*Thud, Thud*

"Ah reckon that's about it." Applejack spoke up as she put a hammer down.

"Yep, that'll do." Floral replied and picked up the finished pillar before planting it in a hole. "Need dirt!"

"I got it." Rainbow picked up a pack of dirt and packed it into the hole, stabilizing the pillar.

"Yeah, I think that's right!" Moon yelled from up high as she hanged upside down.

Striking a few nails in, she gave the pillar a few nudges before nodding to Floral and falling down.

Floral caught her before placing her on the ground.

"Let's take a rest, we're done for the day." He spoke up.

"Alright, lunch!" Rainbow celebrated before flying down.

"Now, you made sure to spread the seasonings, right?" Rarity asked calmly.

"Yeah, I got it." Gilda replied and took her pan off of the fire. "We got stir fry!" She announced and grabbed a few plates that Fluttershy gave her.

"What're we having?" Moon asked and wrapped her around Gilda.

"Uh, Pork? Floral wrapped it around something and threw it in the fire." She replied and started to plate the rest.

"Whoowee! Now that, was a day's work." Applejack spoke as she rolled a barrel over. "I'm sure you're all itching for a glass of cider." She announced and rolled it upright.

"Heck yeah!" Rainbow celebrated.

"It does sound nice." Floral was passive about it.

"I agree, a refreshment in this weather is quite the treat." Rarity was positive.

"You, apple pony, are now listed in my favorites." Moon said ecstatically as she came over with a cup.

"You probably shouldn't drink too much." Fluttershy commented casually.

Floral watched on with slight interest. He knew Applejack wouldn't have actually brought alcohol, and he also knew that Moon was too excited about to hard cider to realize that truth.

"Apple family's famous cider. What'd ya think?" Applejack asked Moon who drank an entire cup in one go.

"Mhmm, sweet." Moon said and licked her lips. "Wait, this doesn't have alcohol."

"Of course it doesn't, the Apple family hasn't made hard cider once, ever." She said pridefully.

"You will pay greatly for betraying me like this, Freckles." The reply was added with a stare that failed to be threatening.

Though, the interaction ended with a round of laughter from the party.

"Hup!" I let out a small shout and landed on the floor.

"HAA!" Princess Luna let out a battle cry and blasted a cragadile away. "Forward!"

"Already on it!" With one final stretch, I flipped a switch and rolled on the ground to avoid dozens of poisoned darts.

*Clink*

Feathers!!

With one more leap, I barely dodged a glaive as my fur got a new cut. Then the floor suddenly collapsed. Instantly extending my wings, I stayed afloat, only for several tens of arrows to shout out.

Ah.

I can't move in time.

Right as I felt those whishing in, I was pulled back and my vision became blocked with blue.

*Thuk, thuk, thuk*

"Are you well, Daring Do?" Princess Luna asked with a slight pant.

Landing on the ground whilst heavily breathing, I took a seat. "Thanks, Princess, I owe you one."

"Do not fret, I have asked you on this search because I was told you were the most experienced. I am just glad I had not sent you alone, for I fear what may would have happened." She explained and threw away the corpse of a tiger full of arrows.

"I suppose, yeah." I gave a half hearted answer.

Having spent the whole day running around with her eradicated most of the usual awkwardness that comes with dealing with a royal.

"Seriously though, Princess, what's with this place?" I asked as I looked around. "It's a thousand years old, yet every trap is in perfect condition. Even the poison, I can just tell it hasn't expired yet." I gave a small complaint as I looked at the poison darts, just casually melting the wall they got stuck on. "All these other traps too, these are already beyond the 'above average' on the danger scale. Not even creative, just fatal."

"Hmm, as willing as I am to give you more information, I can not say much more. These ruins are all connected to my time as Nightmare Moon, though, after my banishment." She said as if it wasn't much trouble before turning away. "Come, I believe we are reaching the end of this one."

Slightly bewildered at the scene, I sat there a few seconds, dumbfounded. I've heard it all, about her true story, and her regret that came from it. Yet, she seems like she barely even acknowledges her banishment.

"Uh, yeah, coming." I said and got up with a groan before running after her.

At least I'll be getting good material, and a hefty pay.

*Thud, Thud*

“Hmmgh.”

*Thud, Thud*

“Ugh. Bluey, get the door.” Light grumbled in her sleep.

All she got was silent snoring as a reply.

*Thud, Thud*

“Ugh. Come on, just leave it at the door.” She groaned once again.

*Thud, Thud*

“Ugh, seriously?” She finally woke up with a heavy.

Getting up, she removed Blueblood’s hoof. Slightly shivering from the morning cold, she dragged herself to the door with annoyed steps.

