“I need to buy a cloak,” Long Jump said stoically.

Red Ink stuck his tongue out at the pegasus. They were in the small boom town built around the nearby train station, running a few errands before they departed for Canterlot. Long Jump could walk around without losing his breath now, even if it was a three-legged hobble and only because of the pain suppression of the collar. That had started two days ago, but they still needed to wait for the train to arrive. It would be here in about an hour, which would allow Long Jump to report back to his commanding officer and Red Ink to run some charm ideas by some of the other professors. There was still a sizeable chunk of the summer break left, but the unicorn felt he was all out of excitement for this trip.

Long Jump’s armor had been stuffed into his saddlebags, leaving little room for his other provisions. The few irreplaceable objects rested in Red Ink’s luggage (already dropped off on the train platform) but the pegasus insisted on carrying his damaged armor. The dents and other damage rendered it un-wearable, but apparently it was a source of pride. He wouldn’t even let Red Ink enchant it to make it weigh less. The unicorn just didn’t understand that sort of stubborn, prideful behavior, but then again, that’s one of the reasons he liked the pegasus so much.

More than anything, he wondered if Long Jump would want to continue seeing him after they both went their separate ways in the capitol. Red Ink certainly cared for the guard, but he wasn’t sure if the pegasus felt the same way back. Most of Red Ink’s charms didn’t really work on the stoic guard; his jokes had been met with stares, and his magic generally elicited nothing more than a glance. It felt like he was trying to woo a cat; Long Jump would occasionally kiss him and be affectionate, but only on his terms.

Sure, Red Ink snuck in a kiss or a nuzzle, but the pegasus danced away sometimes, as though such affection was a surprise. Well, it might be, the unicorn thought, since Red Ink didn’t think Long Jump had ever been with his own very special somepony. If he had, the nuzzling and kissing might not come as such a shock. They could finish their errands here, and then maybe talk about it on the train.

While Long Jump limped into a clothing shop, Red Ink turned into the only local magic shop. One of his previous students ran this one and always gave him free potion ingredients when he came by; if he was leaving early, now was the time to stock up.

Hot Head stood behind the counter, carefully measuring out a bright pink powder. When the unicorn noticed Red Ink, he smiled, and accidentally bumped the scale, sending the powder whooshing into the air. Red Ink sneezed.

“You should be more careful with that,” Red Ink said, and stepped back while the other unicorn hastily swept up. Once the mess was taken care of, he rushed back behind the counter, smiling at the professor.

“I didn’t expect you here for a few more weeks,” Hot Head said. His orange coat gleamed in the brightly-lit shop, and his red-and-yellow striped mane swept back over his shoulders. He’d excelled at enchanting fireproof armor and houses, which ended up making him a lot of money out in dragon country and the drier areas of Equestria. Red Ink wondered sometimes why he still ran a quaint little shop when he could be rolling around in a pile of money in Canterlot.

“I’ve got to run home for a little bit,” Red Ink explained before pointing to a rack of dried herbs. “If you could cut me off a little sample of everything, I’d appreciate it.”

“Going to mention me in the new edition?” Hot Head asked. Red Ink had forgotten the other unicorn still bought all of the textbooks he wrote.

“As always. You are the fireproof expert.”

They chatted for a few more minutes about the other stallions in town - Hot Head had a crush on the local baker - and the visit ended with a bag of dried herbs, all individually labeled, stuffed into Red Ink’s bag. Most of them were probably known, but maybe he could figure out a few new uses to fill some pages. If anyone could find a rare herb that no one knew what to do with, it was Hot Head. Now he just needed to find his pegasus guest.

Well, the only way he recognized Long Jump was by his gait; odds were low more than one pony with a bad rear right leg was in this particular town. Apparently, he’d found the cloak he wanted, since it covered every inch of him. It was simple, black, and probably far too hot for the warm day, but it did hide most of him from view. “I like the look. Very stealthy,” Red Ink said.

“Let’s just get on the train,” Long Jump said.

Red Ink smiled, even if he thought the pegasus was more than a little embarrassed. He’d been crippled and didn’t want anyone to see him in his current state, even if the unicorn honestly thought the scars made him look more distinguished. The bandages around his barrel were the only ones left, and they only secured his remaining wing to his side to save his balance. There was nothing shameful in admitting injury, even if the unicorn understood it might be different for a soldier.

