Dreams of Forever

You wanted to see me, captain?

Take a seat. There's some concerns I have about this new 'Queen's Guard'. I would like you to apply to join them and report back to me on their activities.

Are you sure that's a good idea?

For the safety of Princess Celestia, I would do anything. This isn't an option, corporal. Either you do this and earn your pardon, or...

Buck...

Somnia tapped at the floor in front of her, stalling, dreading more like it. She knew since she had woken up an hour ago. Now, she needed to make a choice of her own.

"Well?" Luna raised a brow questioningly. "What will it be?"

"Why do I have to choose? Can't I let him?" She asked in return.

"Because you're the queen, and it's your choice what happens with the royal family."

"Somnia, it's alright." Celestia placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll support whatever you decide."

The filly wracked her mind over the choices in front of her. On one hoof, it would be good to have him closer. On the other, did he really want to?

"For crying out loud, just decide something!" Dusty yelled out. "We're on a tight schedule!"

"He'll move to Ponyville." Somnia nodded firmly. She didn't actually know if Duskwing wanted to move, but it was necessary if he and her mom were to be getting back together. "After the Equestria Games though. I want to see him compete for Hollow Shades." Besides, it would give her mother time to get to know her former husband and future fiance.

"Great, let's go." Dusty opened the door to the room. "Shield is already waiting for us with the recruits."

Somnia trudged along, still disappointed with the decision. There were no good options, just least bad.

"Be back for the debriefing later." Celestia called out to her from the doorway. "I want you there so you can explain what happened."

"Yeah, yeah." Somnia dismissively waved to her. The two of them made their way to the training grounds behind the barracks where Shield was waiting for them patiently. Two soldiers stood at attention, one solar guard and one royal guard.

"Princess Somnia, I've reviewed the troops and found these two adequate for your assessment." Shield stood aside as Somnia walked up to the solar guard, eyeing her over.

"Why do you want to be a part of the Queen's Guard?" Somnia asked sternly.

"It's my duty to--"

"Meh." She walked over to the other mare. "And you?"

"I want to make a difference, your majesty."

The filly circled the guardsmare, lifting the plate on her flank to get a look at her cutie mark. No six stars, but should that really matter? The prevalence of the six stars was a common trend with her guards, one she couldn't ignore for some reason. Having those specific ponies in her guard felt natural. Stopping in front of the mare, she stared into her eyes.

"What would you do in the case of an assassination attempt while on duty? How would you go about dealing with them?"

"I would guard you with my life and give no quarter." She stated proudly.

"I already got somepony for that." Somnia walked back over to Shield, turning to the two recruits. "I'm sorry to say that both of you are rejected."

"Somnia?" Shield turned his head down to her. "Are you sure? They are some of the best I've been recommended."

The filly pointed to the solar guard. "She's a spy sent by Captain Stampede. Guaranteed a pardon for her misconduct." The solar guard swore under her breath while Somnia pointed at the other mare. "She's a changeling spy."

Shield narrowed his eyes at the royal guard mare who looked at the filly confused. Igniting his horn, he couldn't even scan her before she bolted towards Somnia, ultimately being halted by a spear through the leg. The mare collapsed in agony, clutching her broken and bleeding leg, screaming: "Bucking whorse!"

"Got one!" Dusty walked over to the changeling and pulled the spear out from the ground while Shield broke the disguise and slapped a magic suppression ring on their horn. "Well I'll be damned. Hey, Somnia, how did you know?"

"I had a dream about both of them the past couple of days." The filly walked up to the solar guard. "Tell the captain that if he wants to deceive me, he needs to try harder. At least Dusty tries to act convincing."

"Huh?" The guardsmare in question turned to her surprised. "W-What do you mean?"

The captain chuckled while he dragged the changeling off to the medical station, leaving the filly to break the bad news.

"Come on~" Somnia got close to Dusty's face, smiling as smugly as possible. "I can dream of the past, present, and future. I saw that you would be recruited by Luna. I know about the pension."

Dusty swallowed while the solar guard shook her head and walked away from them, Somnia continuing once they were gone. "I told you when we first met that I need somepony that I know the motivations of. You're being bribed, Dawny is being threatened, and Shield is openly spying on me for Celestia. If I don't know your motivations, I can't trust you with my life. I can trust all of you because we all know each other's motivations. We know why each of us are doing what we are."

"I-I don't understand. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you know I'm compromised to the regal sisters, why keep me?"

"Because you aren't." Somnia circled her. "You never were. Your sense of duty is too strong for that. I know that eventually you'll side with me."

