your sister must also watch over the day courts when citizens line up for miles to speak to her, I would almost argue that your duties are far less tenuous than that of your sisters.” Marius says stepping forward to stand by her side. “Indeed, while she retains all of the praise and glory, while I, well, I don’t think that many of them even know of me…” She looks down at her hooves. “Yes, but is it not glorious that your nights are so peaceful, all is at rest and all are lost in their own lands of wonder, they know of you princess, they love you, and they show it by trusting you to watch over them and giving them these safe nights.” He places a hand on her shoulder. “Ha, I suppose you are right,” She looks up to the moon and takes a deep breathe, “alright, let’s go see what tonight's courts will bring.” with a small smile she begins to canter down the hall, leaving Marius to jog just to keep pace. Luna steps through the archway behind the throne, a tall stone seat with runes engraved in the sides and the lunar/solar crest of the sisters at the top, and takes her place at the head of the court, Marius standing at her side. All in attendance bow deeply as she sits. There are a few ponies and a few humans in the room, most of whom are guards, all wearing the purple armour of the night guard. There is a small line formed in front of the throne, the Princess gazes down with a stoic expression, and asks the first guest to step forward. The first speaker is a middle aged green stallion in a simple wool shirt with a brown skull cap, which he is taking off to show respect to the princess. “Your grace,” he says bowing deeply, “I have come from two towns over to request that I gain an extension on my taxes,” “You may have your extension,” the princess interrupts, unconcerned of the reason, “You may pay by the next full moon. Next please.” she says, the stallion bowing and thanking her many times over as a guard nudges him away. The next person steps forward and bows deeply, he is wearing a fine tailed coat, black shoes, and white stockings, he is by every definition, a noble. “Your Majesty, I have come to request an extra guard detail be dispatched to the warehouse districts in Trottingham, there has been a marked increase in break ins as of late, even rumors of gang activity, it is my understanding that if this is to go on unchecked, it will become too large an issue to handle.” He says standing to his full height and looking into the princess's eyes. “Yes that is troublesome news, although rather than send an extra guard detail, I want you to raise the wages of your employees,” She stares down at the man. “Beg your pardon your grace?” He says, surprised by the command. “I have already looked into this issue, I have discovered that the poverty level in that region is quite higher than anywhere else in the nation, additionally, you are the employer as well as the landlord for most property’s, which are also quite high in rent,” She said gazing down on him with a look that would make a hydra shy away. “Why, I simply cannot your majesty,” he says, a smirk on his face, regaining his composure “my company is already about to hemorrhage money and if we were increase the pay of our employees we would no longer profit, more over we could no longer donate as much as we do to the crown’s army.” “Are you trying to extort the crown?” the tone of frustration slowly builds into contained fury Luna slowly rises and the noble begins to comprehend his mistake, “I can assure you, the military will survive without your ‘donations’, as such you may either repair the district with a healthier distribution of wealth and lowered costs of living, or the crown will seize everything, your businesses as well as your home and bank accounts, do I make myself clear?” “You can’t do that! Everything you suggest goes against the business codes, it’s theft!” He says stepping forward. “As is paying your employees nothing,” says the princess, “so, I will give you one more chance, increase the wages of your employees!” her voice is icy. He stares at the princess for a moment, considering his words carefully. “I will not, I have done nothing outside of the law, I will not yield to this!” “You think that matters? We lay down these laws with the intent of providing a framework for all to live by and assumed that the citizens would abide by what is right and not use the law to justify such horrific behavior, the likes of which we will not tolerate. We want the masses to govern themselves through these laws, however if actions are taken that are not expressly forbidden but are clearly outside the realm of good morality, we will step in, this is just such an occasion.” The princess waves a hoof to a guard, “place him in the dungeon, we will be seizing all of his assets by morning, you are stripped of title, and will remain in the dungeons until a time to be appointed by my sister and I.” she says, turning away and re-taking her seat as two human guards grabbed