The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances

Canterlot, Pony Joe's Donut Shop, Early Night

"And that was when he said 'That's what she said' and Seymour just started laughing his flank off! I can not believe the nerve of that jerk!" Sapphire Bloom said while throwing a small donut ball at Greaves who was busy chuckling to himself which everypony present saw.

"What are you talking about? You were the one that fell for that little joke of ours and I thought it was freaking funny as hell! You should have seen the look on your face it was priceless! If only I had a camera to take a picture of that moment just so I can mount it up on my wall so I can always have something that will let me know that you guards are easy to embaress hehe." Greaves was laughing while eating an overly chocolate bar donut, trying hard not to choke on it while laughing his ass off.

"Oh shut up Seymour before I tie your wings up, lift you into the sky and drop you...see how funny that is when you realize that you can't fly with bound wings."

As the two were bickering and going all out on insults at one another, the the other seven ponies that went with them were watching them yell at each other, Rainbow Dash and Applejack placing bets on who would win the verbal debat on who was a jerk, whose breath smelled of rotten fish, and overall who got laid first which to everyponies surprise was Greaves when he unknowingly slept with another gryphon which at that point had no idea that she was in fact was the daughter of a rival noble, last thing he heard from her was his name being called out for execution. Lets just say that he flew his ass off like there was no tomorrow, for him that was true, there was indeed no tomorrow if he was caught.

Meanwhile Elsewhere

To everyponies surprise Seymour just looked away and ate his donut whole before taking off into the early night sky, humming to himself as loudly as he could just to be obnoxious to every rich snob in Canterlot. Ocean Tide left a bit later after paying the tab and flying after him, trying to keep pace to stay on their already very thin time table. Me on the other hoof was busy dealing with two princesses and their seemingly infinite questions about why did I pick this item to take back, what purpose does it have, and also why did I pick a painting of Nightmare Moon when I could have gotten something more valuable or important.

"If this is all you have to report back than you are dismissed, go back to the barracks and rest. You deserve it as much as your partner since I heard you had to deal with the manticores that roam that haunted castle since Nighthshade somehow managed to create a spell to calm down and control them into obeying his will. That spell might have been enchanted onto them and they still serve his will even in death, we might have to send you and Ocean Tide back to try and capture one of them. Consider this your next mission after a three day break. You may leave now Lunar Shield." Oh thank you gods above that she did not catch anything that I have been thinking...and now to get the buck out of here.

As I bow down to them and turn to leave, Luna slowly gets up from her throne and glide over to me, two things come to my mind when that happened. One. OH MY GOD! IM GONNA DIE and Two. Well my cover is blown...

"So Lunar Shield, while thou were at the Everfree Castle, hath thou notice anything strange? Anything that was out of place or should not have even been there? We need to know if anything in that castle moved on its own or moved by another pony?" the distance that seperated us was starting to shrink as she gracefully moved closer and closer, the gap now only three feet apart and that seperation is only made worse by the fact that her wings slowly wrap around myself in a slightly protective manner. Since Celestia was watching us I knew it was only a matter of time before she knew something was wrong and come quickly to investigate, she was always a killjoy since she ruined my plans a almost two weeks ago...what a bitch...just had to ruin my plans for Nightmare Moon...

Just as I was about to respond with a fake answer what she said next and in such a manner made me realize that something was indeed wrong...it is not everyday a ruler of Equestria gives anypony a magical embrace while whispering in your ear...well...it happened already to me twice, today marks the third time.

"We know it is thou Nightshade Umbraspark...We have always known it was thou ever since we first laid our eyes on you when We walked into the throne room. Not the most subtle way to enter the palace but thou did get past the guards undetected and even fooled my sister, but We want to know why thou is here? Is it to ask us to go with thou, are thou here to kill my sister, or are thou here on your own accord?" I can tell she was studing my face, trying to figure out why I am here but I can not simply tell her that I am after something that belongs to her otherwise she might wise up and have it guarded better, so for now a half-truth will suffice.