Dusty didn't know what to think of that. It was the dumbest assumption she had ever heard. Literally none of them had any stake in keeping her alive besides their sense of duty, which was built on situations that could easily be leveraged by the regal sisters. And who the hay was she to assume her sense of duty?

"You're thinking that I'm overstepping myself." Somnia halted in front of her. "That I'm taking a risk that probably won't pay off."

"And how would you know that? Can you read minds too?" The guardsmare eyed the filly.

"No. But Grar certainly knows more than he is telling me." She answered proudly.

Can't keep a secret from you, can I?

"You can try."

"Whatever." Dusty shook her head. "What are you going to do about my spying?"

"Nothing." The filly leaned against her chest-plate. "I'm going to do nothing. You're going to keep being among my elite guards, you're probably going to keep feeding information to Luna, and eventually, you'll stop on your own will. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" She took the bait. "Why would I?"

Somnia cleared her throat. "Give her time, I guarantee that you will see more of who she really is." Somnia grinned, knowing she had her. "Because she believes she can control me, that I won't be a threat to her or you. And you know what? She's right."

"Buck you!" The guardsmare scowled at her. "That was supposed to be--"

"Private? Nothing is private to me. Nothing!" Somnia got into Dusty's face, forcing the mare to take a step back. "I have to remain vigilant against threats even if I have guards of my own. You were a potential threat, one that I accidentally picked up on. Ever heard of the phrase 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? You want a count's pension? An honorable discharge from the guard after doing your duty? Well too bad! It's over, Dusty! You will either serve me and only me until I release you from service, or you will leave early on your own accord!"

"That's it!" Dusty stormed off. "I quit! Find somepony else to be your puppet!"

"Nothing's going to change!" Somnia yelled back. "Celestia and Luna will both order you to return to me!"

The filly smiled to herself as the mare entered back into the barracks. Thanks for the advice, Grar, but do you think it will really work?

According to your dreams, it should. She'll be desperate, and then you'll be there to catch her. To inspire her like the others. She needs to have her delusions of an easy life broken, better now than when she 'retires' only to realize her life's fulfillment was entirely dependent on serving other ponies.

We'll see. It is a pretty big risk.

A calculated risk.

"Transfer request denied." Celestia flipped the page of the report without taking her eyes from its lines of text.

"Your majesty, I've been made! She knows about all of us!" Dusty stared in disbelief.

"So I discovered." Celestia looked up unamused from the throne where she sat. "Do you think I'm so dense that I haven't been watching her? Haven't been watching you? I need somepony trustworthy near to her in case of unforeseen complications. You'll do your duty, and when your term is done, you'll be able to retire with your pension."

"She'll make my life Tartarus if I stay! I'll talk to Princess Luna then! She's the one I made the deal with!"

Celestia sighed, returning her eyes to the report. "She'll tell you the same thing, but if you want to hear it from her directly, then go ahead. I won't stop you."

Dusty saluted one last time before trotting from the throne room. She'd have to speak with Princess Luna that evening, but what was she to do in the meantime? Her duty was to protect a single pony, a pony she doesn't really want to go back to. Disciplinary measures probably weren't Somnia's style, so abandoning her post for the day likely wouldn't bring any retribution. She could see about contacting Captain Shining Armor, maybe he could do something...

"Therefore, you will be treated for your wounds before being conditionally released under guard supervision. You will serve four moons of community service within Canterlot once physically able to." Somnia finished reading the scroll, flicking her eyes up to the changeling tied down to the medical bed. "Any questions?"

"Buck you!" He spat at her, landing it on her face. She wiped it off with a tissue provided by the captain before nodding affirmatively.

"Better than being sentenced to death or imprisonment. At least this way you can return to the hives in a timely manner." She gently smiled at them. "Actions have consequences. This is yours. Make the most of it."

The filly and her guard left the infirmary to leave the doctors to take the changeling in for surgery, heading for the throne room where Celestia was waiting for them. Entering into the throne room, there were stacks of paper piled next to the princess, Raven sitting to the side sorting the ones passed to her into a different set of piles.

"You're making quite a mess of things." Celestia spoke up as Somnia climbed the stairs to the throne. "I can't guarantee that Sergeant Fleeting Dust will be loyal to protecting you after what you pulled."

"Nah, she'll be fine." Somnia sat down next to Celestia. "What's all of this?"

"The backlog of paperwork Prince Blueblood doesn't do. I don't give him much, but what little he does get piles up. All of these aren't time sensitive, usually only 'Letters from the Princess' for notable achievements." She signed another paper before floating it over to Raven. "Can you begin with that pile? I need you to sort it by type."