the raging noble, dragging him to the depths of the castle. “Would the next please step forward,” Luna says regaining her calm and stoic expression. A young white unicorn mare steps forward weak and skinny from hunger, a sling with something in it around her neck. “Forgive me your grace, I would not have disturbed you but I was unable to gain a meeting anywhere else,” She says with as low a bow as her sling allows. “There is no need for apology, why is it you have come?” Luna says, eyeing her curiously. “I cannot afford to care for my child, her father died recently from starvation,” she says with a sniffle, “I know not of her abilities or anything of what she might become, but I hope you would be able and willing to take her in and into the school of gifted unicorns.” She finishes her cheeks turning red. “There are orphanages for this purpose, why have you come here?” She says gazing down on the young mare. “I am sure you have heard the rumors, they are poorly managed and poorly funded, I want my daughter to live a happy life, not one of strife and sadness.” She says looking up to the princess tears welling in her eyes. “I am sorry but I cannot, if I were to take her in all parents hoping to give up their children would come here.” she says softly. Marius ponders this a moment, leans toward the princess, and whispers in the princess’s ear, “Your grace, if we bring her in, I can train her as my apprentice with the intent to replace myself when I am old and feeble.” Luna looks at him surprised, then a small smile graces her face. “I have re-considered with the council of my guard,” She says standing and walking down the stairs on the left of the throne, and to the young mare, whose face lights up as soon as she hears the words, “we will take her in. I cannot guarantee that she will go to the magic school, however, she will be trained by Captain Marius to become my personal guard, and if the prerequisites are met, shall go to the school as well.” Luna encases the young filly in her blue aura, lifting her so she can see the child. She has a blue mane and tail, gray fur, and deep blue eyes. She giggles a little and reaches out to the princess. All eyes are on the princess, the side conversations silenced once more at this strange sight. “What is her name?” The princess asks, never breaking eye contact with the filly. “Shade, Your majesty.” She says tears beginning to fall. “Marius, come over here if you would,” Luna says looking over her shoulder, “now, I assume you already know, that in taking this action, your contact will be extremely limited if at all.” Luna looks back to the crying mare while Marius descends the steps to the throne, the young mare nods in agreement. Marius stands off to the side between the two mares in front of the filly. “Yes, your grace?” “Captain Marius, I hereby grant you all responsibility and authority in the upbringing of this child, with the intent of training her to become my personal guard.” Luna says, levitating the child into Marius’s arms. “Thank you, your grace,” the mare says with a tearful smile as she is lead out of the room seeing her child for the last time through the crack of the closing door when she looks back. Luna re-takes the throne, Marius at her side the child in his arms, “Is there any other business which needs my attention in the court at this time?” there is no response from any of the bodies present, “then I will take my leave for the time being, should anything arise, then notify the lieutenant,” she says waving a hoof to the armour clad pony at the base of the stairs, “she will bring it to my attention.” With that, stands, and walks out of the throne room, Marius in her wake. As they walk down the dim corridors, Luna asks, “So why did you advise we take her in Marius?” Marius stops and held out the filly looking into her tired eyes, “I knew you wanted to from the start your grace, I simply gave you a means to do so, additionally, I will need to be replaced one day, my youth only has so long before my body begins to wither away.” he cradles the exhausted filly in his arms and looks into Luna’s eyes. Luna smiles gently and gives a light chuckle, “With how much of your hair has been discolored I’d say those days are sooner than you think,” she says stepping forward and looking at the sleeping child. “Ha, you won't be rid of me yet, I’m still quite young, my hair grays because being your guard may be one of the most difficult jobs in all of Equestria!” He says as they continue walking to the princess’s quarters. “Oh is that so? Perhaps you would like to take over my job for the night then?” “I wouldn’t dream of it my lady,” He chuckles. They continue on in relative silence, the only sounds are the echoes of their footfalls and the gentle snoring of Shade until they arrive in front of Luna’s quarters. Luna stops and turns to look at Marius. “Well if you won’t do my job for me, then I must return to my dreaded paperwork, I must finish the revisions to all of those treaties and my decisions on them before dawn which is not far off. You are dismissed for the rest of the night Marius, see that Shade has a warm bed in your quarters, she will be staying with you until she is old enough to be by herself.” She says opening her doors and stepping through, “goodnight Marius.” she says, the doors doors closing. “Goodnight your grace,” replies Marius, turning and walking towards his quarters carrying the sleeping filly in his arms.
