Loving the Sunny Skiesby Midnight WordsChaptersChapter 1: Random EncountersChapter 2: A Different Kind of AdventureChapter 3: Facing The ConsequencesChapter 4: It's in the air...Chapter 5:...And it's killing meChapter 1: Random EncountersChapter 1: Random Encounters My name is Shield Breaker and I'm part of Celestia's personal guards, there's nothing special about me, just another guard protecting a princess... with a dozen other guards. This was just another normal boring day guarding a giant door while the princess does her royal duties. I swear the monotony of this job is worst than watching pink pain dry. I woke up a late that morning, as usual, and groggily made my way to the shower, glad that the rumors of the guards dying their coats matching colors wasn't true. Truth be told, it was just magic in the armor. It would have been a nightmare to keep my entire coat dyed constantly, you know how much dye cost these days. Stepping from the shower I dried off and made my way to the kitchen. Coffee and toast. Again. I sometimes think I don't have anything else... Every morning, coffee and toast, why did I even buy this much toast?! I have no idea where the coffee comes from... it's just there... I'm over thinking this! It's too early for this! I wish I was a part of Luna's guards instead... Don't get me wrong, Celestia's great but... I have to get up at sunrise and I'm already thirty minutes late... as usual. I went to the door and opened it to pick up the morning paper. I dragged myself back to the kitchen and picked up some butter and the toast. I stretched my wings and sat down on my chair and took a sip of my coffee. I opened the paper and read the headlines. "Celestia's niece, Sunny Skies, is visiting Canterlot." I quickly ate my toast and put on my armor, I strapped helmet on my back as I galloped towards the castle. I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into a white pegasus with a pink mane and a sun with two clouds for her Cutie-Mark. "Sorry." I said and extended my hoof to the mare. "Owowow." She said and grabbed my hoof. "It's alright... It's just I'm late for a very important meeting. Uhh... Do you know the fastest way to get to the castle? Without flying of course." A meeting with the princess? She must be important. "Sure, I was just heading over. Follow me." I said and ran down an old alley way. The mare followed me without hesitation, even though her coat got slightly dirty. I ran through the downtown market place and climbed up an old ladder. The mare stopped at the foot of the ladder. "Are you sure this is the fastest way?" She asked as she looked at the old wooden ladder. I climbed off the ladder and peaked at the mare down below. "Yup, this is the fastest way, but if you want to go the boring way then I'll-" She climbed up faster then I did and looked around the roof. "If this is the fastest way, I don't want it to stop, this is the most fun I've had in years!" She said. "Where to now?" She asked. I pointed to a row of houses and shops that headed directly to the castle. "There, you have to jump over the roofs and follow me to the gates." I sprinted ahead and jumped over one of the roofs. Down below were several ponies trying to get past a sky-truck full of overturned turtles. I snickered at one of the unicorn who got so frustrated and yelled "Tortoise!". I looked back and saw the mare following close behind. She's pretty fast. I slowed down and matched her speed. "Race ya'!" I said and she nodded. I jumped over a large gap and made a sharp turn to the left and jumped over another gap. I sprinted over a large roof-top garden and jumped over the flowers, I knew the colt that lived here, I REALLY didn't want to get on his bad side. Whatever move I made, turn I did, jump I leapt, she was always right behind me. I stopped and hid inside the shadows. I pulled the mare to the shadows and placed my hoof over her mouth. Three Pegasi hovered overhead, searching for something or somepony. The trio left the roof-top and flew down the way we came. I removed my hoof from her mouth as she spat out some dirt. "That was gross! Why were we hiding?" She asked. "It may or not be legal to be on roofs unless you're a guard, but I'm not checked in yet so that means I'm currently not a guard." I said and peaked over the edge. "We jump down and glide." I said and opened my wings. She opened her wings as well. "On three... One... Two... THREE!" We jumped and glided down into a patch of bushes. I was the first one to come out, leaves and twigs were covered in my mane. The mare came out with a few more twigs and leaves. "I know somewhere we can wash quickly." I said. She waved her hoof and shook her head. "Nah, I'm really late, I want to get there as fast as I can." She said. I nodded and led her to a large gate that leads into the castle. "Shield Breaker, you're forty-five minutes late." The guard at the gate said. "That makes a month of being tardy for guard duty." The guard added a number to the "How many days Shield Breaker is late in a row" board. I rolled my eyes at the old coot. "Speaking of tardy, there was an overturned truck full of turtles at Hovva street. Maybe you should send somepony there to, I don't know, help maybe? A lot of ponies are going to be late for their jobs." "I'll send a guard to help. Shield, if you are late for one more day I'm afraid I'm gonna-" He stopped mid-sentence and bowed. He grabbed my head and forced me to bow as well. "Your majesty, I'm sorry for that rude display of uncivil behavior." "What?" I stood up. "Why are you bowing? The only ones here is me, you, and her." I said and pointed to the pink maned Pegasus. "You idiot! She's the princess' niece, she's Sunny Skies!" He said in a low growl. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... WHAT! Well... screw me sideways and call me an idiot. So much for first impressions. I bowed back down. "Sorry ma'am for being rude earlier, please forgive my sincerest apologies." I said. I almost gagged at being this formal and asking for forgiveness. She giggled. "It's alright. I never got your name." She said. "Shield Breaker, ma'am." She smiled. "Excuse me, sir but I would like to have a chat with Mr. Breaker and the Princess so I would like to request to leave him in my custody, if you please." Well... Looks like I'm fired... "Of course." The old guard said and opened the gate to let us both pass. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. We came up the main castle doors. We stepped through it and made our way to the royal throne room. Some other guards would look at me and whisper with each other. This is High-School all over again. Being late, getting in trouble, classmates/workmates were gossiping about what I did this time. Yup, just like High-School. Two guards were already stationed at the doors, I will never get use to their gaze, honestly, and I’m not even sure how I got into the guards. The two guards opened the large door and the two of us walked in to see the majestic Princess Celestia, writing a letter to, I presume to be her student, Twilight Sparkle. "Hi! Auntie!" Sunny waved at the large Alicorn. Princess Celestia sent a green flame from her horn and burned the letter, sending it to her personal student. "Sunny? Where have you been, young lady!?!" "I got lost." She said. Princess Celestia didn't buy it. "Actually, I was trying to hide from the paparazzi." She said and blushed. "But that's not why I'm here, in the throne room, talking to Princess Celestia not Auntie Celly." She said in a very serious voice. Here it come... "I would humbly request..." It was nice knowing me... "... that the guard known as Ser Shield Breaker..." I too young to be banished to the moon, sun, stars or banished in general! ".. too be my personal escort on my stay here in Canterlot." That's it my life is ove-Wait...What. Princess Celestia was just as shocked as I was. "Really now? I think I can arrange that." She said. "Thank you, Princess." She said and bowed as she pulled me out of the room. After a few corridors I finally got the courage to ask her what and why she did that. "What...did...you just do?" I asked, still in general shock. "Got you out of trouble for being late." She said and motioned me into a large bed chamber with light pink and white wallpapers. "And I think I just got you promoted." "Excuse me for being rude, but I'm still guarding royalty, nothing much has changed." I pointed out. "Yes, but you're the only one guarding me. That makes you special." She said and motioned me to stand outside the shower. "I'm going to take a bath." "E-excuse me, ma'am but are you sure this is appropriate? I could guard outside or maybe-" "Stallion up, you're just standing in front of the door while I take a bath, shesh, stallions these days." She said and walked into the bathroom and locked the door. What...just...happened.... Brain, work dammit! So recap... I bumped into a mare, ran illegally on roof-tops, late, turns out the mare is royalty, was about to get fired, she saves my butt, and now I'm standing outside her bathroom as she takes a bath... Most guards can't even go into Princess Celestia's room if it's not an emergency! "Hey Shield, could you get me towel or something." She said through the door. I found a towel inside one of the drawers and saw myself in the mirror, I was out of uniform. If my CO sees me like this... I quickly strapped on my helmet and my coat color began to change to the uniform white of the royal guards. I knocked on the door and held out the towel. She grabbed it and dried off her mane and body. "Thanks... Guard? Shield can you please take off your helmet, I can't tell any of you apart." She said and poked my helmet. "Guards aren't allowed to be out of uniform during work hours." I said and gave a unsatisfied look. "Are you going to disobey me?" She said and smirked. "No, ma'am." I said and started to sweat a little. "But the rules states that-" "Who cares about rules, I never follow them." She said. "And stop with all that 'ma'am' stuff, it makes me feel old." "But ma'am, I mean... Sunny? If my CO sees me out of uniform, she'll kill me!" I pleaded and speaking informally to royalty felt strange. "I'll handle it. And more importantly, I'm not asking you to take off your helmet, I'm ordering you to take off that helmet