Chapter Two

Indebted

As we made our way up the stairs to the castle’s main entrance, we approached two unicorn guards. Both guards wore heavy metal armor of bright yellow, with a small sun pendant in the center of the chest piece, both of their cutie marks were covered by the metal plates of their armor.

One of the guards was a cute, light gray unicorn mare with piercing red eyes and a short almost candy red mane that was tucked mostly behind her helmet. She even had a necklace of a little sun dawning around her neck.

“You're new to my sister's ranks are you not, Ruby wasn't it?” Luna began with a smile, “enjoying your night shift, I hope?”

“As well as I can ma’am, I was up most of the day going through drills,” the gray soldier mare yawned giving a tired blink, “and this one hasn’t made my job any easier.”

Her eyes pointed accusingly at her unconscious compatriot whom was snoring louder than a manticore. He was a bright green stallion with a yellow mane, and a little on the weighty side. I noticed he not only had a sword but also had a very fancy looking flintlock strapped to one of his hind legs. His helmet had half fallen over his face and every time he snored the faceplate lifted and fell with a small clank; I couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

“I've got just the thing,” Luna purred mischievously as her horn glowed with soft blue light, shadows seeming to emanate from the base.

She pointed her horn at the comatosed stallion for a moment before looking back to the gray mare.

“What did you just do?” Ruby asked, confused.

“Give it a moment,” Luna smirked.

Suddenly the green stallion jumped to his hooves in a panic, sweat running down his face, his yellow eyes pinpricks as he darted his head from side to side.

Upon seeing the Princess, he straightened up giving a salute before rambling, “Awake and at the ready ma’am, I mean I was awake the whole time! why would I be sleeping, I wasn't sleeping!” he attested, eyes darting back and forth, his forehoof still glued to his face in a salute.

Ruby face hoofed.

“You’re welcome,” the Princess whispered to Ruby, rolling her eyes with a smirk and trotting past the two as I followed up behind.

Apparently the two guards hadn't even noticed me until now.

Story of my life...

“What the... Hey how did you even get here!? Here to beg for scraps, are we?” Ruby droned.

Ruby drew a sword with her magic, the green stallion drawing his flintlock in turn.

I gulped.

Luna, faster than lightning spun around, and slammed her hoof down on Ruby's sword hard enough that it snapped out of the gray unicorn's red magical grasp. It made a loud clang, hitting the ground forcefully with Luna's hoof still on it.

“This is Feather, and as of now she is in my personal service, you would do well to treat her with respect,” she demanded coldly. Her tone never shifted away from calm, but clearly she had terrified the cute gray mare to the bone.

“Pu- Put your weapon down Sunny,” Ruby commanded with a glare towards the stallion.

“Apologizes Princess,” Ruby began, bowing her head, “it's just, the way she looks, I thought,” a glare from Luna warned her that it would be very unwise to finish that sentence.

Instead, Ruby just stayed quiet and stepped to the side, head bowed, allowing me to pass.

“I'm sorry, it’s not your fault,” I whispered, feeling guilty as I passed her.

I followed Luna inside, the giant door closing behind us. She stopped and spun on me, her eyes turning back to slits.

“Never apologize for the ignorance of others! She demanded, stomping a hoof down in anger, feathers bristling. “You must learn that you are much better than that, you don't deserve to be treated with any kind of disrespect,” She stated matter of factly, looking past me and back at the door with a cold stare.

I got the distinct impression that her anger went far beyond the minor incident that had just occurred. She was right though, I shouldn't have felt the need to apologize, I hadn't done anything wrong after all.

“Yes Princess,” I straightened up, “it won't happen again.”.

My response seemed to distract her from her thoughts as she blinked and returned her attention to me.

“Good,” she replied, relaxing with a smile before turning back and continuing down the hallway.

I quickly followed.

“What did you do to that guard pony anyways?” I asked as we continued along.

She chuckled clearly happy for the change of topic, “oh, just a little nightmare of whatever his worst fear was, apparently peanut butter, if you can believe it.”

“Really? peanut butter?” I chuckled, “Also, you can do that?”

“Of course, I can walk through any ponies’ dreams if their guard is down or they are weak minded,” she paused, “or if they just let me in but that never happens,” she added dryly.

“That's amazing,” I marveled, “also, I would let you into my dreams, not that I even know how to stop you from doing it anyways,” I stammered sheepishly.

She laughed a little, “I appreciate that,” she murmured.

As we continued, we thankfully managed to avoid any more of the castle guards who might question my more... Unseemly appearance. As we made our way to the top of a grand spiral staircase, I started really thinking about what the Princess had just done for me back there.

