Moon Glow’s crush on her highness
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Definitely; If I stick around much longer, I’m gonna go crazy. She’s just too… too… well, take every word that describes somepony as being good, and fuse all those words together. Then you’ll get her highness.”
Sun Shine rolled his yellow eyes at the redundant statement of his brother, Moon Glow. Both the guardians were in their rooms packing Moon Glow's essentials. With them being brothers, they shared their dorms within the Canterlot palace. Sun Shine was a white unicorn with a yellow mane that flowed freely down to his neck. His brother’s mane was the same, but deep blue, a shade darker than Princess Luna’s. Moon Glow had been going through rough times lately. His emotions are complicated to describe and even harder to cope with. His initial objective while at his post was to guard the door of the princess of the night until morning. This was problem number one. He had a crush on her highness and was too afraid to admit it to her. She would often exit, greet him and continue down the hall, but when he was alone, he relished in the fermented scent wafting from her room. He even caught himself gazing at her figure. Once, he almost got caught. If he hadn’t looked straight ahead in the nick of time, he probably would have been exposed.
“Fifteen years I’ve been dealing with this, and it never goes away! Instead, it just becomes more potent! Oh, grab that blanket and stuff it in… Thanks.” Moon Glow was taking off his blue and golden armor. As he did, he looked in the mirror to observe his cutie mark. A jet black shield with stars lining the edges and the full moon in the dead center reflected in his eyes. His brother’s was the same, only instead of the moon; his was the sun with rays of light shining outward from the shield.
“Look, brother… I know what you’re going through, and if you feel the need to take a retreat, ask first!”
Moon Glow looked at his bag and said “I can’t… you see, in all these years, I’ve never even conversed with her. It’s always meaningless hellos and goodbyes. She doesn’t know me… only that I’m a mere guard who does his duty and then is relieved. I’ve barely ever said two words to her, let alone ask her for leniency or a vacation! What I’ll do is just hop town on a train. Look here.” The blue coated pony grabbed a map from one of the small pouched and unfolded it with his magic. As he pointed to a definite trail, he claimed “The Pony Desert! That’s my destination. A nice long and pleasing time there will do me good. I’ve got this oasis there that’s perfect for me to say at for… I’d say week or so.”
His brother turned to him and asked “I’m not talking you outta this one, am I?”
Moon Glow stared into his older brothers eyes with hesitation. He knew things could be better if he had a clear conscience, so he chose to take this time and use it wisely. As he put his map back, he claimed “I have to do this… If I don’t, she’ll just keep distracting me from my work. A good couple of days alone will set my mind in working condition; that, I’m sure of!”
He wrapped the luggage onto his back and bid the white unicorn good bye. Leaving the castle was simple as the night hadn’t that many guards, plus Moon Glow had been there for a good while allowing him to collect Intel via recon. He slipped by each guard without alerting a soul that morning. As he exited the front gates with a hooded robe, the front guards didn’t seem to notice. Catching the first train to the Pony Desert, he had one objective in mind; relax, meditate and get Luna out of his head.
The day passed quickly, and his brother stood watch of Princess Celestia’s chamber doorway, as usual. The two brothers were recruited at the same time and was honorably granted the privilege of guarding the princesses rooms whether they were there or not. Princess Celestia was about to enter when she turned her head and said “Would you mind telling me why your brother ran off?”
Sun Shine giggled and said “It’s the silliest thing. Mind if I come in. I’m sure this will entertain you greatly.”
Celestia smiled and allowed the white guardian entry. As he sat next to her round bed of golden royalty, he explained about how he had a secret crush. “And to top it all off, after all these years, he’s still not had a single conversation with her!”
Celestia rolled her eyes and said “I knew my sister was a bit antisocial, but that’s a bit extreme.”
“Wait, you’re not bothered by the fact that my brother is attracted to your sister?”
Her highness took a sip of fine wine and claimed “It’s perfectly normal for a stallion his age to be experiencing these emotions. Granted, I’m a bit stunned to find out they were for Luna, but not too awfully surprised by this outcome. Luna will probably be noticing he’s gone in a few minutes once she goes to her room to check on him. Once she finds out he left… well, you know Luna.”
As the two talked like good friends, indeed Luna had returned to her quarters to check on her guard. Once she realized he was gone, she inspected his room to find only his brother to be returning from his post.
“Where is he?” she asked demandingly.
“Name please.” Sun asked.
“Your brother, who else would I be talking about?”
“What’s his name?”
Luna halted and realized for the first time, she had forgotten his name. “Uh… umm… starts with a P… right?”
Sun Shine gave a wheezy laugh and said “You don’t even know his name?! Oh, that’s cold your highness!”
Luna’s eyes squinted and asked “What is his name?”
Adjusting his armor around the neck, Sun Shine claimed “You’ll have to find out for yourself!”
Luna gasped and thundered “DO YOU FORGET THAT WE ARE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT?!”
Sun Shine had been working in the castle long enough to know this act was a mere pouting tactic for her to get what she wanted and defiantly said “Oh, stop this child’s play!” As Luna coughed from her first time of using the royal Canterlot voice in a few years, he said “It’s just foolish for you to act that way! It's been years now of my brother guarding your door while you ignore him like a fork in your path! It’s disrespectful to behave this way when you don’t get what you want.”
