Princess of His Dreams

Chapters

Prologue: The Dream
The Invitation
Packing
Calming the Nerves
Arrival
Dinner
Nursery
Pancakes
Luminescence
Under Covers
Playing With A Princess
Attraction
The Secret
The Revelation
The Guardian
The Hopeful
The Realm of Dreams
The Trials, Part I
The Trials, Part II
Long Time Coming
The Celebration
The Next Evening
Induction
Work and Play
Job Extension
Matters of the Heart

Prologue: The Dream

The first thing the brown-coated pegasus saw was the stars; the vast expanse of blacks, purples, and dark blues with white specks sprinkled throughout.

Sky Scribbles felt like he was laying on his back, but also couldn't deny the feeling of floating in the starry abyss. It was surreal. Yet when he focused the stars above him just a little harder, he saw white walls come into view on the edges of his peripheral, as if it was an incredibly detailed ceiling of a room. When he wriggled his hind legs just a bit, he got a plastic crinkling sound in return, and he gazed down at the thick white disposable diaper that was wrapped around his nether regions and securely taped at his belly. It was absolute bliss, nearly being unable to bring his legs together due to the foalish garment. Sky slowly closed his eyes and was content to float through the sparkling void without a care in the world.

"Ah, there you are. Does my little pony need a change?"

The feminine, commanding voice pulled the pegasus out of his relaxation, and he glanced up, or rather, what he assumed was up, as a dark blue figure, wings spread, slowly descended towards him. His eyes widened as he took in more details of the figure. Majestic wings, slightly longer-than-average horn, moderate cyan eyes, and a crescent moon against a black sky that served as her cutie mark.

Luna, Princess of the Moon and Night. The Guardian of the Dream Realm.

The dark blue alicorn slowly lowered her legs, and gave one last light flap of her wings, before folding them into their resting positions, as if she had just landed on solid ground between the pegasus' back legs. She raised her right forehoof and brought it forward, gently pressing the tip into his diaper.

"Hm, this might last you the rest of the night, my loyal subject, but it may be better to be safe than sorry," Luna stated, as she lightly rubbed the plastic surface of the diaper he was wearing around his waist. "But what is this?" She asked, her gaze falling from his eyes, tracing down his barrel and belly to the somewhat damp diaper, where a visible bump was growing on the front, betraying the stallion's arousal at the Princess' inspection.

The Princess continued her light rubbing on the front of the pegasus' diaper as he started to take deeper breaths. "May as well get this taken care of before getting you changed."

Luna's voice wasn't erotic or seductive, but rather matter-of-factly, as if this was just a normal part of taking care of a fully grown pegasus stallion that was still in diapers. It crinkled with every press of her hoof, and pretty soon, Sky was thrusting lightly up into her hoof that was massaging his erection that was pressing against the damp layers of padding. He risked looking up at her for barely a second, and he saw no judgement, no disdain, just an expectant gaze of a pony waiting for the inevitable.

With a sharp inhale, a strong single thrust upward, and squeezing his eyes shut, the inevitable did indeed arrive, as Sky felt himself release into his wet diaper. Ropes of his seed were added to the crinkling garment, and when it began to die down, Sky opened his eyes, and the field of stars had vanished, and so had the princess of the night. Instead, he found himself in his own bed, in his near pitch black room, with only the dim light of the moon shining through his bedroom window providing the faintest of illumination.

Pulling the sheets off of himself, he swung his back legs around to the side of his bed, and slid down to a standing position on the floor. He quietly trotted over to the window, and saw the town of Ponyville still nearly silent in the middle of the night. He glanced over at his nightstand beside his bed, looking at the clock that was telling him it was barely 2 AM in the morning. He went over to his closet, slowly sliding the door open, and reached back to his belly and pulled the tapes from the front of his diaper, the ripping sounds feeling like they were piercing an otherwise dead silence for the whole house to hear. When the last tape released, the damp diaper fell to the wooden floor, before being scooped up into the pegasus' hooves, wrapped up, and deposited into the trash can in the back corner of the closet. Sky squinted in the dark, finding the container of wet wipes and pulling a couple out, giving his shrinking stallionhood a once-over with them before likewise depositing them into the trash. With a yawn, deciding he was clean enough, Sky slid the closet door closed and sauntered back to his waiting bed. He fell onto it, curled up, and pulled the blanket back over him, hoping that in the morning, his mind wouldn't forget the lucky dream that had just necessitated his late-night clean up...

Canterlot Castle was in a similar manner of near silence, especially around the royal quarters. Every now and then, you could hear the faint cadence of hooves from patrolling guards in the corridors, if one was awake and alert enough to listen.

Awakening from a meditative trance, Princess Luna slowly opened her eyes, and silently surveyed the darkness of her room. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror of her dresser, seeing the glow of her horn dimming after she exited the realm of dreams. She got out of her bed, and went over to the door that went out to the balcony. Stepping out into the cool and breezy night, she peered up at the bright moon in the sky among the countless stars. From here, she could see most of the city of Canterlot. Her gaze hovered over the rooftops, traveling to the hills and valleys below, to a small cluster of buildings she almost couldn't make out against the dark of the night. She took a quiet breath, and the slightest of smiles crept onto the princess' face.

"Mm, I believe he may do."

Author's Note

This is the beginning of a story that I've been wanting to do for over a year.

Never thought I'd seriously consider doing an OC x Princess story that's filled with an ageplay kink.

Feedback is appreciated, but I'm looking to update and conclude other in-progress stories before returning to work on this one.

Thank you for reading! More soon-ish!

The Invitation

Sky woke up with a bit of drool on his pillow, as the morning sun began to shine through the very bottom of his bedroom window. Wincing and turning away from the window to not be blinded by the sunrise, he gave a stretch under his covers before throwing the sheet and blanket off of him, tapping the alarm clock off with his left front hoof, and swung his hind legs over and slid down to the floor, his hooves hitting the carpet with a muffled thump. Knowing if he didn't do it now he'd never get to it before work, he turned to his bed and made it up as best he could, tucking in the edges of his covers under the mattress, making it as neat as he could in a timely manner. With that done, he opened his bedroom door and headed down the hall to the bathroom, thankfully finding it empty. He heard the sounds of tinkering further down in the kitchen, and figured either Lyra or Bonbon was putting breakfast together before getting ready for their day. He grabbed a towel from the linen pantry, and stepped into the bathroom, flipping on the light and closing the door.

He turned the shower on and made several adjustments to the temperature, before stepping into the tub under the stream of water coming from the shower head. Starting with his indigo and blue mane, he poured shampoo into his hoof and lathered up. He knew appearances weren't critical for a weather pony, but he took pride in his mane; he always had.

His head was full of soap suds when there was a knock on the door, before he heard the doorknob turn and the door opened.

"Well, this timing couldn't be worse. You about done in there, Sky?" he heard Lyra ask.

"Just got started actually, I'll be out in a few minutes," the pegasus replied.

"Well, the mailmare has something for you," the unicorn mare replied.

"Could you sign for it?" Sky asked.

"I tried, but apparently it's your hooves only. They'll stick around for however long that takes."

Sky raised a soap-covered eyebrow. That was odd. He and his roommates signed for each other's packages all the time when the recipients weren't home.

"Well, alright. I'll get rinsed and dried off and be out as soon as I can, thanks," he told her.

"She's just outside the front door," Lyra told him, and he heard the bathroom door close.

Luckily, he wasn't absolutely soaked yet, so he adjusted the shower head and bent his neck down to get the soap out of his mane without the water running all the way down his back. When the stream down to the drain ran clear of suds, he shut off the water and shook himself dry as best he could, before pulling the plastic curtain back and stepping out onto the bathroom rug. He grabbed the towel that he had set next to the sink, unfurled it, and vigorously dried his mane for a few moments, before hanging it up on the towel rack, and combed his mane up one last time before deciding that he was presentable, and opened the bathroom door. He trotted down the hall, the last of the moisture on his hooves being soaked up by the carpet. He came to the front door, and opened it, and saw Ponyville's mailmare waiting for him.

"Good morning, Derpy," Sky greeted. "What have you got for me? You've been delivering to us for years, and you've never had a problem with us signing for each other's deliveries."

"That's usually allowed, but not with royal parcels, Mr. Sky, which is precisely what I've got for you this morning," Derpy replied.

Sky's eyes widened when he heard the word 'royal', watching as Derpy dug into her mailbag and came out with a folded pleather envelope, pulling it out with her wing before presenting him with a clipboard and a quill. He put his signature where she requested, then was given the folded packet.

"It's not every day I get one of those. Exciting morning! Hope it's good news. Have a great day!"

Sky pulled his gaze from the parcel long enough to give Derpy a smile and nod as the mare took to the skies again. Tucking the packet under his left wing, he went back inside to the kitchen, where he smelled pancakes being made. Bonbon was at the stove and Lyra was sitting at the center island, where Sky pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.

"So what have you got there, Sky? That's the first time she wouldn't let me sign for a package of yours," the unicorn said.

"I'm not sure," Sky replied, pulling the packet from under his wing and set it on the countertop. The flap was secured with a knot of twine.

"Ooh, sure looks fancy," Bonbon commented, glancing back from the stove.

"Don't have long to look before I have to get ready for work, so hopefully nothing earth-shattering," the pegasus commented as he tugged on the twine. The knot came undone, and the flap came loose. Sky lifted the top flap up, and the bottom flap down, undoing the trifold to reveal a hoof-sized metallic seal with a crescent moon engraved on it, resting on a parchment letter that had been attached to the back of the pleather.

"Whoa, a royal seal!" Lyra exclaimed.

Sky lifted the seal off of the leather, and looked at it carefully, before gently setting it on the counter, and his gaze returned to the unfolded parchment, and read silently:

Dear Mister Sky Scribbles,

Your presence is hereby requested at Canterlot Castle by Princess Luna, Her Royal Majesty of the Night and Moon. Please come at your earliest convenience. The enclosed seal will ensure secured travel by rail. Please present it at the front gates, and you will be immediately shown to a guest suite until Her Majesty is prepared and ready for you.

Sincerely,
Lemon Hearts
Night Court Liaison

"Well, what does it say?" Lyra asked, eager to see what their roommate had gotten.

"Princess Luna wants me to come to Canterlot Castle...?" Sky asked, bewildered.

"Seriously? What did you do?" Bonbon asked, shutting off the burner and coming over to the center island with a plate stacked with a dozen pancakes.

"I haven't done anything, I swear. I haven't been to Canterlot in years. Am I really expected to just... Up and go?" The pegasus asked, looking up at his roommates before returning back down to the letter.

"Well, one thing's for sure, you'll never find a better excuse to miss work than 'royal summons', that's for sure," Lyra commented.

"If you are gonna go, might want to go pack right after pancakes," Bonbon advised. "The train up to Canterlot leaves at eleven," Bonbon said.

Sky's mind was dancing. What did one even pack when you were requested by royalty? But even then, one question repeated itself again and again in his mind, until he spoke it out loud.

"What in Equestria does Princess Luna want with me?"

Packing

Sky had heeded Bonbon's advice, and went back to his room to start packing as soon as breakfast was over. The worries that he had somehow done something quite wrong were soon alleviated by the simple fact of the invitation; if Princess Luna wasn't pleased with him, or wanted to incarcerate him for whatever reason, then he was pretty sure there would have been E.U.P. guards at his front door, instead of a mailmare with a formal invitation.

So what did one pack for meeting royalty? There was absolutely no etiquette guidelines included in the letter. Would he get those or at the very least be advised when he got to Canterlot Castle?

He was getting ahead of himself; that was step seven, and he was on step two. Finish packing and get to the train station by eleven.

He decided to start with his nicest, and only formal clothing that he had; a white dress shirt, black velvet vest, and bowtie. It was about as formal as one could get for a 'classy' event in Ponyville, and an outfit that he hadn't worn in quite some time. He went over to his closet, and side open the right side door. He wasn't much for clothes, same with most of the rest of Ponyville, and only had one or two sets of formal clothing, while the rest of the space was used for storage. After grabbing his chosen outfit, he took a quick look into the left side of his closet where the door was still closed, getting a glimpse of his ageplay supplies.

He didn't know exactly how long he would be up there, or how long he would be waiting once he did get up there... Should he... Maybe...

'No, are you nuts?' he almost immediately thought to himself, shutting that idea down almost instantly. He was going to be a guest in Canterlot Castle, and behind closed doors or not, he wasn't going to let the castle staff clean something like that up, even if it was as something as simple as just taking a bag of trash out of whatever room he would be staying in.

Foaling out would have to wait until he got back; whatever Luna wanted with him was immensely more important. He took his formal outfit over to the bed, got them off of the hangers, folded as best he could, and into the small suitcase that he almost never used. With one of his only sets of clothes packed, he went to the bathroom, grabbed his toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush for his tail and mane, and his mane gel. He had always liked wearing it up instead of letting it drape down either side of his neck. With the essentials packed, he returned to his bedroom, and carefully set the letter, which he had carefully refolded and returned to its envelope, neatly on top, before closing the top of the case and zipping it closed.

Now that he was more or less packed, he strapped on his set of cloth saddlebags, grabbed his small bit bag out of his nightstand drawer, put it and the crescent moon seal into the right pocket, and put the suitcase up on his back as he left his room, shut off the light, and headed back down to the kitchen, where Bonbon was just finishing putting away the dishes that had dried. He went into the cabinets and grabbed a small bag of cookies, putting them in the left saddlebag for a snack on the train.

"Lyra leave for work already?" Sky asked, helping her put away the last two glasses.

"Yep, I'll be out of here in a few minutes myself," Bonbon replied.

"Alright. I can't exactly say when I'll be back, because I have no idea what she wants with me up there, so give her my best, and I'll be back, hopefully soon."

Bonbon smiled at him.

"Don't worry. We'll have no trouble holding this fort down. Go up there, have fun, and I hope whatever Princess Luna wants, that it's good news," the earth mare told him.

"Yeah, me too. Alright, catch you later!"

With that, Sky headed down to the front door, and stepped outside into the late Ponyville morning. He was a little bit ahead of schedule, so it was no surprise that after the ten minute trot to the town's train station, that there was no train in sight yet. Due to the close distance, the line from Ponyville up to the city of Canterlot ran several trains a day. The origin point was always Canterlot, so boarding was a bit longer up there before coming down the mountain and arriving in Ponyville at 6am, before going back up the mountain, and thus the day's round trips began. The 11am train would be the second trip up the mountain for the Canterlot-Ponyville line.

Sky stepped up to the ticket booth, and dug into his saddlebags for the moon seal.

"One ticket to Canterlot please. I believe I'm supposed to show you this..." Sky told the ticket agent, setting the seal down in front of the window. The black-bearded ticket agent, All Aboard, adjusted his glasses, and quickly determined the seal to be genuine just by looking at it.

"That's the real thing alright. Royal summons, eh? Don't get too many of those," he commented as he got Sky's ticket and slid it under the window to him. "There you go, the train should be along in a few minutes. Have a pleasant trip, sir."

Sky nodded at the ticket agent with a smile, before picking the seal back up and returned it to his saddlebags. He spent the next few minutes slowly pacing up and down the platform, still wondering what the Princess of the Night and Dreams could possibly want with him. He was glad this trip was happening now, because trying to possibly fathom it on his own was going to drive him nuts.

The pegasus was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the blowing whistle of an approaching train, coming from the northeast. The Canterlot Express began to apply its brakes and slow as it closed in on the platform. The steam engine pulled just ahead of the platform before the brakes brought the cars to a halt with a hiss, and the doors to the passenger cars opened, and a few ponies exited, before almost double the amount boarded the train. Sky picked the car that looked like it was the least populated, and stepped on board, going to the closest window seat and sat down, taking a deep breath before leaning back in his seat, removing his saddlebags and putting them in the seat next to him, ready to move them if anypony else came along. But it looked like it was a sparsely populated car for this trip, and a couple minutes later, he heard the conductor call for any stragglers. Afterwards, the doors shut, and the train whistle blew again as the engine pulled away from the platform, taking them towards the loop that would take them back up the line to Canterlot.

Sky reached into his saddlebags, and once again pulled out the metallic moon seal, looking at his reflection in the shiny black surface.

'Well, I'm on my way...'

Calming the Nerves

Sky Scribbles felt his ears pop as the train continued to slowly gain altitude, rounding the mountain up to the Equestrian capitol of Canterlot. He flexed his jaw to equalize the pressure, then resumed leaning back in his seat, watching the hills and prairies below become smaller by the minute. The train entered into a tunnel that had been bore into the mountainside. leaving the only illumination in the car be from the roof and floor for a few moments. When the Friendship Express came out the other side thirty seconds later, you could barely make out the castle, which was easily the most visible structure from anywhere south of the mountain. But while the residence of the Princesses was built into the cliffside, the 'city' proper was in the valley behind it, on both sides of the rivers and streams that flowed out to the cliff edges and down into the valleys below, contributing greatly to the cloud cover that surrounded the city a lot of days.

The capitol was roughly four 'districts', divided by the rivers that it was built around. The eastern district was where all on-hoof traffic came into the city, where the majority of residences were located. That crossed over to the downtown district, by far the largest portion of the city. Depending what direction you went from there, you could go to the western district, where enlisted EUP and their families were housed, as well as the airship docks, and then of course, the castle district, where Canterlot Castle, the Castle Gardens, and Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns were located, and understandably the most secure part of the city. The track came into the city from the north, and for security reasons, Canterlot Station was nowhere near the castle, and was right on the edge of the downtown and east districts.

Sky heard the train whistle blow, as he felt the Friendship Express begin to slow. Two minutes later, the train came to a stop and the brakes let out a hiss a few moments before the doors opened as the occupants got to their hooves and began to file out onto the platform. Sky grabbed his saddlebags and small suitcase, putting it on his back as he exited the train. The large analog clock on the exterior of the train station told a time of nearly noon, and the pegasus was wondering where he should eat, as he definitely didn't want to go to the castle on an empty stomach. But it probably shouldn't be a large meal, as his nerves still hadn't settled, and he didn't want to become ill once he had arrived. Perhaps just a snack.

After passing through the station, Sky found himself on the streets of downtown Canterlot. If the spires of the castle weren't visible almost anywhere from the main roads, he would surely get hopelessly lost without a map. While it had been modernized in places, the city's architecture gave away just how old the city was; existing even well before the reign of Celestia and Luna. His hometown of Ponyville was a little under a century old, but Canterlot was older than a millennium, one of the oldest cities in Equestria.

Signage for the various businesses were anything but contemporary as he walked the streets, as the city council was keen on Canterlot keeping it's almost fantastical and medieval appearance, without more modern flare and advertisements taking up the views. The closest one got was a chalkboard out front listing off specials of the day or week. Sky knew he didn't want anything sit down; he preferred something he could eat quickly, or even better, something he could consume on the go, and those places were few and far between in a city that prided itself on being a bit more regal.

As he got deeper into the downtown district, the spires of the castle to the south became more visible, and Sky, taking a breath, realized that it was perhaps a better idea to find a bistro with outdoor seating, and take a few moments to eat, so as to give the butterflies in his stomach a little less room to move about. Keep an eye out for a suitable place, he came to a restaurant on the next corner, and eyed the chalkboard menu out front.

"Welcome to Haymakers, sir. Shall I find you a seat?" the greeter asked as he approached.

"A seat outside in the fresh air, if you're able. I'm on my way to the castle, and need something quick and tasty, if you can," Sky replied.

The greeter nodded, and immediately directed him to one of the smaller tables on the right side. A waiter came up and placed a menu at his place at the table as he sat down.

"First time in Canterlot, sir?" he asked.

"No, but it's been several years, and it's certainly the first time going to the castle," Sky replied as he picked up the menu. He opened it up, and kept his eyes on the appetizers. Cheap, and just filling enough to keep his stomach from complaining. "I'll take an apple cider and the 'Through the Garden' hay fries. Just a little something to calm the nerves."

With that, he closed the menu, and slid it back towards the waiter who quickly wrote down his order.

"Very good sir, I'll get that in right away," the waiter replied, picking up the menu, and turned to head back into the restaurant, leaving the pegasus to lean back in his chair and stair down the street at the castle spires on the horizon, nearly sparkling in the overhead sun.

'What could she possibly want with me?' Sky wondered. He had been circling this question for hours, while getting ready, while sitting on the train, and now, while waiting on his food. He never recalled having any particularly distressing dreams that had ever required royal assistance; his dreams were almost always something he forgot about within five minutes after waking up, anyways. Did he somehow need her help? Did she need his? How would he possibly be able to help a pony like her?

These questions were only going to get more ridiculous and remain unanswered until he got there, and he didn't want to do that on an empty stomach; the cookies he had packed hadn't held his stomach back, and the nervousness had made him positively ravenous. His mouth was nearly watering when the waiter came back with a mug of cider, and steaming plate of hay fries, covered in melted cheese, green onions, olives, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and guacamole.

He took his first bite, and was immediately grateful that there were a precious few establishments here in Canterlot that were simpler and reminded him of home. The pegasus wasn't sure how long he was going to be here, but no doubt there was going to be at least one meal in the castle that would certainly bury all of the preconceived notions he had about fine dining. It would certainly be something to tell Lyra and Bon Bon when he got back to Ponyville.

"You seem to be in a hurry, sir. Shall I bring you your bill?" The waiter asked, coming over five minutes later when he saw that the appetizer had been finished.

Sky nodded politely.

"Yes, thank you kindly. I could sit here all day with how nervous I am," he told the waiter.

The white stallion nodded curtly, headed inside, and was out barely a minute later with the black book that contained the short receipt for the meal.

"Visiting the castle?" The waiter asked as Sky finished off the mug of cider, placing a ten bit piece into the booklet on top of the receipt. Sky nodded.

"I got an invitation in the mail this morning from Princess Luna, and I haven't got the faintest clue as to why she wants to see me. I'm just a weatherpony from Ponyville," Sky answered, as he placed a five-bit coin into the hoof of the waiter.

"Thank you very much, sir, and it may seem daunting, but if I may be so bold as to offer advice; be yourself. Whatever the reason you've been invited here, that has to be easier than putting on a show. Have a pleasant day, and thank you again for your patronage."

Sky smiled at the waiter as the plate and mug were removed, he wiped his muzzle with his napkin, and got up from his seat, stepping out into the street again, and began walking towards the spires of Canterlot Castle, which were becoming larger with every step.

"Alright," he said to himself, taking a deep breath. "No more stalling. Let's go and find out what this is all about."

Author's Note

I hope all this slow-paced fluff isn't putting anyone off. Didn't really make much sense to skip right to the castle in between chapters. I hope all of you are enjoying the story so far, and thank you very much for reading!

Arrival

Sky Scribbles was rather grateful for the nachos in his stomach as he was approaching his final destination of Canterlot Castle. His mind was still ablaze with all the questions that he had been repeating to himself since getting on the train, but at the very least his stomach had calmed down.