I stopped.

“Thank you princess,” I started to say, and she looked back at me confused.

“For what?”

“Well, all of this for starters, I never thought I'd be lucky enough to ever meet you let alone have the chance to serve you, but more specifically,” I paused, “thank you for standing up for me back there. Nopony has ever done anything like that for me before.”

She looked a touch sad, and surprised, “I was just doing what any good friend would have done,” she replied smoothly.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Besides, if you are to be my Regent now, I can't have ponies showing you any kind of disrespect, that would in extension, be the same as disrespecting me,” she nodded matter of factly.

“Wait,” I paused, still hanging on to what she had just said, “do you really consider me your friend? You've only just met me,” I asked in surprise and anticipation of the answer.

She paused, seeming to ask herself the same question.

“Well, I suppose I do to an extent, yes.”

She looked at me thoughtfully, “I mean I may have only known you for less than a night, but in that short time you've done nothing but prove yourself loyal and willing to serve.” she smiled.

“You surprise me, Feather.”

I turned my head so she wouldn't see me blush.

“Now come,” she prompted, “we really need to get you a shower, as well as some new clothes,” she added, waving a hoof to my torn barding.

We turned, trotting down another hallway to a door on the far end. As we approached, I noticed a little crescent moon on the door’s handle. The door itself looked incredibly old and seemed to be made from a darker wood than any of the other doors I had seen on the way here.

The handle of the door glowed a soft blue as Luna pulled it open with her magic. It let out a slight creek as it was pulled back to reveal an impressive suite. The room was huge! The wall in the far back being made entirely from glass as on the other side was a balcony that overlooked the castle's courtyard. Unlike the rest of the castle, there was no candlelight, instead, only moonlight shined through the window, providing a soft blue glow throughout the whole room.

A grand bed with black and dark purple sheets rested on the right side of the room. It looked more comfortable than anything I had ever had the privilege of seeing before -- well, aside from clouds-- I thought. A dark gray corner couch was to my immediate left and following along the left wall across from the bed was a short archway that led into another extension of the room.

We trotted inside.

“Welcome to my home,” she smiled, gesturing around the room with her forehoof, “well technically the castle is my home, but this is where I spend most of my time.”

Now I could see past that small archway into the other part of the room, it appeared to be a small study with another door at the end of it. She led me to that door at the end and opened it with her magic to reveal a pristine washroom. A large square shower stood in the center against the back wall, a very fancy tub sat on the right, and the left wall held a large mirror above a sink and cupboard.

“There should be all kinds of soap in that bottom drawer,” she gestured with a hoof, “try not to use all of the hot water, I intend on taking a shower soon after you.”

“There's hot water!” I gasped, rushing to the cabinet and pulling out 6 different kinds of soap. I was ecstatic with excitement at the thought of taking a proper shower! I don't think I’ve had a proper shower in, well ever! And washing myself in the river every night didn't count.

“You have no idea how much this means to me!” I exclaimed, turning to her, “thank you!”

She looked sad, “you should have never been denied basic things like this, I'm so sorry for everything you must have gone through Feather.”

My smile faded, “there's no need to be sorry,” I tried to reassure her, “it's not your fault.”

I didn't seem to convince her.

“Hey, never apologize for the ignorance of others, remember?”

She smiled and lightly shoved my shoulder with a hoof, “that's not fair” she laughed, “now hurry and take a shower,” she urged, giving me a push before closing the door.

My focus returned to the many soapy options that laid before me, I rubbed my hooves together diabolically.

“So many options!” I chuckled as my eyes went back and forth.

I ended up grabbing the charcoal soap, it just smelled clean. I wondered if it was the same soap the Princess used? Throwing my ruined barding in the trash, I turned the knob on the shower and waited a moment before stepping in. The hot water hit my face and soaked into my mane and tail, giving me a shiver of delight as I just stood there with my eyes closed.

This was so wonderful…

After-- to say the least -- a lot of scrubbing and rinsing, I finally stepped out and grabbed one of the black towels from its rack before drying myself off.

I looked into the mirror, my white coat was clean and smooth, and a little poofed from having just been dried. My silver mane was unstained and clean. My feathers looked a lot healthier, and I even smelled good! I couldn't help but smile. I was a little on the skinny side but damn! for the first time in a long time I actually looked good!

I grabbed a brush from the table with a wing as I began to work on my mane, it took a while, but I eventually got it brushed out. My mane was much longer than I thought now that I saw it all smoothed out. I scoured the drawers for some scissors, and it didn't take me long to find a pair.