Chapter 2Princess Luna sits at her desk reviewing the final treaty, a trade and agreement of alliance between Equestria and the griffon kingdom. She turns her head and looks out the window, the moon is low, almost touching the horizon, Celestia will be raising the sun any minute now, she thinks to herself. Luna sighs, looking back to the document before her. She is only halfway through, and it already is making outrageous demands in exchange for military support. The Griffon King, Grover, is claiming that it is only fair that the older country which is providing support, should hold more territory on the grounds that they are far better equipped to protect such large territories. Luna lets her head fall to the desk with a sigh. “We can’t ratify any of these treaties,” she says, sitting up and walking over to the balcony, watching the moon slowly dip below the horizon while the sun crests the edge of the world, raising all from their slumber, “Every one of these treaties comes with outrageous demands which we simply cannot yield too!” she shakes her head. The princess turns around and walks towards the doors, enveloping the stack of treaties in a blue aura along with two quills and an ink pot. Opening the doors with a push of her hooves, then proceeds to walk toward the breakfast nook in the kitchens on the eastern side of the castle, to meet with her sister over dinner/breakfast. The bright morning light streams into the windows of the halls burning Luna’s eyes slightly having been in darkness during her waking hours. She can hear the birds of the forests singing their songs and playing in the morning sun, warming themselves after the cool night. A couple of butterflies pass by the window, catching her eye, Luna stops and watches them for a moment, it’s a sight she rarely sees in her duties. The leaves of the forest sway gently in the morning breeze and after a moment of staring at the sight before her, Luna breaks free from her trance and continues toward the kitchen. After a short walk Luna arrives at the Kitchens, greeting the two Lunar guards as she passes them. The guards, one human and one pony, respond in kind followed by a short bow and continuing on their way, no doubt headed towards the barracks for some food and rest after being relieved by her sisters Solar guards. The Princess bids good morning to the two Solar guards, two white unicorn stallions in shining gold armour, making their route through the castle on a routine patrol stopping only to return the greeting, bow, and open the door for their princess. Luna thanks them for their polite gesture and walks into the kitchen. Luna looks around for a moment, noticing the the tall arched ceilings decorated with the same tapestries one could see throughout the castle, although none of them glowed at this time as the brilliant light from the sun streaming through the cathedral windows sprawling over the kitchen walls let in more than enough light to allow the staff to see their work. The smell of a freshly baked breakfast fill Luna’s senses as she walks to the cozy nook off to the side of the kitchen, the smell of the croissants and bagels, as well as the eggs and the tea all make her stomach growl in anticipation. Luna steps through the doors to the nook, a small bright room lined with windows, bathing it in yellow light. A small, round, polished mahogany table sits at the center, decorated with delectable baked goods all sitting on gleaming silver platters, filling the room with their delicate aroma. The floor of the room is covered with the softest decorative seating pillows on which Princess Celestia sits, sipping her breakfast tea, waiting for her sister. Celestia greets her sister with a gentle nod and smile. “Good morning Luna, have you reviewed the treaties?” Luna lets out a sigh as she sits down across the table from her sister where there is already a place set for her with two over easy eggs, toast, and orange juice; she takes a moment before answering to take a bite of her eggs. After she finishes chewing, she looks at Celestia to respond. “I have, all of them,” Luna clears a small space on the table with her magic and sets down all of the treaties in a neat stack on the table, “I believe that we cannot ratify any of these, it is clear that in all cases, the nations which have offered us help are trying to take advantage of Equestria while its government is still new, they assume we are fools!” Luna takes a sip of her juice. “I agree that their demands are more than we should