and I think I have more authority than your Commanding Officer." She said and I hate to admit it but she is right, so I took off my helmet and reverted back to my own coat and mane color. "See, much better." "Yes, it is more comfortable..." I said awkwardly. "Relax, I'm not going to think less of you or the guards if you act informal towards me." She said and walked out the door and I followed her. "I can be informal," I said as a guard walked passed us. "ma'am..." I said to Sunny as the other guard looked at me with a curious eye. "Shield, if the CO finds you out of uniform... just, just put on your helmet for Celestia's sake." The other guard said. I honestly couldn't tell my fellow guards apart. I turned my attention back to the pink maned Pegasus. "But it's just I can't be inside the castle or SHE'S gonna chew me out." "So what? We leave the castle, show me the sights and stuff." She said and made her way to an open window. "Are you sure this is allowed?" I asked as she jumped out the window and opened her wings. "Like I said, I never follow the rules." She giggled and flew off. "What have I gotten myself into..." I muttered and followed the Princess through the window. Author's Note I have no idea what I'm doing! Please give me some advice, I'm writting crappy romance, I need all the help I can get. Chapter 2: A Different Kind of AdventureChapter 2: A Different Kind of Adventure I flew after that crazy Pegasus and started to daze off to an old memory. A memory when I was just a colt learning how to fly, it wasn't a special memory, just something that came to mind. "Equistria to Shield! Where can a mare get something to eat around here?" Sunny said as she lied down on a cloud. "Huh? Eat? You can always go back to the castle, ma'am, I mean Sunny." I said and landed next to her. She gave me a bored look. "The cooks are great, but... You can try and ask the them to make a daisy sandwich and they make a feast... and the castle just doesn't have the atmosphere, you know?" She said. I could sort of understand what she means. The cooks can't make a simple dish to save their lives, what they count as "simple" would be making that jumbo lettuce salad with whip-cream and a cherry on top. "Well... How about that fancy restaurant at the upper part of the city? I mean it was voted 'The most exquisite and magnific' restaurant in the district." I said. "Because... it was based off the castle... Come on! Give me something low-brow and fun!" She said. I sighed. "I'm probably going to get in trouble for this, but..." I took a deep breath. "There's this bar that sells the BEST Hay Fries you could ever taste in Canterlot, and they have the hardest drinks and the finest mar- never mind, I got nothing." I quickly shut up. She raised her eyebrow and smiled. "Go on, finish what you going to say. You have piqued my royal interest." She said in a sobishly annoying voice. "N-nothing, it was just some run-down bar at downtown Canterlot." I said. She pouted. "Fine. I guess I just have to tell Auntie that you're a bad guard and should be banished." She said. "You wouldn't dare..." "Try me." I sighed in defeat. "The bar is called the Trotting Mare and... a lot of the regulars are... rowdy at best." "Rowdy?" She said. "Yeah... and by 'rowdy' I mean a bunch of hard-flank drunks with a quick temper and even smaller IQs" I said. She jumped up. "Sounds like fun! Let's go!" She said and sped off towards downtown Canterlot. "What have I gotten myself into?" Sunny and I landed on the streets of Canterlot. A few ponies stared at us as we walked by. "Maybe you shouldn't wear that armor, it's starting to draw attention." Sunny said as I walked alongside her. "I-" I started but she quickly cut me off. "I don't want to hear it, take off that armor." She said. I would protest, but this armor really was itchy, you'd think after a few years this design would change, but noooooo, 'It was the royal Canterlot guard's symbol of authority and blah blah blah' Can't it be the symbol of comfiness and authority? I undid the latches on my armor and they fell to the ground in a large crash. As I stretched my wings and popped my neck, I noticed Sunny smile at me. "What?" I asked. "Nothing, nothing, let's get going." She said and quickly ran down the street. Who cares about that armor? You can easily get a new one and it's easily breakable. I sometimes wonder if the guards are just for show? I mean Celestia is a GODDESS for Faust's sake! And I don't think the guards did anything during the Changeling invasion a few months back either. We stopped in front of the old bar, the smell of booze wafted through the air, I was getting a bit thirsty. I walked in with the princess and I was greeted with cheers from the other patrons. "Shield! The bottomless pit! What the bleeding hell are you doing here?" A drunk night guard by the name of Stalwart greeted me by putting his foreleg over my shoulder. "Finally got fired, eh? Drowning out your sorrows?" I pushed off the hoof and looked over to the princess. Stalwart put his over foreleg over her and pushed her close. "This yer' new marefriend? You aim high up the food chain!" He said and pushed her towards me. I helped her balance and stared at Stalwart. "Go home Stal, you're drunk." I said and motioned Sunny to the counter. Stalwart, taking it as a hint for us to be alone(seriously, this guy has a drinking problem) left with a wink and drunkly walked out the door. We took a sit at the counter and I spotted the barkeep, cleaning a mug. "Hey, Shield... This ain't yer quittin' time yet." The Barkeep said. I'm not sure if his name really is Barkeep but that's what all the regulars call him, and we never really see him outside the bar. EVER, I'm not even sure he buys groceries. "What's up, Barkeep. I got a pro-" Sunny put a hoof over my mouth and shook her head. "I mean I got some time off." "Ok, 'ever ye say. So, what'll it be?" He asked. "Just some Hay Fries." I said with a smile. "Put it on my tab." "Some hard cider too." Sunny said that matched my smile. "What?" I asked with a confused look. "I'm not sure you're allowed to drink." Two mugs slid across the counter and she eyed it with thirst. Really, what the hell was going on? I think she planned this. She picked up the mug and drank it like somepony who has been in the desert for days. I picked up my own mug and drank it down. She picked up some hay fries and began munching on them. "This stuff is good." She said, contented. "Can we have some more cider?" "Sunny, I am not getting in trouble if you go home drunk." I said with a frown. "Nope, I'm drinking. Who's the boss again?" She said with a smirk. For the love of Celestia, if I get chewed out for this, I don't know what'd I'd do! "You are," I sighed. "just don't get too drunk... Alright?" She smiled as another pair of drinks slid towards us. "I make no promises." I picked up my mug and chugged it down. "Buck me." "BARKEEP! Another!" "Barkeep, stop her before she empties your entire stock." I said and pulled the the drunken princess. Sweet mother of Luna, could she drink! Most mares would probably be knocked out after that. "MORE!" She yelled and I stopped her from charging in there. "STOP! Barkeep! No more! For the love of everything, I can't take her home like this! The Princess would kill me!" I yelled and she tried to claw her way over the counter. Barkeep stopped with two mugs in front of us. "Princess?" He said and gave one of the mugs to Sunny. Oh horse feathers... "I mean, her mother acts like a princess, total control freak, heh heh..." I gave a very unconvincing laugh that only made my situation worse. Barkeep scratched his chin. "Well, I guess I could give ya' a break." He then turned to the mare that was viciously chugging down MY mug. "Oy, lassie, you've emptied out my stock, come back tomorrow." She stopped her drinking and promptly fell asleep on the counter. "Are ya gonna come back later for the... 'private' shows?" He asked with a curious grin. "No, not today." I heaved her up onto my back, and by King Solaris, she is heavy. She began snoring loudly as I thank Barkeep and left. My bill is gonna be HUGE! The sun was beginning to set, and the moon raised on the horizon. I really liked flying at night, especially after I drink, some say it isn't safe, but I just love having a belly full of cider and feeling the cold night wind on my face, but not tonight, tonight I got to get this filly home without being seen... And to make matters worse, I'm going into the most well-guarded place in the city with the most efficient guards(Luna's) and with a lot of magical security. I carefully made my way to an old building, hopefully if the rumors were true, there was an underground passage that leads to dungeon. I carefully thought against it. It would either be unstable or have spiders in it, I hate spiders. I decided to sneak pass the guards, through the main gates. There was always a wagon that goes through the castle and delivers supplies for the chefs, and speak of the devil, here it is. The wagon was being pulled by(oddly) two Pegasi that were casually having a little debate about pastries. "Muffins!" The grey one with the strange(but oddly cute) eyes said with a small pouty face. "Pies!" The other one with a few raindrops for her Cutie mark said with a smile. "You're just mad, cause I'm winning." "Hah! Muffins beat Pies anyway." "Even on Sunday? Puhh-lease." As the two argued, I slowly climbed on the back and placed a tarp over me and Sunny. "Yeah, but we do agree that oatmeal is the worst, right?" "Totally, not even muffin flavored oatmeal could fix that." "It's just so squishy and slimly." The wagon began to move, slowly and surely, they made their way to the castle. "Halt." Crap... Don't move, don't make a sound. And Lady Luck decided to spit on my face. Sunny snored loudly and brush up next to me in her sleep. And then Lady Luck decided to wipe it off with her handkerchief. I peeked outside and saw that the grey coated Pegasus' stomach was rumbling. "Sorry, I haven't had dinner yet." The guard nodded and let the duo through. I gotta remember to treat him a few round at the bar later. The wagon made it behind the loading bay to the kitchen and the two of them were preoccupied with talking to the chefs. I slowly walked around to the nearby bushes, Sunny