“Ignis what was that attack just now?!” I pull away from the nasty and sticky embrace with Force to look at Luna as she asks about my latest spell.

Casting prestidigitation several times several times to clean off myself and the pegasus, I respond. “Steel Wind Strike. I leveled up when the false hydra died and learned that spell. It’s a 5th level spell that lets me disappear into the wind and cut up to 5 different enemies within 30ft of me, after I finish all the slashes I can choose to teleport 5ft away from any of the targets I attacked. Even if I miss. So how many did we lose?”

Celestia steps up, “None. Not a single pony lost their life here. The efforts you and Miss Force provided combined with the shields from Shining Armor minimized our losses to just mere injuries. I’m proud of all of you.” She gives us all a motherly smile.

I reply, “Perfect. Then we should get started on putting everything back together?”

This time Luna responds, “I admire your spirit, but no Ignis. We will not be assisting with the reconstruction. I have no knowledge of modern architecture and you lack the proper telekinesis. No, I’ll be going to dinner with Cadence like we originally planned and you’ll be RESTING like you’re supposed to be. You’ll have breakfast with us in the dining hall and from there we’ll be going to Ponyville. Generosity has offered to create a dress for me for the upcoming Gala. After that we’ll be going to gather up my thestrals.”

“Like, we’re going straight from Ponyville? With my sword barely functioning and my mana channels handicapped?”

“Aye. It should be a safe trip, I’m not expecting us to even need your sword. Now go rest up and grab some food. I’d invite you for dinner with us, but Cadence seems to want some private time. I believe the words she used was “mare talk.””

“Welp, that’s all I needed to hear. If it’s anything like girl talk back on Earth then I am A-Okay missing out on that dinner.” I look over to Cadence and Force. “Hey former LT, you joining these two for their mare talk or are you free to grab something with me? I haven’t eaten outside of the castle…. Ever? I can’t remember eating anything that wasn’t served at the castle.”

She gives a brief shake of her head. “No, it seems like my Princess is giving me the boot as well. I’ll swing by your room at 1900 and take you to one of my favorite spots. Sound good?”

“You’ll swing by my room? I’ll never get used to the culture here. Yeah that sounds good. Just remember I can’t eat flowers or hay.”

I stand up and look back to Luna to find her with a strange expression on her face. “You good? We still got several hours before dinner did you have anything else we should take care of today?” Suddenly I’m hit by a wicked yawn. I just woke up from a weeklong nap like 5 hours ago, why am I tired?

She replies with a yawn of her own. “The only thing I need is my bed chambers. There is absolutely no reason the Princess of the Night should be awake at noon and it seems like your body agrees. I know you were unconscious for a while, but that was a lot of exertion for someone who just got out of the hospital. Good Afternoon, Ignis.”

“Luna, wait. In my homeland we say good night to each other when we’re going to bed. Regardless of what time it is outside, it’s always good night. This is the second time you’ve given me a time accurate message. I’m just curious, do you have a reason for doing so or is that just the norm here?”

She gives me a smirk, “What your people practiced is in fact the custom here as well, but I refuse to associate my night with an obligation to sleep. We’re going to sleep, but it’s the afternoon, so I say again. Good afternoon, Ignis.”

If I had taken a moment to actually think about it instead of just immediately asking that question I probably would’ve come to that realization. Makes me feel a bit silly now. “Good Afternoon, Luna.”

I plop down onto my bed and the realization hits me. That crafty horse dodged my question. What was that look for?

The first thing I see is a beautiful night sky. Looking down I see that I’m sitting on some pitch black rocky surface. Looking around I realize I’m in space.

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up.” I hear an all too familiar voice and my neck snaps in her direction. The only thing I see is a pair of blue dragon eyes staring back at me in the darkness. Nightmare Moon.

“It’s not like I asked to be here. I just closed my eyes and the next thing I know I’m sitting here.” I reply.

“It’s not like I asked to be here, either.”

“Touche, but you were kind of being a bitch. I’ve actually been wondering about that. Did the elements split you from Luna down there in the Everfree and send you here, or have you two always been separate?”

“Now, why should I answer that? It sounds much more fun to just let you guess and theorize.” We both just stare at each other for several seconds. “Oh fine, be that way. We’ve always been separate ponies, but I never had a physical form like this until that night in the Everfree. My first memories are from inside dearest Luna's mind. I’ll have to thank Harmony at some point, though. Not having to fight for control and being allowed my own form is actually quite the gift. Whenever I get off this blasted rock, anyways.”

“If you get off this rock will you try and bring about eternal night again?”

“Who knows?” She flashes me another grin. “I can’t really say I feel any urges to do something like that. Now that I’m fully separated from Luna I’ve been trying to organize my thoughts. Separating her desires from my own.” She quiets down to almost a whisper. “It really feels like I don’t even know who I am.”

Insight Check.

9 + 6 = 15.