The pegasus knew much of the castle grounds were open to public viewing most of the day, so he was now wondering where he had to go, and at what point would he have to present his credentials for being there. It probably wouldn't be best to wander; the invitation said to present himself at the front gates. He dug it out, and gave it another read-through, and then came to the realization that answers for being here were likely farther off than he would like; it was early afternoon, and Princess Luna likely wouldn't be starting her routines until sundown.

'One step at a time, Sky,' he told himself, returning the invitation to his saddlebags, but kept it ready to pull out at the gates to the castle. The spires of the castle grew more imposing the closer he got, and he was now able to see the outer wall that served as the border of the castle grounds, where guards patrolled. By 'main gates', he figured that the invitation meant the drawbridge, which was currently down and was allowing traffic in both directions. With another deep breath, he turned the last corner, and made his way down the last public street before the castle wall, turning onto the drawbridge, and trotted the entire length, over to the guard on duty on the left side.

"Sir, please state your business," the armored stallion told him. Sky reached into his saddlebags and pulled out the invitation, unfolded it, and presented it to the royal guard.

"I was invited here by Princess Luna, and was told to show this at the front gate," the pegasus replied, digging out the crescent moon royal seal as he spoke. The guard took one look and determined that it was genuine. He quickly read through the invitation, before handing it back to Sky.

"Please proceed, sir. Head through the main doors, and the staff will see to you from there. Good afternoon."

Sky gave the guard a nod and a smile, and continued on into the castle grounds proper. First up, there were shrubs on both sides of the stone path. The first structure on the right was, of course Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, with the Protege's Tower being the tallest part of that structure. Across from that on the other side of the road was the Canterlot Gardens Hedge Maze. After he passed the turn to the school, the path opened up to a common square. A squad of E.U.P. guards in formation marched through the square. Directly ahead was the Royal Airport, a tower that overlooked the airship landing platforms on the east end of the grounds.

Finally, on the far right side of the square was the path right up to the gargantuan front doors of Canterlot Castle. Sky trotted up to them, where another pair of royal guards stood on duty. The one on the right lit up his horn, and the right door opened as the pegasus approached. He gave the guard a nod of gratitude as he passed through, stepping from the smooth concrete walkway to a velvety red carpet.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" The nearby stallion hoofpony greeted, coming up to him. Being nearly routine at this point, Sky took out the invitation and royal seal, giving them over to the servant. He read over the invitation quickly.

"I see. Please wait right here, sir, and we'll be right with you," the servant told him, before taking the invitation and seal down the foyer, going through a door on the right.

While he was left alone in the enormous foyer, Sky took the next few moments to take in the extravagance of his surroundings. He could almost hear his hoofsteps on the carpet echo off of the walls, but the impressively long curtains hung in front of the tall windows helped with the hall's sound dampening.

Sky's attention was pulled down the hall again when the door that the hoofpony had entered opened again, and a slightly larger dark grey unicorn stallion stepped out, and trotted towards him. He also wore a servant's jacket, but the cuffs were considerably more ornate. His mane was neatly slicked back, and his expression was somewhat stern, but also welcoming and approachable.

"Mr. Sky Scribbles, I presume?" he asked. The pegasus nodded immediately.

"That's me."

"Welcome to Canterlot Castle, sir. I am Silver Platter, and I am the Head Butler here. Miss Lemon Hearts informed me that Her Royal Highness Princess Luna invited somepony here not even twelve hours ago. You are certainly prompt. As you can understand, Princess Luna is not yet available, so if you would please follow me, and I would be glad to show you to a guest suite."

Sky nodded at Silver Platter, and with that, the butler turned around, and the pegasus followed him up the central staircase, and into the hall on the right.

"First time in the castle, sir?" Silver asked.

"Yeah. I always figured I'd get up here eventually on a guided tour or something, but never something like this... Invited here by one of the Princesses," Sky replied, looking at the various portraits and paintings they passed on their way down the hall.

"And here we are, one of our finest bedroom suites," Silver announced sliding a skeleton key into the door on their left, turned it, opened the door, standing to the side and ushering the pegasus inside.

Sky's eyes widened as he took in the sleeping quarters, quickly concluding that this blew every five-star hotel brochure he had seen out of the water. The bed alone would barely fit in his room back in Ponyville.

"If you should require anything, please pull that string by the nightstand," Silver told him. Sky looked over to see a weighted steel cord that went up and into the wall near the ceiling.

"I hope you don't find the accommodations too overwhelming, sir. You do seem a bit uneasy," Silver commented.

Sky took a breath before turning back to the butler as he set his suitcase on the bed.

"I would have to save my spare bits for years to hope to afford half a night in a place like this, and I have absolutely no idea what Princess Luna wants with me. 'Uneasy' would be putting it lightly, sir."

Silver nodded in understanding.

"Well, I do hope you can relax now that you're here, sir. Whatever the reason Her Royal Highness has invited you here, I can assure you, if she's requested that you be an honored guest, it mustn't be for anything nefarious."

Dinner

Sky had never laid on a bed this luxurious. The pillows were incredibly soft, and he had a feeling that this was second only to laying on a cumulus fresh out of the weather factory.

The soft ticking of the pendulum clock on the far wall was one of the only sources of sound in the room. In addition to the bed, there was the pendulum clock, couch, dresser, desk, bookshelf, and a master bathroom. The pegasus figured that he should probably get some time in with this luxurious bed now, because if Princess Luna was ready to see him tonight, he was guessing he wouldn't get a lot of time on it; unless this was going to be something like meeting her in the 'dream realm'.

The clock on the wall gave out six chimes, and as late evening approached, Sky had been realizing more and more that his nachos on the way to the castle had worn off, and was wondering what to do for dinner; he was assuming it was going to involve pulling that rope next to the nightstand. He had never stayed at a hotel upscale enough to have room service, let alone anything like this.

His attention was pulled to the front of the room when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes? Come on in," he replied, sitting up and scooting over to the edge of the bed. The door opened, and Silver Platter took two steps into the room.

"Good evening, Mister Scribbles, I do hope you've been settling in as best as you're able," he greeted.

"By the far the most comfortable bed I've ever been on," Sky replied.

"I know the past day has no doubt been an unexpected surprise for you, so I hope you won't mind one more. Princess Celestia has become privy to your visit, as the only overnight guest in the castle tonight, and has invited you to dine with her this evening."

Sky's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open for just a moment before he composed himself.

"Wow, um, I guess I should have taken a couple days before answering this invitation to read up on proper etiquette. I mean, who am I to decline an invitation like that...?" Sky said, dropping to the floor on all fours. "How long do I have to get ready?"

Silver's stern-but-hospitable demeanor softened just a bit as he offered the pegasus a gentle smile.

"Dinner will be served in the dining room in approximately thirty minutes, sir. If I may, don't stress yourself; I speak from experience from multiple events when I say that Princess Celestia finds a lack of experience in 'proper etiquette' rather endearing. Like when you meet Princess Luna, just be yourself, Mister Scribbles."

Sky took a quick glance at himself in the mirror, and knew the one thing that could see some due attention in about twenty minutes was his mane, which had gotten rather unkempt from the past hour and a half of sinking his head into one of the very plush pillows on the bed.

"Well, in that case, Mister Silver Platter, I'll see you in about twenty minutes, after I've made myself as presentable as possible."

Silver gave Sky a curt nod, and turned to leave. The door hadn't even closed before the pegasus had made his way towards the front of the room to the master bathroom, and reached over to where he had hung his saddlebags, and took out his comb. He had just enough time to get his mane washed, dried, and styled. His purple and blue mane had always been his favorite part of himself, so he wanted that to look the best it could if he wasn't meeting just one princess tonight, but two.

He walked over to the tub, turned on the faucet, and got the water to a lukewarm temperature before putting his head under the flow, letting it run down the front and sides of his face, and down the back of his neck, making sure his entire mane was wet before he reached for the shampoo bottle. He gave the dispenser on top several squeezes as it pushed foamy soap out onto his hoof, and then proceeded to work it into his mane. After his entire head was sufficiently covered in suds, he once again bent his neck down and rinsed out the shampoo under the warm stream of water. When all of the suds had disappeared down the drain and the water coming off of his head ran clear, he reached up, shut off the faucet, and grabbed a towel to keep from dripping on the tile floor.

Being in a world-class master bathroom, it came as no surprise that there was a mane dryer resting in a metal holster in the corner of the sink counter. He reached over, turned it on, and turned the nozzle towards his mane as he began to comb it up into his signature mohawk. After another five minutes, his mane, head, and neck were completely dry.

Now that his mane was clean and styled, he went back out to his saddlebags and pulled out his folded dress shirt, black velvet vest, and bow tie; the only formal wear he owned. He figured it was essential for an invitation to a place such as this, so he was thankful he had been prepared in that manner. After he had put on the dress shirt, and slipped into the vest, there was another knock on the door, and Silver Platter entered again, just as Sky turned to him, dressed and ready.

"Quite presentable, sir. Please follow me to Her Highness' dining room."

After pocketing the key for the room, the pegasus followed the butler out into the hallway. While he initially thought the dining room would be downstairs, Silver turned to the left and took him further down the hall, away from the stairs they had come up a few hours ago. From the distance they walked before they made another ninety-degree left turn, he had to guess they were in the back half of the castle at the very least. The doors back here clearly led to larger rooms, as the doors themselves were considerably larger. The pair walked past several sets of doors and past another staircase headed down, and then Silver stopped at the next set of large doors on the right, and opened one, stepping inside.

Sky's eyes widened as he followed, and took in the marvelous looking dining room. It had to be one of the rearmost rooms on the second floor, because there were windows on both sides of the room that offered stunning views of both the city of Canterlot, and the prairie and valleys below the mountain. In the center of the room was a long oak dining table, and at the head, sat Princess Celestia of the Day.

"Mister Sky Scribbles, Your Highness, Princess Luna's invited guest," Silver announced as Sky stepped up next to the butler, and immediately offered a bow.

"Your Highness. It is an honor, and quite an unexpected pleasure, to meet you," Sky replied.

Silver Platter raised an eyebrow, somewhat impressed with the pegasus' knowledge of etiquette for having never meeting royalty before.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mister Scribbles. Please, sit down. You must be hungry," Celestia greeted, motioning to the chair at the other end of the table. Silver Platter led him across the gray and white marble tiled floor to the foot of the table. As he sat down, his eyes widened at the placement before him; namely the dozen pieces of flatware.

Silver must have noticed the pegasus' bewilderment, because before he could turn and ask, the butler merely leaned in next to him.

"Start from the outside and work your way in each course, sir," Silver whispered.

Sky smiled as he grabbed the cloth napkin and unfolded it, placing it in his lap.

"So, Luna invited you here, Mister Scribbles?" Celestia asked.

"That's correct, Princess, and so far I don't have the faintest clue as to why, but I suppose I'll find out later tonight," Sky replied.

"I believe I have an inkling, but it's really not my place to say. How are you finding your accommodations?"

"Stunning and luxurious, to say the very least. I've never stayed in a place like this before," Sky replied.

By this time, Silver had gone to the banquet table at the far right side of the room and grabbed a bottle of red wine, going over to Celestia's side of the table to pour it into her goblet, then making his way over to Sky's side. As he poured, a hoofpony came through the door he had come through a few moments ago, pushing a cart containing a large serving bowl of salad, and a glass bottle of dressing. Sky had quickly discerned the pattern of service, as Celestia was served first, and then him. Fresh, crisp salad was placed into his salad bowl with tongs, and he couldn't wait to try it.

"Raspberry vinaigrette, sir?" The hoofpony asked.

"Certainly," Sky replied, immediately nodding, watching as the delectable-looking liquid was drizzled over the greens and croutons. When the hoofpony stepped away, Sky grabbed the first fork on the left side, began sticking several greens along with a crouton, and took his first bite. It was by far one of the best salads he had ever had.

"So what do you do for a living, Mister Scribbles?" Celestia asked, sipping at her wine after her first bite.

"I'm a weather pony for Ponyville, Your Highness. Mostly the west side," Sky answered.

"Ah, so you must cover Sweet Apple Acres."

"That's frequently one of my areas, yes. So, you really can't give me any hints about what Princess Luna wants with me? Because, honestly, it's been bugging me all day. Like, what can a weather pony do for the Princess of the Night?" Sky asked.

"I realize that this invitation was out of the blue and has you mostly in the dark. It's not so much that I want to give you the wrong idea, Mister Scribbles, it's that if my suspicions are correct, then it has been quite some time since my sister has made a selection like this, that my memories of the last time she has done so may indeed not be what they once were. I will say that it probably has very little to nothing to do with your profession with the weather," Celestia told him.

Now the pegasus was even more mystified. Weather was the area that he was closest to being an expert with.

"Well, then I'll just say that the food is so delicious that it's the first thing to taking my mind off of whatever she possibly wants with me. Obviously, with the accommodations, not to mention the fact that I'm dining with royalty on a moment's notice; I'm no longer worried that I've done something wrong, and now I'm worried that I won't meet her expectations."

"Well, all I'll say on the matter for now is I hope things become clearer for you once you meet with her," Celestia reassured him.

After the salad, the next course was a minestrone soup that the pegasus likewise savored every spoonful of. The main course consisted of baked potatoes, corn, asparagus, and impeccably seasoned oatcakes. Just when Sky thought he couldn't possibly take another bite and had finished his second glass of wine, he saw there was one piece of flatware left, just before a plate was put in front of him, containing a five-layer chocolate cake with bite-sized bits of cookie dough on top of the frosting.

It nearly made him drool, doubly so when he took his first bite.

"I don't even want to think about how much extra cloud duty I'll need to take on to work this off. This is heavenly," he said just after swallowing.

"It goes right to the flanks, trust me," Celestia quipped with a smirk. Sky heard the far door open, and another hoofpony walked in, and whispered something to Silver, and the butler immediately came up to Sky's place at the table and leaned down again.

"Once service is finished, I've been informed that Princess Luna is ready for you, sir," he told the pegasus.

The nerves began to creep up again, but every bite of the delightfully sinful cake helped keep them from getting too far. Once he had taken his last bite, he had to resist licking the plate clean.

"Well, don't let me keep you, Mister Scribbles, not when some of the answers you seek are coming up. I hope you enjoyed dinner," Celestia said, getting up from her seat. Sky likewise got to his hooves.

"I absolutely did. Thank you very much for the invitation, Your Highness, and do give my compliments to your kitchen staff. I love cooking, and I've never made a meal that comes even remotely close to what I just had," Sky replied.

"I will certainly do so. If you're still here in the morning around 9 AM, feel free to join me back here for pancakes if you like. My specialty," Celestia told him with a smile.

Sky gave another bow, and turned to follow Silver Platter, who was waiting by the door. The pegasus certainly hoped he wasn't tipsy from the wine, but the dinner had certainly left him feeling positively tingly all over. That would be a meal he'd remember for quite some time, and it wasn't even the reason he had been invited here. Silver walked him back to the bedroom suite he had been given.

"I'll wait out here, sir. You won't need your formal attire for your audience with Her Highness, but I believe you'll need the royal seal that came with your invitation," he told him. Sky nodded and went inside. he removed his vest and dress shirt, folded them and left them on the dresser, before going over to his saddlebags and pulling out the crescent moon seal. He took a deep breath, then kept the seal tucked underneath his right folded wing as he went back out to the hall. They returned the way they came, passing the dining room and kept going, to a door in the far corner of the hall. It lead outside to an exterior bridge, towards one of the taller towers on the castle's northeast side. The sun had set, probably before dinner, and the moon shined bright in front of a starry night sky. The air was cool, and he had to resist ruffling his wings in order to not drop the seal he was holding.

Sky was getting the feeling that this area of the castle was Princess Luna's domain, due to the presence of what Ponyvillians frequently called 'bat-pony' EUP guards. When they came to the base of the tower, they stopped in front of the closed doors, where another armor-clad, dark gray bat-pony was standing guard.

"This is where my familiarity comes to an end, Mister Scribbles. This is Captain Pitch Black of Her Highness' Night Guard. He will take you the rest of the way. Captain Black, Mister Sky Scribbles is the pony Princess Luna is expecting," Silver stated.

"Understood, Mister Silver. Mister Scribbles, I trust you have the crescent seal? You won't be able to pass the barrier without it," Captain Black asked, his voice raspy but authoritative.

Sky immediately showed him the seal, but couldn't stop the inquisitive glance.

"Barrier?" Sky asked, clueless, and Black glanced at Silver Platter, raising an eyebrow.

"I believe Her Highness' invitation contained little to no details on what he was to expect, Captain. It would probably be best to give him the benefit of the doubt," Silver told the guard.

"Very well. Right this way, Mister Scribbles," Black replied, turning and opening the doors to the tower as Silver turned on his hooves and headed back the way he came.

Sky followed the night guard through the doors, and they immediately turned right up a spiraling staircase. The theme here was strikingly different from the other areas of the castle that he had seen. While the foyer, his bedroom suite, and the Princess' dining room had been modernized somewhat, while this tower still had cobblestone for its inner walls, lit by enchanted torches that hung in sconces every few meters. There was an arched window every time they had gone up roughly a story, and Sky was now able to make out the roof of the main structure of the castle.

After several rotations around the tower, the spiral staircase ended in a short hallway that lead to a rather sturdy-looking wooden door. Captain Black stepped to the side, and turned to Sky.

"Just through there, Mister Scribbles. The door only opens for Her Highness Princess Luna, and holders of her seal. On the other side of the door is a barrier of fog; also impenetrable to all except Princess Luna, and anypony with her seal."

With that, the night guard captain walked back the way he came, passing Sky and descended down the spiral staircase, leaving the pegasus alone in the short corridor.

Sky took another deep breath.

'Okay, this is it.' He thought to himself.

He stepped up to the door, took hold of the handle with the tip of his hoof, and pulled. He felt the seal tucked under his wing softly thrum as the door opened with a creak. There was indeed a barrier of fog that completely hid everything on the other side. He nervously reached his right hoof forward, and saw that it passed through with no resistance whatsoever. Lowering his hoof to the ground, he drew in another breath, and held it as he stepped through the layer of fog. He heard the door shut behind him, and the fog barrier wasn't thick at all.

His eyes widened, and his mind was almost instantly overwhelmed with what surrounded him. The floor was carpeted with dark blue carpet. The ceiling wasn't so much solid as it was a starry night sky. The walls were visible, and were patterned with gray and silver clouds. There was a large arched window that looked out over an otherworldly expanse of stars, and on both sides of the window, against the walls, were a crib, changing table, and playpen, and all three were considerably bigger than any foal would need.

As Sky struggled to draw breath and comprehend the adult nursery he had just stepped into, Luna, the Princess of the Night, faded into view as she came in the window from the expanse, fluttering her wings as she came in for a soft landing in between the crib and changing table.

"Hello, Sky. I am delighted you could answer my invitation so quickly. Welcome to the Guardian's Tower," she greeted with a gentle smile.

When Sky's eyes met the princess' gaze, it felt like a locked door was opened in his mind, and he had suddenly and vividly recalled last night.

'Oh gods... The dream I had...! She... She saw...!"

The situation and realization at hand were finally too much of a toll on the poor pegasus' mind. His vision began to fade as he saw the room tilt to the left, as he fell to the floor, and promptly passed out.

Author's Note

Alright, we are now nearly 10,000 words into this thing, and we are finally, finally getting to the fetish material that most of you are likely here for.

This has to be one of the slowest-paced stories I've written.

Thanks for reading, and there's much more to come!

Nursery

Sky felt himself slowly return to the waking world, and felt incredibly groggy. Blinking several times to get his vision to clear, he looked up at the ceiling that looked anything but solid, and instead looked like a starry night sky.

Suddenly, the evening's previous events came rushing back, and he felt the heat in his face increase. He sat up, and only then did he realize where he was; still in the tower he had entered, only now instead of passed out on the floor, he had been laying comfortably in the large crib on the right side of the room. Lastly, he looked down, and his eyes widened when he saw that fastened around his waist, was the thickest disposable diaper he had ever seen.

The pegasus resorted to taking slow, deep breaths to avoid freaking out over the situation he found himself in. How long had he been sleeping? He felt well-rested, but the otherworldly expanse out the window looked exactly the same as it did when he had first entered the tower. There were no clocks or timekeeping devices on the sparkling walls of the room. The changing table across the way contained two dozen more diapers identical to the one taped around his waist, in addition to other changing supplies.

The rational side of his brain had just enough time to reason that after he had passed out in front of the Princess of the Night, she had most likely gotten him changed into this, and settled into the crib he was now in, before getting on with her duties for the night.

'Great first impression, Sky.' He thought to himself.

He wasn't trapped in the crib in any way, but the mattress was comfortable, and it beat hopping over the bars to merely pace around the room until somepony came for him. He had no idea what time it was, so he might as well get comfortable. Staying in his sitting position, he grabbed the moon-patterned pillow, set it up against the far bars of the crib, then used that as a cushion of sorts as he leaned back against it, letting out another breath as he continued to marvel at the thickness of the foalish garment he was wearing. Most of it was plain white, while the sides near the leak guards was lavender.

The change in position let his mind fire off more signals to the rest of his body, and with the two glasses of wine from dinner having run their course, his bladder let him know that it was time to go. His diaper was still completely dry, his nose still getting hints of foal powder every time he moved his legs. As thick as it was when dry, he couldn't imagine what it was going to be like when it was wet, but he had a feeling he was going to find out shortly if he stayed put. He took one more look around, and confirmed that this was the only room at this level of the tower, and didn't see anything that looked like a bathroom on his way up with the captain. Besides, even if there was, part of him would think that rude, after Princess Luna went through all this trouble.

That was the other thing that was weighing more heavy on his mind as the seconds ticked by; the Princess of the Night was fully aware of the very kinky dream he had the other night, and that if it wasn't the reason he had been invited here in the first place, it was likely to be very related.

He was still incredibly nervous, but on the next deep breath, he shifted his focus towards the lower half of his body, and on the exhale, he relaxed his bladder. As he began to wet himself, he felt his nerves relax just a bit more, as he half-closed his eyes and continued to wake up with a yawn and a stretch. He felt his legs spread out a bit more as the diaper began to swell up. His stream of urine finally began to taper off, and if he was at home, this would be the point he'd take it off and get ready for the rest of the day, but he had a feeling that he was supposed to wait here. Because he honestly didn't have any idea if it was morning, or the middle of the night.

He figured the answers wouldn't be much farther away when the 'window' to the expanse shimmered, and a bright, glowing equine figure floated in, softly touching down on the carpet, before the glow subsided, revealing Luna, Princess of the Night and Dreams. Her gaze immediately went over to the crib, and she gave the pegasus a warm, but tired smile.

"Ah, you're already awake. Hello again, Sky Scribbles," she greeted.

"Y-Your Highness," Sky stammered, wondering if he should stand up on his mattress and give her a bow. Luna's expression turned to one of sympathy when she saw the bewildered expression on his face.

