Anything for My Princess

Warning her guards not to say anything to Celestia, Luna had them land in front of Pipsqeak's house in Ponyville. Most ponies were at work right now, but in all likelihood, his mother would be home, tidying up.

She knocked on the door, and to her surprise, a short stallion opened the door. "Princess Luna! To what do I owe the honour of your visit?"

Luna turned her head to the side. "Are you, by chance, the parent or guardian of young Pipsqueak?"

"I'm his dad. Why, is he in danger?"

Luna shook her head. "Not as of this moment, but he may be in the future. I'd very much like to prevent that. May I speak with you privately?"

He opened the door all the way and stood aside. "Of course, of course, come in, come in."

Luna stepped inside and looked around. It seemed to be a perfectly reasonable place. There were display cases with baubles and trinkets, photographs and paintings on the wall, mostly family members and general landscapes. A large, overstuffed sofa sat in the center of the room perpendicular to a large armchair, in front of both of which was a glass coffee table. In the middle of the table was a lit candle, filling the room with the aroma of apples and cinnamon, and at one end of the table was a pile of half-opened envelopes.

"Sorry for the mess," blushed Pipsqueak's dad, rushing to put away the envelopes. "I was just corresponding to some... ahem, correspondence... when you called. I haven't quite finished cleaning up. I thought I had more time, you see. I wasn't expecting company. Oh, where are my manners? Tea? Biscuits?"

Luna held up her hoof. "Just tea, if you don't mind."

As he rushed into the kitchen, Luna looked at the "mess" that he had spoken about. Through the kitchen door, she could see a sink full of dirty dishes, and the coat rack by the front door was a little too crowded, but other than that and a half-sorted pile of mail, there was nothing particularly messy about it. It looked almost pleasant, actually.

Her host returned from the kitchen. "It'll be a few minutes before the water's ready for the tea. I hope the wait isn't too troublesome, Princess."

Luna waved her hoof. "No trouble at all. This is an unscheduled visit, after all."

"Thank you, your highness. Please, have a seat."

Luna lowered herself onto the couch. It was clean, and mostly in good condition, though it was worn in the seat cushion and there was a very obvious repair done to one of the arms.

"Now, what's my little bloke done that's warranted your worry?" asked Pipsqueak's dad. "What's going on with my little Pip?"

Luna took a deep breath. "He's been having troubling dreams this last month or so. I'll not go into details at this time, as the exact events are between he and I, but in order to find out if there's something beyond my normal reach, I have to ask; Is there something that happened in the last two months that would mark a significant change in his life?"

Pipsqueak's dad rubbed his hoof against his chin. "Not that I know of. His mother may know a little bit better. I was at my job during the parent-teacher conferences, so if something happened at school, she could say more."

"Where is she now?"

He waved his hoof. "Probably somewhere between here and Whinnyapolis. Wherever along that path the train is."

"She works there?"

"Well, we were going to buy a house there when she was promoted, but when we found out that the branch I would be transferred to was not the one we wanted, we split the difference and ended up here. Eight miles to where she works, twelve for me, and there's a nearby school for Pip. We thought it a decent balance, and I don't mind the extra couple of miles when it's time for me to do my work."

The kettle in the kitchen began to whistle, and he excused himself to prepare the tea. Luna waited patiently, looking at the photographs. Pip was in a few of them, and she was even in one. Apparently, he had been present at the summer sun celebration last year, and was pointing excitedly at her as she lowered the moon.

He came back with a small wooden tray that still had a Barnyard Bargains sticker on it, marked 40% off. There was also a pair of teacups that, while clean, looked more decorative than well-used. It wasn't a bad set, just one that was trying to be something bigger than it was.

Pipsqueak's dad poured a cup for her. It was a brownish-yellow colour. "It's a lemon and ginger tea. My wife bought it when I had a cold, and the other box was empty. Cream and sugar?"

Luna shook her head. "Just tea, thank you." She took a small sip. It was actually pretty strong, something she enjoyed. While she did prefer it to be a little sweeter, it would be best sweetened with honey, something that would also soothe a cold.

"So, what is it you do for a living, Mr...?"

He very nearly dropped his teapot as he gasped. I'm so sorry, princess! Where have my manners gone? I am called Wee Shrimp."

"Mr. Shrimp," nodded Luna. "What do you do for a living?"

"Oh, I'm an accountant for Fair Tradewinds."

"That's up in Canterlot," noted Luna. "That's quite the commute."

"Well, not today, anyway. I have Sundays and Wednesdays off, so that's why I'm available today."

Luna nodded. "How is your relationship with your son?"

He shuffled his hooves as he sat down. "Well, an hour ago, I thought it was okay. He seems to be happy and safe and growing up fine. The thought that there might be something wrong with the way I'm raising him, however, has made me question whether or not I'm doing the right thing for him. If he's in danger, or endangering others, I want to know. I thought I raised him better than that."

Luna raised her hoof to calm him. "I'm sure you did. Take a sip of tea and relax."

He did as he was told. "I'm just on edge, you know? He's my little boy, and I'm worried about him."

"I understand. And that's a good thing. I just want to gather some information. Now, is there anything at all that changed within the last month or so?"

He took a deep breath. "He did have an older colt over here a little over a month ago. Said he was a school friend. They spent a few hours in his room behind a closed door. He never closed the door before that, even sleeping with it open, but he's been sleeping with the door closed since. I don't know if that helps, but it's all I have."

Luna nodded. "It's plenty. May I see his room?"