Red Ink had been to the royal palace a few times, though generally those gatherings involved large amounts of wine and attempting to do unspeakable things to Saddle Arabian princes or stalwart guards. Now, however, the polished marble and high archways seemed more intimidating than anything. He’d never been here on official business; there were more powerful unicorns than him, and it wasn’t like the group of all-powerful alicorn princesses needed help in the enchantment department. Prior to their official summons, this building had been little more than a shelter for fancy parties. Now, it seemed a lot more intimidating.

Sure, he’d done something wrong, but did the princesses really need to summon him? If Shining Armor had been able to fix everything with a few spells, that meant there was nothing to punish him for. He’d been acting heroically, and Bulwark had definitely been in the wrong. Of course, that might not matter for him that much. Did the princess still send people to the moon? Did the fact Princess Luna had been the one to summon him mean there was something worse in his future? Furthermore, why had she summoned all three of them, rather than just him?

“Either of you have any idea why we were summoned?” Red Ink asked. Maybe they could dismiss the worries from his mind.

“This late at night? If I had to guess, the Princess decided that letting you off scot-free was a mistake,” Long Jump muttered.

“I wouldn’t be that pessimistic, Long Jump,” Calpain said. “If Red was in serious trouble I’m sure they would not have just summoned us to the palace.”

Red Ink nodded. “I doubt they want witnesses for something like that. What do you think they might have for all three of us? I haven’t invented any magic recently…” He looked over at the nearby guard. “Maybe they’re worried about Long Jump.”

Long Jump tugged at the side of his traveling cloak, having made sure to put it on before trekking into the waning daylight. “Maybe… they do care about the Royal Guard. However I’m just a lieutenant, and a fresh one at that. Not really worth notice. Besides that scroll had Luna’s seal on it only, right? Calpain, did Shining Armor or his associates drop it off, or was it there when you got to the apartment?”

Calpain paused for a moment before answering. “It was just on the door step. No one about that I could see who might have dropped it off.”

“Hrmm…” Red Ink tried to think. He knew transferring letters magically was pretty easy. “It must have come directly from the princess. She could have just magicked it there without the need for a mailpony.” He looked over at the other two. “Maybe this is something else entirely. Nothing to do with me and… the spells… or your injuries. Maybe.”

“We’ve been in Canterlot for less than a day, and turned part of it … I’m sorry, YOU turned part of it upside down. It has to be related to that,” Long Jump said.

Calpain shrugged. “You never know with Royalty. Who knows what they have planned for us.”

The three of them walked through the main doors into the throne room, and the unicorn looked around. The giant stained glass windows looked a lot more impressive during the day, but they also discolored his coat as they approached the two massive thrones. The sun had started to set, which created even further distortions in the light. What could Luna want? Was he going to take her place on the moon? Maybe the potatoes had been too much. No one liked cleaning up food spills. Well, the transformation spell should have faded by now. That just meant they were back to being bricks, which he thought was probably even more irritating to clean. Yup. Red Ink was sure he was going to the moon, and Luna just wanted witnesses.

As soon as the sun slipped under the horizon, the room became significantly darker. Giant curtains materialized over the windows, and small faerie fire lamps appeared, floating in midair. It might be a simple spell, but it scared the willies out of Red Ink. Nothing like atmosphere to crack his confidence. Luna might not be sending him to the moon. She was probably sending her to a nightmare world or a parallel dimension where ponies got chased by monsters all day.

He really needed to not focus on the bad things Luna could do to him. If she wanted to destroy him, take away his magic, or some other horrible thing, she could have done it already. The night was her domain. This must be something a bit more official.

“Hello, Red Ink, Long Jump, Calpain,” a voice echoed around the room. Calpain jumped, but Red Ink tried to stay still. Princess Luna apparently knew how to make an entrance.

Seemingly from nothing, the princess walked out of the darkness. She was definitely bigger than any of them, and much larger than Red Ink had expected. Maybe because he’d only ever seen Princess Celestia from afar, but he hadn’t expected the princesses to be so… big. Luna towered over the three of them, looking between their small group before speaking.