"I honestly was not sure how to approach inviting you here, Sky. I did not want to put too much information in the invitation, as I knew you would have to show that to multiple staff members to even get in the castle. Perhaps I should have found a way to be a little more forthcoming. I do apologize if any of this is unexpected."

Sky took a quiet breath as Luna stepped toward the crib.

"A b-bit unexpected, Your Highness, but... I suppose not all that unwelcome. I suppose I owe you an explanation for the d-dream I had the other night," Sky admitted nervously.

Luna merely shook her head gently.

"Not at all. I could tell that you didn't even remember it until we met earlier. If anything, I'm flattered, even if it wasn't lucid dreaming. But it is how I found you. I've been looking for a pony like you for awhile. I hope your sleeping arrangements were comfortable."

So Celestia had been correct; this invitation had nothing to do with his occupation. Luna had invited him because of his kink?

Sky nodded at Luna as her horn lit up, and the front bars of the crib unlatched, rotated down, and slid under the mattress.

"Let's get you cleaned up. I understand you dined with my sister last night, and she undoubtedly invited you for pancakes this morning, so we don't have long."

Sky felt himself go weightless as he was picked up in Luna's magical grasp, removed from the crib, and floated over towards the changing table, and his mind began to get overwhelmed as he realized what was about to happen. As he was set down on the soft padding of the changing table, Luna saw his wide-eyed nervous expression and his tense posture.

"Unless of course you'd prefer to do this yourself," she told him.

Every branch of the pegasus' decision-making process wanted to scream yes, but then he took another breath, and didn't want to deny the Princess if this was something she wanted to do.

"N-no, that's alright. You can do it if you want, Your Highness," Sky stammered.

Luna gave him another gentle smile.

"I admire your etiquette, Sky, but in this tower, just Princess, or even just Luna, if you please," she told him as she turned her horn's magic towards the tapes on his wet diaper.

As his ears twitched at the sound of the tapes ripping, Sky found it just slightly calming to take in the views of the starry ceiling that seemed moving and alive, as he felt the front of the diaper get lifted away and peeled off his half-erect stallionhood, as he silently cursed the science behind morning wood. As her magic pulled the diaper out from under him, Sky hadn't felt this little in years, as his lower half was effortlessly lifted off the changing table as Luna rolled up the wet diaper, threw it away, and began to clean him with chilly wet wipes.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I think you were an ageplayer, Princess," Sky told him, wanting to break the silence.

"Well, you and I both know that's not exactly true, Sky," Luna replied with a smirk. "But yes, I've been on both sides of ageplay, or as it was called in Old Ponish, 'Infans Aeturnum', or eternally infantile. But with the nature of my relationship with my sister, let's just say I usually prefer to be the older one," Luna said, as the few wipes joined the wet diaper in the pail. Knowing that he wasn't going to get a clean diaper put on, as he'd be returning to the common areas, he sat up before Luna lifted him up and set him gently down on the carpet.

"So, what am I doing here, Princess? Aside from being your foal? Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond thrilled that I'm that lucky, but I'm sure there must be more to it than that."

"Yes, a bit more than that. I've selected you as my potential Guardian. I'd prefer to explain some of the finer details when I'm not so exhausted from a night's work. So for now, please go enjoy breakfast with Princess Celestia. Before you return to this tower, the only thing I'll ask is for you to stop by the castle tailors, they should have the first part of your uniform ready," Luna told him.

"Certainly, Princess."

Luna gave a smile and curt nod.

"Alright, then. I'll see you tonight, then, Sky. I'm glad to have you here. There's your seal to get back in," she said, pointing to the crescent moon seal on the top shelf of the changing table. With that, she lit up her horn, and vanished in a flash of light, leaving the pegasus alone at the top of the tower.

Sky wasn't sure how close it was to 9 AM, but he didn't want to dawdle and be late for breakfast. He grabbed the seal, then slowly stepped through the fog, immediately finding the door, pushing it open. As the door closed behind him and he descended the stairs, he couldn't get over the fact that even though he was unconscious, that he had certainly been diapered by one of the Princesses of Equestria, as well as cleaned up out of a wet one. His mind continually circled that amazing fact, as well as one pestering question.

'Just what is a Guardian?'

Author's Note

Pancakes

When Sky descended the stairs and stepped out onto the bridge connecting the Guardian's Tower to the rest of Canterlot Castle, he indeed saw that the sun was rising, and that he had been asleep all night. After re-entering the castle proper, he took a couple wrong turns, and asked a passing hoof pony where the guest suites were, and got put on the right track. Once he got into his suite and saw the time on the clock on the wall, and saw that he had barely fifteen minutes to get to the dining room to join Princess Celestia for pancakes.

He went into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror, grabbing a comb and took care of the bedhead he had from the night before. With that done, he figured he could take five minutes to compose himself, but he figured that time would probably be better reserved for potentially getting lost on the way to the dining room.

So with a deep breath, he gave himself one last look in the mirror, set the comb down, and made his way back to the door, keeping Princess Luna's royal seal safely tucked underneath his wing. When he opened the door, there stood Silver Platter, who looked as if he was about to knock.

"Ah, good morning, Mister Scribbles. I wasn't sure if you were still up in the tower or down here. I came to see if you were joining Her Highness for breakfast today," he greeted.

"I just returned from the tower, and just stopped in to make myself presentable," Sky told the butler.

"Quite presentable, sir. Shall we?"

Sky nodded, and stepped out into the hallway, and followed alongside Silver as he did the night before.

"It's looking more likely that I'll be here for a bit. Perhaps I could do with a map to start to find my way around here, become familiar with the layout. Princess Luna wants me to pick up something from the castle tailor before I go back up to the tower," Sky told him.

"I can certainly get you a castle directory while you're at breakfast with Princess Celestia, sir," Silver replied.

The pair of ponies retraced their route to the dining room that they had taken last night, and before he knew it, Silver opened the doors to the dining room, and stepped in, with the pegasus right behind him.

"Mr. Sky Scribbles again, Your Highness," Silver announced.

After a quick bow, Sky noticed that instead of escorting him to his seat, Silver merely turned and exited the dining room, closing the doors behind him, leaving the pegasus to cross the dining room himself to sit down where he had last night.

"Good morning, Mr. Scribbles. You're looking well rested. I trust you had a good night, and got some answers as to what Luna wants with you," Celestia greeted as he took a seat on the other end of the table.

"Somewhat, Your Highness," Sky answered. "Princess Luna and I have spent a grand total of five minutes together, and that is mostly my fault. I may have... Fallen unconscious, when she came out of the dream realm to greet me last night..."

Sky immediately came forward with his embarrassing first encounter with Luna in order to excuse the tint on his cheeks, instead of trying to explain to Celestia his morning of waking up in a crib and being cleaned up by her sister.

Celestia chuckled lightly as she magically levitated a plate of pancakes, glass of orange juice, and floated them over towards her guest.

"Well, I won't say that I've never had the privilege of having a guest faint upon seeing me, but it's usually because their corset was fastened much too tightly. But you said you got some answers?"

Sky nodded, and his mouth began to water as the floating plate was set down in between his fork and knife, and on it was a stack of six fluffy chocolate chip pancakes. Luckily, they were his favorite, as was one of the flavors of syrup waiting in the trio of glass dispensers. He grabbed the one with the thick red fluid, and tipped it over above his pancakes, drizzling strawberry syrup over his breakfast.

"She said she preferred being more awake and alert before getting into the details, but she said something about being her potential Guardian," Sky told her, before cutting up his first bite of pancakes.

Celestia nodded.

"I had a feeling that's what she had invited you here for, but I didn't want to misinform you. It has been quite some time since she last appointed a Guardian," she told the pegasus.

"What is a Guardian, Your Highness?" Sky asked right after swallowing his first bite. The pancakes were absolutely delicious.

"Well, to put it in the absolute simplest of terms, to not offset your expectations, a Night Guardian is, more or less, an assistant of sorts in the dream realm."

Sky's eyes widened, but he figured it was better to not have any more follow up questions, and save them for Luna, as his attention returned to the pancakes in front of him. It felt somewhat emptier in here compared to last night, with the absence of the kitchen staff refilling drinks and bringing in new courses.

"So I take it you're here for at least a while longer, while my sister completes whatever evaluations she needs to come to a decision?" Celestia asked. The pegasus nodded.

"I've been told to pick something up from the castle tailor before returning up to the Guardian's Tower, Your Highness. After that, I suppose I should try and get a little bit of sleep between now and tonight, so I have a bit of energy to spare after the sun goes down. Some caffeine would probably be best."

Celestia nodded in understanding.

"Well, as long as you're here, Sky, please feel free to join me here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, unless my sister has other plans. I always enjoy making breakfast myself, I find it's the best start to the day before the monotony sets in."

Sky merely nodded politely, as absolutely nothing about the past 24 hours had been monotonous, but castle life was probably far more dull to somepony who had been here as long as Celestia had.

"I might take you up on that, Your Highness, especially if that could get me into the kitchens here at the castle. I'm sure I've never cooked in such a high-end kitchen before, and that would be just one more memory to make."

"Well, I just might have to see how you cook on a bit, Mr. Scribbles. I'll see if I can clear a bit of my schedule before luncheon, which is around 12:30. If you'd like to meet me back here then, I'll let you take a look at our pantry and see what you can come up with on a whim," Celestia told him.

Now, Sky knew that's all he would be thinking about for the next three hours or so; if Princess Celestia wanted to see him cook in her private kitchen, he was going to have to bring his A-game.

"These pancakes are absolutely delicious, Your Highness," Sky complimented.

"Thank you very much. It's by far my favorite thing to make in the morning."

When he was about halfway done with his stack, the dining room doors opened, and Silver walked in again, and went straight to where Sky was seated, placing a rolled sheet of parchment at his place at the table, well away from the plate and glass.

"A layout of the castle, Mister Scribbles. I've taken the liberty of highlighting your guest suite, the Guardian's Tower, and the tailor's offices," the butler told him.

"Thank you very much, sir. Hopefully I'll be finding my way around here in no time," Sky replied. Silver gave a curt nod, and departed.

"If my sister wants you to be anywhere in a timely manner, please don't hesitate to have a staff member point you in the right direction, or escort you to where you need to go, Mister Scribbles," Celestia told him.

"Thank you, Your Highness. But I really don't know how long I'm going to be here at this point, and even as a guest, I'd rather not be a burden on your staff showing me where things are for days at a time when I have the spare time to get my bearings."

"Whatever you feel is best, Mister Scribbles. I know you'd prefer to find your own way, but rest assured that that is what our castle staff is here for," Celestia told him as she finished her pancakes. "Well, it's time for me to get started with my day. I look forward to seeing you back here for lunch, Mister Scribbles. Until then," Celestia gave a curt nod, and exited the dining room, leaving the pegasus to his last bites of pancakes. As he sipped at the last half of his orange juice, he unfurled the rolled piece of parchment, and saw where Silver had marked the tailor's office, and began mentally tracing a path of the best way to get there.

Author's Note

Luminescence

Sky Scribbles quickly surmised that if a pony was involved in the day to day of castle operations, they were most likely on the ground floor. The more private areas were usually reserved for the second floor; guest rooms, private dining areas, so on and so forth.

The tailor's office was down on the first floor in the north wing. The pegasus descended the stairs, and immediately turned around and headed down the main foyer on the ground floor. His hooves clicked on the tile floor as he counted the doors, keeping a careful eye on the map he held. Going to the third door on the right, he pushed it open, and stepped through into the hall, which looked somewhat identical to the second floor hallway where his guestroom was, except it was considerably wider, likely for the increased traffic that the first floor saw.

He glanced down at the map once more, and counted the rooms, and went to the second door on the left after the turn to the right. When he came to the door, he looked down at the map one final time before rolling the map up and deposited it in his right saddlebag, before taking a breath and knocking on the door.

"Enter," was the cordial reply he got in return. Sky reached forward, turned the handle, and opened the door, finding the room on the other side not that dissimilar from the setting Rarity surrounded herself with in Carousel Boutique back down in Ponyville. Equine mannequins lined the room, stacks of linen and lace were in the back left corner, and there, sitting in the middle of it all at a desk with a sewing machine, was whom he assumed to be the pony he was supposed to see.

"What can I do for you, sir?" the light blue-coated, white-maned unicorn mare asked, sounding busy, but approachable as she continued to feed the cloth through the mechanical needle and thread of her sewing machine.

"My name is Sky Scribbles, ma'am. I'm a guest of Princess Luna, and she told me to come see you after breakfast for the first part of my uniform," the pegasus answered as confidently as he could.

The tailor shut off her machine and immediately got up.

"Her highness doesn't normally come to me with late night jobs, but it certainly made my evening a bit more exciting," the mare told him as she went over to one of the cabinets. She came back to her desk with a brown paper parcel wrapped in twine. As she walked around her desk to offer it to the pegasus standing at her office door, she eyed his figure curiously, to the point where he began to look himself over.

"It might be nothing, sir. I won't be the one to accuse her highness of giving me improper measurements, but please come and see me for alterations if that doesn't fit properly. Good day."

With a cordial nod, Sky took the parcel from the tailor and tucked it into his left saddlebag, before turning and headed back out into the hallway.

'Might as well go back to the tower and see what this uniform looks like. I've got a little bit of time before I meet Princess Celestia for lunch,' Sky thought to himself.

The pegasus challenged himself to make it back up to the tower without looking at the map, and to be fair, that would be fairly easy; he remembered that the door to the tower bridge was the back right door on the second floor. Once he had a few hours to study this map, he'd be a little bit more proud of himself when he was able to find his guestroom without any help.

Retracing his steps down the foyer and up the stairs, he trotted down the hall past the guestrooms, went all the way down to where the dining room was to the left and the exit to the exterior walls and bridge was to the right. The guards had changed shifts during his breakfast with Princess Celestia, so he had to stop and present his seal to the E.U.P. pegasus at the door to the tower. After being admitted, he made his way up the stairs, and kept the half-moon seal grasped in his hoof as he approached the door, opening it and passing through the fog barrier as he had over an hour ago.

And once again, he wasn't alone.

Sky stopped in his tracks as he saw a dark gray unicorn in a traditional maid's outfit sitting over by the crib, wiping down the bars with a white cloth.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess Luna didn't tell me anypony else would be in this room," Sky said, announcing his presence.

The unicorn stood up and turned to face him. Her mane and tail was a vivid dark purple, with white streaks going down her bangs and tail. Lastly, her eyes were a brilliant blue. She greeted him with a warm smile.

"Ah, you must be Princess Luna's new Hopeful. I'm very pleased to meet you. My name is Luminescence, but please, just call me Lumi. I am the caretaker for this tower."

Sky saw that she had a black sash around her barrel, that had another half-moon seal.

"Pleased to meet you, Lumi. I'm Sky Scribbles. Did you say, Hopeful? I thought it was Guardian," the pegasus replied.

"Yes, a Hopeful is an in-training Guardian of the Night. Just like a Cadet is in-training for the E.U.P. Guard," the unicorn replied, and it immediately made sense. "I imagine she sent you down for your uniform this morning."

Sky nodded, and reached into his saddlebags, coming out with the twine-tied paper package, biting into the twine and getting the knot loose, before getting the strings off and unwrapped the layers of brown paper, revealing a neatly folded black article of clothing. He unfurled it, and his cheeks turned red when he realized just what it was; a plain black onesie, complete with snaps right between his rear legs.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try it on, let's see if the tailor did their job properly. If you need any alterations done, you'll want those done before her highness gets back this evening," Luminescence told him.

Sky got the cotton and spandex garment oriented correctly, tugged it on over his head, got his front hooves and wings through the proper holes, and was about to tug both ends of snaps together with his wings when the maid lit up her horn and did the deed for him. He moved his back legs around a bit, and saw that the fit was indeed not quite right.

"It seems a little big..." Sky commented turned to have a look at the fastened snaps.

"Well, of course it is, you're missing a very vital piece of the uniform, silly," the maid told him. Her magic lit up again, and a half-second after he heard the snaps come undone, he felt a tingly sensation all over his body as the unicorn levitated him up with her magic, and floated him over to the changing table on the left side of the room, laying him down on his back, before pulling a diaper out from the stacks on the shelves.

Sky's blush deepened.

"Um, Lumi, are you sure you don't want me to—"

"Shush," the unicorn interrupted. "I won't hear it. I am the caretaker of this tower, and you are in the tower. Just let me work."

The unicorn's tone was firm but hospitable, and Sky decided to bite his tongue and let her work.

'Just how many ponies are going to see me like this???' he wondered silently to himself as he felt his backside lifted up, and both sides of the onesie were folded back before the back of the fresh diaper was slid underneath him and fastened around his dock.

Lumi was silent and professional about her task, quickly grabbing the foal powder and gave his loins a quick dusting, before bringing the front of the diaper up between his legs, smoothed it against his stomach, and brought the back wings up and taped it snugly into place.

"Now," Lumi said, setting the bottle of foal powder back onto the shelf. "Let's see how this fits."

Before Sky sat up, he felt the onesie get gently tugged, heard the snaps click into place again, and felt the back hug the clean diaper taped around his flanks.

"How is that?" The unicorn asked, stepping back and allowing Sky to sit up and hop down off of the changing table.

"Yeah... That's a lot better. Um, thanks, Lumi," he said, averting his gaze and blushing again. To his surprise, her demeanor faltered slightly, and she let out a soft giggle.

"So bashful. I know she's going to love that about you. Feel free to keep yourself occupied in the playpen, Sky. I'm still getting the crib disinfected and cleaned," she said, returning her attention to the spray bottle and white cloth.

Sky took a deep breath, trying not to be completely overwhelmed by just how comfortable his fresh diaper combined with the onesie was. The crinkle of the disposable undergarment was just slightly muffled as he walked over to the playpen, unlatched the gate, and stepped inside, before closing the gate behind him. While most of the room had dark blue carpeting, the playpen had been set up on foam interlocking tiles, like you would see in any foal's play area. The pegasus fluttered his wings as he began to slip into his little headspace; he had never had the opportunity to get anything like this for his own bedroom; not a crib, playpen, or anything even remotely close to a changing table. He had occasionally started to set the bits aside, but life had always managed to get in the way somehow.

With the gate closed behind him, he looked around at the activities he could occupy himself with for the time being. There was a stack of coloring books, along with a full assortment of colored pencils. Next to that, a few Power Ponies action figures, and finally, a few PoneBloks building kits. He remembered losing hours of his colthood to those, he had had a few still displayed in his bedroom, before he moved in with Lyra and Bon Bon. Right now, he opted to start with the coloring books. He sat down, and got a satisfying rush as his diaper was pressed against his nether region as he sat down. He selected the 'Vistas of Equestria' coloring book, and opened the box of colored pencils, and spread them out as he got comfortable.

He settled on a black-and-white unfilled shot of the Crystal Empire, with the centerpiece of course being the castle. He began by coloring in the fields of arctic tundra with various shades of green. By now, his pancake breakfast had churned his digestive train on enough to where his bowels were cramping and awaiting release. He resisted on instinct and habit; messing his diaper was something he had rarely done since moving in with Lyra and Bon Bon; he would save such an act for when they were both gone for extended periods of time where he had ample time to make sure not a trace of smell lingered, and that didn't happen often. The presence of the maid Lumi was also giving him pause, though with how efficiently she had re-diapered him just now, he wondered if she was expecting such an occurrence to happen sooner or later.

And if he stayed clothed as he was, well, it would happen sooner or later. Maybe if he just kept on coloring and waited for her to finish her cleaning and leave. There wasn't that much to do, anyways, the room was nearly immaculate as it was.

'Is she here to foalsit me? Until Princess Luna wakes up this evening?' he thought to himself.

He was beginning to hope that she was really prepared for the task ahead if that was the case; there wasn't a toilet, bathtub, or shower anywhere here, or likely even in this tower. He was guessing she was here for the duration, because when she was finished with the crib, she went right over to the changing table and began disinfecting it.

Another cramp came, and he didn't hold it off this time. He gave a light push, his tail hitched up, and his bowels let loose. The resulting manure hit his diaper and immediately blossomed out in a spreading warmth. He tried to re-focus on his coloring book as the deed continued, and Lumi continued to hum to herself as she wiped down the changing table behind him.

After another push, the deed was done, and Sky quivered at his naughtiness, continuing to wonder how the tower's maid would react when the stench inevitably spread throughout the room. A couple minutes later, he had finished coloring in all the tundra on the chosen page of his activity book.

"Well, that diaper certainly didn't last long, did it, little colt?" He heard the maid ask behind him. He didn't even have time to turn around to see how close she was before his body was lifted up in her magical hold, and he was floated over to the changing table. He was laid down on the padding before the magic released his body to focus in on the snaps in the crotch of his onesie.

One by one they came undone, revealing the freshly soiled diaper underneath. Part of Sky wanted to be embarrassed, but when he remembered the lack of facilities in the tower, he knew it was either this, or attempting to return to his guest room with this filth pressed to his loins.

Luminescence grabbed the tub of wipes as her magic tugged the tapes off of the front landing zone one by one, getting a ripping sound for each one, before pulling the front open, revealing the pegasus' deposited dinner from last night.

"My my, what a stinky little foal we have," she commented as she began expertly wiping the stallion's nethers down. Sky immediately started to wonder if the maid was an ageplayer herself, and wondered if that was how she found herself in the employ of the Princess of the Night. It took several wipes, each one being deposited in the diaper between his hind legs, but a few moments later, the dirty diaper was pulled away, folded up, and dropped into the diaper pail at the foot of the changing table. Sky began to sit up, only to be gently pushed back down by the unicorn's magic.

"Ah ah, we're only halfway done, Mr. Scribbles," Lumi told him as she pulled another diaper from the shelves, unfolding it and fluffing it up.

"Um, Miss Lumi, I'm not quite sure what time it is, but I'm supposed to meet Princess Celestia in the kitchen for some cooking before 12:30," the pegasus told her.

"I hardly think it's going to take me that long to get you changed, sir," Lumi replied as she lifted up his backside and got the back of the diaper slid under him and fastened around his dock.

"You... You want me to wear this down to the kitchen to cook with Princess Celestia...?" Sky asked, slowly feeling like he already knew the answer.

"Mr. Sky Scribbles, this onesie is your uniform, and it does not fit properly without a diaper underneath. I will not have you depart this room improperly dressed, especially if you have an audience with Princess Celestia," Lumi politely scolded him.

Sky took a deep breath to keep his mind from seizing up. Part of him wanted to hold up in his guest room, but wouldn't want to explain his absence to Silver Platter, and he certainly didn't want to offend Princess Celestia, who had been incredibly hospitable to him so far. At the very least, he very likely wouldn't be messy again for a few hours, if not longer. His deep breaths seemed to calm him down as Lumi sprinkled foal powder onto his diaper area, but he knew his nerves would be frayed the moment he set a hoof outside the tower, having to make his way past guards and castle staff.