I took a breath before I began to cut away as carefully as I could, giving myself a much shorter mane. I cut one side of my mane relatively short and left the bangs of the other side to hang down just past my neck. I finished by cutting some of the back part of my mane so that it was much more manageable, I even took the opportunity to trim and brush my tail! And lastly, I found one of several seemingly spare toothbrushes and floss to properly clean my teeth. Despite my isolation I normally did a pretty good job of taking care of my teeth, but it was nice to really go to work on them in a proper washroom without the need for an old stolen toothbrush.

After rinsing my mouth, shaking away all the excess hair and sweeping it into the trash, I grabbed the brush and did my best to restyle my now clean mane.

“I actually look good,” I murmured in surprise, giving a little toss of my mane.

I only hoped Luna thought so.

I opened the door and stepped back into the study. Trotting back into the bedroom, through the window I saw Luna standing on the balcony. I noticed that on the bed there were clothes laid out, I only assumed they were for me.

I heard the balcony door slide open and Luna stepped back inside.

“Oh, good your finally ou-” she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening a little as she regarded me, “You look…”

“Crap did I mess up cutting my mane that badly?” I interjected, panic quickly taking over me, “it looks terrible, doesn't it?” I asked fretfully, wanting to bury my head in my hooves.

“Actually, I was going to say that you look beautiful.”

And like that, all feeling in my legs completely disappeared. I would have fallen over from the compliment had I not been leaning against the bed.

I blushed hard.

“I ahh,” I swallowed not knowing what to say.

She chuckled, rolling her eyes before redirecting my attention with her hoof to the clothes on the bed.

There on the bed lay the same black slick dress/jacket she was wearing, except the sleeves looked cut off and folded at the ends probably to account for the fact that I was much shorter than her. There was a pendant of a crescent moon intended to fit onto a collar and a simple crescent moon necklace forged from silver, there was a hair tie as well.

I saw the excited expression on Luna's face as I pulled on the jacket.

“So how does it fit?” she asked while using her magic to make little adjustments to the jacket’s collar and the rest of the impromptu uniform.

“Great,” I said, half paying attention.

I was still focused on what she had just said to me, and I decided to let myself daydream about the dark mare while she was struggling to attach the moon pendant to my collar. She is beautiful and powerful, I thought. And her voice is so soft and calming, and those eyes… She had saved me; I suppose in more ways than one. I smiled, I could imagine her muzzle running down my neck, it gave me shivers just thinking about it, I could imagine her holding me down and…

She caught me staring.

I blinked, snapping myself out of my fantasy.

“So, you still haven't answered my question,” she denoted impatiently.

“I, uhh.. hmmm?”

“I asked you what you think of your new uniform,” she prompted with a smile, “well, temporary uniform, at least until I can have something proper made.”

I moved over to the window to look at my faded reflection. Luna had finished putting the necklace on as well as using the hair tie to move my mane out of my face, in addition to the pendant I was looking professional, classy even.

“Wow,” I murmured, impressed.

“Wow indeed,” she agreed.

I looked past my own reflection to notice that the sun was just starting to crest the horizon.

Seeing my confusion she started, “I lowered the moon while you were getting cleaned up, that's what I was doing out on the balcony.”

It wasn't until now that I realized just how tired I was, I could barely stand let alone keep my eyes open.

I felt her magic begin to undo and pull off my impromptu uniform. “It's already dawn, we should both get some rest,'' she prompted with a yawn as she tossed my uniform on the couch.

“But don't think I forgot your food, stars you look like your starving,” she commented, floating a covered tray from her bedside table and lifting it to reveal a salad that looked like it had just about every fruit in it she could get her hooves on, as well as --I noticed -- some cooked fish.

Ponies don't normally ever eat meat, but some tend to make an exception for fish. I was more than relieved to see the Princess was one such pony.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” I squeed as I went to dig in.

Quickly the plate was swiped away from me. I looked back at her pleading.

“I know you're starving, but you serve me now, and as my servant, I expect you to have proper manners and professionalism. Now sit and remember to be proper.”

I nodded and did as she said. Only unicorns could use silverware without struggling, but I still took my time and did my best to eat as properly as possible. Going slow and not stuffing my face was almost painful with how hungry I was.

The Dark Princess had retreated to her study while I ate; and I could hear the faint sound of a quill against paper. Letting her know I had finished and putting the tray outside the door for the wait staff, I went to lay down on the couch, my eyes heavy. I'm happy, I realized, like actually truly happy. It was an odd sensation, but I welcomed it with a smile as I laid down.

“Don't you dare fall asleep like that,” Luna chuckled as she trotted out from her study,“get up.”