*Thud, Thud*

“Coming!” She yelled at the door. “Who in their right mind is knocking at this unholy hour. Actually, what time is it?” She mumbled to herself and finally got to the door. “Too early.” She answered her own question and pulled it open. “Alright, what kind of-uhh.”

“Oh! Lucky, I was going to stop if you hadn’t opened the door.” Celestia said brightly. “Do you mind if I come in?” She said softly.

“I-uhh. Yeah, I mean, no. Come in, take a seat.” She answered half-heartedly whilst completely confused.

“Thank you, and good morning.” She greeted and happily walked into the living room.

“Right, yeah. Good morning.” Light was very confused. “Um, Princess. What are you doing here? Ah! Not that you’re not welcome here, you’re totally welcome here!” She quickly corrected herself.

Celestia only gave a few chuckles at her attitude. “Worry not, my student. I have simply came here to check on your progress.” She said calmly and glanced at the bedroom. “As well as check up on my nephew, who seems to have completely forgotten about me. Thanks to his new marefriend.” She said with a small pout.

“Ah.” Light froze for a few seconds.

“Pfft.” Celestia ended up laughing at her reaction. “Not to worry, I do not mind that much.” She reassured her and sat down on the couch. “Cute onesie by the way. I like the rabbit ears.”

“Oh.” Light let out a relieved sigh. “Um, I got this one custom made at Pins & Threads. I liked the material.”

“Hmm, I see.” She said with a thoughtful look. “Well, what about the research? I would have traveled down to Ponyville to ask Twilight as to not disturb you two, but, I fear she may have a stroke from my sudden visit.”

“I se-huh?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Celestia interrupted her. “Anyways, the research?”

“Uh, right. It’s, not exactly going at all. After the last attempt, we decided to stop for a bit. Examine our options.” Light instantly turned professional as she took a seat beside Celestia, though her onesie kind of ruined the image.

“I see, may I know the methods you have used?”

“Well, it’s pretty simple on paper, but the basics are that we tried every component and runes that a spell needs to activate. After trying all options, we tried to add more or less of certain aspects to see what could work.” She explained with a sigh. “Of course, most of them ended up exploding, some imploding.”

“Hmm, that’s troublesome. This could mean that the magic used to make the barrier isn’t even Equestrian.” Celestia commented and a pondering look came out. “I apologize, I may have pulled you into something much bigger than I first anticipated.” She said with a regretful look.

“No, no, it’s fine, Princess, really. I enjoyed my time working on this. You don’t have to apologize for anything.” Light said quickly.

“Please, Light. Then, can you promise that you’re saying this from your own heart, for your own self, and, not from a sense of duty to appease me?” Celestia was adamant as she asked the question.

After a brief period of silence, Light only gave a small grin. “Yes, Princess, I promise.” She said without a hint of nervousness or fear.

Looking at the display, Celestia only gave a single sigh with a smile. “Thank you, my student.”

“No problem, Princess.” Light was exceedingly happy with the conversation.

“Ugh, Light?” Blueblood groaned as he walked into the living room.

“Good morning, Bluey!” Light greeted happily as she instantly realized something.

“Morning.” He said groggily and walked into the bathroom, a bag of cosmetics floating behind him.

“Huh?” Light was confused and turned to stare at Celestia, who was gone, only to reappear a seconds later.

“Invisibility spell.” Celestia said as if it was the simplest thing.

“Okay, one, that one is incredibly superior to the one I know. Two, why?”

“You’re not at a level to make light itself go through you. And, well, I believe you know why.” Celestia said the last part with a sad tone.

Knowing what she was hinting at, Light gave a small sigh. Taking a glance at the bathroom, Light steeled herself.

“If you knew, why didn’t do anything?” Light asked softly.

“Blueblood didn’t want to tell me, so I didn’t ask.” Celestia’s response was simple.

“But, he was a kid back then. He shouldn’t have been burdened with that choice.” She retaliated.

At those words, Celestia remained silent. With the air silently becoming more aggressive, the two remained seated. Until, Light finally spoke.

“You chose Twilight over him.” She said with a darker tone.

Spending several more seconds to gather her thoughts, Celestia stared at the ceiling.

“Perhaps.” She finally replied.

Waiting just to be sure, Light gave a single nod. “So, that’s all you’re going to say.”

“Yes, but when the time comes for him to tell me, I’ll have more words.” Celestia was now in a somber mood as she reflected on the past.

“Then you better prepare.” Light spoke up. “You bringing your favorite student into the team, it’s really going to pull the deadline closer.” She said with an impassive tone.

“I suppose.” Celestia accepted her fault. “You know, the choice seemed so clear back then.” She spoke calmly. “One could bring a joyous occasion, a new hope that the ponies could look up upon. The other, only sadness, and guilt.”

“A false hope isn’t something to look up to.” Light simply commented as she glanced at the bathroom.