As Lumi brought the front of the diaper up between his legs and got it tightly taped up, Sky began to wonder if the staff wouldn't be surprised at all at this attire. After all, here was a castle maid, expertly changing him. His nerves seemed to settle just a bit as the diapering was complete, and the black cotton and spandex onesie was fastened just under his tail.

"There we go. And one more thing..." Lumi said, glancing over at his saddlebags, and pulled out the half-moon seal. She levitated it over, and clipped it to the onesie right on his chest. "Now you look a bit more like the part."

The maid lifted him off of the table and set him gently on the ground, facing the barrier of fog in front of the door.

"Now, off you go, Mr. Scribbles. Enjoy your luncheon with Princess Celestia!"

Under Covers

Cobblestone step by cobblestone step, Sky Scribbles slowly made his way down the Guardian's Tower. His fresh diaper, although muffled considerably, still crinkled under the black onesie with every step he took, and at his current gait, he was about twenty seconds away from being among E.U.P. guards and castle staff again. Not only was he going to be agonizingly self-conscious about his clothing, but he also had to figure out what to make for lunch with Celestia. Luckily, he felt his appetite starting to come back already. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, he placed his right hoof on the door, and hesitated.

Was this all some kink-filled test? Were the guards and staff expecting him to be dressed like this? Would etiquette prevent them from making a scene? What would Celestia think?

'Damnit Sky, just go! You think you're going to be ready for whatever a Guardian does if you can't even manage this?' he asked himself in frustration.

When these words settled into his mind, he suddenly felt a little more confident. If this was the 'uniform' of a Guardian, then everypony in the castle should be fine with it. After all, he couldn't imagine that Princess Luna, or even the tower's maid, would deliberately set him up in some exhibition prank.

With his nerves calmed somewhat, he pushed the tower door open, and stepped out onto the battlement connecting it to the rest of the castle. He passed the guards at a steady trot, and fought the urge to look behind him to see any kind of reaction. Celestia's kitchen was mere minutes away, and he had to figure out what he was doing for lunch. He liked to cook, especially for close friends and roommates, but those were decidedly more rustic recipes. He would be cooking along with a princess of Equestria, and she no doubt would have more royal expectations.

Then again, while last night's dinner was no doubt a five-star experience, the pancakes this morning were decidedly more simple. Perhaps that's what Celestia was after; more simple, homestyle food?

The pegasus crossed the battlement, and with several ideas in mind, kept himself from settling on any one dish until he actually got into the kitchen to see what ingredients were on hoof. He passed through the doors to the second floor hall, and was immediately spotted by Silver Platter.

"Ah, impeccable timing, Mr. Scribbles, and I see you are joining us in a bit more of an official capacity," the head butler greeted, noting his 'uniform'. "Princess Celestia asked me to show you to her private kitchen, and she'll be along shortly. If you would please follow me."

The pegasus was once again bewildered when the butler seemed to take no issue with the onesie, or the absolutely noticeable bulge around his nethers, not to mention how it crinkled with every. Single. Step.

Sky was once again led into the dining room, but was taken past the long table to a pair of swinging doors on the left of the room. He had been in enough restaurants to know that those led to the kitchen, and sure enough Silver Platter pushed the left door open, and held it open for him, letting him step into an impressive commercial-grade kitchen.

"Please familiarize yourself with your surroundings while you wait on Her Highness. I hope you both have an excellent meal, Mr. Scribbles," Silver told him, before departing out into the dining hall again, the door swinging shut behind him, leaving the pegasus alone in the kitchen for now.

The first thing he noticed on the stainless steel counters was the row of spice jars. When he saw the jar of fresh white button mushrooms, the home cook inside clicked, and he instantly started looking in the cabinets to see if there were all the ingredients for hayburgers. He would need fresh hay, a bonding agent or two, brioche buns, and then he and the Princess could show their creative culinary sides with the toppings. He set aside the mushrooms and immediately began searching the cabinets and pantry for the pans and other ingredients he would need. He had his body nearly half into one of the bottom cabinets pulling out one of the larger skillets when he heard the doors swing open again.

"Well, I see someone is eager to get started," he heard the voice of Princess Celestia. He tried to stand up which his head still in the cupboard, and thus bumped his head against the bottom of the counter before pulling himself up, pan in his right wing, and offered a quick bow.

"I hope I'm not intruding, Your Highness. Mr. Platter showed me in," he explained.

"Not at all, Mr. Scribbles. A cook should be comfortable and familiar with the area he's working in, novice and professional alike. So what did you have in mind for lunch today?" Celestia asked, as she grabbed an apron to tie around her barrel, before likewise passing one to the pegasus, who was realizing that covered or not, his padded rump was all that was in sight when he was digging around for the pan held in his wing. There was absolutely no way she wouldn't have noticed. He accepted the white apron and got it hung around his neck before setting the pan on the gas range.

"I was thinking hayburgers, Your Highness, with brioche buns," Sky told her.

"Sounds decidedly simple and rustic," Celestia replied, and the pegasus smiled with confidence.

"Only if you want it to be, Princess. The hay patty and the bun are just the foundation. The dressings and toppings could be simple enough to feel at home in a tavern in Appleloosa, or it could be elegant enough to be fit for a five-star dining experience right here in the castle."

"Well, I'll admit that my cooking experience primarily lies in making breakfast, before my day usually gets impossibly busy. So, Mr. Scribbles, consider me your sous chef. What do you need from the pantry?" Celestia asked him.

"One of my favorite burgers has a simply divine mushroom cream sauce. I've already got the mushrooms out, so I'll need scallions, garlic, sour cream, and vegetable stock concentrate," the pegasus began. "For the sides, I believe carrots and potatoes will do splendidly."

"I do believe I can handle the sides, Mr. Scribbles. You focus on the burgers and the sauce," Celestia said, continuing to pass ingredients out of the pantry to his side of the counter. Sky was rather impressed that with all her other obligations, Celestia clearly knew her way around her private kitchen. Once each pony had what they needed, they got to work. Sky quickly got the hay mixed with a bit of milk and bread crumbs and formed patties. Setting them aside, he put the mushrooms into a piping hot pan, and began stirring them occasionally.

"You've clearly done this before, Mr. Scribbles," Celestia commented as she was cutting carrots and potatoes.

"I've got a couple years experience at a hayburger place in Ponyville, before I went to weather full-time," the pegasus replied.

"Oh? Why the switch?" The princess asked.

"Less stressful. Little slower paced. I've always preferred cooking for less people, cooking for friends and family. I feel I can put more heart into it that way, get more creative," Sky explained, gently jerking the pan to flip and toss the mushrooms. With the first ingredient nearly done, the pegasus went over to the cutting board just left of the range, picked up the chef's knife, and did one single cut through the bundle of scallions, separating the whites from the greens, and diced both, keeping them separate. By the time he had the garlic minced, the mushrooms were ready to come off the heat and into a bowl, after which he started cooking the hay patties, and Celestia was next to him frying up the carrots and potatoes, and toasting the brioche buns.

As he cooked their meal together with the Princess of the Sun, Sky couldn't help but begin to wonder if Celestia knew her sister was an ageplayer; that was one of the only reasons he could think of that she wasn't the slightest bit surprised with his 'uniform'. Either that, or she prioritized being cordial and polite above pretty much everything else.

When the patties were done, he transferred them to a plate, put it under a heat lamp, then immediately melted a small lump of butter in the pan, tossing in the garlic, vegetable stock, and scallion whites, combining it into a smooth consistency before adding in the mushrooms and sour cream. A minute later, the cream sauce was complete, as were the buns and sides.

Celestia brought a pair of plates to him with the toasted buns open on them. He placed the patties on first, then carefully spooned on the mushroom sauce, finishing it off with the scallion greens before placing the top buns on each. Then Celestia added servings of seasoned potatoes and carrots, and after grabbing a jug of apple cider from the fridge, the pegasus followed her out to the dining room, where his chair had been brought over from the far end of the table to sit right next to her on the near corner at the head of the table.

"And now the taste test," Celestia said, picking up her hayburger with her magic. Sky merely picked his up with both front hooves, and they took their first bite together.

Sky could tell just from Celestia's widening gaze that she found it delicious.

"Oh my goodness..." The princess remarked, licking away the cream sauce on her lips from her first bite. "Simply exquisite, Mr. Scribbles. If my sister doesn't find you up to par for Guardian, I may have to offer you a position in my kitchen."

Sky beamed at the compliment, but immediately reminded himself to stay humble.

"I'm flattered, Your Highness. But I'm not entirely sure I could stomach the idea of remaining in this castle if I disappoint Princess Luna," the pegasus replied. "I haven't gotten all the answers yet, so I'm not entirely certain what qualities she sees in me."

"Well, I for one see quite the creative cook," Celestia commented after swallowing her second bite. "I won't invite you to dinner just yet, because I'm not sure if Luna has something in mind for you once she wakes up. I am assuming that she'll want you to start staying up later into the night, so if at any point you feel you need to rest, please feel free to return to the Guardian's Tower or your guest room. A nap would no doubt help you stay up later, as would caffeinated beverages during and after dinner."

'It would also be quite appropriate in my current attire,' Sky thought to himself as he took a drink of apple cider. Granted, a nap right after a meal would probably be easiest.

Once the meal was finished, Sky decided to go and try just that.

"Once again, thank you for the opportunity to show you my culinary skills, Your Highness," Sky said, getting up from his chair and offering a bow.

"Thank you for a delicious meal. I'd say same time tomorrow, but if you're going to start acclimating to being up through the night, it may not be realistic or fair to have you here for breakfast or lunch. If my sister has nothing planned for you in the evening, please join me here for dinner again, but of course, anything she has in mind takes precedence. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Scribbles."

With that, Celestia took the empty plates and cups, and returned to the kitchen, and Sky turned to the main doors and exited into the hallway, immediately turning left and exiting the castle out to the battlements, and into the Guardian Tower yet again. With his stomach full of lunch, he was hoping a nap of sorts could be in order. He went up the stairs, opened the door, and passed through the fog, finding himself in the nursery, with Luminescence in the rocking chair reading a book.

She immediately looked up at him and gave a soft giggle.

"So," she began, setting her book down on the side table. "I take it you've noticed your uniform's enchantment by now?" the maid asked.

"Enchantment?" Sky asked.

"Well, of course. You don't think guards and princesses just don't notice an adorable crinkling waddle like that without an enchantment, do you?" she asked.

Sky blushed at her description, more so than being near any of the staff, or even Celestia, for the past hour. Had he really been waddling all this time?

"Incognitus. Your onesie has been permanently enchanted with that spell. To the guards, the staff, and even Celestia herself, it's a completely normal piece of clothing, no matter how much noise it makes, or how much it may stink. Speaking of which, does Luna's little foal need a change?"

Sky felt the heat in his face only increase as Lumi set her book down and got up from the rocking chair, coming over to him, and gave his diaper several pokes in the front and back.

"Nope, you feel dry to me. So let's get you in your crib for a short little nap, shall we?"

Luminescence guided the pegasus over to the crib, where he was lifted up by her magic, and set in the crib.

"There we go, all settled down for a nap. I'll check on you in a few hours. Hopefully you can get some sleep so you can stay up later tonight.

Sky watched as Luminescence raised the bars of the crib, grabbed her book off of the table, and sat back down to read silently as he sunk his head into the pillow and took a deep breath.

As he closed his eyes, he imagined himself walking the streets of Canterlot with this enchanted onesie, with the populace completely unaware of what he was wearing underneath. He was never one for exhibition, so a garment like this would be absolutely perfect if he wanted to wear more often.

But of course, that would mean meeting Luna's expectations, whatever those ended up being...

Author's Note

This is still the most slowly paced story I've written.

I hope it's not too slow for what readers it has.

Thanks for reading, and I'm eager to hear what you think so far, and any more ideas you might have!

Playing With A Princess

As he opened his eyes and his vision began to clear, the first sound that Sky's ears registered was a knocking on the door. He sat up, and looked around the room, finding Luminescence to be nowhere in sight.

Not wanting to leave his visitor at the door, Sky gave a flap of his wings and vaulted over the bars of the crib, landing softly on the carpet before trotting over to the fog that shrouded the door out. He made sure the moon seal was secure on his onesie/uniform, and stepped through the fog, pulling the door open, and stood face to face with the Captain of the Night Guard.

"Ah, hello Captain... Pitch Black, right? How can I help you?" Sky asked.

"Good evening, Hopeful Scribbles. I'm here for you, sir. Princess Luna is awaiting you for dinner and recreation," the guard replied.

Sky quickly ran a hoof through his mane, knowing that there was nothing in the nursery to make himself any more presentable than he was.

"Lead the way, Captain," Sky replied, stepping through the door way and pulling the door shut. Captain Black turned on his hooves and the pair descended the stairs, and Sky couldn't help but stare at the guard's bat-like eyes, wings, and ears as they made their way out to the ballast, where the sun had barely set, and night was beginning to fall. The pegasus noticed the Captain visibly wince for just a moment at the last rays of light.

"I hope you don't mind my curiosity, Captain, but what does one go through to become, well, like you? A bat-pony?" Sky asked as they walked into the castle halls, hoping that the question wasn't that inappropriate.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with curiosity, Hopeful. That's how we learn, become wise, and become stronger. To answer your question, yes, there are a series of transfiguration spells that final applicants to Her Highness' honor guard must undergo to become thestrals. I won't say they're painless, but they are essential. Once the transformation is complete, we have no equal among equines in the dark. While most of the E.U.P. night shift requires torches or hornlight to navigate the darkened corridors, Princess Luna's personal escort is able to defend her in complete darkness, if need be."

Sky listened to the captain's words intently, while also trying to take in more of the castle layout and the direction they were headed; he certainly wanted to memorize the location of Luna's dining room, or wherever they were headed.

"I can't imagine the training you all go through. I keep wondering if I really have what Princess Luna is looking for in a 'Guardian'," Sky told him as they rounded the corner.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Hopeful Scribbles. I pride myself on my knowledge of more than one era of Equestrian military history. In all my studies, I have found absolutely no mention of the role of Guardian of the Night. So it stands to reason that whatever the Princess is looking for, it's unlikely it has much to do with physical prowess or a military background."

The pegasus found encouragement in the captain's words. No doubt he would get some more answers over dinner with Luna. He figured that the royal sisters didn't share a dining room, as they had passed where he had dined with Celestia, and gone down the hallway opposite of where his guest room was. After turning the corner, he was lead to the fourth door on the right, where Captain Black halted. This would be undoubtedly easier to spot because of the crescent moon etched into the door.

"Here we are. Have a pleasant evening, Hopeful Scribbles," the thestral guard announced. Sky gave him an appreciative nod before he marched back down the hall in the direction they had come from. Sky turned to the door, and took a deep breath. He placed his left hoof on the door handle, felt the seal on his onesie tingle, and opened it.

The scene that greeted him was no dining room.

Princess Luna sat in front a large screen, being shone onto to the wall from a projector that was mounted in the ceiling. This was very much a room of leisure; there was an arcade machine in the back right corner, a full shuffleboard set on the right side of the room, a record player against the front wall, and a pair of beanbag chairs just behind where Luna was relaxing. She heard the door open, and glanced over at him with an inviting smile.

"Good evening, Sky. I'm glad Captain Black was able to wake you so quickly. That way dinner doesn't get cold," Luna greeted, before sliding over a covered silver platter into view. She lifted the dome lid off, revealing a steaming hot pizza, with bubbling cheese and every vegetable in the garden on top. Sky's mouth began to immediately water as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"This is my recreation room. I thought we could enjoy some dinner and fun before I attend to my nightly duties, as well as set you on your task for tonight."

Right next to the pizza platter was a joystick in front of her hooves, with a second one off to the right.

"Not quite what I was expecting this evening, Princess, but then again, hardly anything about this trip has been what I expected. I would love to," Sky replied as he walked over to where the second joystick was, with Luna setting the pizza in between them. "Out of all the rumors and hearsay I've overheard about royalty, I'm somewhat surprised that this one turned out to be true."

"Rumors?" Luna asked as Sky got comfortable.

"That you love a good video game," Sky replied.

"Indeed I do. What about you? Ever play New Super Alicorn Sisters?"

"I have, but never played co-op. My favorite in the series is Super Alicorn World from years ago," Sky commented as he got a feel for the joystick in his hooves.

As Luna navigated the menu screen, Sky plated up a couple slices of the absolutely delectable looking pizza, watching the drool-worthy cheese pull as he lifted it from the platter to the plate. New Super Unicorn Sisters supported up to four players, and while Luna opted to play as herself, Sky didn't select Celestia, but rather a pegasus E.U.P. guard, something he deemed a bit more appropriate, given the situation.

He had largely played it solo, but New Super Alicorn Sisters was primarily marketed as a cooperative platforming game; 2-4 players would share one screen, which would zoom in or out depending on how far away they were from each other. There were items available to make your character stronger and give them different abilities, and you could share or horde these as you saw fit, depending on what kind of play session you were looking to have with your friends.

Sky believed in letting the host, or player 1, take charge, so he largely followed movements of Luna's on-screen character. The first level was no sweat at all for seasoned veterans such as the alicorn and pegasus, and Sky took a moment to take a couple bites of the amazing pizza that had been cooling down on his plate. During that first break between levels, Luna also poured them a couple glasses of soda, before capping Sky's with a sippy cup and offering it to him. Sky felt his cheeks tingle as he accepted it, and took a swig before setting it down next to his plate of pizza and picking up his joystick again as they started the second level.

The more bites of pizza he took, the more his digestive system resumed after his nap, and he felt his bowels contract. He decided to hold off, as he didn't want to interrupt his leisure time with the Princess before she no doubt had to get on with her nightly duties. But as they completed more levels in the first overworld, and consumed more pizza, the urge only got stronger, and Sky's mind had long been accustomed to the disposable undergarment wrapped around his flanks being an acceptable place to go, but being around one of the revered princesses of Equestria was bringing pause to the call of nature out of potential embarrassment. But it wasn't like he could be rude and just stop eating and drinking, and he certainly couldn't excuse himself; it was a matter of inevitability.

When they got to the final level of the first overworld, he decided that he wanted to be able to completely concentrate on the last set of platforming challenges and the boss, so at last, his tail hitched up, and he pushed out his deposit quickly, before renewing his focus on his joystick and on-screen character. The stench reached his nose just as they were approaching the final encounter, but Luna didn't say anything as they positioned their characters to avoid the large enemy and jump on him three times to end the level.

"Well, you certainly know what you're doing, I will give you that, Sky," Luna commented as she set her joystick down as the victory animations played out as the on-screen Princess and her loyal guard galloped out of the castle towards the second set of levels. "But I think a little pegasus needs a change, as well as some explanation of what you'd be doing here as a Guardian."

With that, Luna levitated the pegasus onto his back, and a diaper bag was teleported next to her as she sat down in between his legs, and began to untape his diaper, also telekinetically grabbing a clean diaper, foal powder, and a tub of wet wipes. As she began to clean him up and change him, she began to explain.

"In the dream realm, the laws of time and space can be bent considerably, but ultimately, not broken. Even the longest nights will eventually end. That means that I can only attend to so many ponies at once. I have the experience and expertise to deal with the worst nightmarish forces of the realm, and that takes up much of my time. As Guardian, you would be charged with helping ward off the lesser nightmares; sources of restlessness, to help more of Equestria achieve a more restorative sleep."

Luna's words surprisingly kept the pegasus' embarrassment to a minimum as he focused on what the princess of the night was telling him. He would be helping her fight off bad dreams in the dream realm. He nodded attentively as Luna pulled the soiled diaper out from underneath him and efficiently got a clean one slid underneath before grabbing the foal powder.

"But first, to prepare to patrol the dream realm each and every night, you must be alert and attentive. That obviously starts with being awake during the night; you will be in the realm of dreams fully, not merely sleeping like everypony else. As Guardian you will be 'on-duty' during the night, like most other members of my court. So the task I have for you tonight is right here."

Luna paused to bring the clean diaper up between Sky's legs and tape it up securely. Afterward, she re-fastened his onesie, lit up her horn again, and the dirty diaper and changing supplies all vanished in a quick flash of light. She then turned back to the projector screen to save the game, exit back out to the main menu, and proceeded to create a new save file, while also sliding over a box of crackers and a six pack of soda.

"Keep yourself occupied in here for as long as you can, Sky. Make it as late as you can to begin to adjust your circadian rhythm."

Sky's eyes widened for only a moment, then he nodded in response.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've had to prepare myself for a night shift. I'll do my best, Princess," Sky replied.

"Good. Now, I've got to get on with it. Please enjoy yourself for as long as you can, and I'll see you tomorrow evening. And, thank you, this was fun," Luna said with a smile, before stepping up to him, leaned in, and nuzzled him briefly.

"Have a good night, Sky."

With that, she vanished in another teleportation flash of light, leaving the pegasus alone in her 'rec room', and he was currently quivering from the playful nuzzle she had just given him. As he collected himself, sat down and continued eating his pizza, he knew that there would never, ever be another job interview process quite like this.

Attraction

Sky slowly came to, discovering that he was sprawled out on the beanbag chair he had sauntered over to around 5:30 AM this morning. After letting out a yawn and getting up with a stretch, he glanced over at the analog clock on the wall, seeing that it was just about quarter to noon.

The second thing he noticed was that the diaper underneath his onesie was absolutely soaked. Not at all surprising, due to all the bottles of soda that he had drank throughout the night. He even managed to get just over halfway through New Super Alicorn Sisters before he really started to nod off. He gave the crotch of the onesie a few test pokes to see if he had leaked at all, because it was rather difficult to tell visually if the dark fabric had gotten wet. Finding it dry, he also found the considerably swollen diaper pressing up against the fabric even more than when it was dry, thankful that the buttons hadn't come undone; no enchantment would work on the surrounding castle staff then. So he figured that the first stop was back up in the nursery for a change, either by his own hooves or those of Luminescence. After that, he was hoping that he would once again catch Princess Celestia in her private kitchen for lunch, which would now be his first meal of the day, but likely not for long, as he would continue to push later into the night.

As he threw away the wrappers for the snacks he had eaten, and neatly set the empty soda bottles to be gathered by whatever cleaning staff came by, he began to wonder what he would be doing for sustenance during his duties. Heading down the hall back towards the Guardian's Tower, he assumed that there would be no eating on duty, and it would likely mean a considerable meal before and after his shift, which he had already done when he worked third shift at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory before he had moved to Ponyville.

The pegasus returned to the Guardian's Tower, and found Luminescence there, wiping down the changing table, and knew that this was probably the most pristine nursery in Equestria at all times.

"Ah, good morning, Sky, barely," Lumi greeted, glancing at the clock. "I assume you want to get cleaned up to go get cooking with Celestia again?"

"You read my mind, Miss Lumi," Sky replied as he stepped up to the changing table, and he was lifted up by the unicorn's magic onto the padded surface of the table.