That surprises me. I hadn’t expected her to be so… lost? “Why even try to corrupt me then?”

“To replenish my power. It’ll take everything I have and then some to escape this prison. I know one thing for sure, I want to be free.”

“So do you want revenge on the element bearers? Luna? Celestia?”

“Tch. I do greatly dislike every pony you just listed. My wardens, my prison, and the “sister” that just refused to even acknowledge my existence until I forced her to confront me.”

“Okay but like you do realize you literally wanted to plunge half the planet into eternal night and kill all their crops right? That isn’t really a nice thing to do. We either had to stop you or live miserable lives.”

“Again, I don’t want to do that anymore! Luna and my own feelings were combining and amplifying each other. We weren’t too dissimilar to a filly going through hormonal puberty, but cranked up to 100.”

“Nightmare. I can free you from this prison, but I refuse to do so until I know it won’t just lead to another conflict. Will you seek revenge on my friends?”

“Just friends? I think we both know that’s a bit inaccurate, but no I currently have no plans to seek revenge. I just….. I need to talk to Luna. Celestia too.”

“That can likely be arranged. Just know I probably won’t be able to help you until I can use mana again.”

“Don’t get too confident, elf. I can just keep battering away at your mind until you have no choice but to help me.”

“See that right there! That’s why I’m even hesitant to offer my help! You’re too hostile. I get it, you’re angry and confused… but Harmony was right to lock you up here for a while. Take some time to cool off and figure out who you are. I’m outta here.” With a flick of my fingers I wake up.

Just in time to hear someone knocking at my door. Completely forgetting any arrangements I made for the day I open the door to find Force standing there. Instead of her usual guard armor she’s wearing a white dress with red accents that compliment her eyes. I pull myself behind the door and look at myself in the mirror. I’m in the same clothes I’ve been wearing since I got here, with mended tatters and tears. My hair looks like one would expect for someone that just got out of bed. I lean forward through the door and look at her again. “I uh. Wow. Why are you all dressed up? Is the place we’re going to a fancy place? I think I still need a minute to freshen up… I just got out of bed.”

With the usual confidence I expect from her she just stands up onto her hind legs and uses a wing to brush and fix my hair. “It’s a somewhat formal place, yeah. I discovered it when I was on escort duty for a griffon dignitary. I’m not sure why you’re so flustered though, I mean you asked me to grab dinner and I said I’d pick you up. I don’t know about where you’re from but here that’s called a date. Now come on, you look fine just activate your uniform enchantment but keep the mask and hood down. I was aiming for a black and white kinda theme between the two of us.”

“Date?! I was just asking a friend to grab some food with me!” I wasn’t even that flustered before but now I am. “Where did this even come from? I know I can be a bit dense but I wasn’t picking up any signs that you thought about me like this.”

“Well a mare always has to have a good poker face. I always keep things professional when I’m in uniform, but really I think I’ve always been a bit curious about you. Then I watched you fight and couldn’t help but get caught up in your finesse and strength. Plus, you’ve saved me twice now. I think it’d be more weird if I didn’t have a small crush on you at this point. Listen, I understand. The only thing is, I don’t know what you like, what hobbies you have, what your favorite music is, that’s what a first date is supposed to be. A chance to learn all of that about each other. This doesn’t have to be a date if you really are opposed to the idea, but I saw your face when you opened the door. You have at least some level of attraction for me, so why don’t we just take this opportunity to see if it’s something real, and I’m already all dressed up, why waste the chance?”

I lean back into my room and grab a bag of bits before stepping back into the hallway and closing the door behind me. “Alright. Can we stop by a magical supplies shop on the way though? I need to get some ink.”

For the first time I see the pegasus give me a bright smile. “Of course!”

As we walk through the castle several different servants and guards give us a wide range of looks. Some look confused, others give us smiles and nods, and some give me in particular a strange pensive look that borders on disgust. One thing that most of them have in common is that anyone that wasn’t walking by themself ended up whispering things between them. “Do all of these ponies somehow know we’re going on a date? These reactions are quite different from what I usually receive in these halls.”

“Well, the two guards that smiled at us are my friends. I told them I was going on a date tonight, but the others probably have a fairly decent idea of what’s happening. After all, it's not very common for us ponies to get dressed up like I am. I can’t say I appreciate those judgemental looks we got thrown our way.” Well I’ve been getting those since I got here, regardless of who is with me. Maybe I should warn her that those’ll be common if things continue between us. “Don’t go feeling down and blame yourself. Canterlot is a majority unicorn city, I get those sidelong glances even if you’re not here. Even my own parents wish I was a unicorn.”

“Brutal. I won’t lie, I had noticed there seemed to be a slightly larger unicorn presence around us, but I thought ponies were too “harmonious” to have something petty like racism.”