was on my back. I was careful not to step on any twigs or branches 'cause, you know, that's always how the hero gets caught in stories, not that I'm in a story, I'm just comparing. Now how am I going to get inside? I have no idea. I took a look around my surroundings and saw something that might be able to help, a box with a small slit so one could see outside, how convenient! There were also a few barrels that we could hide in, but I never trusted barrels since... THAT time... I still have nightmares... And wheels, wheels are evil too. Agh, I'm getting side-tracked. I scooted over to the box and lifted it over my head, it could be the cider talking, but this is foal-proof. I made my way inside, the chefs didn't seem to notice the box that was walking by itself. Huh, weird. I saw that we were inside the dark hallway, a few candles here and there, have they not heard of electricity before? They could at least put in a few bulbs here and there. Though I guess I should be thankful, the less visibility, the better. I walked around the corner and bumped into one of the night guards, luckily it was a good friend of mine. She pulled up the box and Sunny and I were caught. "Shield? What are yo- OH, SWEET MOLESTIA! You're not, you know, with the princess?" She said with a disgusted face. What? I really had no idea what she's- Oh... "It's not what it looks like." I said with a completely straight face... as straight as a drunk face at least. "She passed out I need to get her to bed." That sounded so wrong... "... I'll look the other way, but you better treat me to some Sweet Apple pop tarts later." She said and looked away. "Thanks, Minty." I said and she went away. I avoided the other guards, and most of them didn't seem to notice a box in the middle of the hallway. Each step I took echoed through the hallway, hopefully the guards think it was just another guard on patrol. Seriously, how many guards does Princess Celestia and Luna need anyway? I heard hoof-steps coming my way from around the corner, I stopped moving until the pony moves pass us, but sadly life hated me. "Huh? What's this? Somepony was nice enough to leave me a gift." Discord said and pulled up the box. "Oh, I life-sized plushies of two ponies I have never met before. I always wanted one of these." He said. I think he was joking, but it was hard to tell with Discord. "Uhh..." I said as he picked me and Sunny up and stroked her mane, she gave a satisfied purr, something you would hear from an old house cat. "And they talk too, that is so nice, I gotta give the guy who brought me this a pat on the back or something." With that he dropped us back to the ground and poofed away. I shook off the weirdness and merely shrugged it off as an effect of alcohol, I picked up the drunk mare and we quickly left in our box... That sounded so weird... Before long we made it back to her bedroom door. Finally! I pushed off the box and quickly opened the door. Everything was dark as I carried Sunny to her bed, and then the lights went on. Standing by the door, in their magnificent glory, Celestia and Luna stared at me as I put her down on her bed. Discord was next to them with a frown on his face. "I wanted to keep them, but NOOO you just had to ruin my fun, Celly, Lulu." He said and crossed his arms in defeat. Well.... You know what, I give up... "Where were you two?" Celestia asked in a calm tone. Luna was... slightly less calm. "WHAT HAST THOU DONE TO THY NIECE!?" She boomed in her Royal Canterlot voice, and Sunny somehow managed to sleep through that... My ears would be ringing for a week. I was really tired and I honestly couldn't care about formality anymore, since I believe to be on the brink of being out of a job. "Long story, short, she got drunk and I brought her home." "WHAT!" Sunny yelled from behind me, she had bloodshot eyes and stared daggers at me. "You could be informal to my aunts but not to me!" She said and quickly fell back to sleep. Celestia and Luna frowned. "We'll talk tomorrow, for now, you can rest in the bunkers." Author's Note I really have no idea of where I'm going with this story... I'm not sure if I should get this a scheduled update or just post stuff when I finish it, like my other story, An Angel and her Soldier(Shameless self advertisement) Yeah, whatever enjoy. Chapter 3: Facing The ConsequencesChapter 3: Facing The Consequences I couldn't sleep. The bunkers were only used for a few guards that decided to go overtime. I never stay for overtime. There was nopony else here, it was strangely quiet. A few of the night guards paid me a visit, just to say goodbye. News travels fast during the night. Right now, I was just lying in bed, thinking how this went so wrong. I never really got angry before, but right now... AGH, just thinking about her makes my blood boil! I was alone in the dark room, just staring at the ceiling, trying to calm myself. The door opened, I didn't bother to look anyway. I don't care anymore. "Uhh... Hey" I know that voice, I really don't want to hear her right now. "Umm... I'm real sorry-" "You should go to sleep." I said in a cold tone, I don't want to talk to her right now. She stayed quiet for a while. I really feel bad for her, she's probably feeling a lot guilty about what happened tonight. "I'm serious, you're gonna have a headache tomorrow." "I'm really sorry..." "Don't worry about it..." We stayed silent for a little while. She stepped closer to me. "I'll make it up to you." "Don't worry about it, I was planning to quit anyway." "... Can I... uhh... stay here with you?" She asked. "... Do what you want." She climbed on to the bed next to me, I could hear her sniffle a little. "I really shouldn't tell you this, but do you know why I didn't have any guards when I got here?" "No." "I was supposed to have a guard when I visited the Crystal Empire last week, but... he quit... I don't know what I did, but he just quit, said I should just go to Canterlot by myself." I think I could hear her sobbing. "Every bodyguard I ever got either quit or just left... I don't think I'll ever make any friends if I can't even get my bodyguard to stay for more than a day." I could hear her sob right now, and I don't know what to do. I turned to face her. "Hey, pretty mare like you shouldn’t cry." "You're leaving like the rest..." She said, I got up from my bed and walked over to hear. "You remind me of a little filly that left here and went to Ponyville. I guess you're trying to make friends, unlike her. And now she's got friends there, she was the most studios, know-it-all bookworm you will ever meet. And if she could make friends, so can you." I said and placed my hoof on her shoulder. "But... I'm a princess, the only ones that like to hang out with me are nobles, and you know how they're like." I looked around, seeing nopony here(I could be wrong), but what the heck. "After the whole 'getting fired' thing tomorrow, I'll show you someplace we can go." "Right..." "I'd say you already made a friend, me! Come on, go to sleep, wouldn’t want my new friend to be tired tomorrow when we get chewed out." I said and pulled her up. "Let's get you to bed." "Thanks..." I fell asleep outside her door... I don't know how, but I have a HUGE hangover and a sore neck, I really couldn't care about that right now. "Hey, Shieldy. Wake up." A guard said and kicked me up. "You're gonna be late for your execution." "WHAT!?!" Was this guy serious? I really can't tell, guards all look so serious. We stared for a few minutes and then he bursts out laughing. "OH! You should have seen your face! Priceless!" "Ha ha, very funny. Get the princess, she's in her room." I said and rubbed my head. He nodded and went inside. I really feel bad for her, it was one thing for me to get in trouble, but both of us are getting in trouble with Sun Goddess of Equistria. I got up and looked out the window. It's a nice day outside... Shame I won't be seeing it when I'm in the dungeon. The door opened and both the guard and Sunny left the room. "Hey..." She said. She looked horrible, didn't look like she got a wink of sleep last night. I should treat her to some coffee after this. "Hey, why so glum. It's just a job, come on." I grabbed her hoof and ran, leaving the guard. We stopped around the corner. She still seemed sad about last night. "Sunny..." "No, I'm fine. Let's go." She said and headed to the throne room. "Sunny..." I followed her, she's really going through a lot right now... We went through the large doors to the throne room, Princess Celestia and Luna was sitting on their respective thrones. We both bowed in respect. "Rise." Luna said. It was still loud, not Canterlot Voice loud, but still pretty loud. We both stood up. "Tell us what happened last night." "It was my fault, I-" "No, It was me!" Sunny yelled. I turned to look at her, she wasn't confessing, she was begging. "Sunny... Don't..." "I told him that I wanted to drink, he was just following orders. I should be the only one in trouble, not him." She yelled, she was desperate now, I could hear it in her voice, and I bet Celestia and Luna could hear it too. "Sunny..." I said, I turned towards the two Goddesses. "I offered her to go to the bar, I was the one who ordered the drinks, it was on my tab, it was all my fault, she had nothing to do with this, she wanted to back out, but I forced her." I lied, at least I could take some heat off of her. "No, he's lying! I ordered the first drink. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was too stubborn... and now..." She started to cry. Sunny... what are you doing? I stepped forward. "Ask the bartender, he'll believe me." "He's lying! Please... Auntie... Don't fire him..." "Sunny... Don't worry about me." "Enough!" Celestia yelled. "We want answers, not lies." I sighed, there wasn't a way out of this. "Really though, it was me, I told her about the bar. You can ask one of Luna's guard, Stalwart" "Yes, but I only told him I wanted to eat, not get drunk. I lied to him, and used his tab to empty the bar." Sunny said. "I just let her drink, I knew it was wrong, but I didn't even stop her." I said. "But, he was looking out for me and I didn't take his advice..." She said. "Stop," Celestia said. "I know what both of you did was wrong, and that deserves punishment." She said, we both looked away. "I may be the Goddess of the Sun, but I cannot let this go without punishment." Here it comes... "Sunny Skies..." Well, I hope I didn't get her to burnt... "Shield Breaker..." I wonder if I get banishment, a nice change of pace that's for sure... "Sunny gets a week probation and with a probation officer." She got off easy... "Shield Breaker... You will be her probation officer." "What?" "You will not leave her side, this whole week. Am I understood?" Praise the merciful Celestia! "Yes, ma'am." I gave a salute and smiled. Sunny was smiling too. "Thank you, Princess." She bowed and both of us left with a smile on our face. We walked out the gates and laughed... Well, actually, I guffawed and she giggled lightly, but still laughter. "So, where should we go 'probation officer'?" She said in a mocking tone. "Get drunk?" I said, sarcastically. "You've read my mind." Both of us laughed again. "Let's not. Let's go get some coffee, first. I need something to wake me up in the morning." I said and took to the air, she quickly followed. We flew for a while, I love the wind passing through my mane. The air just feels nice. "I love flying! I love the wind!" She yelled against the air current. I smiled, today was going good. "We have more in common than I thought." We dropped down to the ground. Ponies were busy getting to their jobs or having a quick breakfast, it was still pretty early so I expect a lot of ponies trying to get to work. I never really cared for schedules, hence that is why I am always late, did I mention I threw my alarm clock out the window? We went to one of the coffee shops "Star Bucks" I believe. I went over to the counter and ordered some coffee, for both of us. The mare at the counter nodded and brought out two cups of hot coffee, I placed the bits on the counter and picked the coffee up with my wings. I walked over to the table she was sitting on. "Coffee, ma'am?" "Thank you, waiter." She said with a sarcastic tone. "So where are we going?" She took one of the cups and placed it on the table. I sat down on the opposite chair. "There's a carnival in town..." "I'm liking this idea!" "Finish your coffee first." Shield said and sipped his coffee, it was still steaming hot, and I quickly spat it out. Sunny giggled as the hot black liquid dripped from my, now burnt, mouth "Laugh it up." She stifled her laughter. "Sorry, sorry. I just needed a laugh after last night." She smiled and sipped her coffee too. It was also hot and burned her tongue. I started to laugh. "Karma." I said with a smile We finished our coffee and left the shop. The day was cool, a nice breeze going through the air, I saw Sunny's mane blowing with the wind. She looked like she was in deep thought actually. I wonder what she's thinking. It wasn't before long, we made it to the carnival. The carnival was packed... with up-tight snobs, and bored looking foals. Some had actually fallen asleep on the carousel. "Well... I was expecting a much more festive mood." I said as saw that even the mascot was just sleeping on a nearby bench. Sunny rubbed her chin, thinking of some clever way to liven up the party. "Shield... Follow me." I don't know what happened, but now I'm dressed as a clown trying to juggle TEN balls on my wings while she kept throwing more stuff for me to juggle. A few foals started to laugh as I basically failed at juggling more than ten balls, I don't even know how I got to ten. "Go on, you can do it, Shieldy." "Shiedly!?!" I stammered and the balls juggled out of my wings and hit me on the head. The foals laughed, and a few noble snickered. I'm not really sure if they were serious. She was now on to the games, water guns, throwing rings and the like. All the foals joined in and even a few not-so-uptight parents too. "Clowny!" She squealed at me. "Come on, join the party!" She pulled my arm and gave me a few rings. "Just get the rings onto the stick over there." She pointed. I was horrible at this game and every other game for that matter. Sunny was dominating EVERY game. Every. Single. One. Even the big hammer thing... Things were at full-swing now. Foals were playing and smiling, the older folk were actually somewhat having a good time. I finally got out of that weird clown costume and found Sunny sitting on a bench with two milkshakes. I assumed one was for me, unless she ordered two for herself. "Hey there, Clowny." She said and handed me one of the milkshakes, I noticed that somepony drank from it. "Did you drink this?" I asked. "I like strawberry." She shrugged and drank her milkshake. "Why didn't you order strawberry then?" "I also like watermelon." I shrugged and drank my own milkshake. "Backwash?" "I know you like it." "Agh..." Really what is wrong with this girl? She's a princess yet she acts like... me? Disrespectful, doesn't care about the rules, happy-go-lucky, cute... scratch that... I'm not cute. We just walked around the carnival for a while, taking in the sights. She looked up and saw a rather large roller-coaster. I hate roller-coasters... "Let's ride one!" She said. I was afraid of that... "Uh... let's not..." I said nervously. "Don't tell me you're scared." She said and laughed. "You are! You're a Pegasus for Auntie's sake." "It just doesn't feel natural being in the air without using your wings..." I said and looked up at the giant tower and the roller-coaster, I started to feel very dizzy. "Who's the boss?" She asked. Ha, little does she know that I'm the boss now! "Me, that's who. I'm your probation officer, remember?" I said with a cocky tone. She deflated a bit. "Ummm... didn't think that would back-fire at me..." She sighed and looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, my heart seriously exploded... "If you don't ride with me, I'm gonna make this face all day." She said. I've got an iron will, she won't break me. "Pwese, can we go on the roller-coaster?" ... ... ... ... How did I end up here? I was being strapped to the front row of the roller-coaster with Sunny right next to me. I was tense... Actually, I was downright terrified of roller-coasters, I gripped on the railings as the cart or whatever the you call them started going up. We stopped at the top. "Well, that wasn't as- AHHHHHHHHHHHH" I screamed as we rocketed down at insane speeds. I could hear the others scream behind me, most of their screams were ones of joy, but mine was genuine fear. This went on for several minutes, mostly because I was paralyzed in fear and Sunny took the chance to ride it again. After she got bored and dragged me off my seat, which I was clinging on to for dear life. After I calmed down, by dumping cold water on me. "NEVER DO THAT EVER AGAIN!" I yelled. "How about something calm this time?" Sunny asked with a genuine smile. "I'll make it up to you, promise!" "Anything that doesn't involve falling to my death at extreme speeds sounds good." I said. By Luna's mane, I don't want to do that ever again! "How about a Ferris wheel, just the two of us, I think there was supposed to be some fireworks later." She said. I suppose nothing could go wrong. We made our way to the Ferris wheel and boarded. It was a slow circular motion, it was somewhat soothing being up here. I could see the light of the moon reflect off the lake below Canterlot, and the city itself was beautiful, lights that shimmer through the dark, it was nice, like I could stay here forever. I felt Sunny's head rest on my shoulder. "Hey." She said. "You're buying me a plushie later." She said softly and yawned. "I'm not carrying you back if you fall asleep." I stifled a yawn as well. "And I'm NOT carrying you back either." She said. The fireworks started, the sky was colored with all the colors of the rainbow, it was beautiful, the sky was lit up with pictures of Celestia and Luna and even a little Discord there. "Hey, look at that." I said and pointed to a pink heart shaped firework made from smaller hearts. She fell asleep on my shoulder. She was cute, when she smiles, her eyes are beautiful... Her wings are perfect, she's perfect... I have a problem... I think I'm in love with royalty... This is like a crappy romance novel... I hope this isn't going to be tragedy... I'm in love with Sunny Skies, niece of the Sun Goddess herself, Celestia... Forbidden love... Why does the Universe hate me? Author's Note I wrote this on a whim. Some people say you should have a clear idea of what the ending going to be, but I am currently wingging it. Chapter 4: It's in the air...Chapter 4: It's in the air... I got her home, safe and sound. We had a little chat after that, and I was about to leave the castle. When I was stopped by Princess Luna. "Where art thou going?" Luna said with a small frown. "I'm going home, Princess , it's already late." I said with a formal tone. Ponies just can't help sounding like those olden time ponies around Princess Luna, well... maybe just me. "Thou art disobeying orders from thy Princess of thy Sun." She said formally. "Our sister said that thou must stay in close vacinity of thy Princess." "But, surely she doesn't mean ALL the time, right?" I said. You can't be serious... "She does." Luna said still frowning. She must not like having a complete stranger watch over her niece, even if I am a guard. "Thou can stay in the Barracks." With that she left back up to her tower. Are they serious? Because right now, I just want to go home and make faces in the mirror... It's a past time. I quietly made my way to the Barracks and opened the door there, it was dark inside, I couldn't see anything and had to feel my way through. I made my way to the bed I had last night. I sat down on my bed and felt a soft squishy feeling. I looked down a saw Stalwart sleeping on the job. I am the worst guy on the day force, but this guy is the worst at the night force. "Hey, Stal. Wake up." I shook the pony awake. He opened his serpent like eyes and yawned. "Stal, get back to your shift, unless you want to get in trouble... again..." Stal got up and yawned again. I thought the night guards were nocturnal or at least try to be. "Hey, Shield... wait... what are you doing here?" He asked. "I am forced to stay close to the Princess..." I said and took his spot on the bed. He smiled and pushed me off the bed. "You playa! I didn't even know she was the princess and you are totally got her under your