Sky let his mind wander a bit as the tower's maid went about what was becoming a routine change. He had spent some vacation time in the past trying to wear 24/7, but the novelty of what was probably one of the most common fantasies for ageplayers quickly wore off after a few days without a caretaker who got just as much satisfaction from watching over their charge as the adult foal got from being taken care of. This would be the second full day wearing diapers in not only the tower, but also the castle, and he was honestly looking forward to it now that he was aware of his onesie's enchantment.

As he began to think about what he wanted to cook for his first meal of the day, his mind also drifted back to Luna's farewell nuzzle before she had departed for the night last night, leaving him in her rec room of games, snacks, and incredibly comfortable beanbag chairs. To him it seemed quite... Affectionate, for a princess and a pony who was going through what had to be the kinkiest interview and training process in all of Equestria. He honestly hadn't given it much thought last night, because, really, what were the odds that Luna, Princess of the Night and Dreams, was interested in him outside a professional manner?

But of course it was already more complicated than that. He was here in a professional capacity, perhaps, but what had brought him here in the first place was the ageplaying fetish they both shared, and a stupid crush that countless stallions must have had ever since her redemption last year. Princess Celestia was probably the source of a considerable amount of colthood crushes and fantastical dreams as well.

'Perhaps you could ask her over cooking,' the pegasus thought to himself, causing him to blush profusely, so much that Lumi noticed.

"Not quite used to this yet?" she asked as she pulled the soaked diaper and the pile of wipes out from under him, magically reaching for another diaper from the shelves.

"H-Hardly," Sky began, not even bothering to attempt to drain the redness from his cheeks. "But no, it's something else that's on my mind, Miss Lumi."

Was he seriously considering talking to Celestia about such a subject? The very idea was absolutely ludicrous!

...But then again, there was absolutely no other pony that could possibly relate to those kinds of questions, and Celestia had already proven herself to be quite endeared by a lack of etiquette from the castle's newest guest, probably because she was up to her crown in etiquette for the rest of her duties during the day.

Sky was certain that approaching that subject in any manner was no doubt a recipe for making himself look like a fool, but there would be absolutely no getting around that. Again, the Princess of the Sun took a liking to that, and it would mean looking a bit less of a fool for Luna.

Unless of course that last night's nuzzle was nothing more than friendly encouragement, and he was galloping down this train of thought for absolutely no realistic reason.

He would have to decide quickly, because his nether regions had been powdered, the clean diaper taped up, and the enchanted onesie was currently being buttoned up by Lumi, with the clock on the wall about to chime twelve times. He'd be down in the kitchen in a matter of minutes.

"And there we go, Sky. Go enjoy your luncheon!" She told him cheerfully, taking the rolled up diaper to the pail and dropping it inside before resuming her cleaning duties, still surprising the pegasus that she was still finding things to clean. He hadn't exactly been making this place well lived-in, to say the least.

As the pegasus left the tower with the clean diaper under his onesie, he began to think of what he'd like to make for lunch, if Princess Celestia hadn't already decided by beating him to the kitchen. Having a few things in mind, he trotted into the castle, went down to Celestia's private dining room, and immediately headed back to the kitchen, finding the Princess of the Sun just putting on her apron.

"Ah, afternoon, Mr. Scribbles. I was hoping you'd be here again. I'm assuming my sister is having you stay up later into the night," Celestia greeted.

Sky nodded.

"I just got up about twenty minutes ago, Your Highness, but I'm ready to cook up some minestrone soup, if your pantry has the ingredients," Sky replied with a smile.

"Ah, that name makes me think it hails from the Crystal Empire region. What do we need?" Celestia asked as she tied her apron around her barrel, with Sky doing the same.

"Classic minestrone takes about a half hour. We'll need extra-virgin olive oil, a yellow onion, carrots, celery ribs, sea salt, three garlic cloves, diced tomatoes, white beans, green beans, vegetable broth bay leaves, dried oregano, dried thyme, parsley, and any small pasta of our choice."

If Celestia was impressed at the pegasus recalling a recipe's ingredients from memory, he was equally impressed as she lit her horn up, and said ingredients were floated out onto the counter and cutting board almost as fast as he listed them off. Her pasta of choice was orecchiette pasta.

"Alright, your highness, heat about two tablespoons of that olive oil in that large pot," Sky said as he grabbed a chef's knife and began to slice and dice the garden's worth of vegetables that were on the cutting board. As he completed each vegetable, he got them into several small dishes, three of which he slid towards the gas range that Celestia was standing in front of.

"So how have you been enjoying yourself here, Mr. Scribbles?" Celestia asked as she added the olive oil to the heating pot over the flame.

"Very much, Your Highness. Though, honestly, not at all what I would expect a typical visit to the castle to be like," Sky replied as he finished with the carrots and moved onto the celery.

"Well, to be fair, you're far from a tourist, or a stuffy dignitary. You're quite the unexpected breath of fresh air for my daily routine," the princess told him.

"I'm certainly happy to be of service, Your Highness. Alright, here are the onions, carrots, celery; cook those in the pot with a pinch of salt and black pepper, about eight minutes until they begin to soften," Sky said, sliding over the dishes containing the chopped vegetables over to the stovetop, before he moved onto the garlic, taking the grater from its place on the wall.

Celestia began to stir the sizzling vegetables in the pot while her winged cooking partner grated the garlic, before moving onto the green beans, getting those chopped before opening the cans of diced tomatoes and white beans.

"Your Highness, I certainly hope you don't find this too forward, but I have been curious about something..." Sky began as he finished opening the can of beans.

"Ask away, Mr. Scribbles," Celestia said as she continued to stir the vegetables.

Sky cleared his throat as he rinsed each of the can lids and tossed them into the recycling bin.

"Your Highness, what... What does a pony of your nature do for... Companionship?" Sky asked.

The pegasus' cheeks lit up the moment the last word left his mouth, and he renewed his focus on the cutting board and knife, not willing to glance over and see if the princess was at all surprised at the question.

Shocked, she was not. When she figured she wasn't going to get a glance from the embarrassed pegasus, she merely gave a soft smile before resuming paying attention to the pot in front of her.

"Certainly a forward question, I'll give you that, but with how much time you have spent with me and my sister the last few days, I suppose not an entirely unreasonable one. I, like every other pony in Equestria, have needs, and those don't magically vanish when my years were magically extended considerably. I do have a... Suitor, every now and then, and I believe I'll leave it at that, more for your sake than mine," Celestia told him.

"Th-thank you, Your Highness," Sky said.

The kitchen became noticeably quieter after that, as the rest of the vegetables were added to the pot to simmer for ten more minutes, then the pasta was stirred in. They seasoned it to taste, then brought the whole pot out to table, where they sat down to enjoy their fresh homemade minestrone soup.

"I am not daft, Mr. Scribbles," Celestia said, as she began to ladle the soup into their bowls. "Nor will I pretend to know where these romantic feelings first came from, you or my sister. But considering the capacity you're potentially going to serve in her court; if it hasn't been discussed yet, you may want to let her know. I have never believed that feelings like that are better off unsaid."

Sky fought back the heat in his face as the bowl of soup was placed in front of him, and he began to lightly stir it with his spoon.

"I will think about it carefully, Your Highness, I promise."

Author's Note

The Secret

Princess Luna made her way through the endless void of the dream realm, as seemingly countless glowing orbs and doors floated in the ethereal expanse. She had enjoyed a second evening of gaming with her pegasus guest, before likewise telling him to stay up as long as he could in preparation for entering the realm himself. She was hoping Sky would be up for the task; he wouldn't have to be the fastest learner, but he would eventually have to learn to navigate the dream realm independently.

She knew that morning was quickly approaching, and decided to see if her assistant-in-training had managed to remain awake until now. Closing her eyes in concentration, Luna pictured the pegasus in her mind. When she opened her eyes again, an orb had floated to her, faintly glowing, suggesting that her guest had fallen asleep by now.

But as she reached out for it, she suddenly felt a twisting knot in her stomach, and she hesitated; That was one of the signs of a nightmare. Steeling herself, she reached out again, and when her hoof came in contact with the orb, she was pulled into it, and she felt the sensation of falling for several moments before she felt solid ground underneath her hooves, and slowly opened her eyes.

The setting was immediately familiar to her; Ponyville, specifically the marketplace near the town pavilion. But the sky was a sickly color, as thunder rumbled overhead, and lightning arced across the clouds.

"Sky?" She called, looking carefully across the stormy landscape, looking for any trace of the pegasus, or anypony else for that matter,as the town looked abandoned. She looked up to the sky, and decided the best chance to find hm would be to move closer to the eye of the storm, so she began trotting into the eastern neighborhoods.

Most of the residential structures were either one and two stories tall, and were completely dark as she walked down the street. The wind began to pick up, and the last house on the right had red fog pouring out the windows and open front door, spilling out onto the front lawn and nearly dissipating by the time it reached the street. Steeling herself, she went up the front walk, and went through the front door.

The red fog obscured the floor entirely, and gave the walls and ceiling an ominous crimson hue. The house may have well been in an otherworldly swamp. The thunder and lightning were muffled now that she was indoors. She walked by the living quarters after barely giving it a passing glance, and kept in the direction the fog was flowing from; the hallway. The fog was pouring out of the last doorway on the right. Keeping her steps steady, and staying as calm as possible, she came up to the door and peered inside.

There sat Sky Scribbles in the center of the room.

"Sky? Is everything alright?" Luna asked, stepping into the room.

The moment she was in the room proper, she saw it an instant too late; an ethereal, sparkling equine form burst out from behind the corner, ramming into her, knocking her against the wall. She managed to stay on her hooves, but just as her horn lit up, the form lunged forward, pinning her against the wall by her neck and lifting her up.

It glared at her with glowing white, soulless eyes.

"Harmony is a lie," it said, the voice too distorted to be identifiable as fog poured from the mouth.

Luna's eyes widened as she realized what it was; a tantabus, a dream realm creature that manifested itself through very negative emotions.

Sky seemingly wasn't aware of anything that was transpiring behind him, so Luna knew the safest thing to do would be to wake him up, now.

"Expergiscor!" Luna shouted, her horn glowing a brilliant white.

The spell shattered the orb, and the entire dream melted away, along with Sky. Luna knew that was hardly the end; the tantabus was still intact, and would undoubtedly be back. Right now, she needed to talk to the pegasus and find out what in her sister's name was going on.

Sky sat up in his crib in a sweat. He felt as if a bomb had gone off with how suddenly he had bolted awake. He tried to calm his heavy breathing as he looked around the room. Everything in the tower was just as it was when he had come up here after nearly seven hours of gaming after Luna had departed for the evening again.

The window out to the ethereal expanse glowed momentarily, and the Princess of the Night materialized on the carpet, immediately looking to the crib.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

Sky took another deep breath as the bars of the crib were lowered, and he felt himself get lifted up with her magic, as he was floated over to the changing table. Apparently she figured he would need a change after all those hours of sitting there drinking and playing games.

The pegasus quivered as he was laid down on the changing table.

"Sky, are you alright?" the princess asked once again.

He nodded, swallowing.

"Yes, I think so. I'm sorry, please don't be angry..." he pleaded as Luna began to untape his soaked diaper.

"I'm not mad," Luna began, getting the wipes from the shelves below and began to clean him up. "...yet. I'm shocked and a little confused. A tantabus is large quantities of very negative emotions made manifest. Where did you learn how to do that? What have you been hiding?" Luna asked as she pulled the wet diaper out from under him, rolling it up and tossing it in the pail.

Sky quivered again.

"Sky? I am not a mind-reader, even here," Luna told him. Her tone was mildly scolding and accusatory. She wasn't angry, but she definitely wanted answers.

The pegasus took another deep, shaky breath.

"I learned it from you," he answered, forcing the words out of his mouth. "I was there, in the shared dream when Princess Twilight and her friends helped you with your tantabus. I was... I was going through a really rough time in my life. I guess I still am. The tantabus was helping me," the pegasus said softly.

Luna's eyes widened at such an incredulous statement as she magically grabbed a clean diaper from the stacks on the shelves.

"A tantabus does not help ponies," Luna told him as she unfolded the diaper.

"Then what was yours doing?" Sky asked her as she lifted his legs and got the diaper positioned underneath him.

"It was... Reminding me, of things I really should have put behind me," she answered.

"That seems a good answer as any, I suppose," Sky replied.

Luna carefully dug deeper as she powdered the pegasus' diaper area.

"So what is it reminding you of?" she asked.

Sky remained silent for a moment, taking quiet breaths.

"Sky?" Luna repeated, in a motherly tone, letting him know the conversation wasn't going to go away.

"To not let anypony get close again. To not let myself get hurt again," he replied, quivering as shame washed over him.

Luna let out a soft sigh as she got the fresh diaper taped up securely around his waist, and his onesie buttoned up. The answers weren't exactly crystal clear, but she didn't want to pry; she was rather tired from a night of dream patrolling, and there were more effective methods of getting to the heart of the matter rather than demand he spit out the whole story right then and there. She lifted him up, turned him over, and set him down on his hooves on the floor of the nursery.

"Not letting anypony get close again. You lost somepony?" She asked.

"M-my... My boyfriend. We were living together. He left without saying goodbye," Sky replied.

Luna could tell the memories were very unpleasant.

"How long ago?" She asked.

"Two years," he answered.

Twilight and the others had aided her with her tantabus nearly eighteen months ago.

Luna wasn't even going to pretend that she was even the slightest bit surprised that the pegasus was attracted to her, if that was the case. For pony's sake, she probably even initiated those feelings the previous night of playing games together. They shared a love of games and a love of ageplay.

"So you... Prefer what the tantabus does?" Luna asked, likely already knowing the answer; she had preferred what hers had done before Twilight and the others helped her.

"You mean would I rather have unsettling dreams and wake up relieved, rather than dreaming of being happy together with a pony I love, then waking up alone? Yeah, I guess you could say I do prefer that."

Luna could see that the pegasus was fighting back tears. She stepped forward, sat down in front of him, and pulled him into a gentle hug.

"I'm not going to judge what I do not know. But in terms of why you are here with me, this is an impasse. You have to rediscover your sense of self worth before you have any hope of helping me in the dream realm. You will have no chance of aiding me quell the inner demons of the rest of Equestria if you cannot conquer your own."

Sky slowly parted the hug, a defeated look on his face.

"So... I'm assuming we're done? This is it, then?" he asked, tears finally falling from the corners of his eyes.

"Do you want to be done? Please consider your answer carefully," Luna told him.

Sky took a deep breath, wanting desperately to get his emotions under control.

"N-no. I don't want this to be it."

Luna nodded softly.

"Take whatever time you need. Before we can begin your Guardian trials proper, you will need to overcome your tantabus."

With that, Luna got to her hooves, and headed for the door, parting the fog, and opening it.

"And thank you, Sky," she said, turning her head.

"For what?" he asked, wiping his eyes and sniffling.

"For not giving up," she told him, smiling softly, before continuing into the stairway and closing the door behind her.

Sky wasn't sure how long he sat there in the center of the room. Despite only two hours of sleep, he didn't feel like he could return to the crib. He felt his emotions bubble up again as he began pacing.

No, sleep right now wasn't an option. He instead turned for the door, passed through the fog barrier, and descended down to the second floor of the castle. He needed a change in scenery, and a shower felt like a good idea as the sun slowly started to come up over the city of Canterlot.

Author's Note

Art Source (DeviantArt)

The Revelation

After he returned to his assigned guest room, stripped down, and took a long shower, Sky realized that he still likely wasn't going to get to sleep. After drying off and making himself presentable, he looked at the clock, and stepped out into the hall, without his onesie and diaper underneath for the first time in over a day. He headed back towards Princess Celestia's dining room, and saw Silver Platter out by the doors, who glanced in his direction.

"Good morning, Mr. Scribbles. Are you well?" The butler asked, seeing how tired the pegasus' eyes looked.

"A pretty rough night, Mr. Platter, but rather than toss and turn, I'm hoping it's not too bold to ask if Her Highness would mind my company for breakfast this morning," Sky replied.

"I'm sure she won't mind, sir, she just went in," Silver replied.

"Thank you kindly," Sky replied, walking past him as he opened the door to the dining room, and stepped inside, seeing Celestia already seated at the dining table, who immediately looked up from her plate.

"Oh, Mr. Scribbles, what an unexpected pleasure. Please do have a seat," Celestia greeted, lighting up her horn and levitating a plate, glass, and another set of flatware over from the dining cart to the place right next to the head of the table.

Sky gave her an exhausted smile as he took his seat.

"Are you alright, Mr. Scribbles? You look... Tired, if you don't mind me saying," Celestia said as a stack of pancakes was placed on his plate.

"I don't mind, Princess. It was a rather rough night, and I don't think sleep is going to come easily just yet," Sky replied, as he began to cut into his stack of pancakes after drizzling them heavily with maple syrup.

"Well, I'm all ears, if you'd like to talk about it," the alicorn told him.

Sky swallowed his bite of pancakes and poured a glass of orange juice, taking a swallow.

"Well, if I'm going to continue towards the trials of becoming Princess Luna's Guardian of the Night, it's going to involve digging up a part of my past that I thought I had buried years ago... But it turns out if I did, it's a rather shallow grave," Sky commented.

"What do you mean?" the princess asked.

"I thought hard about what you told me at lunch yesterday, and that... Triggered something I subconsciously put in my mind, to remind me of the risks of abandonment and heartbreak when entering into a relationship that close... Because I've been through that, and I don't want to go through that again. But I have to, if I don't want to call it quits and head back to Ponyville," the pegasus explained, trying to keep his gaze down on his plate of pancakes.

Celestia thought carefully about what she could possibly say as she also continued into her breakfast, and the two of them had cleared their plates and finished their orange juice before she figured out how to answer.

"I don't want to assume anything about your past, or tell you it's better to get over whatever is stopping you from wanting to try again, so maybe you could take some time and talk to Luminescence. She's doing well, I take it?" Celestia asked.

Sky was honestly surprised at the suggestion. Not just because of the suggestion, but because that was the first time anypony in the castle had even mentioned the tower's maid.

"I-I assume so, Your Majesty. You're actually the first pony to mention her," Sky told her as he set his flatware down on his empty plate.

Celestia smiled softly at the pegasus.

"That doesn't surprise me, I don't believe any of the castle's staff are even aware of her existence anymore," the princess told him.

Sky became even more mystified.

"What do you mean, Princess?" He asked.

Celestia took another breath, pushing her plate away from the edge of the table a bit.

"Luminescence is Luna's previous Guardian. From her time before her banishment," Celestia briefly explained.

The look on the pegasus' face betrayed his absolute disbelief.

"I... I'm sorry, Princess, but how is that possible?" Sky asked, his complete attention on the Princess of the Sun.

Celestia thought about how to answer, before she got an idea. She closed her eyes in concentration for a few moments as her horn began to glow, and then without opening them, she held out her right hoof towards the pegasus.

"Take my hoof, and prepare yourself for a somewhat... Out-of-body experience," the princess told him.

Sky took a deep breath, then reached out with his left hoof, touching Celestia's outreached hoof, and indeed felt as if he had gone weightless as everything around him went white.

When the bright whiteness faded, Sky saw himself sitting in a hallway. The walls were cobble stone, as was the floor, not modern in any sense. He looked over to the left, and there was Princess Celestia coming down the hall. He got up and bowed, but she paid him absolutely no mind, as if he wasn't even there, and he decided to follow her down the hall. They passed several rooms, until they came to the fourth doorway on the left, and she walked in.

There was a pegasus royal guard, according to the armor neatly stacked in the corner next to the bed, who looked like he wanted to get up and salute the princess.

"Don't be ridiculous, Private, at ease, for goodness sake," Princess Celestia gently scolded him. Sky noticed the guard's left wing had been bandaged considerably. "What happened?"

"It was all so fast, Your Highness. I saw her jump, and barely caught her. With the added weight, I didn't have time to pull up completely," the guard told her.

Celestia stepped forward and put her hoof on the guard's front shoulder.

"The doctors tell me you'll make a full recovery. You should be proud. You saved a life. When you're fit to return to duty, a commendation and promotion is certainly in order," the princess told him.

"I'm flattered, Your Highness. Thank you," the guard replied.

With that, Celestia gave the guard one more smile before turning and going back out into the hall, going almost to the other end of the hallway, where she entered another room.

Sky almost didn't recognize the unicorn in the bed, but after doing a double take, he realized that it was indeed Lumi that he saw laying in the bed, and the way she stared at the ceiling could certainly be considered lifeless.

"I thought you'd like to know the gentlecolt who caught you in midair is going to make a full recovery," Celestia told her after she had come to the mare's bedside.

"He didn't have to do that," the unicorn mare replied, her voice dull and depressed. "Put himself in danger to save a pony who no longer wants to be here."

Celestia said nothing at first, taking a seat at the side of her bed.

"Do you think that's what she would have wanted you to do? If she was still in a right frame of mind?" Celestia asked.

Lumi scoffed.

"Going to try and cheer me up with hypothetical possibilities, Princess? Don't bother. With all due respect, you have no idea how I'm feeling."

Celestia waited a moment before replying.

"I have a pretty good idea, Luminescence. We have both just lost a pony very dear to us. Out of everypony, I think I'm the one pony who can come the closest to knowing exactly how you feel, and you have nothing but my sympathy."

"Sympathy won't take this heartache away, Princess... She was everything to me... But I want you to know that I don't blame you for what you had to do. No one would have survived an eternal night."

"I won't lie, and say I completely understand what she meant to you, Luminescence. There's love between siblings, and then, there's what is shared between lovers. I'm not just here to see that you're okay, I've come to ask you something."

Celestia got to her hooves and stepped up to the right side of the bed.

"I'm still coming to terms with her absence as well. We're both dealing with loss and betrayal. Luna will have her chance at redemption..." Celestia paused, seeing the hope on the mare's face. "But it's likely to be a longer wait than either of us realize. 'On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape...'"

Luminescence slowly understood. Celestia had interpreted a vision. A prophecy.

"And if I wanted to wait? Wait for as long as it took? You could make that happen?" the unicorn asked.

Celestia took a deep breath.

"I could, in a way, but it would cost you a piece of yourself, Luminescence. You must understand and accept this fact; your time with her is over. But, if you truly want to honor the pony you loved..."

Celestia slowly placed a hoof onto the bed, and set down the half-moon seal.

"You could keep the oath you made to her, take up the mantle of Guardianship again, and keep the dream realm as safe as you can. I'm going to need help in that regard, and I could go with mages with skillsets and trustworthiness that I'm unsure of... Or I'm hoping I can have the aid of the pony who clearly loved her as much as I did."

The scene went white, and Sky found himself back sitting at the dining table as Celestia withdrew her hoof and the glow of her horn dimmed to nothing. There was a few moments of silence, before her horn lit up again, and she levitated the plates and glasses over to the dish cart on the other side of the table.

"She agreed, and we performed the powerful ritual in what would become the Guardian's Tower. I made it clear that it would extend her life beyond measure, but confine her to the tower, and the dream realm. Since her return, my sister has never mentioned her former Guardian, so I can only assume she has successfully remained scarce, and difficult to find."