“It is good to see you have recovered from your ordeal, Long Jump,” the princess said in her eerie voice.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Long Jump said, and clumsily dropped to kneel. Calpain followed him, and Red Ink was the last on the ground.

“No need for that,” she said. “I have summoned you here so I may send you on a task on my behalf, beyond the reach of even my power.”

“I thought you could go anywhere?” Red Ink asked, immediately regretting his words. He was going to a nightmare world for sure.

“There are areas beyond my reach, and especially there are those tasks more suited to a group of explorers than one of my position,” Luna said. Red Ink wondered if cowering might be a good idea right now.

“You will travel far to the Northeast. I believe the three of you well-suited for this task. One, a guard loyal to the Crown…” She nodded at Long Jump, who still knelt. “…one who is strong and confident in his knowledge…” She nodded at Calpain. “…and a unicorn powerful enough to face even the worst magical barriers.”

“Why us?” Calpain asked. That was a good question, Red Ink thought. Why send a young theoretical magician, a trained though admittedly lazy magician, and a semi-crippled pegasus out into the wild?

“Because I believe you three will be able to work together, without the divisions that can cause even the most stalwart of groups to fall apart,” Luna said. “Some friends cannot travel together. Some rely too much on each other and do not know their own strength. You three are perfectly balanced between the two.” That felt like a dodge to Red Ink, but he figured a princess didn’t have to explain herself.

“I just got a job!” Calpain squeaked out, but then went back to groveling. Well, Red Ink could certainly fix that; he could easily get the university to hold Calpain’s position, especially if they were on an errand for the crown.

“I believe your employer will understand,” Luna said.

Long Jump shuffled forward and bowed as deep as he could go. “Your Highness, I humbly request you send a different guard,” Long Jump said. “I am no longer capable of performing my duty.”

“Yes, you are,” Luna said, a tone of finality in her voice. Long Jump bowed his head until his nose touched the ground, and then moved back away from the princess. Red Ink knew a lost argument when he heard one.

“What should we expect to face?” Red Ink asked. “I’d like to prepare as many spells and potions as possible.”

“I do not know, my ponies,” Luna admitted, and for the first time she looked unsure. “But I entrust this to the three of you.”

“So, I’m not in trouble?” Red Ink asked.

“Why would you be in trouble?” Luna asked.

Suddenly, something occurred to Red Ink: the letter had probably arrived before the whole ‘potato incident.’

“Nothing,” he said quickly.

“Did something occur?” Luna asked.

“Nothing that would concern Your Majesty,” Red Ink said quickly. He could almost feel Long Jump’s gaze burning a hole through him, but the pegasus didn’t say anything.

Luna stared at Red Ink for a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, but eventually turned back to the other two. “You should leave in the morning,” Luna said. “Further instructions will greet you with the dawn.”

She was gone, then, along with the curtains and deep darkness. Calpain and Long Jump both pulled themselves back up, and Red Ink felt the stress drain away from him. Dangerous mission from a princess? He could do that. That wasn’t on the moon. That wasn’t some horrible Nightmare Moon thing.

They walked out of the palace, and though Long Jump acknowledged the many guards they passed, he didn’t spare any attention for Red Ink. Was the pegasus still that mad at him? Calpain started to gallop back to the school, probably to panic over packing.

“Do you want to get some dinner?” Red Ink asked.

“Not really,” Long Jump muttered. “I want to punch you a few times for that crap you pulled.”

Red Ink danced in front of him, his usual smirk returned to his muzzle. “C’mon. I bet you haven’t eaten all day. We were going to get dinner anyway.”

“I don’t feel like eating…” Long Jump said.

“Does your brain not feel like eating, or does your stomach?” Red Ink asked.

Long Jump frowned. Apparently he’d been right.

They went back to the small café where Red Ink had gotten far too drunk, and took seats on opposite sides of the table. Luckily it wasn’t the same waiter from earlier in the day, so Red Ink didn’t have to fervently apologize for drinking an entire bottle of champagne and then storming off without paying. He’d make sure to leave the money this time around.

“I’m still mad at you,” Long Jump muttered as soon as the waiter left. Red Ink suspected the pegasus was close to pulling the hood of his cloak up to hide.