hoof." I got up from the floor. "No, I'm just forced to be with her 24/7... well just for the week." "Yeah, yeah. Of course, this is just a job after all... I bet you ten bits that by the end of the week she'll fall madly in love with you." "... No, just no. For one thing, she's royalty, the only why she could like me would be if I was at least a noble." I climbed back to bed and heard the night guards CO yell something that involve swearing, Stalwart, and a chair. Stalwart quickly ran out the door, silently praying that he won't get what he thought he's going to get. It was late, I should really get some sleep... after that really loud yelling stops, that is. After a few hours of lying on the bed, I just couldn't get to sleep, even though I was dead tired. I got to thinking of what I said to Stalwart. "The only way she'll like me is if I turn into a noble..." I said silently. "Me, a noble? That's a laugh..." But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about Sunny, and the more I thought about her, the more I thought about Celestia and Luna, how would they react? Will they accept me, am I good enough? What would Sunny think? I couldn't sleep, so I decided to fly for a while. I opened the window and jumped out, wings flapping, the night air was nice. It was a cold night tonight, everything was quiet except for the dance club in downtown Canterlot, there was a few neon lights that were shooting up to the sky. There were a few Pegasus that started flying towards the club. I wanted to just lay down on a cloud and stare at the moon. I picked a fluffy cloud and lay there for a while. I was drifting in and out of sleep, like I was having a nightmare, but I can't remember anything. I was worried about Sunny for some reason. I couldn't help but feel like something is wrong. I jumped off my cloud and went back to the castle. I went through my window and left through the door, I ran through the hallway and went to Sunny's room and knocked on her door. There was no answer... I knocked again... No answer... Again and with the same result. "Sunny? I called out. There was still silence, but after a while, there was a loud crashing sound from inside, and then I heard Sunny scream. I rammed my shoulder into the door but it didn't budge. A few other guards heard the scream and came running. "Help me with this!" I yelled and we busted down the door. "Sunny!" "Princess? Where is she? The other guards asked. GAH! Where the hell is she!?! "Search the castle!" I said to the other guards. "Check with the guards posted outside, they might have seen somepony fly out the window." The guards looked at each other and nodded, they all left. "Damn... where is she?" I said to myself. "Looking for me?" I turned around and saw Sunny with a large grin on her face. I rushed to her and gave her a tight hug. "Where were you?" "I fell under the bed... Sorry, I worried you." She said and we broke the hug. "Didn't know you cared so much." "What was scream for? I heard you scream." I said and she went back to bed. "Nothing, just a nightmare. You shouldn't worry yourself with that." She said. She looked a bit shaken up, actually. Why didn't Luna help with the nightmare? "What was the nightmare about? Talking about it is the best way to overcome your fear." "You'd probably just laugh." She said and sat down on the bed. "It's really silly." "Don't worry, I have silly nightmares too, there was this one time with these weird hairless-ape thing." I said. Really those things creep me out, that’s the last time I let Minty and Stalwart tell scary stories. "Hairless-apes? That's funny!" She laughed. They were really scary, especially those ones that have those huge udder things on their chest, always with the hugging and the squeezing. "Yeah, weird things that call themselves 'bronies' weird bunch of whack-jobs if you ask me." "That sounds like something Discord would come up with." She laughed. "My nightmare was really silly, you'd just laugh I know it." "No I won't." "Fine... I dreamt that I was a princess... an Alicorn, immortal, powerful, and years go on, I didn't age, friends and family were getting older and weaker until they stop... dead and I was still alive. I met somepony, the perfect stallion, we got married, and I didn't age... he died too. We had a kid, and the same thing happened... I was really scared... I was there, on each of their death beds. I know it wasn't real, but... is that how Auntie feels like?" "That's not silly, I sometimes think that, living forever is more of a curse really. You can do anything and everything, but after... it just gets bland, and those you love start dying around you... Life losses it's meaning without death... I learned that little while ago, that's why my motto is 'live life to the fullest'. Come on, don't be sad." I said. "I'm not sad... don't treat me like a foal..." She said and rubbed her eyes. I patted her on the head. "Get some shut-eye." I said. She looks really tired right, I would be too, it's past midnight. "Right. Maybe I should ask Auntie to get you a bed in here." "A bed? In your room?" What is she trying to say? "Yeah, just like a slumber party! I could definitely style your mane." I stepped back. Style my mane? I couldn't even brush it without it trying to eat the brush. "I don't think that's a good idea..." She rested back to her bed. "I still don't think I can sleep... You can't sleep either, right?" "No, but I was falling asleep on a cloud earlier." "Can you... move two clouds in here? I never actually fell asleep on a cloud before." She never took a nap on a cloud before? "Sure, I'll be right back." I flew out the window and pushed in some white clouds. It is not comfortable to sleep on a black cloud, trust me. I climbed on one of the clouds and she quickly followed. "It's so soft... this is better than the beds..." She cooed. "Ahh...." It wasn't long before both of us fell asleep... "Hey, Useless wake up." I was pushed off the cloud and landed on the hard, unforgiving ground. I looked up and saw my CO staring down at me, her dark velvet eyes are effing scary man! I quickly got up and gave a salute. "Ma'am!" "How did you even get into the force?" She muttered to herself. "The princess is waiting for you outside, how you got to be her personal escort is beyond me." She scoffed and left. She didn't bother to wake me up? Heh, I guess I would have just slept through it. I looked out the window and saw her walking around the Royal Garden. I jumped out the window, 'cause... screw doors... really, does anypony think a Pegasus would use doors if you could use windows? I only use doors when it's more convinient. I glided down next to her. I yawned. "Morning." She just stared at me. "It's already noon..." She said. Wait... what? I couldn't have overslept that much. "Noon... It's noon... Why didn't you wake me?" "Because I was busy rigging the door with a prank when you woke up, but you seem to have seen through it." She pouted. "You know how long I've waited for you to wake up? Three hours, three hours of staring at you while you sleep and then I got bored." "You were... staring at me while I sleep... that's kinda creepy... "It's not..." She paused. I don't know why, dramatic effect, maybe? "...Creepy." "Umm... yes it is." "I know you like it." She winked and left. That girl is whack... I followed her towards the hegde maze. She was waiting by the entrance with Discord. "Uh, hey... what's going on?" I asked, why was Discord there in the first place, nothing good or sane that's for sure. "Let's play a little game!" Sunny said, she was just brimming with anticipation, this could only spell trouble. "First one to the center wins!" This sounds easy enough, I've patrolled the maze many times, I know it like the underside of my hoof. "And I asked Discord to rearrange the maze, so it won't be so boring." Sunny said with a smile. "Spike traps, anypony?" Discord smiled. "Nah, I'm just kidding, the spike traps are actually candy traps." "Why am I doing this?" I asked and looked at the maze. "In fact what are you two planning? This isn't just a game." "Nope, it's game." She said and ran in. The hedge shifted and changed directions. "Well, go in. I don't have all day." Discord said in an inpatient tone. I sighed and ran inside. It didn't take long for me to get completely lost, and I never cheat at anything... except for that one time with Minty and Stalwart in poker game, but that's another story. "I bet I'm walking around in circles." I muttered and turned right. I came to a large clearing with Sunny waiting on the other side. "Hey, get over here, I got something to show you!" She yelled and ran back into the hedge. I followed her in and when I finally got to the center... "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Everypony was there, My parents, Stalwart, Minty, and even Barkeep, heck some of my old friends during school. There was only one problem... "Thanks and all for the party, but... My birthday is next week..." They all stared at my parent who just gave a sheepish smile. "We forgot..." I swear, I got both their useless genes... "Anyway, let's not waste the party." I went up to the food table and grabbed whatever I could shove down my throat. This went on after a while, it was normal party routine, cake, drinks, games, getting buzzed, and stuff like that. Then something really weird happened. Ponies think that partying with the Princess would be all formal, tea and crumpets and stuff... Well, apparently not with Luna. Somehow, Discord got Luna to the party, got her drunk and now she's dancing on the table wearing a lamp shade... Meh, I've had weirder parties. "Hey, birthday boy." Sunny said from behind. "How's the party?" "Where are the mares? I asked sarcastically. "Yeah, they should be here by now." "Yea- wait, what?" "Nah, just fooling with you, I'm the only eligible mare here." "You and Minty that is." I shrugged and grabbed another piece of cake. "Nah, look over there." She pointed to Minty and Stalwart... yup he's drunk... I managed to listen in on the two's conversation. "Hey pretty lady! How's about we party back at my place." Stalwart said in drunken slur. "Stal, go home, you're drunk." Minty facehoofed and pushed the drunk stallion away. "This ain't a party without that idiot getting drunk." I said and took a bite