Celestia carefully gauged the pegasus' expression.

"I figure Luminescence has not told you any of this."

The pegasus shook his head.

"Not a single hint, Princess," Sky managed to say.

"Then I'll let you figure out how best to approach that subject with her, if you're unable to get any rest. I've got to get on with my day. I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Scribbles, whatever you decide. If you find the strength and determination to continue with the trials, I look forward to continue seeing you in the castle."

With that, Celestia pushed her chair away from the table, and got up, taking a moment to push the dish cart back to the kitchen, before silently leaving the dining room, leaving the exhausted pegasus alone at the table. He remained there a few moments, before getting up himself, and silently walking back out into the hall, back to his guest room to grab the moon seal, then made his way back down the hall, outside to cross the battlements, and into the Guardian's Tower again. Climbing the stairs, he opened the heavy wooden door, and stepped through the fog into the nursery again, finding Lumi in her maid outfit, wiping down the changing table.

"Good morning, Sky. You don't look terribly well. Is everything okay?" She asked, pausing in her work.

Sky took one breath, and simply asked, "When were you going to tell me?"

The maid's expression went to one of surprise for a moment before she immediately figured out what he was talking about.

"I... I suppose I was waiting for the right—"

"The right time?" Sky interrupted, finishing her sentence for her. The maid didn't offer a reply as the pegasus' sleep-deprived temper seemed short. "It was never the right time for him, either... To say that he's unhappy... To say that he's found somepony else he's happier with... To even fucking say goodbye when he decided to leave and never come back."

Luminescence remained silent.

"I don't know what to do right now... But I'm done waiting for everypony else's right time." Sky said, turning and going back through the fog.

"Sky, wait!" Lumi called, but she heard the door open and slam shut.

Keeping enough of his head to know that he would not be allowed to take off from the battlements, he kept a healthy trot back into the castle, back to the ground floor, and out the front door. The moment he was on the other side of the moat, he took to the sky and headed south back towards Ponyville, not caring if his exhausted body was going to get him very far...

Author's Note

The Guardian

Sky Scribbles slowly came to, not really remembering any dreams he had, if any. His eyes fluttered open, and he beheld an orange sky as a cool breeze blew past his face. He sat up on the cloud he had landed on hours ago, and began to recall his exit from Canterlot.

He hadn't made it very far into the air once he left the city limits before the adrenaline from his emotional outburst faded, and exhaustion set in once again. He found the nearest cloud and promptly passed out and, according to the sun steadily dipping below the western sky, that's where he stayed for the next ten hours. Canterlot, and by extension the mountain it was on, was considerably smaller.

Stretching his wings, he saw that the cloud he had passed out on had drifted southwest over Ponyville, and was now a few hundred feet over the Everfree Forest. With a yawn and another stretch, he was about to take off and fly towards Ponyville to get something to eat before the last restaurants closed for the night. Before his hooves left the cloud, he felt something vibrate in his left saddlebag. Digging into it, he came out with his moon seal, which was now glowing dimly and softly vibrating. He glanced over the edge of the cloud again, this time looking south, and saw that his cloud had drifted fairly close to the Castle of the Two Sisters, the ancient ruin that Celestia and Luna used to rule from. He felt the moon seal carefully on his hoof, and saw that the vibrations were moving in a direction; towards the ruins.

Taking a deep breath, he spread his wings, and dove off the cloud, catching an updraft and began to glide downwards towards the castle. He was high enough up that he was able to slowly circle the ruins, and confirm that the seal's ebbing vibrations were constantly directed at the ancient site. He descended further, and landed on the grass just outside the treeline.

A ravine separated the castle plateau from the rest of the forest, and it went down about one hundred feet, almost pitch black this time of night. The one path across was a rope bridge that didn't look the sturdiest, but then again, also didn't look as positively ancient as the rest of the ruins. After testing his weight on the first two rope-tied planks, the bit finally dropped.

"What am I doing?" he mumbled to himself, before simply flying over the ravine with a few flaps of his wings, landing on the stone walkway on the other side.

The castle looked dilapidated, but, considering how much time had passed since it had been in good condition, curiously untouched by the vegetation, possibly due to the ravine. Keeping the moon seal in his hoof, he made his way up the stone steps, and pushed open the right giant door to the main hall. Save for two of the supporting arches, the roof had collapsed entirely, leaving the hall open to the sky above. From the arches, hung two torn, tattered flags; a deep dark blue one depicting Princess Luna on the left, and a brilliant gold one depicting Princess Celestia on the right. Grass and daisies had started to grow around the outer pillars supporting the walls. Against the back wall was a grand staircase that split off in opposite directions up to the second floor. He once again consulted the vibrations of the moon seal, and as he slowly made his way down the main hall, they began to ebb to the left, guiding him towards the last arched hallway on the left, just before the main staircase.

The torches in the wall sconces were unlit, and the setting sun was making the ambient lighting quickly fade, as was the ceilings of these corridors didn't take heavy damage, so he quickly lost the dimming light of the sun. When it became almost too dark to continue, however, the moon seal began to glow, and provided the pegasus with enough ambient lighting to continue passing by long-abandoned bedrooms and barracks.

At the end of the corridor, was a tower, with the stone staircase twisting upwards on the wall. He slowly began to climb, keeping his wings spread, ready to take off at a moment's notice in case the cobblestone floor under his hooves gave way. He climbed to the second floor, and as he stepped into the corridor, the vibrations of the seal began to quicken. He came to the last doorway on the right, and stepped inside.

Whatever carpeting or wooden furniture that was once in here had long rotted away, leaving just a few empty wall sconces among the four stone walls, and another doorway to a second floor balcony. As he stepped further inside, the glow of the seal only intensified. As the dusk outside continued to get darker, he thought he saw something out against the railing of the balcony. Holding the seal out in front of him like a lantern, he stepped towards the far door, he let out a soft gasp as he started to see a transparent equine figure out on the balcony. He immediately recognized the dark purple mane with the white streaks as he walked across the room.

"Luminescence?" The pegasus asked. As he closed in, she didn't become anymore solid, but remained transparent, like a spirit or ghost. She wasn't in her maid's uniform, but was unclothed as he stepped out onto the balcony, finally glancing at him.

"I suppose even after all this time, I still have a connection with this place," she told him as she sat in front of the railing, looking out at the Everfree night.

Sky took a soft breath, coming up next to her, and set the glowing seal between them as he sat down.

"I'm sorry I yelled this morning," Sky apologized, not able to look her in the eyes.

"I should have told you. Keeping secrets doesn't do either of us any good," Lumi responded.

"What is, or, was this room?" the pegasus asked.

"Our nursery. This was where we played together," she answered.

"Luminescence, I... Celestia showed me what happened. I'm so sorry," Sky offered.

The mare softly snorted through her nostrils.

"She likely only showed you the end... The end of my rope, when I didn't have anything at all left. The collapse was a lot longer. Painful."

"The collapse?"

"Of my relationship with Luna. We were close. Very close. She found me in the dream realm, much like she did you, I'm assuming. I got the invitation, her guards escorted me through the forest, and I began to live here, with her, assisting her in the dream realm. For several years, it was everything I could have ever wanted, and I thought, mistakenly, that it was for her too."

"I'm all ears if you want to talk about it, but if you don't, that's alright. I'm not going to pry," Sky said.

"You might as well. It sounds like you've already had some prying done, and likely more to come. We were happy... For years we were happy playing with each other, taking each other into a world of carefree youth, it was so blissful, and the power of our imaginations aided us in keeping the dreamscape safe. But... Over time, slowly, it wasn't enough for her."

The unicorn mare paused, looking over to the pegasus with tears in her eyes.

"It broke my heart... Not being able to get through the shell of bitterness she had surrounded herself with as jealousy of her sister began to take hold. It wasn't a sudden, instant change either... It was slow, and maybe that's why I couldn't do anything about it. Then, that fateful night, when she refused to lower the moon... I was so scared... Of what had happened to the princess I loved, of what her sister would do in retaliation. I ran. I ran as fast and as far as my hooves would take me, and I didn't stop until I saw the first rays of the sunrise. By that time, I was halfway up the mountain to Canterlot, and I could see her silhouette in the moon, as well as the smoke rising from the Everfree Forest."

Sky continued to sit and listen silently as Lumi took a moment to wipe her tear-filled eyes.

"It didn't take Celestia long to find me, or the other members of Luna's court that had wisely retreated from the castle before their battle. She determined that Luna had acted entirely alone in her rebellion; no member of her guard or staff had helped her, nor had any inkling of what she had planned to do. Afterward, Celestia commanded that this castle was to sit as it was, and she moved to rule from Canterlot. She knew that I had come from almost nothing, that I didn't have any family or home to return to, and so offered me lodging in Canterlot until I figured out what I wanted to do."

"You couldn't figure it out," Sky guessed.

Lumi shook her head.

"I didn't want to. I felt dead inside. Everything I had loved about my life had been ripped away. I felt that if I couldn't keep a princess happy, then it wasn't worth going on."

Sky wasn't sure how to respond to that. He had seen Celestia's memory, he knew what happened.

"When was the last time you were happy, Sky Scribbles?" Lumi asked, turning to the pegasus. "Really, truly happy?"

Sky wasn't expecting a question like that, but he let it sink in as he tried to think back. Cobalt leaving without as much as a goodbye had created such a dense fog that he hadn't really been willing to mentally walk through lately.

"It's alright, you don't need to rack your brain trying to give me an honest answer. I'm just wondering if you've given up the search for happiness again, just like I did. Because perhaps just like me, you can't remember what it feels like. Do you... Blame me for what I did? For trying to end my life on my own terms?"

Sky took a breath.

"I for one believe there's a difference between wanting to kill yourself and just passively waiting for death. The other side has to be better than this, right? I mean, that's why we get those thoughts in the first place; because we believe that whatever comes after this is better than staying here and dealing with the pain. I never got beyond thinking about it, thankfully. When he left without saying goodbye... I couldn't touch a cloud for six months without it going black and thunderous. Dash had me help Derpy deliver her mail around Ponyville."

Sky looked over to the mare.

"No matter how hard I try... I can't let go. I don't know how to let go of what he did to me. But you did. Her jealousy blinded herself to her duties, and to you. But you escaped. You could have done anything, even after the hospital, but you didn't. You hung on; to your oath, to her," Sky told her.

"Letting go can be the hardest thing sometimes. You wish you could just forget about something or somepony... But for whatever reason, your mind clings on, no matter how badly you don't want it to," Lumi offered.

"If he wasn't happy with me, fine. If he wanted to chase fringe politics, fine. He should have said something. Because he didn't, all he will ever be to me is a coward."

"Then don't let what he did change you, Sky. Don't let that coward win. Just like I didn't let Nightmare Moon win."

Sky took another deep breath, thinking back to what Celestia had told him that morning.

"Is Luna aware of what you've done? That you've kept your oath all this time?" He asked.

Lumi shook her head.

"Celestia told me my time with her was done, and I believed her. I don't know if I could face her again. I don't... I don't want to make her remember her fall, how she pushed me away," the mare told him.

"So you just want to leave it like that? Unfinished?" Sky asked.

"I made my decision a millennium ago, Sky, and I don't regret it. Celestia's spell was permanent."

"Yeah, so you and her are done romantically, fine. But that doesn't mean neither of you don't need closure. You deserve that, Luminescence. Luna does too."

Lumi thought silently for a few moments, then glanced over at the pegasus again.

"If you go back and pass her test, and become her Guardian, I'll talk with her. Deal?" The unicorn asked.

Sky nodded.

"Deal."

"I hope you put your heart into it. You'll need it to overcome the challenges; and I hope you succeed. Luna doesn't deserve to be alone, and neither do you."

Author's Note

Art: 'Night Reflections by novaintellus

The Hopeful

Sky Scribbles once again pulled out the moon seal that he had gotten in the mail several days ago, and showed it to the gate guard on duty, who gave him a curt nod, and let him pass. Once he set foot in the foyer again, Silver Platter was the first castle staff member to spot him.

"Ah, good evening, Mr. Scribbles. Good to see you again. I was about to retire for the evening, but is there anything I can do for you before then?" the butler asked.

"I suppose I should check in with Princess Luna, find out what my next step is. Would you know where she is?" the pegasus asked.

"She wasn't sure whether to expect you tonight, but I believe she is in her recreation room," Silver replied.

"Thank you, sir. I know where that is," Sky replied, before heading up the stairs and towards the west corridor, counting the doors until he got to the fourth door on the right. Taking a deep breath, he knocked, announcing his presence.

"Enter," he heard Luna's voice reply. He turned the knob, pushed the door open, and saw Princess Luna laying under a blanket in front of the projector, with a bowl of popcorn.

"Hello again, Princess," Sky greeted, unsure if there were any guards close by in the hallways.

Once the door closed behind him, Luna's horn lit up, and he heard the lock latch shut. With that, she stood up, and in doing so, let the blanket draped across her back slide off, revealing a white, fluffy disposable diaper fastened around her waist.

"I was hoping I would see you tonight, Sky," Luna said, smiling at him.

The pegasus felt his throat go dry at the sight of Luna in a diaper.

'No, no. Don't let everything you want to say fly out the window just because she's padded up,' Sky thought to himself. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them on the exhale, looking across the room at Luna.

"I'm attracted to you Luna," Sky said bluntly. "I don't care if it's the most obvious thing in the world to both of us, I didn't want to continue unless you heard that from my own lips."

Luna merely nodded at him with another smile.

"Consider it heard and acknowledged," she told him. With another flash of her horn, a changing mat and diaper bag materialized next to her, and she merely sat down and patted the mat, inviting Sky to lay down. Taking another breath, he stepped forward and did so, laying down on his back and stared up at the ceiling as he heard Luna unfold a fresh diaper.

"Have you had ample time to collect your thoughts?" Luna asked.

"I have," Sky answered, figuring that nodding silently wouldn't be enough. "I slept on a cloud most of the day, and then I stopped in Ponyville for a late meal before I made my way back up here. As I sat there and ate, I... I saw a couple, elderly, sitting there across the aisle. I had to put quite a bit of focus to not stare... To not let that jealousy take hold again. Because that's all I wanted; to grow old with somepony I loved, with a pony who loved me. With no politics or extreme ideals to poison anything between us... Is that really so much to ask?"

"Are you asking ponies not to change?" Luna asked him as she magically lifted his backside up to get the diaper slid underneath him.

"I..." Sky started, but trailed off, wanting to consider his answer a bit more and not answer hastily. He withdrew into his thoughts for a moment, and was pulled out of them by the sensation of Luna sprinkling foal powder across his nethers.

"I haven't changed all that much in the last several years. Before meeting Cobalt, my years with him, even after he left Ponyville without a word... I've always been me. I've been happy with where I was in life."

"Do you think you'll be happier here? With me?" Luna asked as she got the diaper brought up between his legs, smoothing it against his stomach.

"I certainly hope so. Do... Do you feel the same way about me? In the very short time we've known each other?" Sky asked.

With the diapering of her hopeful complete, Princess Luna twisted the bottle of powder shut, and returned it to the diaper bag, before stepping forward, standing over the prone pegasus, leaning down so they were snout to snout. Then, with no warning, she leaned forward an inch more, and gave him a soft peck on the snout, causing him to blush as she stepped back, then pulled him up into a sitting position, causing the residual foal powder to waft up from his diaper to his nose.

"From what I've come to know, yes, Sky, I think I do. It has been quite some time since I have let a pony get that close, because in the very little free time I have, I would need to find somepony who isn't repulsed by this sort of headspace. Requiring infans aeternum, or ageplay, or whatever you want to call it, as a foundation for a romantic relationship, limits my options for a companion somewhat considerably."

As Sky took a moment to process what Luna had told him, she took that opportunity to pull his enchanted onesie from the diaper bag, and magically pull it over his head and get it fastened just below his tail.

"Do you know what part of your struggle is? You can't seem to shake the image of a perfect, infallible princess as your idea of me. I am the farthest thing from, Sky. I lost someone too, because I let my jealousies and bitterness get the best of me. In longing after what my sister had, I lost sight of the undeniable fact that I helped Equestria sleep more soundly every. Single. Night. We all make mistakes. We all fail. We are all ponies," Luna told him.

Sky nodded in understanding, and she continued.

"What about now? Do I look like a princess to you right now? What if you were to check my diaper right now and find it wet? Would I be very princess-ly then?" Luna asked.

Sky blushed again and Luna giggled softly.

"My point is, Sky, I don't want to be a princess to you. At least, not all the time. I want there to be moments where I can play as your big sister, who teases you about the undeniable fact that not only are you not repulsed by wearing these, or by relieving yourself in them," she said, playfully poking at his clean diaper, it crinkling in response. "But that it's also your most powerful source of arousal."

Luna's words refused to let the heat escape from the pegasus' cheeks, and he finally mustered the willpower to speak.

"I want nothing more than to be good enough for you. To be able to do what you require of me every night. But I'm terrified at the thought, the possibility of not being good enough. Of failing you," Sky confessed.

Luna once again reached forward, not towards his diaper, but towards his head.

"Everything you will ever need to help me in the dream realm, is in here..." she said, pausing as she lightly touched his head, before moving the tip of her hoof down to his chest. "And in here."

Sky took in another deep breath, closed his eyes, tried to find his center, then opened his eyes on the exhale, getting to his hooves.

"Now, do you think you need one more night to prepare for your trials, or do you believe you are ready tonight?" Luna asked.

"No sense in waiting, Princess. I'm as ready as I'll ever be," the pegasus told her.

Luna gave him a respectful nod, before casting another spell, and in a flash, her diaper was concealed with a black cloak, with the hood down.

"Come with me, Sky."

"Um, wait. So... Are you... Are you wet?" Sky asked, blushing yet again.

Luna gave him a playful smirk.

"How about some more motivation? Pass the trials, and you might find out."

Author's Note

The Realm of Dreams

Sky Scribbles was trying very hard to keep the butterflies at bay as he followed Princess Luna down the Canterlot Castle corridors back towards the Guardian's Tower. It certainly wasn't helped by the fact that both he and the Princess of the Night were diapered underneath their clothing; her cloak and his onesie. The fact that he could hear his own diaper crinkle underneath his uniform, but not hers as they passed some of the night patrols gave him all the proof he needed that the enchantments on the garments were indeed working.

He also imagined if the guards would be able to keep their composure if Luna actually walked through the castle in just a diaper, wondering how ingrained their training was.

They crossed the exterior battlements, and ascended the cobblestone steps up to the top of the tower, opening the door, and bypassing the fog barrier into the nursery.

Sky took quiet breaths as Luna led him over to the single window overlooking the limitless expanse of the dream realm. He looked out at the field of stars and nebulae, reminding himself of what the princess told him; everything he needed was in his heart and head.

"I will take you to your sanctuary, where you will equip yourself. From there, you are on your own for your trials," Luna told him, offering him her left hoof.

Sky took another deep breath, then took her hoof, and spread his wings. She spread hers, and lifted off, pulling him up and out the window. The pegasus tried to take it in as best he could; was he supposed to feel completely weightless in this ethereal place? If so, how would it be possible for him to control his momentum?

He tried to unwrap his mind from around what he knew in reality as Luna continued to guide him through the expanse. Perhaps just as time and space could be bent and shifted, momentum could as well.

Luna shifted her wings, and her figure appeared to slow as a full-length mirror slowly materialized below them. The frame glowed, revealing a transparent surface upon which the alicorn and pegasus landed softly on.

"Here, you will equip yourself to face the lesser nightmares of the realm. Face the mirror, and picture what your protection will be. Do keep in mind, you will have to also not appear so menacing as to frighten the ponies you are aiding," Luna told him.

Sky looked at his reflection in the mirror, wondering how to augment his black onesie. He recalled what he had heard Applejack tell the town when they were helping with Luna's tantabus...

'You can be anything in a dream.'

The pegasus took a deep breath, and looked at himself one last time in the mirror before slowly closing his eyes, bringing forth a mental image of appropriate equipment with which he could face down the lesser nightmares of Equestria, but at the same time, not appear as a nightmare himself to the slumbering equines he was here to help.

When he exhaled and opened his eyes, he laid eyes on his reflection again, and found his head wrapped in a black cowl, masking all but his eyes. The onesie had been expanded to include his legs, almost entirely shrouding him in a breathable black fabric.

Just to make sure that his imagination had absolutely gotten it right, he looked down at his front hooves, raised one up to look at the jeweled silver fetlock guard, and barely twitched; a blazing blade of blue fire erupted out of the jewel, turning his hooves into formidable weapons. He twitched his right hoof again, and the meter-long blade of fire and light retracted back into the jewel.

He took another breath as he set his hoof back down on the transparent floor, and turned to face his princess.

"Okay, that is awesome," Sky admitted, unable to hide the giddy grin underneath the cowl.

Luna nodded with a smile. Her horn lit up, and a door materialized opposite the mirror. It was just a door and its frame; no wall of any kind, but Sky knew that in this realm, nothing was at it seemed.

"Your trials begin on the other side of that door, Sky. You are on your own from here. Best of luck, Hopeful. If you succeed, I will see you back in the tower," she told him.

Sky gave her another determined nod as he turned to face the door, thinking silently to himself as he stepped towards it and reached for the door knob.

'And if I do not succeed, may the otherworldly forces that bested me take me painlessly to the other side, because I do not want to return to you a failure, my princess... Wow, melodramatic much, Sky? Sheesh. Talk about cheesy.'

The Trials, Part I

After he stepped through the doorway, Sky saw that everything had been whited out by a bright light, yet he still felt the ground beneath him. Taking a couple more steps forward, the light began to fade, into a setting he had been familiar with for years; the townscape of Ponyville.

It was pitch black, not a cloud in the sky, but also no stars or moon to be seen either. The lights emanating from the windows of the various dwellings were somewhat dim, and barely reached down to the streets below. After a couple glances left and right, he recognized where he was... But something was off. Almost as if... A building was missing.

The pegasus began to trot forward, and once he came to the next street junction, he realized that a structure was indeed missing; the town pavilion. In its place, was a small campfire. Sky felt the inviting warmth, yet saw his surroundings inexplicably darken as he approached the ring of stones that the burning sticks sat in.

Sky saw silhouettes of other ponies as he came to a stop in front of the crackling flames. He couldn't tell if they were also attempting to get warmth from the fire on this chilly night. He began to step around the fire, attempting to move closer to the shadowy figures. But as he did so, the shadows that the fire cast shifted, and the other ponies faded away.

He took a deep breath, and decided to sit down where he was in front of the flames, the rest of the shadows staying where they were. He recalled what Luminescence told him before he departed the castle...

'You will be tested, both mentally and physically. You will have to face yourself; your doubts, your fears.'

He wondered about the physical part; mainly because what he was physically in the dream realm had a great deal to do with his mentality.

"What is your greatest fear?" He heard Luminescence whisper to him.