At those words, Celestia tried to respond, but her mouth couldn’t think of the words. “I see.” So she only accepted. “I’ll heed your words, and look back. Maybe I could find a solution where everypony is happy.” She said with a somber smile before getting up. “Well, Blueblood’s routine care should be ending soon. I shall be visiting next week to check on the progress.” She said and walked towards the door.

“Yeah, got it.” Light gave a weak reply as she watched Celestia’s image disappear.

Right as the door closed entirely, Blueblood came out of the bathroom with a mask on his face.

“Hey, woah, you look like you went to Tartarus and back.” He commented and walked into the kitchen.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Light was barely stopping herself from collapsing. “Wait, did you do your skincare routing inside that?” She asked as she looked at the blue rabbit onesie Blueblood had on.

“As you said, it was comfy.” He said after checking for any messes he might have made.

“I, see.” She was slightly unsure.

With a small shrug, Blueblood drank a glass of water as he looked into the fridge.

“So, what should we get for breakfast?” He asked and closed the fridge filled with ice cream.

“Hmm.” Light was thinking, although she already knew what she wanted. “Burgers.” She decided.

“What?” Blueblood didn’t know.

“Burgers. And hay fries, with a side of onion rings and a banana smoothie.” She was adamant.

“That sounds really unhealthy.” He replied as a healthier choice of breakfast ran through his mind.

Taking the position of great pondering, Light beckoned Blueblood to come closer. Deciding to play along with an amused smile, Blueblood stood right in front of Light.

“Shush.” She said and put a hoof on his muzzle. “We’re going to Hay Burgers.” She said with too much conviction for Blueblood to refuse.

He gave a tired sigh. “Fine, but we should at least get a salad to go.” He tried to convince her.

“Hash browns, and a burrito.” She gave her final decree.

"No! You were with Nightmare Moon! I'm not giving you these vegetables!"

This ridiculous mare.

"How are vegetables supposed to even help?! Feed Celestia carrots so she has too good of an eyesight?!" I asked back.

"See! That's another reason!"

"HOW THE BUCK DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE?! ARE YOU MISSING A PIECE OF YOUR BRAIN OR SOMETHING?!" I ended up snapping.

"HUH?! WHAT'D YOU SAY TO ME?!"

"And that's how I ended up in fifteen different fights." I said tiredly as Remedy? Floral? He applied some blue thing and wrapped a bandage over a cut I got.

It really stung.

"BWHAAHHAHAH!" Of course, Moon was laughing her butt off.

"Shut up! If you went there, you'd be lucky to even talk to somepony!" I called her out, flinching in the process as my medic forced me to sit back down.

"Did you manage to at least get the barbecue sauce?" Floral asked calmly.

Still snickering, Moon spoke up. "Did you win?"

"I had to break a leg a few times." I replied without thinking.

"Huh?" She froze.

"Oh." Floral also seemed surprised.

"What?" I asked, fully knowing I didn't have a broken bone.

"I suppose I'll take care of the local law that'll come after you." Floral said.

"There's gangs here?" I asked.

I really thought this place was a lot more peaceful or something.

"Gangs?"

"Not what I meant. You'll be chased by guards since brawls are against the law." Floral explained and ripped the bandage to finish it. "They won't be much trouble though."

"I, uh, thanks, I guess." I replied.

"No problem." He said and stood up. "Now, did you manage to buy the sauce?"

"Oh, yeah, I did. These things are pretty expensive though. Eighty bits for a single bottle." I complained slightly and brought out the bottle.

"Heh, you got scammed." Floral said calmly and took the bottle before attending to lunch.

"Huh?"

"Highest quality goes for ten bits, kid." Moon said teasingly before giving me another pat. "Come on, let's go play some chess while Floral is cooking." She said and brought out a golden chessboard from one of their bags.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, she came closer and rubbed the top of my head.

"You know, shouting to the sky really loud helps." She advised.

Barely holding myself back, I inhaled deeply.

With a few seconds, I started to breathe deeply as I thought back on the merchant.

I ended up using my own bits to buy that thing.

I could feel my veins pulse from holding back.

"Fuck is a really good word." Moon said from the side.

.

.

.

"FUUUUUUU-!!!"

Author's Note

So, while checking the stats of this story, I found out about the referrals thing. Can someone tell me how that works, and how I have fifty one of them from Facebook of all things? Oh and, I found out I can find my story if I just search the name lol. That was a pretty fun find.

Anyways, I'm at a point where I actually have a few different ways to go forward with this story. Basically how and where the characters could go and move the story forward.

So, if you have any preferences, why don't you comment which character you want to see more of.

And as always, thanks for reading!

Edit:
I changed the entire Celestia and Light scene. XBlaster was right, that scene was creepy as all hell when I re-read it.