"Yup!" Somnia climbed up onto the leg-rest of the throne, grabbing the top of the pile to take back down with her. The majority of the letters were for marriages lasting until a milestone. Occasionally there would be a letter of achievement, often directed at younger ponies who just got their cutie mark, a few apology letters or letters of condolences also included.

The filly made sure to read some of them through to understand the format. Much of the letters were standardized to the point that the process could be automated with magi-tech but every so often it would be personalized, giving enough variation to seem genuine.

They spent the following three hours sorting through the letters, getting through all of the piles. A couple of servants entered with carts to carry the papers from the throne room while Celestia and Somnia made their way to the outside Gala Garden. Somnia could see that there were nobles and reporters alike talking among themselves as Celestia made last adjustments for the speaker.

Celestia bumped the microphone to get the crowd's attention. "Good afternoon, everypony."

The crowd slowly turned away from their conversations to face the princesses. "I'm glad you could all make it. I hope you are alright with the informal nature of the event, we didn't feel it would be necessary to call a formal press conference to answer any questions about what happened. I would like to begin by clarifying the rumors about Princess Twilight's views on thestrals."

"Well I for one am glad she stood up to those brutes." A noble mare commented. "They don't have a place in a civilized society such as Equestria."

"Hey!" Somnia grabbed the microphone from Celestia. "Thestrals are ponies too!"

"They are abominations! A corruption of the noble pegasus!" A pegasus noble rebutted. "It's a travesty what that monster Nightmare Moon did to them."

"That is a falsehood that has already been disproven." Celestia took the mic back, glaring at Somnia. "The thestrals are citizens of Equestria like any others, all the princesses firmly support their efforts to improve their communities like we do for any other communities in our great nation.

"But getting back to the topic at hoof: Princess Twilight. Her stance on the thestrals may have previously been negative, but after taking the time to learn about them, she has softened her view."

"Is she some batpony lover?" A stallion scoffed. "We saw the news about that pony she associated with in Rainbow Falls, going as far as to kiss them!"

The crowd murmured while Celestia thought of a response. "If it took a bit of affection for Princess Twilight to change her mind, then that is her choice. We shouldn't judge her for somepony she is interested in so long as they are of legal age and mental capability."

"It's a shame on the princesshood!" Another mare shouted out. "Letting that predator get close to her let alone actually being interested in them!"

Words of agreement were exchanged among the nobility. Somnia could see a batpony at the back of the crowd wincing. Taking the microphone, she spoke her mind.

"You're all being closed-minded! Batponies are ponies like the rest of us and deserve to be treated with respect. My dad wouldn't stand for this, and neither will I. If you aren't willing to serve the interests of ponies, no matter what kind they are, then you don't deserve to be considered nobles at all!"

Celestia quickly took the microphone back as the nobles began shouting at them. "The young princess is very passionate about the cause of thestral rights, please do excuse her unfortunate choice of words."

"Isn't she getting rutted by her guard?" A mare sneered. "She isn't worthy of being a princess, let alone royalty!"

The crowd once again agreed, even some of the reporters going along with it. "Please everypony, calm down. The princesses have discussed this extensively and--"

"Auntie!" Blueblood stepped forward. "She's a smear on our good name! Why do you let her continue embarrassing us and Equestria?"

"Prince Blueblood, you may not have been privy to those discussions, but I have explained this to you before. Alicorns are royalty, no matter how much of an embarrassment they may be."

"Hey!" Somnia poked Celestia's leg. "I'm not that bad."

She briefly covered the mic to whisper to the filly: "Somnia, please, let me handle this."

"What about the other thing, princess? That Princess Twilight..." A different noble stallion called out, shuddering at the thought. "Actually had a foal with one of those bloodsucking monsters."

"I resemble that remark!" Somnia pouted, but Celestia ignored her.

"It is true, Princess Twilight did conceive Princess Somnia with a thestral." She let it sink in for the crowd, them not being too happy with the answer. "The thestral in question has been identified and will be introduced to Equestria if and only if they are willing to pursue a continued relationship with Princess Twilight."

"Given Princess Twilight's disposition towards them, it wouldn't surprise me if that filly was the result of a non-consensual altercation!" A noble mare pointed to Somnia. "Another reason why she shouldn't be a princess! No bastards can be allowed for the purity of the lineage!"