He took another breath as he watched the flames crackle in front of him.

"Being alone," he answered, plainly and truthfully.

"Then take solace in the fact that here, nopony is ever truly alone. All of our hopes, fantasies, and fears can be made manifest."

"So what about what Princess Luna said? Am I to undertake this alone?" Sky asked.

"Like I just said; nopony is truly alone here. Take all the pieces of yourself, and use them. And know this, I was always loose with the rules. You can get away with that here."

Sky gave the slightest of smirks that Lumi would be here with him, in some way or another, and that she was showing more hints of her playful nature.

Still, he would have to take this seriously. He took another breath, and got to his hooves.

Suddenly, the dark, shadowy figures all around the fire took on a crimson glow. The figures warped as they dissolved into red smoke, and they all converged into the fire, snuffing it out in an instant, and began to snake down the streets, and Sky had a feeling he had to follow it. He began to trot down the street, following the line of smoke. He kept his pace steady, and stayed as on guard as he could, remembering all the ways that Luna's tantabus had fought against Ponyville's populace in the shared dream. Overcoming his own would be a part of this.

Following the trail through the streets he had long become familiar with, his gait paused when he saw where the smoke had gone. The pegasus stared at the one-story dwelling that he had shared with Cobalt, the windows glowing an ominous red.

Sky was about to take his first step up the front walk when the left front window shattered, a table lamp flying out right towards him. He raised his left hoof immediately, and the flaming blade erupted out of the jewel on the silver fetlock guard, cutting the lamp in two, the halves tumbling end over end out to the streets. The end table it had been sitting on came barely a second later, and he took to the air with a flap of his wings. The table passed harmlessly underneath him, rolling onto the street. Before his hooves fell back down to the ground, he angled his body towards the house, and gave his wings another strong flap, and this time, it sent a gust of wind so strong right at the house, it might as well have been a hurricane. As his hooves skidded backwards on the front walk, other objects flying out of the windows towards him fell into the grass long before they reached the front walk, curtains billowing inwards from the wind.

Taking another breath, he galloped up the front walk, turned the knob of the front door, opened it, and stepped inside, just as the gusts of wind outside stopped.

This... Was a rather familiar setting to him. He looked around, and saw the thick red smoke that rested on the floor, slowly flowing out from the back hallway. Keeping the front blade up to stay on guard, as well as light the way in the darkened interior, he continued forward... Past the living room, past the kitchen, towards the back bedroom. When he was halfway down the hallway, an ethereal equine form stepped menacingly out from the bedroom.

His coat was black as the night sky, and the crimson stars dotting it were dwarfed only by the intense, glowing white eyes. It had no mane or tail, but it was undoubtedly the source of the red smoke that obscured the floor.

"You think those fantastical weapons will be of any use against me?" The creature asked, more of the red smoke billowing from its lips with every word it spoke. "Do you even have any comprehension of what I am?"

The voice was distorted, inequine, void of any soul or emotion, and it pierced the pegasus' veil of determination.

Sky took another deep breath, and thought back to what Luna had to do to emerge victorious against her tantabus. Steeling himself, he willed the flaming blue blade back into the jewel, and lowered his hoof back to the floor, obscured by the smoke.

"No," he began, standing his ground and staring down the ethereal creature. "I don't think it would do any good; I imagine that it would be like fighting myself. I think I've been doing quite enough of that these past two years, and it hasn't done a whole lot of good."

"Don't think I cannot see right through you, Sky. I see all of what you are, all your layers. I see through the formidable exterior you wear now, to the small, vulnerable foal underneath. I will always be a part of you," the tantabus replied.

Sky shifted slightly, feeling the diaper underneath his night- and ninja-inspired uniform.

"Yes. You will. Just as my years with him will always be a part of me. To act like they never happened would be denying a part of myself. So... The weight of my past can either hold me back... Or I can carry it with me, and let it make me stronger."

The creature stepped towards him, an otherworldly, guttural growl emanating from its throat. It stopped right in front of Sky, their heights equal.

"You cannot deny the darkness inside you. Every night you help the Princess in this realm will be the greatest vengeance you will get for what he did to you."

Sky was unnerved, but brought himself to merely smile confidently at his grief personified.

"I'm counting on it."

The glowing white eyes narrowed as it leered at him.

"We shall see."

In the next moment, the creature melted away, falling indiscernibly into the crimson fog that covered the entire floor.

Sky's ears twitched as he heard the sound of rushing water from outside the house, and he turned around just moments before seeing the waves flow through the open door and broken windows on the front of the house. The water quickly reached the hallway and swept the pegasus off of his hooves. He instantly became waterlogged and was unable to use his wings to pull himself up out of the water.

The pegasus was carried through the hall, and was thrust out the back door as it nearly came off of its hinges. He rolled end over end as he felt the saturated ground underneath him, as he, the house, and all of Ponyville quickly got washed away in the current...

The Trials, Part II

Sky focused on keeping his head above the waves as he was carried away by the tide. He could no longer see Ponyville, wondering if it had sunk below the surface, or if he had already been swept away from the town limits.

Breaking completely free of the water would be difficult, and for the moment likely futile, so he let himself be carried on the tide, and waited for the waves to calm down. Once the calm came, he looked around, and looked down in surprise when he realized he was able to unexpectedly stand up on his hooves, as if there was an invisible surface just underneath the water. What was more, when he got to his hooves, he found his uniform, not to mention his diaper underneath, was completely dry.

Only once he took another look around, did he see that his old home, and indeed the entire surrounding town of Ponyville, had vanished, and all that remained was the starry sky, the incredibly bright full moon, and the endless expanse of water that barely came up to his fetlocks.

He looked all around, then, below the glow of the moon, he barely noticed a red glow on the horizon, and began to trot towards it, water splashing in the wake of his hooves. As he closed in, he saw that there was a small sandbar, an island that barely protruded up out of the water, and that the red glow appeared to be rotating around it in the water... More than one, actually. Getting ever closer, he saw the red hue was coming from three sources, spread evenly around the circumference of the sandbar.

Sky broke into a gallop when he saw an equine form sitting in the middle of the island, their head buried in their legs as they were curled up, as if they were cowering from the glow that circled the sandbar. The figure was nearly entirely silhouetted by the glow of the enormous moon on the horizon, so he couldn't gather any details beyond that for now. Timing his gait carefully, Sky leapt up, spread his wings, and floated above the sources of glowing light, finally getting a good look at them.

A trio of crimson red sharks circled just underneath the water. It was a little mind-bending for Sky as he quickly folded his wings in and descended towards the sand; the sharks were entirely submerged, yet his hooves hadn't even gone three inches deep into the water before hitting decidedly sold ground.

His hooves hit the sand, kicking up a few grains as he eyed the circling sharks carefully. Raising his right front hoof, the blade of bright blue light extended out from the fetlock guard, and Sky's eyes widened the glow from his weapon broke through the silhouette from the moon, and showed him just who was cowering on the sandbar.

Cobalt.

The blade wavered as his hoof began to quiver. He bit his bottom lip in anger as he glared down at his ex who hadn't even looked up, hadn't shown any signs of even realizing that somepony else had landed on the island.

Sky gritted his teeth, felt the anger build up inside as he continued standing there. He saw the bright blue hue of his blade ripple and warp as it slowly turned as crimson red as the circling sharks, becoming much more scythe-like in appearance. His mind began to race faster as the red glow continued to spread out into the water, and soon, even the giant moon half under the horizon was now blood-red. He felt his wings unfurl and twitch in anger, waiting for some, any excuse to bring his dream-powered wrath down on the stallion who had left him heartbroken.

As if he didn't have a good enough excuse already...

Suddenly, he heard a roar from behind him, and turned his head to see one of the glowing red sharks erupt out of the water, teeth bared and headed straight for the helpless unicorn.

Tilting his wings, he swung the rest of his body around, his right hoof last of all, and brought the elongated blade of the scythe slashing left across the shark's open maw. One moment it had connected, and the next moment, the crimson apex predator exploded in a shower of glowing motes of light. Immediately after that, the second shark emerged from the water, at the other side of the sandbar. Flapping his wings once, Sky brought himself around and leapt into the air, vaulting over the curled up unicorn and slashing at the shark in a sweeping right motion, it too disintegrated into red motes.

Anticipating the last one, Sky turned a split-second before the final shark broke the water's surface, but this one was lower, and closed in on the unicorn faster. Flapping his wings again, he left the sand again, somersaulting over Cobalt once, and descended to the sand, coming down with the scythe as he did so, connecting the blade on top of the shark right between his eyes.

The final nightmarish creature defeated, Sky let out a breath, finding himself with his back to the whimpering Cobalt, staring at the half moon and its reflection in the water, with the rippling water now fading to a dead calm, and letting the enormous moon appear full.

"Th-thank you..." the unicorn muttered nervously.

Sky took a step into the water, then another, then another as he began trotting towards the moon. He knew if he turned to look to see if the unicorn had looked up from his fetal position, if he gave into temptation and uttered even one word, he would regret it forever. Shoving the tears back, he broke into a gallop, and leapt up into the sky, flying as fast as he could towards the moon, wanting this test to be over more than anything. A few moments more the endless waters faded, and he found himself in the sparkling expanse of the dream realm once more, and still he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop until he saw the tower.

He lost track of what counted as time here, flying at a speed that he assumed would make Rainbow Dash proud, until he finally saw the Guardian's Tower fade into view. Angling his wings to guide him downward, seeing Princess Luna sitting in the middle of the room, looking out the window at him, smiling. The moment he passed through the window, he felt his ethereal uniform dissipate, and he found himself back in the onesie that had been made for him.

Luna's smile widened as Sky stood there staring at her.

"Congratulations, Sky," she told him, spreading her front legs, offering him a hug.

The pegasus took one uneasy, shuddering breath as he stepped towards the Princess of the Night, and the emotions that had been bubbling up inside him finally spilled over as he threw his hooves around her, burying his face in her barrel as he burst into tears.

"What's wrong, Sky?" Luna asked, squeezing him gently.

The pegasus hiccuped as he struggled to get himself under control.

"I... I came so close to... To... I wanted to do it. I wanted to hurt him, so badly, like he had hurt me..." he replied, just above a whisper, as he felt the hot tears continue.

"But you didn't," Luna told him, continuing to hold him in the embrace. "And that's the important part. You admitted your fears, you faced the darkness inside yourself, and used both of them to prove that you'll help anypony in their moment of need in the realm of dreams. Nopony is perfect. Not you, and not me."

Sky took one more deep, uneasy breath before pulling away from the princess' embrace.

"Are you saying I passed the trials, Princess?" Sky said, looking up into her eyes.

Luna nodded.

"Then..." Sky paused, continuing to calm and collect himself. "...I have to say, that I had something of an alternative motive tonight. Somepony promised me that they would speak to you if I overcame this test."

Luna's expression betrayed the fact that she hadn't entirely expected this.

"Hm. I mean, well, certainly. But you have me at a loss, Sky. Who needs a conversation with me that would provide that kind of motivation for you?" She asked.

Sky silently glanced back at the window to the dream realm, and saw the starry expanse warble and ripple as another glowing form passed through the invisible barrier, quickly taking the shape of a unicorn mare.

Rather than her traditional maid's outfit, Luminescence had appeared in a uniform very similar to Sky's; all black, from her neck to her flanks, with dark blue fetlock guards and a hood that was currently lowered.

Sky gave the mare a soft smile, before risking looking back at Luna, whose expression had turned to one of absolute disbelief.

"L... Lumi..." She managed to whisper, her eyes widening.

"I'll be in your rec room when you two are done, Princess," Sky said, excusing himself as he stepped around the stunned alicorn, passing through the barrier and silently descended the tower, stepping outside into the early Canterlot morning.

Author's Note

Long Time Coming

Luna continued to stand in a stunned silence as the robed and armored Luminescence took a few more steps towards her, then sat down on the floor.

"Sky did an amazing job tonight. I was watching him the whole time," Lumi began.

"Yes... So was I, and I agree. I'm... Hoping this will make a little more sense once you start explaining. I thought... I thought you would have gone on to live your life after my fall," Luna said, unable to hide the shock from her voice.

"Part of me wanted to. But then maybe there was another part of me that didn't want that. A part of me that was afraid that anything I went for after that would have paled in comparison to the love of a princess," Lumi said.

"What are you saying?" Luna asked.

It hadn't even been thirty seconds, and Lumi was already struggling to hold back tears.

"I mean what you did broke my heart," Lumi said, taking in a shuddering breath. "It told me that what we shared was no longer good enough, and that any other relationship I pursued wouldn't be good enough for me either. That's when I... That's when I gave up. I gave up, and I jumped. I was ready to throw it all away and bet that whatever on the other side was better."

Luna swallowed the lump in her throat as her former guardian poured her heart out.

"But you know the E.U.P., ever the attentive bunch, aren't they? A passing pegasus on patrol saw me, and caught me in time, broke his wing in the process. That's when Celestia came and made me the offer."

"The offer?"

"The offer to keep the one thing I had left; my oath. To continue to protect ponies in the dream realm for far longer than my mortal body would have allowed," Lumi told her.

"Lumi, I... I would never expect that of you," Luna told her.

Luminescence took a breath, then continued.

"I know you didn't. The choice you made threw a lot of expectations out the window for a lot of ponies. Celestia needed to keep the dream realm safe, even in your absence. She made me realize that just because your jealousy blinded you to the promise you made, that I didn't need to break mine. That I could still keep the slumbering side of Equestria safe, and honor the princess I loved, regardless of what she turned into."

Luna couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and she sat down on the carpeted floor of the tower.

"Lumi... You're right. I kept looking at what my sister had, and it blinded me to what you and I had in the darkness together. The punishment for my betrayal was swift and just, but you were the one that was left with nothing, and I am so very sorry."

Lumi took a deep breath, then smiled at her.

"I know. I know you are. But it feels good to hear it from your lips," Lumi told her, offering her a soft smile, before they both came in for a hug, and held each other silently for several moments.

"Is... Is there anything I can do, Lumi?" Luna asked.

"Yes there is. You can love him, like you loved me. Make the low points of his life visible only from the new heights he soars to with you," Lumi said, before breaking away from the embrace. She gave the princess one last smile, then turned back towards the window.

"Will I see you again?" Luna asked, wiping her eyes, and Lumi turned as she stood in front of the endless expanse of the dream realm.

"I'll be around, but it'll mostly be in the shadows, like it has been since you came back. It's time for you two now," her former guardian told her.

Luna gave her a solemn nod, and then Lumi turned, and jumped through the window, vanishing in a flash of light, and dissipating back out into the realm of dreams.

Author's Note

The Celebration

After his ordeal in the dream realm, Sky had a feeling he was going to remember this play session of New Super Alicorn Sisters for some time. To experience something as otherworldly as the dream realm, then to come back to an activity so ordinary... It was really quite surreal.

He paused the game when he heard the door open, and turned to see Princess Luna walk in.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Sky asked.

Saying nothing at first, Luna merely came forward, stood right in front of Sky, and pulled him into a hug, and held him gently.

"You are a good pony, Sky. I just wanted to say that, and erase any doubt you may have of that fact because of whatever Cobalt may have said or done before he left you without a word. Luminescence... That was a conversation I never realized I had to have, and she told me that she never would have done it if you hadn't convinced her to do so."

Sky set the controller down and brought his front hooves up to return the embrace.

"Thank you, Luna. That means a lot, coming from you," he replied.

The Princess of the Night slowly parted from the embrace, and sat down.

"I am very proud of you, Sky. You did well tonight. The citizens of Equestria will sleep more soundly with your help," Luna told him.

"I hope I never fail you, Luna," Sky said.

"Nopony is perfect, Sky, remember that. So... Now with that out of the way, are you in the mood to celebrate at all? After all, I believe I did make you an offer before your trial..." Luna stated. She turned to the closed door, and her horn lit up. The glow intensified for a moment, before a familiar yellow curtain of fog materialized in front of the door, ensuring that they would not have any interruptions. With that, she brought a hoof up to just below her neck, and unfastened her cloak, letting it drop to her right side, leaving her bare, save for the diaper underneath.

"Care to see if your Princess is in need of a change?" Luna asked, a hint of sultriness in her voice.

Sky felt his cheeks grow hot as he set the controller down and was levitated off the beanbag chair as Luna slid over to take his place, laying down on her back, resting her head on the beanbag. The pegasus' eyes fell to Luna's diaper, and saw from the dark yellow tint that it was considerably wet. The princess' horn lit up again, there was a flash of light, and a diaper bag dropped onto the carpet next to her, containing changing supplies, and a pair of disposable diapers, one patterned like the one she was currently wearing, and one slightly smaller one that looked like the one he was wearing.

Taking a deep breath, Sky reached forward with his front hooves, and one by one, tore off the tapes that kept the wet diaper fastened around Luna's waist, before pulling it open, and the pegasus had to focus on his breathing as he took in a sight he never thought he would see in his life.

"I hope you aren't so naive to think that a simple diaper change is all we'd be doing to celebrate your success tonight. So if you'd like to take advantage of the opportunity... Please feel free to do so, my guardian," Luna told him.

The pegasus' submissive side began to peek more and more above the surface as the Princess' words gave him permission to go farther. He barely noticed Luna's horn light up, and magically tug the front of his diaper down just enough to free his erection that had been all too apparent even with his diaper covering it.

Luna noticed how the pegasus was quivering, and barely drawing in steady breaths.

"Sky..." she began, keeping her voice calm to ease her companion along. "Is this your first time with a mare?"

Luna's question finally brought Sky's eyes up from down between her hind legs, and up to meet her gaze for but a moment, before he looked off to the side in embarrassment.

"N... No," Sky admitted, his voice nearly shaking. "Th-there was one other time, but it was hardly memorable. Cobalt wanted... Wanted to try having a threesome, and because I was so desperate to try and make him happy, I agreed. But the mare he brought into our bedroom... I didn't really find her attractive. For all I know she's who he ran away to... B-But it's not like now... Where I am attracted... Very attracted, and I don't want to do anything wrong, or, you know, not meet expectations..."

The pegasus felt Luna's magic run through his mane and down his back, leaving behind a slightly tingling sensation, but it did help calm his nerves somewhat as the Princess magically stroked him.

"I know that words alone aren't going to ease all of your worries, Sky, so I'll just say this; the only expectations I have of you were surpassed in the dream realm tonight. Everything else, will come with experience. So when it comes to worries, don't. Don't worry. Just have fun."

With that, Luna spread her hind legs just a bit farther in invitation, and waited with an encouraging smile for Sky to continue.

Sky stepped forward as much as his partially pulled-down diaper would allow, and looked down, making sure he was lined up properly with Luna's waiting marehood. He reached down to make sure he was pointed at the right angle, then slowly leaned forward, and felt his tip slide in, along with the next two inches.

He had to remind himself to keep breathing as he slowly slid in. It was warm, and snug, and... Perfect. Once he had slid all the way, and was belly-to-belly with Luna, he let himself snuggle into the Princess' barrel, slowly pulling out two thirds of the way before pushing back in, beginning a slow, gentle pace.

Luna brought her front legs up and wrapped them around Sky's nearly prone body, giving off several soft moans of pleasure. It had been quite some time since she had had anything down there other than a toy... Or a fantasy dream.

Sky made sure to keep his thrusts slow and methodical, because it had just occurred to him that he had last achieved release days ago, before coming to Canterlot, and since that time, he had spent much of the last several days padded and pouring his feelings out. So he was undoubtedly and understandably pent up, and wasn't going to last long as it was. The crinkling of his own diaper, and the slight odor of urine coming from Luna's wasn't exactly slowing his pace towards the inevitable, either, as he felt himself flaring already.

"P-Princess... I'm close..." He warned Luna, trying to slow his pace just a bit to hold off just a few more moments.

"It's alright, Sky. Be a good colt and show me how big you are," Luna told him.

Those words certainly did the trick, and Sky immediately lost his pace as his thrusts became erratic for just a moment, before he hilted in Luna, and held himself there, as he felt himself erupt inside her.

"I love you, Luna!" He gasped barely above a whisper, feeling himself tense up. Luna held him tight, squirming ever so slightly as she felt the pegasus empty himself up into her. Fertilization wasn't exactly a concern, so she merely focused on how good it felt to bring him to release so quickly, knowing that his overwhelming stress over the last several days had likely drained out along with his seed. When he was done, his body became little more than pudding as she continued holding him against her as he went almost completely limp, as the exhaustion set in.

"Well, there might need to be just a slight change of plans, because I doubt you're going to be able to finish with this diaper change. Not that it matters, I should probably go without for the last bit of my morning. I can't say the same for you though, little Sky," Luna said gently.

She relaxed her embrace just slightly, letting him slowly pull out with what little lower body strength he had remaining, just before feeling himself become weightless as he was picked up in her magic. There was a flash of light, and when he opened his heavy eyelids again, he found himself floating in the top room of the Guardian's Tower again. He was laid down on the changing table, and Luna went about getting him out of his moderately wet diaper and into a fresh one, before buttoning up his onesie again and gently depositing him in the crib.

"Sweet dreams, Sky. Sleep well, because your official induction ceremony is next," Luna told him, before kissing him on the forehead and raising the bars.

The pegasus barely kept his eyes open long enough to see her leave through the fog-covered door.

Author's Note

The Next Evening

Princess Celestia sat in the silent dining room, enjoying her morning pancakes while going over her itinerary for the day. There were times she wondered if she should get a record player in here; when the noise of bustling in the kitchen ended and she actually sat down with her breakfast, it could frequently get too quiet in here, save for the muffled hoofsteps outside.

The silence was broken by the far door to the hall opening, and Luna stepped in. Celestia glanced up from her itinerary, and gave her tired sister a welcoming smile.

"Well, sister, isn't this a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you this morning?" Celestia asked.

Luna didn't say a word, and merely trotted over to the head of the table where her older sister sat. Celestia could tell how tired she was.

Smiling gently at her, Luna leaned in, and wrapped her front legs around her sister in a hug, and Celestia immediately returned it.

"Luna?" She asked softly, curious as to what was going on.

"I know about Luminescence," Luna answered as she squeezed her sister lovingly, taking a deep breath.

"Oh..." Was the only reply Celestia could come up with.

"Thank you. Thank you for being there for her after such heartbreak... For reminding her of the oath she had made to Equestria, and for giving her the ability to keep it for as long as she has."

Celestia squeezed back.

"It was the right thing to do. We were both hurting, but in different ways. So, does that mean it's good news for Mr. Sky Scribbles?"

Luna parted from the hug, and nodded.

"I believe so. He proved last night that he is ready. I'm planning a little formal celebration tonight for him and most other members of my court," Luna told her.

"I'm glad. You deserve someone that close in your life again, Luna. Not to mention I've been enjoying having somepony to cook with in here," Celestia replied.

"I'll be sure to keep his schedule clear for that," Luna told her with a smile. "But for now, we both need some rest, especially since I need to be up a little earlier to make sure things for the dinner are coming along."