"I can not tell you my princess...for what I am planning wil endanger you if you are somehow caught up in it. I can not watch you get into harms way if it is by my actions...for what I am planning is highly dangerous to the point of it being suicidal...I am sorry but I cannot tell you yet...in due time."

"If thou can not tell us...than thou must be doing something that is highly...unorthodox. But whatever thou is doing please tell us...We want to help thou...but we can not if you do not tell us. We know that thou loved Nightmare Moon...who is also I, but thou must be willing to tell us the truth otherwise We can not protect thee incase of something that goes wrong..." My gods...she knows...

Looking into her eyes as she looked into mine I only saw the endless ocean of the night sky as she looked into my distorted teal tinted slits, the look of a monster was more of what my eyes are. Luna knows about me and Nightmare Moon...she knows everything that we did together...everything...

Everfree Castle, 3 Years Ago, Midnight

"...So let me get this straight...you want me...to brush your mane? But isn't it you know...etheral? Can not be touched by solid matter only by magical or otherworldly means? A black ivory brush with dark silver brisels can not touch your mane...unless you make your mane solid or enchant this brush to be able to have physical contact..." I said trying to be the voice of reason at the castle, the ghost not knowing what is going on, the two manticores patrolling the gate don't even know what a brush is let alone what it looks like, and Nightmare Moon is just playing hard ball with me since she easily knows what makes me tick.

"Oh come now Nightshade...you should know by now that my mane is in fact able to be physically touched by the brush, you are simply being overly technical about it. My mane can be touched by solid matter at anytime but even it can be a tangled mess as you have obviously seen last night after our little...session as you call it, even you said that I looked adorable with bedmane, which was funny since I did not give you permission to look at me when my mane was a mess of spectral strands of twinkling stars." she said while laying on her queen sized bed, laying down on her belly while reading an old book called 'Equestrian History: The Everfree Forest', clearly amused with a smug look on her muzzle, knowing that half the things in the book are straight up lies or just plain pointless, even the tales that forest moves on its own and those that enter can never leave without going insane. That particular part made her laugh to no end while I was busy trying to straighten her mane with the damned brush with my teeth...now I know why pegasi and earth ponies have a hard time brushing their own mane.

"Well how else do you expect me to brush your mane? With my mind or with my horn? I already tried that once remember? You tossed me out the window when I accidentally poked you with my horn...my neck still hurts when it hit the top of the window before landing in that pile of poison joke...I hated being all white with normal eyes...it just reminds me of that tyrant...and also tell me again why am I growing poison joke in the first place?" I was clearly annoyed that I had to grow the garden of poison joke near the back of the castle, sure it was fun putting some of it into her tea or sneaking into Ponyville and placing it into someponies drink or food and watch the magic happen to them. Was even more annoyed that I landed into that pile of poison joke...it took me a week to return to normal...and by normal I mean not white coated and normal eyed, I mean black coated with two different color eyes with dagger slits.

"You do know that being a smartass will get you on the couch for the week and a bucket of poison joke over your head, so keep it up otherwise get to brushing, and one more thing. Be gentle with my mane or I will turn you pink for the rest of the year."

"Alright alright...sheesh...I rather not sleep on the royal couch...damn thing is annoying as hell when it squeeks from the slightest of movements, I rather sleep on the stone cold floor since its more stable and with the proper amount of blankets can be comfortable. But than again I rather sleep in this bed than that couch...and your mane still does look cute when its all fuzzy and scattered hehe..........I'm sleeping on the couch again...aren't I?"

"Yes you are and you are doing an excellent job with my mane...maybe you won't sleep on the couch but you will not get any blankets tonight, or any other night for the next week."

"Well at least I tried to get out of it...eh.." I said with a shrug as I kept brushing her mane, getting it all straight and with a keen sheen that could probably blind somepony if they looked at it in the right angle of light...that would be funny to see somepony get blinded by her beauty...wait that already happened...I got blinded by her mane when she came out of the royal bathroom that one time...I couldn't see for an entire week. Totally worth it.