As we rounded one of the last corners before reaching the castle exit we run into two ponies I did not expect to see. Luna and Cadence. The Princess of Love spots us and calls out with a big smile. “Wow wow wow! Look at you two! I hope the both of you have an amazing time.” She looks over to Luna who once again has that strange but subtle look on her face that I can’t quite place.

I watch with surprise as Force trots over to Luna and rears up to whisper something in her ear. The two whisper back and forth a few times before Luna finally relaxes and gives a small smile. “Enjoy your date, Ignis.” My princess softly orders me as she walks past me and when Force comes back over to me I question her as we continue to walk out of the castle and into Canterlot.

“What’d you two talk about?”

“Oh nothing much, I just told her I’d have you home before midnight.” Her left ear folds in a bit and twitches as she flashes a confident grin.

I don’t need an insight check to tell she’s lying, but if she was going to tell me she would’ve done so. Knowing that I don’t push the subject. “Uh huh. Sure.”

The pegasus rotates around and faces me as she walks backwards. “So which direction is this magic shop?”

I point to the right as we go through the castle gate and the two guards on duty salute us as we pass. “It’s just a few blocks that way. Hopefully I have enough bits, I hear magical ink can be quite expensive.”

Turning back around to walk normally she cocks her head and gives me a confused look. “Ignis, we’re both the highest paid officers in the guard. Even though you’ve only been employed for a few weeks you should have a couple thousand bits, easily.”

I pull out the small bag of bits I grabbed before left. “This bag is what I was given on my first night in Canterlot. I already spent most of it. How often do we get paid and was I supposed to go somewhere to get it?”

Now she’s really looking at me like I’m an idiot. “Do you not have a bank account? We get a direct deposit every two weeks.”

I pause my forward motion and look at her. “No… I never really thought about it?”

“You seriously need to do that before you leave tomorrow. I’m actually stunned nopony explained any of this to you.”

“Force, you do realize that the only pony I interacted with on a consistent basis is Luna. The same Luna that also hasn’t been here in a thousand years. The lunar guard literally has no other personnel besides me and her.”

Her mouth forms into an O shape as everything clicks into place for her. She gains an ever so slight blush as she looks away in embarrassment. “That… makes sense. You should just ask Luna for your paycheck then, we’re only a few steps from the castle let’s head back.”

I hold up my palm signaling for her to stop as I pull out the same gem I used in the changeling hive to contact Luna. “Hey Lulu…. Can you pay me?” The pegasus gives a shocked look to hear me use Luna's nickname.

You haven’t been paid?

“No, apparently I was supposed to set up a bank account and talk to the finance department to have my paychecks deposited automatically.”

I haven’t heard of such a system… hold out your hand and get ready to catch something. I’ll teleport a bag over to you shortly.

“Thank you, O merciful Goddess.”

What are you even buying anyways?

“Some magical ink so I can copy some spell scrolls over into my spellbook. I was gunna use the down time on our journey to expand my spell list. I’ve got like 7 new spells I can learn once I get that ink.”

Oh. In that case save your bits. I’ll still send you what you’re owed but you can just use my personal supply of ink.

“You truly are the best, Luna. I appreciate it.”

Oh hush, you. Give me a minute or two.

I slide the gem back into my pocket and stand there with my hand held out as I stare at Force. “Good news, we don’t need to go to the store. Luna has a stockpile of ink I can use, but she’s still going to teleport over my payment so we gotta wait here for a bit.”

“.....Lulu?”

I look away from the pegasus and scratch my cheek. “It’s what Celestia calls her when we’re in private, I just end up using it by accident every now and then.”

A much more sizable bag of bits appears in the air and I quickly shift my hand and grasp it. After tying it around my waist I turn towards Force. “Lead the way! Onwards to food!”

She turns around and starts walking in the opposite direction. I pivot and fall in next to her, a few steps behind. She looks back and smiles at me. “I expect you to come up with a nickname for me too, you know.”

“How the hell do I come up with a shortened nickname for Unstoppable Force? Can I just call you LT?”

Her face contorts into a look like she just bit a lemon. “Absolutely not. I don’t wanna think of work every time you call out to me.”

“Right. Right. Well you’ll need to give me a bit of time, I’ll have to get creative.”

“You better.” She sticks her tongue out at me in a joking manner before turning back to look ahead as we continue towards the restaurant.

Author's Note

Time for the pacing to slow wayyy down. We'll probably spend 3 or 4 chapters knocking out tonight and tomorrow, then another 10-15 for the thestrals and that'll lead us straight into the Gala which will be our season 1 finale!

I meant what I said when I let you all know we'd be going pretty heavy into slice of life for the next little while, so I'll understand if a decent number of you wanna take a break from the story. Come back in 2-3 weeks and we should be back into the swing of things.

Also if it wasn't obvious I'm expanding the romance during this arc. Who knows if we'll end up with any hard set relationships, but a decent chunk of this arc will be exploring the characters and how they all feel at the moment.

Thanks for reading!