"SILENCE!" Celestia used her royal Canterlot voice. "I will not entertain the suggestion my student was forced upon! Princess Somnia's parents conceived her consensually, and they both see her as a legitimate daughter! If I hear another pony suggest such a thing, I will have you thrown into the dungeons for slander against the monarchy!" The regal sister had accidentally crushed the microphone in her magic grip, and the crowd had gone dead silent.

"But Auntie--"

"No Blueblood, you are ten times as disgraceful as Somnia is! Don't even think you have the high-ground with your eighteen bastard foals running around Equestria!"

The crowd turned in shock to the even more shocked prince. "T-That was--"

"Supposed to be a secret? Well you can take some responsibility for once in your life, nephew!" She took a moment to breath, returning back to her regal posture and tone. "Does anypony else have a question or concern that we may address?"

Celestia watched on unamused as her sister rolled on the floor laughing her tail off. She had time to review what happened at the debrief and already she'd received a dozen telegrams from mares claiming their foal was Blueblood's. The Noble's Council was less than pleased, but it gave her the opportunity to present the amendment for the Treaty of Unicornia before them.

"I-I wish I could have seen that." Luna finally managed to calm herself, getting up from the floor and wiping the tears from her eyes. "That must have felt awesome to put him in his place!"

"It did." Somnia giggled.

"Yes, well." Celestia coughed. "What's done is done. All we can do is move forward. The Noble's Council has agreed to entertain the amendment."

"Hehe..." Luna finally settled enough to ask the question she had. "Did you really need to threaten them with imprisonment, my sister? Seems a little much."

"It was in the heat of the moment!" Celestia defended.

"You were radiating quite a lot. I was sweating from it all." Somnia prodded her, Luna's half-smile immediately falling to a frown.

"Y-You were serious, weren't you?"

"It's no laughing matter! The veil above when it gets back to Twilight!" Celestia threw her hooves over her eyes.

"At least nopony got hurt or arrested." Somnia cheerfully added.

"Blueblood is going to when his royal status is revoked and he has to take care of his eighteen foals." Luna snickered.

"Yes, yes, laugh at his expense." Celestia dismissively waved. "But there are still other matters that we must discuss before I turn in for the night."

"Of course, sister."

"Has Sergeant Fleeting Dust spoken to you yet?"

"Negative. I haven't had the opportunity to speak with anypony except for you two."

Celestia sighed. "Somnia here decided to tell her about our little arrangement. She will be requesting a transfer to another division of the royal guard from you."

Luna froze in place, staring at the filly. "You knew?!"

"Yeah, I knew before you even spoke to her." She indifferently shrugged.

The Princess of the Night considered her next move. Any spy they tried planting clearly wouldn't work, but if Somnia already knew they were a spy...

"I'll speak to her. Maybe I can convince her to stay with the Queen's Guard, if you still want her."

"I don't really care." Somnia picked up a small figurine from Luna's bedside table. "Is this what Star Swirl looks like?"

"Yes. I had that custom-made in his memory." She walked over to the filly who examined the figurine.

"Lulu, there is also the matter of your upcoming royal visit to Hollow Shades." Celestia spoke again from behind them. "With the increased profile on the royal family, I believe it would be best to take additional guards with you."

"Is it really necessary? I'm adored by my bats, they would stand for me if I were threatened." Luna declared proudly, turning to face her sister.

"Hey! I got an idea!" Somnia popped up between them. "Why don't you take me and my mom with you? We got guards with us!"

"Not a bad idea..." Luna mulled it over. "However it would be quite the risk, considering the reputation Twilight has among them."

"With the two of us, I'm sure everything will be fine." Somnia playfully pawed at her.

"I don't have any objections." Celestia added.

"Then I will write the letter to Twilight that we will be by tomorrow afternoon to pick her up." Luna went back to her desk. "I'll be down in the throne room in a couple of minutes, let me just get this out of the way."

Somnia said her goodbyes to Celestia before trotting off with her trusty Dawny in the direction of--

"Where are we going?" Dawn asked confused at the unusual course they were taking. Somnia opened the door to a meeting room that was empty, closing the door behind Dawn.

She swallowed, looking him over. "We need to talk."

"Please tell me you're not--"

"What? No, the test is after the royal visit." She shook her head. "It's about us. You and me."

"Okay?"

"I'm sorry about bucking you. I'm sorry for everything that happened." She hung her head. "I really am."

"Haven't you already apologized?" He raised a hoof questioningly. "What's changed?"

"Mom and dad..." She bit her lip. "And my cousin."

"Oh, you're breaking up with me?" He chuckled. "I didn't even realize we were together."

"Wait, you're not mad?" She turned up hopeful.