While I was brushing her mane with my teeth since I was trained on how to properly brush her mane without the use of my levitation spell, it was a simple task, but getting distracted while working on her mane causes me to accidentially tug on her mane a little to hard which to me should be impossible since its etheral. That slight tug made her slightly let out a small moan which in turn got me tossed down onto the other side of the bed by her starry mane grabbing me and giving me the all too familiar weightless feeling before going face first into a pillow.

Only after pulling my face out of the pillow did I see what happened, Nightmare Moon was giving me a seductive stare which set off only one warning in my head, the tall tale warning of: 'Gonna have a rough night tonight or a very very painful hug'. Swallowing whatever pride I had left for the night and whatever fear I had of getting tossed 10 stories down a castle spire into a patch of blue flowers of poison joke, I stare back into her eyes with a look of slight fear and worry for my own flank.

"You know Nightshade...ever since I took you under my wing in both meaning of the terms, you always meet or over exceed my expectations. And for going above and very rarely beyond my expectations you deserve a reward, but from that flushed look on your face and the way your fidgeting tells me that you are nervous for what we are about to do, but you are only fooling yourself. You are still to young for that and how you know about it makes me wonder if keeping you in the royal archives during the teachings was a good idea, afterall I know how you love to wonder about and read every single book you can get your tiny hooves on." Nightmare Moon said while keeping up her stare and facial expression, and tiny hooves...me? My hooves are not tiny...okay maybe they are but that still doesn't mean they are tiny...maybe small but not tiny.

Exhaling loud enough to be heard I simply shake my head and turn around, being foolish was one thing, but thinking of that while she gave me that look was my reaction, I mean honestly who wouldn't have thought of that when somepony gives you that seductive look?

"So this reward...let me take a grand guess...its me being allowed to sleep on the sofa that does not squeek whenever you move on it?" I said with a bit of sarcasim, knowing that if I was right she would say I was wrong and if I was wrong she would say I was wrong but while messing with my head...nothing ever comes out good when I am right.

"You are wrong, you are not sleeping on the sofa, I already told you that you shall be sleeping on the bed with me but without any comfort of the sheets. Instead my little apprentice you shall recieve a much better reward...a warm reward." she said with the same smirk she has been giving me this entire time. Why is she messing with me like this, its making my head hurt and my body strained with all the stress she is giving me.

As I was thinking to myself again, my thoughts all screaming and yelling at each other, telling me what I should be thinking, what my facial expression should be, why am I not trying to figure out what she wants, and my the last thought I heard was 'she is coming closer to you'. Coming back out of my mental state of non-awareness, I realized that my thoughts were telling the truth, she was coming closer to me, and by that I mean she shifted from the spot of the bed she was resting on to a position right next to me. The sudden shift in weight on the bed made me fall over right next to her left wing which it has brushed my shoulder, and let me tell you something, the feeling of something soft as a feather and something warm as a gentle breeze, that made me relax near-instaniously. Even while I was relaxing next to her I felt myself being lifted up again but instead of being tossed again I was sitting upright, and Nightmare Moon was also sitting up but instead of her smirk and stare she was wearing a few moments ago, she now instead was giving me a genuine smile and before I knew what happened next, she pulled me into a hug, and no not the 'strangling-a-pony-of-all-life-giving-air-hug' it was more like the 'you-are-such-a-silly-pony-but-you-are-my-silly-pony-hug', that hug made me feel happy, cared for, and above all else, special.

During that hug I tried to wrap my forelegs around her to try to give her a hug in return but since I was still a bit to young to even try it I instead only manage to get my little hooves to reach her wings, and those wings of hers along with her own forehooves wrapped around me, pulling me closer into her body, and the heat radiating off of her was enough to make me sleepy, and that feeling was strange to me, the feeling of a real embrace instead of half-hearted hugs that my parents used to give me.

"Now Nightshade...go to sleep, you have much to study and prepare for, for tomorrow night, I am sending you off to find a group of diamond dogs, and do not worry about them for as long you are wearing that armor that is stored within the armory you will not be in harms way...unless you are foalish enough to take it off. Now...sleep." she said next to my left ear, whispering into it while exhaling hot air into it, causing me to slightly wither up and let out a weak groan, and for added insult to injury she nibbled on my ear before my eyes close on their own accord.