give in too, however, we are not in a position of power right now, and we must make concessions if we are to rebuild this country. We only defeated discord ten years ago and the economy is still in shambles, our military is still far to weak to protect us, and ponies are starving, the farms are still being rebuilt from Discord’s rule and trying to produce enough crops to feed everypony after those arduous years, it would seem that his magic still lingers in the soil and farmers end up losing crops because they run away.” Celestia trails off, taking a bite of a bagel with cream cheese. Luna finishes chewing a bite of toast, “Yes but if we were to give in now, we will never be respected and our country will remain in the shadows, being controlled by foreign leaders bent on keeping their place at the top of the world. We must demonstrate our strength as leaders, and as a country, if we don’t now, how long do you think it will be before another tyrant like Discord wages a battle of supremacy?” Celestia ponders this for a moment, “Luna, I understand your position, but we must make these concessions, we need everything that all of the other nations offer desperately, it’s the only way for us to rebuild our economy as well as our military force. If we fail to attain the assistance we require now, we will be overrun sooner rather than later, and hopefully by that time Equestria will have its strength once more.” “I cannot give any consent to these treaties, not without making a new offer. We can offer to make weaponry and armour for the griffons, our blacksmiths magic creates some of the strongest equipment in all the lands.” “Luna that is enough! We will not risk these alliances because you don’t like them, we will do whatever it takes to secure these alliances; and as for your impromptu trial last night regarding the Baron Drackis, I will be overturning your sentence, and you will apologize to him, I understand why you took such actions, but we need him, and all he offers.” the solar princess glares at her sister. Luna doesn’t say anything, just stands and walks out of the nook, after which, a blue aura envelops the stack of treaties and throws them, scattering them all over the room. Celestia lets out a long sigh, then continues with her breakfast.
Chapter 3Lieutenant Haze is walking off to the barracks, she had just went through a long shift dealing with drunken fools trying to find their way home and instead caused all manner of annoyances by wandering off into the forest. While walking down the corridor pondering all of the night's events she sees a door crack open to her left and a head poke out. “Ah, Lieutenant, I was wondering, could you help me with something for a moment.” “Sorry sir, but my shift is over, ask a solar guard.” “It is not work related, I’m just in a little over my head.” Her wings droop a little and she sighs, “Fine, five minutes, but then I’m off to the barracks, I had to break up several fights tonight and I want to sleep.” she takes a step towards the door to Marius’s quarters, then she hears it. She gives Marius a quizzical look and opens the door with her hoof, there on the floor is a little grey filly. “Why do you have a foal?” deadpans Haze, walking up to the little pony. “A mare asked that the Princess take her in, she wasn’t able to so I suggested we bring her in too train under my watch with the intent to take my position.” “So that’s what I’ve been hearing about, you know, you care too much for your own good Marius, do you even know how to care for a unicorn foal?” She asks, tired eyes never leaving the foal. “No,” he admits, “that’s why I am asking for your help.” he says, picking up the giggly filly. She thinks for a moment, “Well unfortunately I can’t help you very much. All I can do is tell you the very basics of caring for a foal, unless it is a pegasus, for unicorns, go talk with Private Starburst.” she says, turning to leave. “Do you know where I would find her?” “I would start with the mess hall, she’s one of the solar guards, got out of basic one month ago, she’ll likely be with all the other newbies in the corner.” her sentence trails off as she exits the room, closing the door behind her. Marius looks to the foal in his arms, “Well I suppose we’re off the the mess,” he says as he opens the doors, turning right towards the mess hall, “Let’s go find the private.” It’s a short walk to the mess hall from the section of the castle housing the royal quarters. Shade is mesmerised by all the bright colors of the morning light, giggling at all of the little birds singing gleefully outside the windows. Marius only smiles, but he still wonders how he will care for this foal, he still has his standard duties to attend to. As Marius steps into the mess hall, he sweeps his gaze from left to right, searching for the private, he sees several guards staring at him. There is no rivalry between the two guard divisions, but it was still odd for the solar guards to see someone from the