"I still don't know why you think we were." He rubbed her mane. "Yeah, we had a good time that night, and yeah, it had consequences for me and maybe you too. But we both chose to do it. I'll be honest, you had me at the Summer Sun Celebration when you kissed me. It was a lustful urge, that's all it was for me. What was it for you?"

"I, um..." She rubbed a front leg with a hoof, blushing from embarrassment. "I kinda fell for you."

"Only natural. After-all," he kissed her on the forehead, "I was better than Spike."

She giggled, giving him a heartfelt hug. "Thanks for understanding."

"Thanks for keeping me around." He rubbed her head. "Was there anything else, or...?"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind another go." She coyly smiled up to him. "If you're alright with that."

"All you had to do was ask." He chuckled, undoing a particular strap on his armor as she positioned herself on the table.

Shaking her plot at him: "Not inside this time. I don't want you to get in even more trouble. Not that I would mind having a foal..."

The two headed back over to the throne room, their minds clear and bodies satisfied. There will be one very confused and disgusted cleaner to discover the small mess they made, but it was totally worth it.

Entering into the throne room, Dusty turned her head towards the door, tears running down her face. Her sadness turned to despair as she spotted the two of them trotting towards her. Atop the throne, Luna was looking at some papers Celestia had left for her to review, not really caring all that much about crushing the guardmare's hopes.

"Hey, Dusty!" Somnia hugged her, Dawn going around the other side to put a wing over her.

"What do you want? Haven't you done enough?" She asked weakly.

"Do you wanna go out for a late-night snack?" The filly asked, her tail wagging back and forth. "I could do with some fried chicken."

"Sounds good to me." Dawn answered. "What do you think?"

"Y-Yeah, sure." Dusty turned with the other two with her head held low, her mind too caught up in desire to escape from her own personal nightmare scenario. The three left Luna to perform her nightly duties but not before calling out to them:

"I thought you were staying for night court!"

The three trotted from the castle to the fast food place down the street from the castle, choosing to sit in. Dusty was devastated. The day had been too much, and now here she was with the one pony she resented more than any other. Eating hayfries...

"You look like you watched a friend step on an arcane trap." Dawn commented before plunging his teeth into his chicken leg.

"I'm..." She shook her head. "I don't understand. Why me? Why do you care so much about keeping me around?"

"'Cause you're our friend." Dawn chewed the bite before continuing. "Friends don't let friends suffer alone. I get it, you wanted nothing more than to do your duty and get out. Maybe go fishing or tend to a garden, but life had other plans. You've heard what Shield said about his non-existent personal life, how much he appreciates having us around. You know what situation I'm in now that news has gone national about my... exploits. We're all lost souls. The best we can do is stick together."

"We don't always get to choose." Somnia nodded thoughtfully to her own chicken leg. "Sometimes things are forced on us we don't like, but we have to live with them. You do have a choice here. It's not a very good one, but it at least exists."

"I hate you." The mare muttered, a few more tears falling from her face. "I hate having you constantly trying to mess with me, dragging me to Celestia knows where, acting on whims without regard for anypony else. What makes you so special anyway? Why you?" She looked up. "Why do you do what you do? What reason do you have to do all these things? Why can't you just be normal?"

"I could tell you..." Somnia regarded her chicken leg, knowingly smiling back up to Dusty. "But I think a demonstration would be more effective. Tomorrow we are going to Hollow Shades for my first royal visit. I have a speech planned that I would like you to listen to. Not as a guard, as a pony. If you believe that I'm not worth following after that speech, I'll sign your discharge form without question."

"What about me? Why can't I have a discharge form?" Dawn playfully glared at the filly.

"I like having a hunk around." She batted at his chest-plate. "Improves the view."

You got me though.

"But I can't see you!"

"And you're probably a hideous abomination anyway." Dawn jeered.

The three continued to sit bantering back and forth, or at least Somnia, Grar, and Dawn did while Dusty silently ate her salad and hayfries. It had all fallen apart. Her pension would come after she's discharged, not a moment sooner, and only if the princesses were satisfied. It would be better at this point to quit the Queen's Guard, either after the speech or by going AWOL. She was trapped in a cage she willingly entered, and the only way out was to chew off her leg or hoping for mercy. Now the key dangled in front of her, but she would still be losing her tail no matter what happened.

"Remember, everypony has a choice." Somnia put her hoof on the mare's, smiling reassuringly at Dusty's defeated expression. "And we'll respect whatever you choose."

Didn't help the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, but it did make her feel grateful that somepony cared, even if it was for selfish reasons.