Celestia nodded understandingly.

"Sweet dreams, dear sister."

Sky slowly came to in the Guardian Tower, unsure of what he had been dreaming of. With a yawn, he sat up and stretched, feeling quite well-rested. In fact, it had been one of the most restful sleeps that he could recall having in recent memory.

For the first time since he had come to Canterlot, he felt at home here at the top of the tower.

He heard the door open, and a moment later, Princess Luna stepped through the fog.

"Good evening, Sky. Did you sleep well?" Luna asked.

"Yes, very well, Luna. What on the schedule for this evening?" Sky asked.

"We'll be quite busy, it's been a bit since we've had to formally induct a new member into my court," Luna answered as she magically lifted him out of the crib and levitated him over to the changing table. "My, what a full one you have today."

Sky felt his cheeks warm at the comment, but he had undoubtedly gotten used to having others change him over the last few days.

"What do you need me to do?" Sky asked, wanting to get right to work, now that he had passed his test the night before.

"I need you to report back to the tailor's office. Miss Trim Lace has informed me that she has completed the more formal part of your uniform, that you'll use for any official events you attend, the first one of course will be tonight; your induction dinner," the princess told him.

Sky felt his mouth beginning to water at the thought of attending a formal dinner at the castle. What was more, he likely wasn't going to have to wait very long to do it; he was on the night shift now. Luna finished cleaning him up, getting him taped up in a fresh diaper and got his onesie buttoned up just under his tail, setting him down on the floor afterward.

"Luna, if I may... What is navigating the dream realm like when it's, you know, not a test? How do I find ponies in need?" Sky asked.

"Jitters all over again now that it's your first official night on the job?" Luna replied with a teasing smirk. "It will take getting used to, certainly, but you proved last night that you can handle the minor disturbances of the realm. Anything considerably more troublesome than what you faced last night would require my attention, not yours."

Sky nodded. He had to remember, he was there to 'cover more ground', so to speak, so Luna had time to handle the more serious nightmares.

"Now, off you go. We're not on an absolutely tight schedule, but we don't want it to become one," the princess said, before her horn lit up and she vanished in a flash of light. Sky passed through the fog barrier, closed the door behind him, and descended the stairs down to the castle battlements. He took in the view for a moment, as Celestia hadn't quite lowered the sun below the horizon entirely just yet, coating the sky in brilliant shades of pinks, reds, and oranges.

The pegasus realized more and more that the previous night had begun to cleanse his soul of the troubles of the past two years, and that for the first time, he was truly happy to be here.

Not wanting to be distracted by the beauty for too long, and thus make himself race against the clock, he continued over the battlement and into the castle proper, heading down to the north wing on the first floor, and knocked on the door of the tailor's office.

"Enter," came the mare's reply.

He opened the door, and once again saw Trim Lace at her desk, surrounded by sewing machines and equine mannequins.

"Ah, good evening, Mr. Scribbles. Or should I say, Guardian Scribbles. Congratulations on joining Her Majesty's Night Court," the mare greeted.

Sky gave her a polite half-bow.

"Thank you, Miss Lace. Princess Luna told me you have another uniform for me," the pegasus replied.

"Indeed I do," the unicorn answered, turning her attention to the mannequin to her immediate right, and removed the articles of clothing from it. She got up from her seat, levitating the clothes over to the pegasus as she walked around him once.

"Ah, so that's what Her Majesty provided the extra inches in the measurements for," Trim Lace replied from behind him, and she must have noticed the pegasus go rigid.

'I thought this thing was enchanted!' Sky internally screamed.

"Think nothing of it, Mr Scribbles. It is never my intention to embarrass, and I certainly will not question what protections one needs to navigate the mysteries of the dream realm," the tailor replied.

Lace's words helped less than Sky would have liked as she asked him to lift his legs one at a time as she helped him put on a dark blue satin vest, and a black dress overcoat.

"Well, you certainly look ready for a Canterlot dinner now, if I do say so myself. It compliments your mane and coat exquisitely," Lace commented.

Sky looked at himself in the triple full-length mirror, and smiled before he turned to the unicorn.

"Thank you very much, Miss Lace. It's perfect," Sky told her.

"My pleasure, Mister Scribbles. I hope you enjoy the dinner, and again, congratulations."

Author's Note

Induction

Sky stood just outside of the throne room doors in Canterlot Castle. He was quite ready for dinner, but according to Luna's schedule, the induction was first, then the guests and gathered members of Luna's court would proceed to the main dining hall for what was sure to be an amazing meal.

As he hadn't had anything to eat since getting up, his stomach was positively rumbling, and he was hoping whatever was about to happen in the throne room was quick. Not only because of his hunger, but now he wasn't entirely positive if his onesie's enchantment was working, and if not, how conspicuous was his diaper underneath the black cloak and formal satin vest he now wore.

The pegasus heard Luna's muffled words on the other side of the door as she continued to give what was now beyond a five minute speech, something about the welcoming the newest member of her night court. As he took another deep breath, he convinced himself to pay attention to just Luna on his walk up the carpet. He also began to wonder if those in attendance would be applauding on his walk up to the throne. If not, would they hear the crinkle of the diaper underneath his clothes?

"And now, mares and gentlecolts of the Night Court, I proudly present to you, our newest member, Mister Sky Scribbles," he heard Luna say through the doors, moments before the edges glowed blue with her magic, and they opened.

This was it.

Keeping his eyes glued to the throne, he stepped through the doorway and began to walk down the center of the expansive room towards the throne at a steady gait, doing his best to not look like he was trying to ignore the three dozen or so ponies who had gathered for his official induction.

The walk was over before he knew it, and he came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, with Luna looking down at him with a warm smile.

"Sky Scribbles, while this short ceremony would conclude with you taking an oath of office, as you know, your station is rather extraordinary, and thus your oath should be as well. Sky Scribbles, do you solemnly swear to stand vigilant where few have tread, against threats few can comprehend, and render aid to those who have lost their peace in the realm of dreams?" Luna asked.

"I do, Princess," Sky replied, the softest of smiles on his face, before giving a formal bow. Luna descended the steps, lit up her horn, and lowered her head, the side of her glowing horn softly coming into contact with the sides of his barrel, before standing up right again.

"Rise, Sir Sky Scribbles, Guardian of the Night," Luna said, now returning the smile.

"Mares and gentlecolts of the Night Court, invited guests, may I present Sky Scribbles, the first Night Guardian of this era."

Sky turned to face the crowd as the applause finally started. He saw uniformed guards, Princess Celestia, who had evidently cleared her evening to be here, and even caught a glimpse of Lyra and Bon Bon, whom Luna had told him she had taken the liberty of inviting.

"Now let's not let the inviting aromas of the dinner that awaits us tempt us any longer. Please make your way to the dining hall," Luna instructed the crowd.

As the ponies in attendance turned to exit the dining room, Sky turned to Luna, knowing he wasn't on ceremony at the moment.

"Luna, are you certain the enchantment on my onesie is working? When I went to see Trim Lace to get the rest of my outfit for tonight, she most certainly noticed what was under all this," Sky asked her in a whisper, not wanting to say so much when half the room's occupants were still slowly filing out into the corridor towards the dining hall.

"Ah, Luminescence must have informed you about the incognitus enchantment. Fear not, Sky, it is still working, but perhaps not in the way that you thought it did," Luna explained, leaning in closer to whisper in his ear. "It doesn't hide your diaper. To everypony else, it makes it as normal to their eyes and ears as the rest of the uniform. That side of yourself is a considerable source of your strength in the dream realm, so it is, in essence, a completely normal part of your attire now."

Sky gulped nervously as his days at the castle now replayed in his mind. Every walk he took down the corridors, every time he had cooked with Celestia in the kitchen... Each and every pony he had interacted with here now knew he was diapered. He was having trouble wrapping his mind around the possibility that all of them thought of it as completely normal.

"So, are you ready for dinner? Lyra and Bon Bon are quite anxious to catch up with you," Luna told him.

Sky smiled at his princess, and nodded.

"Quite ready, princess," he replied, his stomach grumbling again.

The two of them waited for the last of the crowd to file out of the throne room, then made their way to the dining hall as well, staying behind the crowds, hoping everypony would be seated by the time they arrived.

Towards the center of the room, there was a table for four with three ponies at it, and Sky immediately recognized the three sitting there; Bon Bon, Lyra, and his younger sister, Windy, a light purple pegasus with a flowing blonde mane and tail.

"Nopony told me you guys were coming," Sky said with a smile.

"Well, I'm sure the princesses can't keep too many surprises, so they take advantage when they can," Windy replied with a smirk.

"Are you joining us, Princess?" Sky asked, turning to Luna as the chair was pulled out for him.

"Nonsense, Sky. My sister and I are hardly going to allow any hobnobbing at your table. This is your evening, after all. I'll see you later tonight for your first official night on duty. Enjoy your meal and company," Luna told him, before heading off to a table farther away.

Just as he sat down, Princess Celestia came up to his place at the table.

"Congratulations, Sky. I'm quite happy that you'll be staying here with us. I'm very much looking forward to having you as a cooking partner," Celestia told him, coming in for a hug, before going farther down the dining room to join her sister at one of the other tables.

"Well, looks like you've come a long way, bro," Windy said, picking up her glass of wine. "I know these last couple years haven't been the easiest to deal with, and it seems you're finally landing on your feet. To Sky!"

Lyra and Bon Bon immediately raised their glasses, before Sky hesitantly raised his as well.

"To all of you," he said. "You were all there for me these last couple years. This will likely be my only glass of wine this evening; I do have work tonight as Princess Luna said, so I'll use it as a toast to all of you. Any time you want to come visit me here, I would be honored to have you. It's the least I can do for everything you've done for me."

Sky raised up his glass and looked at his three dining companions.

"To family and friends."

Author's Note

I'm not 100% sure where I want to end this story. I've received a couple of requests in the past to perhaps show the kinky hi jinks Luna and Sky get up to in their spare time.

I'll give it some thought. In the meantime, thanks for reading!

Work and Play

Sky walked alongside Luna as she walked across the exterior battlement back to the Guardian's Tower. The dinner had been absolutely delicious, and having been true to his word, Sky had limited himself to just the one glass of wine that he had used to toast the family and friends who had attended his induction.

Now, he was ready to get to work, and he was currently wondering how routine his duty would be. Part of him wanted to assume that facing down the minor nightmares of Equestria would get easier overtime, but on the other hoof, getting used to it was probably a foolish mindset. After all, time and space were bent in unexpected ways in the dream realm, and the last thing his duty would probably ever be is predictable.

"Was dinner enjoyable, Sky?" Luna asked as they entered the tower and began to ascend the steps.

"Very much, yes. I'm looking forward to maintaining my culinary relationship with Princess Celestia, as well," Sky answered.

"Just as I look forward to your skills developing in the dream realm, I am also eager to see how far you go in your culinary hobby. I will have to make it a habit of joining you two for dinner and breakfast more often," Luna told him as they passed through the curtain of fog once more, and stepped into the top room in the tower, back into the nursery.

Sky wasn't even halfway across the room before he felt himself go weightless as he was taken over to the changing table. His more formal articles of clothing were quickly and magically removed, leaving him in just his black onesie, which Luna promptly unsnapped at the crotch as soon as he was laying on his back.

"But now to get you ready for tonight," Luna said, untaping his wet diaper once the unsnapped ends of the onesie were folded up and out of the way.

Sky was content to lay back on the changing table as Luna went about getting him changed in a very efficient and professional manner. After pulling the wet diaper away, unfolding a clean one and getting it slid underneath him, rather than grabbing the bottle of foal powder, she focused her magic down near his loins for just a moment, before a faintly glowing orb floated down from the tip of her horn to his stallionhood, before dissolving into a mist that enveloped his nether regions for just a moment, before fading entirely.

"Luna?" Sky asked, his curiosity undoubtedly piqued.

"Your fetish fuels your imagination, which in turn is your strength in the dream realm. It would be best if that strength is maintained throughout the night, so that spell will prevent you from accidentally... Or purposefully... Achieving release, as that would no doubt cause your strength to wane for a time, and possibly place you in danger," Luna explained.

Sky quickly processed the Princess' words, and came to the only logical conclusion.

"So... You just cast a magical chastity spell on me?" The pegasus asked.

Luna smiled.

"Very astute. Besides, wouldn't you rather save yourself for the end of your shift, and thus get a good day's sleep?" She asked with a wink.

Sky blushed lightly, but ultimately knew that Luna had a very good point; he wouldn't want his mind to wander down to his loins and get distracted from his nightly responsibilities.

With the spell cast, she took the bottle of foal powder, twisted the cap open, and gave his nether region a quick dusting, before bringing the front of the diaper up between his hind legs and taping it securely, before refastening the buttons on his black onesie.

"Alright, you're all set for tonight, Sky. Just to be clear, these next several nights are mainly to get you more acquainted with the dream realm. There will be some nights that are collectively more restful than others, and on those nights, your aid won't be needed, and on those nights, your, shall we say, 'playtime', will be much more abundant. But for now, the dreams await, my Guardian," Luna told him.

Intrigued by what he could possibly get up to on the nights he wasn't needed, his first official day on the job was about to begin. Giving the Princess of the Night a determined nod, he trotted towards the tower window that showed the endless starry expanse of the dream realm, put his front hooves up on the windowsill, then leapt out into the sea of stars.

Job Extension

Three years later...

Sky walked alongside Princess Luna as she made her way through the courtyard.

Twilight had just had something of a 'second' coronation, as she would be now officially be taking the place of Princesses Celestia and Luna in Canterlot, while the two royal sisters finally moved into retirement in Silver Shoals.

At least, that's what Princess Twilight thought was happening.

"Are you actually nervous, Sky?" Luna asked as they slowly approached where Twilight Sparkle was saying goodnight to her friends. "Even after spending all this time with royalty?"

"Even after living in Ponyville, it might surprise you to know that I have never actually met Princess Twilight. So while I've certainly gotten accustomed to you and your sister, Princess, perhaps I am wanting to make a good first impression now that I'm finally meeting her in-person," the pegasus answered.

"No worries, Sky. This will be short and sweet, then it's another night in the dream realm. Good news is, by morning, all of our things will be set up in Silver Shoals," Luna told him.

Sky took another deep breath as the last of Twilight's friends walked off, and she turned to face them just as they were coming to a halt.

"Ah, good evening, Princess Luna. I hope you've enjoyed yourself tonight," Twilight greeted, looking somewhat tired after all of the day's events.

"The festivities were exquisite, Princess Twilight. I don't believe you have had the pleasure, this is Sky Scribbles, a Ponyville native, and my Guardian, an assistant of sorts in the dream realm."

Sky gave Twilight a bow.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Your Highness," the pegasus told her as he came back up into a standing position.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Scribbles. So would I be correct in assuming that you'll now be assisting me in the dream realm?" Twilight asked.

"On the contrary, Princess, I just thought I would take the opportunity to inform you that I will not be retiring from my duties quite as promptly as my sister is. I know these last few weeks have been rather hectic for you, and if you have had the time to prepare a team of dreamwalkers, you can tell them to rest easy. You see, it has occurred to me that my sister performed her duties for quite considerably longer than I did, so both Sky and I would like to continue those duties from Silver Shoals for the time being."

Twilight nodded slowly as she processed this unexpected information.

"Well, I did have a team of dreamwalkers selected and ready, but I certainly won't turn away experience such as yours, Princess. Just let me know when you will eventually relinquish those duties, so I have time to prepare dreamwalkers when they are needed," Twilight replied.

"I certainly will, Princess, and we look forward to returning to visit," Luna said.

With that, Twilight departed with a bow, and Luna and Sky kept walking towards the castle.

"Now, let's get back up to your tower one last time, my Guardian. It will be a long train ride to Silver Shoals in the morning," Luna told him.

Sky nodded with a smile.

"Then let's have good reason to get some sleep on the train."

Author's Note

I know this chapter didn't add much, but it never made much sense to me in canon that Luna only resumed her duties after redemption for only a few years until Twilight's coronation; so my headcanon was that she continued her service in Silver Shoals, and when it did come time for her to retire, Twilight had a team of specially-trained unicorns ready to take her place, as she wouldn't be able to go for 24 hours a day.

Still not sure where else to take this story. If I have a serious bout of inspiration, I suppose I'll do some oneshot scenes of what Luna and Sky do in their spare time, but for now, I think this is a good spot to leave this story for now.

Thanks for reading!

Matters of the Heart

After a quick banana and a cup of the castle's strongest coffee, Luna left Canterlot Castle and glided down away from the mountain in the brisk morning breeze, down towards Ponyville.

While she knew Sky wasn't going to give up, she also didn't want to be left in the dark when it came to the details of what had gone so wrong in his life that he had taken it upon himself to create a tantabus for his dreams, so that she could be better prepared to help him when he decided to return to the castle to resume his trials.

A pair of E.U.P. pegasi escorts on the first shift flew on both her sides as she slowly descended towards Ponyville. She didn't want to cause too much of a scene, so she had double checked the address where the castle staff had sent Sky's invitation. If she could land and get to the residence quickly enough, her escort would be able to stop any interruptions. She turned towards the eastern neighborhoods, and set down on one of the streets that currently had no ponies on it. The princess checked the closest street sign, checked her map, and took a right at the next corner, to the fourth house on the right. She came up the front walk, and knocked on the front door, hoping that the occupants were home on a Saturday.

Sure enough, the door opened, and there stood an aquamarine unicorn, whose expression immediately was one of complete and utter surprise.

"P-Princess Luna!" The unicorn greeted in shock, immediately composing herself and offering a bow. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Is this the residence of Sky Scribbles?" Luna asked.

"Yes, it is, he's our roommate, but he's out of town on business... Royal business... We thought with you," the unicorn replied.

"That's alright. I'm actually here to speak with you, and anyone else here, Miss...?"

"Oh, Heartstrings, Lyra Heartstrings, Your Highness. Please, come in," the unicorn offered, stepping out of the doorway.

Luna turned to her escort.

"Thank you, gentlecolts, please wait out here," she told them, before stepping inside.

By this time, Lyra's other roommate had come to investigate the commotion, and had a very similar reaction to the royal presence in their home.

"Princess! What an unexpected pleasure! My name is Bon Bon, may I get you anything?" The cream-colored earth mare asked.

"I would very much like to see Sky's bedchambers, if you'd be so kind," Luna requested.

The expression of the two mares betrayed how odd they found the request, but immediately nodded.

"Just down the hall, Your Highness, last door on the right," Lyra told her, pointing her down the hallway. She went down the hall at a slow trot, with her bewildered hosts behind her as she went down to the last door on the right side, and entered her hopeful's bedroom.

Luna took a cursory glance around, finding nothing out of the ordinary; a bed, nightstand, desk, and closet. Going over to the closet, she slid open the door, and saw the small chest in the back corner. She unlatched it, opened the top halfway, and gave a slight smirk as she saw the diapers and changing supplies.

"Um, Your Highness? Is Sky okay?" Lyra asked.

Luna softly closed the chest and slid the closet door back to its original position.

"To my knowledge, yes, as of very early this morning, when I last saw him. I've invited him to become a member of my court, but in order to do so, he has to confront a piece of his past that he's not keen on revisiting. That's why I wanted to come here and see what his friends and acquaintances could tell me, so I can figure out how to best help him do that."

Lyra and Bon Bon exchanged glances.

"You must be referring to his breakup. That's how he came to live with us. What would you like to know?" Bon Bon asked.

"As much as I can," the princess answered.

Bon Bon nodded.

"Well, I'll put on a pot for tea, Your Highness. I'm assuming you've been up all night," the earth mare told her before turning to head back down the hall towards the kitchen, with Lyra and Luna following, and sitting themselves down at the dining table.

"Sky and Cobalt met here, in Ponyville, at the Summer Sun Celebration a few years ago. They were one of those 'two peas in a pod' couples. They were perfect for each other, at first," Lyra said. A few moments later, Bon Bon brought teacups and teabags to the table. "But, as time passed, things changed. More specifically, Cobalt changed. He started getting himself involved in more extremist political groups, and eventually came out as an anti-royalist and anarchist."

The conversation took a pause as Bon Bon poured tea for the three of them.

"How did Sky take that?" Luna asked.

"We weren't super close with either of them back then, but I think he tried his best to ignore it, how Cobalt would go hundreds of miles to protests or conventions to meet with other anti-royalists, just hoping that he would come to his senses. But Cobalt just got worse," Lyra continued as Luna poured a cup of steaming water before dipping a teabag into it.

"I wonder if Sky would comforted by the fact that there were anarchists even back in ancient times, in just as insignificant numbers," Luna commented as she dropped a sugar cube into her cup of tea.

"Well, I'd say it's good to know that their numbers haven't increased over the generations, that means that most of us are clearly aware of what you and Princess Celestia do for all of us on a daily basis," Bon Bon said as she sat down with her cup of tea. "Sky was at work when Cobalt just... Packed up and left. I was passing by as he was headed to the train station. Asked where he was headed, but he just told me 'hooflickers and royalists deserve to come home to empty beds'. Lyra and I were never proclaimed 'royalists', but it showed me that he had absolutely zero respect for anypony who didn't share his fringe beliefs."

"Does Sky know what he told you?" Luna asked.

"No, and he never will, not from my lips. What possible good could come from hearing words that cold and vile, Your Highness?" Bon Bon asked.

Luna merely nodded in understanding.

"We went to go check on Sky that evening, and knew he shouldn't be alone. We didn't want to see him spiral down an emotional pitfall. We took him for a couple drinks downtown. He knew he wouldn't be able to afford the house they rented together by himself. We had a spare bedroom, so we offered it to him. He immediately accepted."

"Thank you for being there for him so quickly, both of you," Luna told them.

"It was the right thing to do. Just up and leaving without a word... You don't do that to somepony you love, I don't care what your politics are," Lyra said.

"To his credit, you couldn't ask for a better roommate," Lyra added. "Keeps his areas clean, does his share of the chores. In the beginning, he was doing almost everything... I think that he was really trying to stay busy and keep his mind off of what had happened. I know he was taken off weather duty for a few months, and he told me it was for the best. I don't know how pegasus emotions affect weather-related tasks, but he said he couldn't safely handle clouds."

"Sky is lucky to have ponies like you two in his life, but when it comes to that 'emotional pitfall', I'm afraid he merely internalized it. I'm trying to figure out how to help him, but I know there's only so much I can do; he has to help himself. He has to want to move on."

"How is all of this factor in to what position you're offering him in your Night Court, Princess?" Bon Bon asked.

"The position has to do with the dream realm, navigating it safely, and keeping lesser nightmarish forces at bay. He won't be able to do that if he doesn't rediscover his sense of self-worth."

Luna finished her cup of tea, and set it gently down on the saucer plate.

"Thank you for the explanation, ladies, and for the tea. It will help me make the flight back to Canterlot. And thank you again for being there for Sky to the best of your abilities."

"Our pleasure, Princess, and again, it was the right thing to do."