out of my cake. I sort of got drunk myself and really can't remember anything after that. Though... a few images of Luna in bikini came to mind... and Discord in a cheerleader outfit... I take back what I said earlier, this is the weirdest party I've ever been to. Author's Note I don't know how many times my parents forget my birthday... :-/ Chapter 5:...And it's killing meChapter 5: ...And it's killing me! So... it was my early birthday, and what kind of birthday would it be without presents? A boring kind that's what. Anyway, I saw a few stacks of presents on the corner of the garden, some say I'm too old for presents, but... dude, presents. Who doesn't want presents? I ran to the stacks of colorful wrapped boxes and eagerly picked out a his first gift. The other guests gathered around as closed my eyes and randomly picked... Drum roll... "Discord's?" Sunny said. I opened my eyes and saw that Discord's gift was a small mismatch of colors that would make Photo Finish or any other fasionista burn in an unholy fire. "Can't be that bad." I said and carefully pulled the ribbon off and pulled off the cover. "What in this Tartarus is this?" "I miniature black hole!" Discord said, and I was slowly being pulled inside. "Now that I think about it, maybe a real black hole would have been better." "DAMMIT, DISCORD!" I was pulled to who knows where, I felt like I was being broken up and rearranged over and over again, like some sort of science experiment. After that I somehow got to the future and crashed into a robot, then this dude with a blue box and a bowtie came out of nowhere, knocked me out, and when I woke up I was back at the party. "Heh, didn't think you'd be back so early." Discord said with a shrug. Everything went by normally after, I opened the gifts, Stalwart had rigged his gift with a water balloon, Minty gave me a some breath mints, and a full dental health care stuff. I went over to the last present, Sunny's. It was just a plain box, wrapped in pink wrapping paper. "Hurry up. Open it." She said, a large smile on her face. I tore off the wrapping and pulled up the cover. It was... me? A small plushie version of me with light green button eyes. "It's me? A small doll of me..." "Do you like it?" She said. I don't actually. "No, I don't." I said and picked up the doll. "I love it, thanks, Sunny." She gave me a quick hug. "I knew you'd like it, anyway, what do I get in return?" She said with a coy smile. "Maybe a kiss?" She puckered up her lips and slowly closed in on me. "No!" I yelled and pushed her away, my cheeks were bright red, a complete contrast to my blue coat. "I'm kidding! Look at your face! Priceless!" She laughed and fell down on the grass. Discord laughed along with her. "A classic, I remember when Celly did that to me." "You guys suck." That was that, the rest of the day was spent with a few of my new gifts in Sunny's room, apparently, when I fell asleep, she stayed up all night to make that doll. I picked up a spud launcher, and accidentally broke the window. Luckily, Sunny was a heavy sleeper. Why would somepony give me this anyway? She snored on the bed, some drool dripping down her mouth. She started to sleep-talk. "Nah, it's too big, it won't fit." What is she dreaming? I fired a spud at the miniature black hole. "You're so naughty..." "What?" "Your hooves feels so good..." What? My wings were starting to go up. "Oil? Yes, please." Dammit wings! Go down! "That was a nice message." I looked over to her bed and saw that she was lying on her back. "Whew, she's dreaming about a message." I sighed and went over to the small black hole, I got Discord to modify it. I shoved my hoof in there and pulled out some soda. Wait a minute... what was that about something big? I sipped my drink and looked at Sunny. "Shieldy..." She said, she was still asleep. I'm starting to doubt that she's actually asleep and just toying with me. "Come sleep with me." "Nope, I'm out of here." I said and flew out the broken window. I saw Discord on a candy cloud, just lying there. "Sleep talking?" He said, with a knowing smile. I silently nodded. "Yup, Celly used to do that ALL the time. She's weird like that." "I've guarded Celestia's room from time to time, and I never heard her sleep-talk before." I said and landed on his cloud, it was all sticky and made of cotton candy. "Pfff. Magic." Discord shrugged. "I guess Celly and Sunny have a lot in common. She is totally hitting on you." "What? She won't like a throwaway nopony like me." Really though, what chance do I have with a girl like her? "Pfff... Whatever, word of advice from a being of chaos. She likes crazy, random, and fun, and you fit into this category." Discord said and pulled out some live gummy worms, LIVE, still wiggling. "I get crazy and random, not so sure about the fun part, more like a magnet for trouble." I said with a smile. "Look at me, I'm a being of chaos and I'm living with my Ex and her sister." "Yeah, strange twist of- wait what. You and Celestia were together?" What? My brain cannot comprehend. "As in together, together." "What part of Ex don't you understand?" Discord asked with a smirk. "The 'E' or the 'X'?" "The part where both of you are together, I mean how the hell did that happen?" I asked. "That's another story the author's going to write." "What?" "Nothing, just I'll tell you later, okay?" Discord and poofed away, leaving a large likeliness of him with a funky mustache. I was left alone, with my thoughts. The Sun was setting, I looked up to the sky and saw a shooting star. I would have made a wish, but I was to old for that... but it never hurts to be a little childish sometimes. I closed my eyes and silently wished. "What 'cha wishing for?" Sunny said and startled me off the cloud. I quickly flapped my wings and got back up. "Nothing." I quickly said. "You can't wish for nothing, come on, what did you wish for?" Sunny said and poked me. "You know, if I told you my wish, it won't come true, right?" "What about I tell you mine?" She offered. She took a piece of cotton candy from the cloud and tossed it in her mouth. "Well, I don't think it will come true if you told me." "But the only way to would come true is by telling you." She took a deep breath. "I... think we stop seeing each other." "W-what?" I... What is she saying? "Don't get it the wrong, I love spending time with you, but... I just thought I should tell you before Celestia assigns a new parol officer." She said and tears started to roll down her face. "I-I got to go." She said and flew off. "Sunny..." Why... Why does she want somepony else? Am I not good enough? Has she meet somepony else? Does she find me annoying or something? I can't think straight! I need drink... at least that way, I could relieve some stress... I flew off towards the bar, I couldn't think about anything else right now. My mind was a blank, the only thing that was in there was Sunny, and the question of 'why' It's not even five minutes and I already miss her. I landed in front of the bar and walked in. Barkeep just opened for the nightshift since he was at the party earlier today. "Bourbon, on the rocks, no ice." I said and slumped down on the stool. Barkeep placed the entire bottle down in front of me. "Sound like you need the whole thing, lad." "Thanks, Barkeep." I quickly down one shot of it and poured myself another one. "You want to talk about it? Ain't nopony here, so I got time." Barkeep said. "Nah, when I get to drunk and I can't see where I'm going then we'll talk." I gave a weak chuckle and downed another drink. The bar was full now, everypony was either singing or drowning their sorrows, for me it was both. I was drunk so bad I can't see how many hooves I'm holding up. My voice was scratchy and I can't even remember the lyrics, I can't even remember the name of the song. I saw Stalwart come in, with full armor, minus the helm, of course. "Shield? I been looking for you, man." He said. I didn't pay any mind to it. "Shield! Snap out of it and listen." "Buck you!" I said in my drunken slur. "I do what I want!" "Shield, this isn't you, come on. Let's get you back to bed." He said and tried to grab me. I pushed him off. "Leave me alone, Stal." I said and pulled him up. "Alright, alright. Just stop drinking, and go home." He said and took my hoof. "I'll lead you back." The walk was uneventful. Silence mostly. The streets were really quiet tonight, the only sound that could be heard was the bar. We finally made it back to my house. I took out a key from under the doormat and unlocked it. The place seemed so empty for some reason. Everything exactly the same as I left it, dishes undone, empty coffee mug on the table, and all that. I said goodbye to Stalwart and made my way to my room. I walked into my dark room and flicked on the lights. There was a note stuck on my bed. My vision was blurry, but for some reason I just needed to read that note, tonight. I took the note and opened it up. "Hey," the note said. "if you're reading this, that means I'm leaving tonight, don't worry about this... and... don't think about what I said earlier... Auntie said to never say goodbye, that way, they'll know you'll come back. I don't want to leave you, but I need to go... I loved spending time with you, every single second, I'm not saying goodbye, I'm saying we'll see each other again. I love your crazy antics, your goofy smile, that twich with your wing when nervous, and when you look at me when you think I'm not looking(don't try to act dumb). I'll miss you. I'll probably be going back to Stalliongrad, I'm a political advisor there, it's not a permanent thing, just something to help me earn some spending bits. Well... I'll see when I see you. -Love Sunny Skies. P.S: I love you." I love you... Sunny! I opened the window and flew off. There were no scheduled sky carriages today, so that must mean she's taking the train. I rushed off towards the train station. Luckily the train hasn't left yet. I saw the train, the one for Stalliongrad, down the mountain. I rushed down. The wind wasn't gentle tonight, it felt like it was forcing me back. I didn't stop. "SUNNY!" I yelled. I was slowly nearing the train. "SUNNY!" I called out again. I made it to the back of the caboose and went inside. "Sunny?" I said, quietly this time, a few ponies were already asleep. I went to another caboose and saw that she was still awake, looking out to the sky. "Sunny?" I said to her. She turned her head in surprise to see me, and then she started to cry. She wiped off her tears. "You're an idiot." She said. "Hey, I'm your idiot." "I'm sorry, but I can' be with you." She said. "I love you, but I just can't. I know this sounds cheesy, but I got a responsibility back in Stalliongrad." "I...I know... I just want to say one thing." I leaned in closer. Our lips connected, I'm not going to say, it's the most magical thing I ever had connect with my lips, but It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Period. We broke our kiss, though I didn't want to stop. "I love you." "I know, hey, I'll come back when I come back. I won't be staying in Stalliongrad forever." "I'll write to you..." "Make sure to send a stuffed teddy bear, you forgot to buy one for me during the carnival." "You're impossible." I left, just like that. I know I'll see her again, maybe someday. Author's Note I really could have stretched this out to two or three more chapters, I'm lazy.