Lunar guards in the mess with them, and Marius, in his black tunic and breeches, makes it very clear that he is the odd man out, although they could also be staring at the filly in his arms. Upon looking to the corner table to his right, he finds the table with all of the privates, their ranks only visible by the the small insignia on their pauldrons underneath the sun emblem engraved in every solar guards armour. There is about twenty-five guards around the table as he approaches, all chatting and laughing amongst themselves, while eating the morning meal of eggs, fruit and hay cakes, while the human guards have regular toast instead of the hay cakes. Marius approaches the young man at the corner seat closest to the wall, saying, “Private, I am looking for Starburst.” He looks up, somewhat surprised and a bit startled, “Yes sir, she’s right over there,” he says, pointing down the table, “Starburst!,” he calls, “got someone looking for you!” At that, a yellow unicorn mare leans forward, looking at the Captain, as she inspects him her face begins to form a great smile as she sees the little foal, “I’ll be right over!” she says, standing and walking towards Marius, her helmet floating along in an amber aura. The rest of the privates are staring at them both by now, as well as some of the other guards, even most of the conversation has died down in the immediate vicinity. Marius takes notice of this turning back to Starburst, “Would you mind if we speak in the hall Ms. Starburst?” “By all means,” she says, passing Marius while taking Shade in her amber aura. Marius stands there, a bit surprised, but ultimately accepts this as he turns and follows her out the main entry way and into the hall where Starburst turns around, sits on the floor, making silly faces at the little filly she sets on the floor in front of her, eliciting fits of giggles from the foal. “Well aren’t you the cutest thing!” she cries smiling at the giggly filly, “What is her name? Is she yours?” she asks, looking up at Marius, “I mean obviously she’s not YOURS, but are you her father?” Marius thinks this over a moment before responding, “I suppose I am, yes, Shade’s adoptive father.” it hadn’t really occurred to him up until now, and even now it can probably be said that the full weight of that meaning has not yet sunk in, “Which is why I am here, I was informed that you have experience with unicorn foals, and I need advice on the subject.” “Haha, in over your head, goodness, that’s how my husband and I felt with our first foal, she’s about fifteen now, and she has two brothers too, both around eleven, I can tell you now it doesn’t get easier. How old is she?” says Starburst, still in a bit of a reverie. “I believe the paperwork shows her age to be about two months.” “Oh then I hope you are ready for quite a bit of cleaning, when unicorns are first born they are prone to bursts of magic, nothing too serious but when you walk into a room and find things levitating where they shouldn’t, it can still cause a headache,” she watches the foal shakily walking around on the floor. “So how do I help teach her to control her magic?” he says, crouching next to Shade. “Do you use magic at all?” She asks, looking up to Marius. “No, I had a mentor when I was very young but since practicing takes a couple of decades off of a human’s life span I chose to pursue the sword in lieu of the arcane.” “An understandable position but in this situation a tad unfortunate, I would suggest you find a tutor for her, she won’t understand most of what’s being told to her but she’ll try to mimic the teacher and that's good for development.” she says bumping her hooves together with Shade’s. It is at this point that a small frown begins to overtake the foal’s face, and tears begin to well in her eyes. Not a moment later, Shade begins bawling on the floor, all the while releasing what can only be described as shrieks. “Haha, it sounds like you need to find her something to eat, speaking of,” she says standing upright, “I need to go finish my meal, I have to start my shift shortly.” she gestures towards the few guards beginning to wander out of the mess. Replying with, “Well thank you for your time Ms. Starburst,” picking up the weeping foal in the process, “your advice is much appreciated.” “Oh, be sure she has mostly milk for the first four months, you could probably find what you need at the apothecary, they generally have that sort of thing, after that she can start eating more solids like alfalfa and such, good luck!” she says, rounding the corner and headed to somewhere in the mess. Marius begins to gently rock Shade in his arms as he walks down the hall to the main entry way into the castle speaking in a soft voice to the child. “I remember the first time I laid eyes on the night watch, I saw them and knew straight away that I was meant to be a soldier of the night.” he says rounding a corner, passing a patrol, “It can be said though, that I never even imagined that I