I groaned but got off the couch all the same.

Using her magic, she pulled on a tab under one of the cushions which made the top of the couch fold open into a mattress, she then floated a couple of extra pillows from her bed and set them down on it.

“Hold on,” she fretted as she trotted to a drawer and pulled out some extra sheets.

With a glow from her horn, she quickly and neatly set them over the bed.

“There,” she said with a nod, “normally I would have just offered you one of the guest rooms, but seeing that you're nocturnal like me, I figure you'll probably be hard pressed to fall asleep in a room that fills with sunlight during the day.”

She then closed her eyes and her horn glowed, again I saw shadows seem to swirl around it as they had when she gave that guard pony a nightmare. Suddenly those shadows emitting from her horn slowly covered the entire room in darkness, completely blocking any and all light from the window, and anywhere else for that matter. It was dark, but not dark enough that I couldn't see, as straining as it was. Her horn stopped glowing and she looked at me, my impressed expression making her smile.

“Can’t have the bright scorching sunlight shining into the room now, can we? We would never be able to fall asleep.”

She regarded me for a moment.

“So, as I said, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to bring you into my service, however I believe you still owe me a story,” she paused, “So, Feather, tell me about yourself.” she directed, leaning against her own bed with a curious expression.

“Well Princess,” I began, sitting down on the couch bed, “There isn't much to tell,” I admitted, “Like you, I despise the daylight. Also, I just don't really like other ponies... excluding you of course,” I added quickly. “I love the quiet, I love your night, I've done my best to forget about the ‘things’ that happened to me before I started living in your night, so if it's alright with you I'd rather not try and stir up old painful memories. Besides that, I've been surviving on my own for years now.''

I took a breath, trying to think of anything else she might consider important.

“I uhh, got my cutie mark when I was around fourteen years old, and I know I'm in my twenties now… twenty-one or twenty-two I think, I'm not sure, I suppose I've only vaguely bothered to keep track, which means I've been isolated now for like seven years, maybe eight, all of which have been pretty uneventful.”

“That sounds awful, I'm so sorry you've been alone for so long Feather,” she murmured.

“It wasn't as bad as it sounds, it was a thousand time better than living the way I had before I got my cutie mark, your night saved me,” I admitted.

I shuffled my hooves and lowered my head with embarrassment, “you should know… I would steal food and supplies a lot from different towns. I'm sorry, but I don't want to keep any secrets from you, and I thought you should know.”

She frowned, “I figured. Though it hardly matters, anypony in your position would have done the same. That's in the past now.”

“Aren't you afraid that makes me untrustworthy?” I asked sadly.

“Don't worry Feather, I know you’re not trying to deceive me. I can see it in your eyes.”

I straightened up, “I would never hurt you, never steal from you, never lie to you,” I said firmly, meaning every single word.

She smiled, “well, I think I've heard all I needed to hear,” she paused, “you don't have to be alone anymore Feather, our kind shouldn't have to suffer like you already have,” she stepped towards me, “you can let go of all your past now Feather. if you want it, your future can be in service to me now.”

“I do, I want it more than anything,” I said bowing, pleading!

The dark Princess grinned from ear to ear, “Good, now get some rest, we are going to have a busy night ahead of us tomorrow,” she yawned, before turning and trotting over to the washroom.

A few moments later I heard the shower kick on.

I can't believe Luna actually seems to care about me, I thought with a smile.

“Nopony has ever cared about me before...” I murmured.

I laid down on the couch bed stretching my wings out and taking a breath. I had to be careful sleeping tonight, I thought with amusement as I closed my eyes. The comfort of where I was threatening to drag me into sleep almost immediately.

If she didn't already suspect that I was head over heels for her, the last thing I needed was for her to discover how hard I was crushing on her through my dreams. Because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep her out of my head, nor did I really actually want to.

So instead of her I decided to try and think about my future under her command. I am definitely excited to start training with her tomorrow night. I lay there thinking about all the ways I could improve my demeanor and be more professional and calculated like I knew she wanted. It didn't help however as my mind kept drifting back to her in a more, romantic way...

Luna expects a certain level of professional integrity from you now. I told myself, still my thoughts stayed fixed on the dark mare.

Ahh pony feathers...

Instead of fighting it, I let the beautiful mare consume all of my thoughts as I let out a breath and felt the claws of sleep drag me into the dark.

Author's Note

Chapter two yay! I hope I managed to find and fix all the little errors, I've had this fic in a folder for so long that coming back to it with new eyes and more experience has definitely been a rollercoaster of rewriting, but I can't wait to post more of this :)