Chapter 1: Random EncountersChapter 1: Random Encounters My name is Shield Breaker and I'm part of Celestia's personal guards, there's nothing special about me, just another guard protecting a princess... with a dozen other guards. This was just another normal boring day guarding a giant door while the princess does her royal duties. I swear the monotony of this job is worst than watching pink pain dry. I woke up a late that morning, as usual, and groggily made my way to the shower, glad that the rumors of the guards dying their coats matching colors wasn't true. Truth be told, it was just magic in the armor. It would have been a nightmare to keep my entire coat dyed constantly, you know how much dye cost these days. Stepping from the shower I dried off and made my way to the kitchen. Coffee and toast. Again. I sometimes think I don't have anything else... Every morning, coffee and toast, why did I even buy this much toast?! I have no idea where the coffee comes from... it's just there... I'm over thinking this! It's too early for this! I wish I was a part of Luna's guards instead... Don't get me wrong, Celestia's great but... I have to get up at sunrise and I'm already thirty minutes late... as usual. I went to the door and opened it to pick up the morning paper. I dragged myself back to the kitchen and picked up some butter and the toast. I stretched my wings and sat down on my chair and took a sip of my coffee. I opened the paper and read the headlines. "Celestia's niece, Sunny Skies, is visiting Canterlot." I quickly ate my toast and put on my armor, I strapped helmet on my back as I galloped towards the castle. I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into a white pegasus with a pink mane and a sun with two clouds for her Cutie-Mark. "Sorry." I said and extended my hoof to the mare. "Owowow." She said and grabbed my hoof. "It's alright... It's just I'm late for a very important meeting. Uhh... Do you know the fastest way to get to the castle? Without flying of course." A meeting with the princess? She must be important. "Sure, I was just heading over. Follow me." I said and ran down an old alley way. The mare followed me without hesitation, even though her coat got slightly dirty. I ran through the downtown market place and climbed up an old ladder. The mare stopped at the foot of the ladder. "Are you sure this is the fastest way?" She asked as she looked at the old wooden ladder. I climbed off the ladder and peaked at the mare down below. "Yup, this is the fastest way, but if you want to go the boring way then I'll-" She climbed up faster then I did and looked around the roof. "If this is the fastest way, I don't want it to stop, this is the most fun I've had in years!" She said. "Where to now?" She asked. I pointed to a row of houses and shops that headed directly to the castle. "There, you have to jump over the roofs and follow me to the gates." I sprinted ahead and jumped over one of the roofs. Down below were several ponies trying to get past a sky-truck full of overturned turtles. I snickered at one of the unicorn who got so frustrated and yelled "Tortoise!". I looked back and saw the mare following close behind. She's pretty fast. I slowed down and matched her speed. "Race ya'!" I said and she nodded. I jumped over a large gap and made a sharp turn to the left and jumped over another gap. I sprinted over a large roof-top garden and jumped over the flowers, I knew the colt that lived here, I REALLY didn't want to get on his bad side. Whatever move I made, turn I did, jump I leapt, she was always right behind me. I stopped and hid inside the shadows. I pulled the mare to the shadows and placed my hoof over her mouth. Three Pegasi hovered overhead, searching for something or somepony. The trio left the roof-top and flew down the way we came. I removed my hoof from her mouth as she spat out some dirt. "That was gross! Why were we hiding?" She asked. "It may or not be legal to be on roofs unless you're a guard, but I'm not checked in yet so that means I'm currently not a guard." I said and peaked over the edge. "We jump down and glide." I said and opened my wings. She opened her wings as well. "On three... One... Two... THREE!" We jumped and glided down into a patch of bushes. I was the first one to come out, leaves and twigs were covered in my mane. The mare came out with a few more twigs and leaves. "I know somewhere we can wash quickly." I said. She waved her hoof and shook her head. "Nah, I'm really late, I want to get there as fast as I can." She said. I nodded and led her to a large gate that leads into the castle. "Shield Breaker, you're forty-five minutes late." The guard at the gate said. "That makes a month of being tardy for guard duty." The guard added a number to the "How many days Shield Breaker is late in a row" board. I rolled my eyes at the old coot. "Speaking of tardy, there was an overturned truck full of turtles at Hovva street. Maybe you should send somepony there to, I don't know, help maybe? A lot of ponies are going to be late for their jobs." "I'll send a guard to help. Shield, if you are late for one more day I'm afraid I'm gonna-" He stopped mid-sentence and bowed. He grabbed my head and forced me to bow as well. "Your majesty, I'm sorry for that rude display of uncivil behavior." "What?" I stood up. "Why are you bowing? The only ones here is me, you, and her." I said and pointed to the pink maned Pegasus. "You idiot! She's the princess' niece, she's Sunny Skies!" He said in a low growl. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... WHAT! Well... screw me sideways and call me an idiot. So much for first impressions. I bowed back down. "Sorry ma'am for being rude earlier, please forgive my sincerest apologies." I said. I almost gagged at being this formal and asking for forgiveness. She giggled. "It's alright. I never got your name." She said. "Shield Breaker, ma'am." She smiled. "Excuse me, sir but I would like to have a chat with Mr. Breaker and the Princess so I would like to request to leave him in my custody, if you please." Well... Looks like I'm fired... "Of course." The old guard said and opened the gate to let us both pass. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. We came up the main castle doors. We stepped through it and made our way to the royal throne room. Some other guards would look at me and whisper with each other. This is High-School all over again. Being late, getting in trouble, classmates/workmates were gossiping about what I did this time. Yup, just like High-School. Two guards were already stationed at the doors, I will never get use to their gaze, honestly, and I’m not even sure how I got into the guards. The two guards opened the large door and the two of us walked in to see the majestic Princess Celestia, writing a letter to, I presume to be her student, Twilight Sparkle. "Hi! Auntie!" Sunny waved at the large Alicorn. Princess Celestia sent a green flame from her horn and burned the letter, sending it to her personal student. "Sunny? Where have you been, young lady!?!" "I got lost." She said. Princess Celestia didn't buy it. "Actually, I was trying to hide from the paparazzi." She said and blushed. "But that's not why I'm here, in the throne room, talking to Princess Celestia not Auntie Celly." She said in a very serious voice. Here it come... "I would humbly request..." It was nice knowing me... "... that the guard known as Ser Shield Breaker..." I too young to be banished to the moon, sun, stars or banished in general! ".. too be my personal escort on my stay here in Canterlot." That's it my life is ove-Wait...What. Princess Celestia was just as shocked as I was. "Really now? I think I can arrange that." She said. "Thank you, Princess." She said and bowed as she pulled me out of the room. After a few corridors I finally got the courage to ask her what and why she did that. "What...did...you just do?" I asked, still in general shock. "Got you out of trouble for being late." She said and motioned me into a large bed chamber with light pink and white wallpapers. "And I think I just got you promoted." "Excuse me for being rude, but I'm still guarding royalty, nothing much has changed." I pointed out. "Yes, but you're the only one guarding me. That makes you special." She said and motioned me to stand outside the shower. "I'm going to take a bath." "E-excuse me, ma'am but are you sure this is appropriate? I could guard outside or maybe-" "Stallion up, you're just standing in front of the door while I take a bath, shesh, stallions these days." She said and walked into the bathroom and locked the door. What...just...happened.... Brain, work dammit! So recap... I bumped into a mare, ran illegally on roof-tops, late, turns out the mare is royalty, was about to get fired, she saves my butt, and now I'm standing outside her bathroom as she takes a bath... Most guards can't even go into Princess Celestia's room if it's not an emergency! "Hey Shield, could you get me towel or something." She said through the door. I found a towel inside one of the drawers and saw myself in the mirror, I was out of uniform. If my CO sees me like this... I quickly strapped on my helmet and my coat color