would become the personal guard for Princess Luna; at the time, this position belonged to a unicorn stallion named Iron Heart, and my god, he scared the piss out me, and everyone else.” “Iron Heart always had a scowl on his face, also never said more than five words, generally, if you heard more, it meant someone was about to go to the stockade.” as he continues his story shade quiets slightly, “I don’t think that pony had a single friend, not even the Princess, she always seemed bored with him lingering about, which was always. Don’t misunderstand, he was an excellent guard, a shining example of what it means to wear the armour, he stopped his fair share of assassination attempts, Iron was the one who made it known that the Princess was not to be trifled with.” “He really was a bore, but he definitely made your job far easier Marius.” a voice calls from behind. Marius stops in his tracks, turning to the voice that has interrupted his story, only to find Luna emerging from a side hall he had just passed. He sees her and smiles, as does Shade, seeing a familiar face. “And I will not soon forget it.” he says, offering a small bob of the head. Luna walks toward him and Shade, “And much like Marius replaced Iron Heart, you will one day replace him, and likely do an even better job than he.” giggles Luna, “So where are you two off to?” “Shade needs food, it was suggested that I go to the apothecary for milk.” “Then might I join you two, I must get some fresh air after the meeting with my dearest sister.” says Luna, putting a little too much emphasis on ‘dearest’. “By all means Princess,” replies Marius “I take it the meeting did not end well?” “It most certainly did not,” Luna says with a sigh, “Celestia won’t listen at all to my position regarding the treaties, She will likely go through with all of them without taking my opinions to heart! She even went so far as to undermine my authority, she is overturning last night’s sentencing and then on top of all of this I have to apologize to him!” she raises her voice slightly at the end of the last statement, stopping in her tracks and looking up into Marius’s eyes. “Did she explain at all why?” he says, still rocking the foal. “She says that we can’t risk the treaties and that we need all of the money that rat gives!” she says, continuing forward. Marius can feel her anger rising, during the silence he thinks of how to switch the subject, settling on using Shade for this job, “do you think she will be a strong magic user?” It is clear by the look on Luna’s face that she is still upset about the meeting and she knows what he’s doing but she welcomes the opportunity to distract herself with something more light hearted. “It is hard to say, she may have no natural ability but if she puts her focus on the arcane arts then she could be just as powerful as Starswirl.” Marius stops, stepping off to the side to allow a maid to pass after she gives a quick bow to the princess of the night. After the maid has rounded the corner behind them, he continues walking, keeping pace just behind Luna. “Marius you are not on duty, you need not walk behind me.” Luna says; taking note of his reluctance, she prods him forward a bit with her magic. “My apologies, it’s a habit that is not easily ignored, that reminds me, do you know who would be a good mentor for controlling her magic?” “Speak to Starswirl, he will be able to teach her, he may be a bit reluctant to take on a student so just tell him it is a personal favor that I ask of him.” Luna says looking up at him. They arrive at the main entrance to the castle, the doors are wide open, granting all who wish to see the princess of the sun access to do so. The mid morning sun hangs low in the sky when they step outside, it warms their faces as a cool spring breeze washes over them. Marius follows Luna down the steps into the city. The streets are packed tightly with humans and ponies on their usual business, either running errands or going to work Marius imagines. As they walk down the street, Marius watches in all directions, ever vigilant for any dangers that may be lingering about, but there is really nothing noteworthy happening as everyone in the Luna’s path part much like water flowing around a stone, offering her a space of roughly ten feet. Even though he has seen this many times before, yet it still somewhat amazes him, finding it a bit odd as he spends all of his time in relatively close proximity to the Princess, but then, only he sees her as she is and not the leader of a nation. It is only a short walk to the apothecary and when he and the Luna arrive, Marius can smell the strong scent of various herbs hanging from the ceiling and outside in the sun to dry. It is not unpleasant, merely overpowering to the point where Marius cannot smell anything save for the shop in front of him, and while he is thinking of this, he finds Luna walking inside prompting him to follow suit. It is an old unicorn mare behind the counter, her lavender