Luna grunted and asked in a calmer voice “May I please have his name?”
As Sun Shine entered his room, he said “It’s Moon Glow.”
The door slammed shut, leaving Luna there feeling guilt. As her hoof grabbed the middle of her eyebrow and gripped, she said “Of course… Moon Glow! How could I forget?” She turned herself around and headed for the Canterlot entryway with her horn glowing. With the spell she was casting, she would be able to see his tracks even if they had been whipped clean, allowing her to hunt down the run away guard whether he wished to be found or not.
Welcome to paradise
While Luna slept, the guardian known as Moon Glow got his tickets from a local train station and headed off to the next city. It wouldn’t be until much later on in the afternoon when he would get the chance to enter seclusion. As he sat with sleepy eyes, not use to the daytime shine, he looked out the train window and watched the hills and landscapes that passed by. His whole method for his cure was to distance himself from the princess as much as possible. A young mare unicorn with a flute placed in her ear sat down next to him. The flute floated down to her and she began to magically play it while singing “Soft little stallion, who guards the night, sit in silence of his emotional fright.”
Moon Glow was stunned to know she knew who he was, but let her sing the melody.
“If you seek relief, don’t run away, in the world of silence… The princess will seek you out in the day and find you sleeping, believing in betray.”
The guardian awoke with a jump. He looked to his side to see the empty seat. The dream, a warning for him from an unknown source, tensed his being and kept him awake for the rest of the ride.
Celestia giggled along with her guard, Sun Shine. “Oh, that was fun. You were right; your brother needed that kick.”
Sun Shine whipped a tear away and said “I didn’t know you were able to send dreams to different time zones!”
Luna had just left the castle in search of her knight. While Celestia was sitting with her friend, she said “Well, I thought he needed some help with staying awake, plus the warning would do him good.”
As the knight took a sip of Champagne, he complimented her on the lovely treat she offered him. “It’s not every day a pony becomes a close enough friend to join you in a nice drink, is it?”
Celestia smiled and explained “Well, you’ve been loyal and friendly all these years, I thought you deserved it.”
As the two coyly sipped their drinks, Luna flew with great velocity towards Moon Glow.
Meanwhile, back on the train, his stop was finally met. Appleoosa, a town in the sun was just a little ways away from his ultimate destination. As he struts through town, kicking sand as he pulled his hooves up from sinking, he squinted his eyes trying to keep the dust from clouding them. As he walked straight on, planning to exit the town without even perusing the saloon, he entered the outskirts of the pony desert. A sign stood there with warnings. As he read it, he didn’t pay much attention to the exhortation.
The pony desert is an untrustworthy location in which citizens are advised to remain distanced from said area. The nights become cold, and days will burn. The only ponies that could possibly survive this harsh environment are unicorns. You have been advised to remain within the city limits.
As Moon Glow entered the sands, his attitude felt good and the choice he was making seemed correctly in place at the time. Wandering the desert while following the map was his primary objective, and every mirage drove him to insanity.
As he saw yet another pigmentation of water, he rolled his eyes and continued, but this time, there were colors of green, something he hadn’t seen yet. As he gasped in relief, he galloped the rest of the way there.
Reaching the haven he had been seeking, he observed the area and took in his surroundings. Palm trees grew side by side, and a nice, circular hedge rounded around a cylindrical, clear pond. The water was so clean that Moon Glow could see all the way down to the bottom. As his bag was levitated and placed upon the ground next to two palm trees, he cast a temperature spell in the general area. The heat turned to cool breezes, and the wind felt serene as it rustled his mane and coat. He then brought out a hammock and tied it to the two trees. As he then laid towels down on the sand and placed small rocks on the corners to prevent their escape, he gazed at the water. Never had he seen such pure liquid. Sparkles shimmered on the surface and invited him in. he hesitated on this first though, for he had one more thing to prep. He pulled a can out of the back pocket and brought it up to his vision.
The cold metal, which he magically cooled, remained at the precise temperature of thirty three degrees; just before freezing point. As it clicked open, making sizzling sounds, he took a sip and sighed with satisfaction. Refilling, celestial, grade-A beer; the nectar of life which would automatically refill itself after every sip. This was the final decor. Now he was ready to take the nice long dip in the pond. As he felt the water grace his hooves, he tensed up at the initial cold feeling, but soon relaxed as his senses recognized it to be warm. Soon, he was all the way up to his chest, and finally, he progressed to the far side of the lake which had rocks aligning perfectly for him to rest his drink and elbows. As he closed his eyes and relished in the suns setting glow, thinking about Luna, he stopped himself and said “No, no, old dog… don’t even think about her. She’ll cloud your thoughts on the task at hoof. You need to get her out of your mind and get relaxation in.”
Just as he said this, his jaw began to descend slowly, and soon, his mental awareness vanished as he fell asleep in the soft waters. Just as he did though, Luna was realizing he had vanished and was leaving the palace to go in search for him. Things were supposed to be simple, but with Luna’s devote attitude of making sure her guard was safe and receive an explanation for his retreat, he would possible be in a worse situation soon.