“Right now, that’s fine,” Red Ink said and set his muzzle down on the table. “At least Luna didn’t find out about the potatoes.”

“She’ll know by tomorrow,” Long Jump answered. “And that isn’t the only reason why I’m mad at you.”

“You’re mad at me because I got drunk and stupid,” Red Ink said.

“That’s… most of it,” Long Jump mumbled.

“Is it because I tried to rescue you?” Red Ink asked. He had an idea, so he decided to run with it. “I know you’re used to taking care of yourself, being a guard and all, but I really thought you were in trouble. Yes, I was drunk, but that was more for courage. I wanted to save you.”

Long Jump stared at him for a few seconds, then leaned forward. Red Ink wondered what was happening, and then something occurred to him. They needed to leave in a few hours! The unicorn sprang up.

“Go ahead and eat,” Red Ink said. “I need to pack!”

Red Ink arrived back at his rooms at a full sprint, his horn glowing to move this bag back out into the forefront of the room. What might he need for a trip like this? Well, books wouldn’t hurt. He floated Starswirl the Bearded’s theorems down, some paper, ink, and a couple of length of feet of leather if he needed to bind any books. What else might he need for an adventure? Long Jump probably had all sorts of things for the wild, so the unicorn wouldn’t need to focus on that. Money. He’d probably need bits.

Half an hour later Long Jump pushed open the front door and after discarding his cloak onto the floor slumped onto one of the couches, not even acknowledging the presence of the unicorn. His remaining wing stretched out and fluttering slightly before dropping in exhaustion.

“What else do you think we should bring?” Red Ink asked.

“Sod off” came a tired reply, still tinged with irritation.

“I thought you wanted to serve the Princess?” Red Ink asked. “Isn’t that what this is?”

Long Jump turned and gave the unicorn an incredulous look before dropping his muzzle back on the couch. “I was looking forward to sleeping on something soft for a few nights…” he muttered. Red Ink walked over and nuzzled him, ignoring the glare at the sudden affection.

“We’ll stay at the best inns on the road. We might have to sleep under the stars once we get up there, but on the way? You’ll be in the lap of luxury.”

“I don’t need that,” the pegasus whispered, so Red Ink kissed him.

“You deserve it. How are the spells holding up?” Red Ink asked.

Red Ink watched the other stallion’s face. From the best he could tell, Long Jump didn’t like to talk about the pain he experienced.

“Hold still,” the unicorn said, and pressed his horn to the side of the collar.

As magic poured down his horn and into the leather, Red Ink wondered how his and Long Jump’s relationship would evolve over this adventure. Well, he could afford to rent Calpain a separate room for sure, but he was more worried about how Long Jump would react to all sorts of different thing. No time to find out like the present, he figured, so while Long Jump’s eyes were closed as the painkiller spells took hold, he quietly opened a drawer and pulled something out.

The click of the small, heart-shaped lock was a little louder than Red Ink had expected, and Long Jump’s eyes shot open.

“What was that?” he asked. Red Ink spun the pegasus’s collar around, so the lock faced backward and then Red Ink smiled.

“Shhh…” He kissed Long Jump on the lips, causing the stallion to blush.

“I’m serious,” Long Jump said after they broke the kiss, but Red Ink just kissed him again.

“It’s just something I thought you’d like,” Red Ink whispered after he broke the kiss.

“Did you…” Realization dawned on Long Jump’s muzzle. “Did you lock the collar on?”

“It has to have a focus for the spell to last longer,” Red Ink explained. That wasn’t entirely true – he needed to work on extending the spell, but the lock was an easily, temporary solution.

“I…” Long Jump said, then dropped it. Even after their earlier fighting, he leaned against the unicorn, breathing gently against the side of his neck.

Red Ink wasn’t sure what they’d face in the future. It might be monsters, it might be horrible traps, but he did know they’d face it together.

“I…” Long Jump started again, somewhat muffled by the mane in his face.

“Shhh… No more words…” Red ink whispered. They could worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

Author's Note

Calpain used with permission.

Revision 1

Well that's it. Hope you enjoyed the story. And if it isn't glaring obvious; part of this is a setup for a sequel that Red Ink already wants to write. Just change the slice of life tag to adventure and that would be the expected tone.