“I can pay for my own ticket,” Long Jump said. They were standing in front of the ticket booth, and the green Earth pony eyed the pegasus covered in the cloak suspiciously.

“With what money?” Red Ink asked. They hadn’t been able to find the small pouch of coins that Long Jump insisted had been in his saddlebag. Red Ink had passed him a few coins for the cloak earlier.

“I… I can pay you back for it,” the pegasus insisted. “Or the crown can.” He took a hasty step toward the ticket master, whose eyes widened considerably. “Do Royal Guards ride free? I need to return to Canterlot.”

“We don’t offer free fares, sir,” the Earth pony said, and Red Ink just produced a small sack of coins from his bag and set them on the counter.

“For your trouble,” the unicorn said, knowing the coins there were worth about double what the tickets cost, and took the two tickets between his teeth. Long Jump might protest, but he could afford to grease a few hooves.

He gave their tickets to the conductor, a stern-looking Earth pony, and found one of the still-deserted compartments. With the train coming by so infrequently, the entire length of cars would soon be packed with eager ponies. Red Ink, however, wanted to keep the trip as event-free as possible, so once they shut the cabin door behind him, the unicorn concentrated.

“I’ll pay you back for the ticket,” Long Jump insisted, but Red Ink ignored him for now; the pegasus could be neurotic once he was done casting this spell.

It might be cheating, but Red Ink wanted Long Jump to be able to relax before reaching Canterlot. With the off hoof comments the guard made on occasion, the pegasus’s commander would yell at him, or worse, so he was going to make this journey stress-free. Beams of violet light shot from the unicorn’s horn and landed on the empty seats. Each filled with the ghost image of a pony. It breathed, silently laughed, and turned to the other illusions as they formed to fill the area. Someone just looking through the frosted glass of the cabin door would see a packed compartment. Red Ink locked the sliding door just to be sure. If someone specifically asked to come in, he could make them appear more solid. “They won’t bite,” Red Ink assured Long Jump. “I can’t project this many solid ponies.”

“Aren’t you denying other people on the train their seats?” Long Jump asked. Red Ink smiled.

“They can find somewhere else to sit,” Red Ink said, now wondering if the images had been a good idea after all. They seemed to only add to the pegasus’s stress. He walked through two of the phantom ponies, watching as Long Jump winced.

“They aren’t solid at all,” the unicorn explained. “It’s like walking through fog.”

“How do you feel?” Red Ink asked.

Long Jump eyed the fake ponies for a moment, and then waved a forehoof thought one of them before taking a bench near the window, lying down on his stomach to take the weight off of his hooves.

“Tired,” the pegasus admitted. “And confused. I appreciate you taking care of me, and, um, paying for the train ticket, but why are you heading back with me? I thought you were on vacation?”

The unicorn took up the bench on the other side of the narrow aisle, flopping down and facing the pegasus. “I was on vacation, and then you crashed.” He smiled. “I wanted to make sure you made it back safe. I care about you.”

The guard couldn’t help but blush while using the edge of the plush bench to get his heavy replacement saddlebags off his back; they landed on the floor with a muffled thump. With a deep breath he then lied down fully, and rested his chin on the cushion, looking at Red Ink with one eye.

“I may be crippled but I’m not helpless. I’d have been able to make it back.” He paused for a moment, visibly trying to form a statement, then giving up on being tactful. “I don’t understand why you’d say that last part, though.”

Red Ink stretched out a little more, one of his forehoofs dropping over the side of the bench and scraping the floor.

“Because I do,” the unicorn said. His mane covered one of his eyes as he spoke, so he took a second to shake it out of the way. “I think you care about me too. You just… aren’t used to it,” he finished lamely. “Have you ever had somepony special?”

Long Jump shook his head. “No. I… um, well I never thought about it when I was younger to be honest. After that I spent most of my time writing in my notebooks until I figured out that I couldn’t make a living out of it. It wasn’t until I was in the academy that I finally realized that I spent more than a normal amount of time looking at other stallions.” He coughed out of embarrassment. “And by that point I was too busy with training.” The pegasus looked directly at the Unicorn. “But have you either? You act like the type who would flit around between colts who catch your eye.”