"But...im not even....*snore*" I said before going face first into her chest, my head slumped over and snoring softly as I was put under her sleep spell. My head landed between her rear legs as she let go of my from the warm hug, my head brushing something soft as it went down and onto the pillow that was to be its destination. Nightmare Moon loved using that sleep spell, she always uses it on me everytime I try to act out against her when I am tired, when I stay up for to long studying or just to mess with me when I am working on the poison joke flower patch...mostly when im working on flowers.

"Sleep well Nightshade Umbraspark...your future ahead of you is dark and grim...you will need all the rest you can get...

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room, Present Time

Snapping out of the memory I quickly look around and notice that everything was where it was left except that Princess Luna was now going back to her throne while Princess Celestia was approaching me with two guards flanking her.

As I watched her approach me I quickly try to think of something to say incase she knows it is me instead of the Lunar Guard I captured, before I can even make up something to say Celestia nods at her two guards as they salute and go to the grand doors behind me and wait until she calls for them. "You have done well Lunar Shield, you may now go rest in the barracks until you are called to return to duty, you are now dismissed."

"Yes your highness." I said while bowing, getting back up I turn around and follow the two guards to my temporary quarters which are surprising perfect reflection to my room back at the castle except it is meant for the Solar Guards...I guess I get to sleep with these ponies until I can make my move.

"Hey...Lunar Guard, what are you doing in the Solar Branch of the castle? Shouldn't you be over at the Lunar Branch and be resting in those barracks instead?

"I was told by Princess Celestia...*cough tyrant cough* for my actions on bringing back relics from the Everfree Castle that were presumably important, I am temporarily allowed to rest here until my old room in the barracks are fixed up. And besides...it seems these barracks on this side are much better and more properly built than on the Lunar side."

"Well while you are here lets just set some ground rules. 1:Do not steal anything or move anything that is not yours. 2: When we say something that is an order you follow it to the letter. And 3: When we play poker or dice you will join and you will like it. Do you understand that private?" the mare wearing the captians uniform said from the other side of the room, appearently putting her armor on along with three other guards before they sat down around a table with a stack of cards on it along with poker chips.

"Yea...wait poker? You gaurds actually play poker here?" I said somewhat surprised, I expected these guards to do nothing but sleep, eat, protect, patrol, eat than sleep, in that order. But instead it seems when they take their breaks they actually have some fun...this might be usefull.

"Yea we do play poker, why? You Lunar Guards don't play poker when you are off duty? What do you ponies do for fun than, sip tea and tell bad jokes?" One of the guards said while pulling the cards out of the card box with his teeth, laying the box near his stack of chips while leaving the cards in the middle of the table.

"No, we go to the bar and have a real good time, and come back to sleep it off, if you catch my drift" I said while giving the female captain a wink and wiggle of my eyebrows, trying hard not to laugh my flank off in front of them.

"YOU DO WHAT!" She yelled while faintly blushing and looking away almost in shame, sitting down on her cushion

"Lucky bastard... All of the male guards said while giving me a stare that is the equivilant of the middle finger. They all sat down at the table while one of them shuffled the cards with his magical aura, seemingly bored.

"Don't need to be yelling over nothing, all we do is just go to the bar, get drunk, dance a bit, one passes out while the rest drag each other back before passing out in a hammock or on the floor." Yes I was lying to them but since the two different guard groups have different and similiar rules I could have somewhat spoken the truth if I payed more attention.

"So you wanna play some poker or what? You chicken to lose your flank on a friendly game of poker or do you think you are above us? And by the way, this is strip poker, you get a bad hand and lose, you must take off one piece of your armor." The mare say while smirking at me along with one of the male guards, that creepy ass grin he gave me almost gave me the thought that he was a colt-cuddler.

"Oh yea I'm down for some poker, just don't be sad that I walk away with all your bits and your armor cutie." I said blowing an imaginary kiss at her only to piss her off which it worked, she was red in the face which would be hard to tell if she was not already red coated.

This was gonna be a real good game of poker.