coat has paled over her long years, who smiles as they enter, “Welcome! Do forgive me Princess for not properly greeting you, but these old knees don’t work the way they used too,” stepping out from behind the counter she pushes a stray gray hair from her mane out of her face, and offers her hoof to the Luna. “It is quite alright Granny Dreams,” she says, pulling the old mare into a hug. She accepts the hug with a warm smile, the kind you really would expect from a grandmother, and returns it in kind,“So what brings you to my shop?” she asks, breaking away from the hug. “Oh I only tagged along, Marius is the one shopping today.” “Well it’s about time you found a coltfriend, though I will say I didn’t think you were interested in humans, what with how you used to look at some of the colts that walked in,” she says walking up to Marius, a mischievous smile spreading across her muzzle. “Granny!” Luna cries, her face blushing almost imperceptibly. “Haha, oh I kid, I kid, I know this strapping fellow is your guard,” she leans a little closer to Marius, “though that shouldn’t stop you from trying your hand…” Luna walks forward, pushing the somewhat pervy old mare away from Marius, “Enough!” she says in a huff, face burning, “Marius, tell her what you came for!” “Yes… I am looking to buy milk for Shade,” he says gesturing to the filly. It takes a moment for cackling Granny dreams to respond, “Ah yes, I do sell that, but not to you,” she says wiping a tear from her eye, “take what you need, I won't have a friend of Luna’s pay for anything in this shop.” “Please, I must repay you in some way,” he says, grabbing the bag of milk out of the air. “Well there is one thing…” she says trailing off as a wry smile forms. “Granny,” Luna’s voice is low and menacing as she turns and walks towards the spice wall behind her. “Oh alright, I’ve had my fun, but I still stand by what I said.” Granny retakes her place behind the counter after floating a bag from somewhere in the back full of bottles of milk and nipples to Marius. “Perhaps you could send Shade here to learn how to mix potions like I did all those years ago,” says Luna, stepping away from the wall of spices she was looking at, likely using them to hide any embarrassment still lingering on her face. Granny ponders this for a moment, “that would be splendid, I haven’t had a student since you mastered the art Luna, and I miss the company! If you wish to repay me then when she can speak fluently, bring her here and I will teach her my craft.” smiles and looks at Shade. “One last thing, how do I feed her?” Marius says, holding up the bag. “Haha, that’s easy,” Granny says, levitating one of the bottles out of the bag placing one of the nipples on top, and letting it glide into the hooves of the excited foal, who immediately starts guzzling her meal, “foals aren’t too difficult, just have to give them what they need and they’ll do it themselves for the most part, only thing you have to really do for them for the first year or so is change them and bathe them.” “Well thank you Granny for all of your help, I will certainly be sure to send her here for potions training.” After all have said their goodbyes, Luna and Marius depart the cozy shop, headed back to the palace to rest before the evening's duties begin. It is a quiet walk back as Shade falls asleep while Marius and Luna both pass the time by looking at the townsfolk and the shops. Partly out of habit and partly out of politeness, Marius walks Luna back to her quarters where they both bid good day. “Sleep well Luna,” Marius says offering a slight bob of the head so as not to disturb the sleeping foal. “You as well Marius, and if need be, feel free to take tonight off to spend time with Shade, the more time you spend with her the more likely it is that she will adhere to your training.” “No, I will continue my duties as usual, but I will have to have Shade with me, it would be good to start her seeing the work, although I understand she may become a distraction so would you rather I stand guard in the hall while on duty.” “You may take up your usual post,” she says with a wave of her hoof, “I should likely spend time with her as well seeing that she will become my guard, best she learn now that formalities are not to be used in private hours unlike someone.” Marius chuckles at that, “My sincerest apologies your grace,” he says, giving a curtsy, “please forgive me for any offence, and please accept this curtsy as I may not bow!” his voice is dripping in sarcasm. Luna holds her hoof up to her mouth to stifle her laughter into nothing more than a giggle, “haha, I accept your apologies, good day Marius.” she says with a slight bob of the head, and closing the door behind her as she enters. As he watches the doors close, in front of him, he turns to his left and wanders down the hall to his quarters not far from the Luna’s, where upon entering, he lies on his bed with Shade in the crook of his arm and drifts off into sleep.
