Anything for My Princess

Luna spent half the morning setting up. Tonight would be one of the most difficult nights of her entire life. No matter how it played out, things would never be the same. Something was going to change tonight, and she was hoping it would be for the better.

However, she did not have high hopes for this. Pip seemed a good kid, but every deterrent she'd given him seemed to only make him more zealous. If this didn't scare him away, nothing would, and he'd grow into an abusive, sadistic villain. If this didn't work, she'd have to neutralise his imagination.

That was assuming she didn't break in the process. She was hanging on by a thread already, dreading what would happen to her if she went through with this plan. Granted, she had to, but would this be her end? Would she be able to keep her strength? Would Celestia send her back to the moon? Would she go of her own volition?

She shook her head. She had to do this. She was almost out of options, and what remained after this were nothing but poor choices that would only cause excessive harm. Even this would not be pleasant.

She just kept going over the events in her head, playing them out as they'd happened as she organized her bedroom. The windows were sealed and blocked off, the lock on the main door was ready to move, and four guards were selected for the task. They were, of course, sworn to secrecy, and ready to follow her orders, no matter how odd and cruel they may sound. After all, there was no guarantee that a small pony could not be dangerous.

Once the guards had been informed of what they needed to do, Luna let them go about their day. Only one of them, the one with a brown coat, stayed behind. "Are you sure about this, Princess?" he asked. "This is quite a stretch."

"I am well-aware of that," nodded Luna, taking a deep breath. "If I wasn't sure, I would try to find another way. And I have, but nothing so far was worked. If this does not, then I will have to do something even worse."

"Worse than what you're asking us to do?"

"I'm not asking. This is an order."

The guard sighed. "I hope you're right, Princess. If this doesn't work out, I can't imagine what I'd do with myself."

As he walked out, Luna nodded. "I'm right there with you..."

As midday rolled around, Luna made her way to Pip's house. To her surprise, his father was home.

"How do you do, Princess?" smiled Wee Shrimp. "Won't you come in?"

Luna nodded and entered the house. "I need a quick word with you before Pip comes home."

"Oh, certainly," he nodded. "Let me just put the kettle on; we have some lovely bergamot tea for you this time."

Luna put forth her best fake smile. She wasn't being genuine, as she was about to do something terrible to his son, but she still had to act like she was here for his best interests.

Wee Shrimp came back and sat down in his chair, inviting Luna to the couch. A small cloth cover had been placed over the damaged spot. Clearly, they were expecting her to come back. "So, how are things with my little Pip? Everything okay with him?"

Luna shook her head. "Unfortunately, something's been going wrong with his dreams of late."

Wee Shrimp nodded. "Yes, I saw that he's been waking up recently in pretty poor moods. The last two days, he's seemed to be better, but before that, he was waking up in tears. I was going to write you a letter, but then he seemed to improve." He reached down into the basket under the coffee table and pulled out a sealed envelope with her name on it. "You can look it over, if you like, but essentially, I'm just asking you to help my son."

Luna nodded and took the letter. "Well, the contents of his dreams of late have been very troubling. He has asked me multiple times not to tell you what happens in his dreams, as he doesn't want you to stop loving him, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Well, that's just silly," he chuckled. "He's my boy! I love him with all of my heart."

"And I don't want to mess that up," nodded Luna. Her smile faded as she thought of what she had to do, but it came back, flickering on and off as she tried to be a comfort while roiling inside. "Pip needs help; there's no sidestepping that. What is happening in his dreams needs to be brought to a close. To that end, I have a request that I must make of you."

"Of course. Request away."

Luna took a deep breath. "Pip needs to come back to the castle with me tonight."

Wee Shrimp glanced around. "You're serious? That's it?"

Luna shook her head. "Mechanically, yes, but there's more to it than that. I need him to be under close watch by myself and some of my guards. While his safety is one of my main concerns; I don't want him to come to harm, it may be unavoidable. When he returns to you, he will be changed from his current state. Hopefully, it will be for the better, but there's always a chance that he could be worse."

Wee Shrimp swallowed hard. "How bad?"

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "If everything works out right, he'll be a bit moody for a few days, but then go right back to being a normal foal; the one you know and love. If everything goes wrong, he may lose the part of himself that makes him adventurous and curious."

Wee Shrimp was obviously worried, and rightfully so. "I don't know about this..."

Luna looked him right in the eye. "If we don't act now, that worst case will inevitably happen, and I would guess very soon. This is going to be our only chance at correcting what's going wrong in his mind before it grows out of hoof and the ponies he loves are harmed by his own hoof."

Inhaling through his teeth, he paused for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay."

Luna reached forward and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "This is for the best. I will do everything I can to make sure that Pip becomes a healthy, productive member of Equestrian society. You have my word on that."

"How long? When are you bringing him back?"

Luna found her smile again. "Just a few days. It'll be over before you know it."

Wee Shrimp took a few deep breaths. "I'm going to go pack him a bag. Everything he'll need. You will take good care of him, yes? He's my only son."

"I swear, he will be under the protection of the same guards that keep me safe. We will do everything in our power to help his condition improve."