Red Ink chuckled. “Magic academy was a bit different. We didn’t have to be strict and we could… experiment if we wanted to. I figured it out earlier than you, that’s all.” Someone cantered by the compartment, and he magically upped the phantom noise, just to be sure. “I’ve had special someponies. I’ll flirt, sure, but it’s different sometimes. Sometimes it’s something more.” He paused and looked directly at the pegasus. “I think this is one of those times.”

Long Jump opened his muzzle, and then closed it after a second, visibly sagging and reaching up to rub his eyes with his forehoofs before dropping them back down.

“This is all just so confusing. Riot control when the sun didn’t come up, piece of cake. Dealing with pink sticky clouds, annoying but doable. Changelings… well let’s skip that one, nopony in the guard did well during that except the Captain. This though, I’ve got no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

Red Ink slipped off his bench, and with one side step stood next to Long Jump. He leaned down and nuzzled the pegasus, ending by giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Why don’t we figure it out, then? Together. I have my own place at the school, and I bet you don’t want to go back to living in the barracks with smelly recruits. You can stay with me for a little while.”

“They aren’t smelly.” he said defensively. “The Guard is made up of good ponies.”

“So you want to live with boisterous newbies?” Red Ink asked, smiling. “I’m energetic and I don’t think I could keep up with them.”

Long Jump rolled his eyes and huffed, leaning over to nuzzle the Unicorn. “Well, I don’t need to stay at the barracks. It is, was, is easier…” He chewed on his lower lip for a moment before he continued. “I’ll admit, physical contact does feel nice.” His cheeks turned a bit pink at that. “Ok, if I am going to stay with you, though, I want to set some ground rules.”

Red Ink kissed the pegasus again. “Depends on what they are, but go ahead.”

“One, let me sleep on the couch. You do have a couch, right?” Long Jump asked.

“Several,” the unicorn answered.

Long Jump raised an eyebrow at that. “How much do they pay you teachers?”

The unicorn smirked. Maybe he should be vague, he thought. “If I told you, you’d vomit. Not ‘feel like vomiting,’ mind you. You’d physically vomit.”

The pegasus laid his ears back. “Oh. Um, anyway, Two: Please don’t embarrass me in, doubly so when I’m working.”

Red Ink climbed up on the bench next to Long Jump, setting his muzzle down carefully on the other pony’s flank. “I think I can manage that.”

“Three…” He undid the clasp of the cloak and jabbed his hoof at the collar. “Tell me why you own a pony-sized collar.”

Red Ink smiled wide. “In case I had a chance to convince another pony to wear it.” He poked the collar with his own hoof. “The tag is blank, by the way. Don’t fret.”

Long Jump gave the unicorn a blank look, opened his muzzle, then snapped it shut “You know what? No. No, I’m not going to ask why. You just had this for researching magical aid to chronic pain, and collars were cheap. Period.”

Red Ink giggled. “If you’d like.”

• • •

Red Ink stayed in the cabin with Long Jump most of the train ride back to Canterlot. Mostly, it was to be supportive and keep the illusions running, but there was also the cuter reason when the pegasus fell asleep while draped over him. If anyone had come into the cabin during those couple of hours, they might have thought a spectre was haunting the train.

The train slowing down woke the pegasus up, and then Red Ink started to giggle when Long Jump was so startled by his current position. In sleep, he’d draped over the unicorn’s lap, the hood of the cloak fallen forward, gently snoring into the cabin. Now he rolled off onto the floor, though he landed on his good legs.

“Wh… wh…” he mumbled, readjusting the cloak. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Red Ink asked, smiling as he stood up to stretch his legs.

“I fell asleep on you,” the pegasus said. “You didn’t get to go do stuff on the train.”

“Like what?” Red Ink asked. He leaned toward the other stallion, and kissed him on the cheek.

“I don’t know,” Long Jump stammered. “You told me there was a lounge and a bar.”

“I wanted to spend my time with you,” Red Ink whispered before pulling his muzzle back. With a quick thought, the illusions all dissipated. “It’s not a big deal. Now c’mon. We’re home.”

Author's Note

Revision 1