began to change to the uniform white of the royal guards. I knocked on the door and held out the towel. She grabbed it and dried off her mane and body. "Thanks... Guard? Shield can you please take off your helmet, I can't tell any of you apart." She said and poked my helmet. "Guards aren't allowed to be out of uniform during work hours." I said and gave a unsatisfied look. "Are you going to disobey me?" She said and smirked. "No, ma'am." I said and started to sweat a little. "But the rules states that-" "Who cares about rules, I never follow them." She said. "And stop with all that 'ma'am' stuff, it makes me feel old." "But ma'am, I mean... Sunny? If my CO sees me out of uniform, she'll kill me!" I pleaded and speaking informally to royalty felt strange. "I'll handle it. And more importantly, I'm not asking you to take off your helmet, I'm ordering you to take off that helmet and I think I have more authority than your Commanding Officer." She said and I hate to admit it but she is right, so I took off my helmet and reverted back to my own coat and mane color. "See, much better." "Yes, it is more comfortable..." I said awkwardly. "Relax, I'm not going to think less of you or the guards if you act informal towards me." She said and walked out the door and I followed her. "I can be informal," I said as a guard walked passed us. "ma'am..." I said to Sunny as the other guard looked at me with a curious eye. "Shield, if the CO finds you out of uniform... just, just put on your helmet for Celestia's sake." The other guard said. I honestly couldn't tell my fellow guards apart. I turned my attention back to the pink maned Pegasus. "But it's just I can't be inside the castle or SHE'S gonna chew me out." "So what? We leave the castle, show me the sights and stuff." She said and made her way to an open window. "Are you sure this is allowed?" I asked as she jumped out the window and opened her wings. "Like I said, I never follow the rules." She giggled and flew off. "What have I gotten myself into..." I muttered and followed the Princess through the window. Author's Note I have no idea what I'm doing! Please give me some advice, I'm writting crappy romance, I need all the help I can get.
Chapter 2: A Different Kind of AdventureChapter 2: A Different Kind of Adventure I flew after that crazy Pegasus and started to daze off to an old memory. A memory when I was just a colt learning how to fly, it wasn't a special memory, just something that came to mind. "Equistria to Shield! Where can a mare get something to eat around here?" Sunny said as she lied down on a cloud. "Huh? Eat? You can always go back to the castle, ma'am, I mean Sunny." I said and landed next to her. She gave me a bored look. "The cooks are great, but... You can try and ask the them to make a daisy sandwich and they make a feast... and the castle just doesn't have the atmosphere, you know?" She said. I could sort of understand what she means. The cooks can't make a simple dish to save their lives, what they count as "simple" would be making that jumbo lettuce salad with whip-cream and a cherry on top. "Well... How about that fancy restaurant at the upper part of the city? I mean it was voted 'The most exquisite and magnific' restaurant in the district." I said. "Because... it was based off the castle... Come on! Give me something low-brow and fun!" She said. I sighed. "I'm probably going to get in trouble for this, but..." I took a deep breath. "There's this bar that sells the BEST Hay Fries you could ever taste in Canterlot, and they have the hardest drinks and the finest mar- never mind, I got nothing." I quickly shut up. She raised her eyebrow and smiled. "Go on, finish what you going to say. You have piqued my royal interest." She said in a sobishly annoying voice. "N-nothing, it was just some run-down bar at downtown Canterlot." I said. She pouted. "Fine. I guess I just have to tell Auntie that you're a bad guard and should be banished." She said. "You wouldn't dare..." "Try me." I sighed in defeat. "The bar is called the Trotting Mare and... a lot of the regulars are... rowdy at best." "Rowdy?" She said. "Yeah... and by 'rowdy' I mean a bunch of hard-flank drunks with a quick temper and even smaller IQs" I said. She jumped up. "Sounds like fun! Let's go!" She said and sped off towards downtown Canterlot. "What have I gotten myself into?" Sunny and I landed on the streets of Canterlot. A few ponies stared at us as we walked by. "Maybe you shouldn't wear that armor, it's starting to draw attention." Sunny said as I walked alongside her. "I-" I started but she quickly cut me off. "I don't want to hear it, take off that armor." She said. I would protest, but this armor really was itchy, you'd think after a few years this design would change, but noooooo, 'It was the royal Canterlot guard's symbol of authority and blah blah blah' Can't it be the symbol of comfiness and authority? I undid the latches on my armor and they fell to the ground in a large crash. As I stretched my wings and popped my neck, I noticed Sunny smile at me. "What?" I asked. "Nothing, nothing, let's get going." She said and quickly ran down the street. Who cares about that armor? You can easily get a new one and it's easily breakable. I sometimes wonder if the guards are just for show? I mean Celestia is a GODDESS for Faust's sake! And I don't think the guards did anything during the Changeling invasion a few months back either. We stopped in front of the old bar, the smell of booze wafted through the air, I was getting a bit thirsty. I walked in with the princess and I was greeted with cheers from the other patrons. "Shield! The bottomless pit! What the bleeding hell are you doing here?" A drunk night guard by the name of Stalwart greeted me by putting his foreleg over my shoulder. "Finally got fired, eh? Drowning out your sorrows?" I pushed off the hoof and looked over to the princess. Stalwart put his over foreleg over her and pushed her close. "This yer' new marefriend? You aim high up the food chain!" He said and pushed her towards me. I helped her balance and stared at Stalwart. "Go home Stal, you're drunk." I said and motioned Sunny to the counter. Stalwart, taking it as a hint for us to be alone(seriously, this guy has a drinking problem) left with a wink and drunkly walked out the door. We took a sit at the counter and I spotted the barkeep, cleaning a mug. "Hey, Shield... This ain't yer quittin' time yet." The Barkeep said. I'm not sure if his name really is Barkeep but that's what all the regulars call him, and we never really see him outside the bar. EVER, I'm not even sure he buys groceries. "What's up, Barkeep. I got a pro-" Sunny put a hoof over my mouth and shook her head. "I mean I got some time off." "Ok, 'ever ye say. So, what'll it be?" He asked. "Just some Hay Fries." I said with a smile. "Put it on my tab." "Some hard cider too." Sunny said that matched my smile. "What?" I asked with a confused look. "I'm not sure you're allowed to drink." Two mugs slid across the counter and she eyed it with thirst. Really, what the hell was going on? I think she planned this. She picked up the mug and drank it like somepony who has been in the desert for days. I picked up my own mug and drank it down. She picked up some hay fries and began munching on them. "This stuff is good." She said, contented. "Can we have some more cider?" "Sunny, I am not getting in trouble if you go home drunk." I said with a frown. "Nope, I'm drinking. Who's the boss again?" She said with a smirk. For the love of Celestia, if I get chewed out for this, I don't know what'd I'd do! "You are," I sighed. "just don't get too drunk... Alright?" She smiled as another pair of drinks slid towards us. "I make no promises." I picked up my mug and chugged it down. "Buck me." "BARKEEP! Another!" "Barkeep, stop her before she empties your entire stock." I said and pulled the the drunken princess. Sweet mother of Luna, could she drink! Most mares would probably be knocked out after that. "MORE!" She yelled and I stopped her from charging in there. "STOP! Barkeep! No more! For the love of everything, I can't take her home like this! The Princess would kill me!" I yelled and she tried to claw her way over the counter. Barkeep stopped with two mugs in front of us. "Princess?" He said and gave one of the mugs to Sunny. Oh horse feathers... "I mean, her mother acts like a princess, total control freak, heh heh..." I gave a very unconvincing laugh that only made my situation worse. Barkeep scratched his chin. "Well, I guess I could give ya' a break." He then turned to the mare that was viciously chugging down MY mug. "Oy, lassie, you've emptied out my stock, come back tomorrow." She stopped her drinking and promptly fell asleep on the counter. "Are ya gonna come back later for the... 'private' shows?" He asked with a curious grin. "No, not today." I heaved her up onto my back, and by King Solaris, she is heavy. She began snoring loudly as I thank Barkeep and left. My bill is gonna be HUGE! The sun was beginning to set, and the moon raised on the horizon. I really liked flying at night, especially after I drink, some say it isn't safe, but I just love having a belly full of cider and feeling the cold night wind on my face, but not tonight, tonight I got to get this filly home without being seen... And to make matters worse, I'm going into the most well-guarded place in the city with the most efficient guards(Luna's) and with a lot of magical security. I carefully made my way to an old building, hopefully if the rumors were true, there was an underground passage that leads to dungeon. I carefully thought against it. It would either be unstable or have spiders in it, I hate spiders. I decided to sneak pass the guards, through the main gates. There was always a wagon that goes through the castle and delivers supplies for the chefs, and speak of the devil, here it is. The wagon was being pulled by(oddly) two Pegasi that were casually having a little debate about pastries. "Muffins!" The grey one with the strange(but oddly cute) eyes said with a small pouty face. "Pies!" The other one with a few raindrops for her Cutie mark said with a smile. "You're just mad, cause I'm winning." "Hah! Muffins beat Pies anyway." "Even on Sunday? Puhh-lease." As the two argued, I slowly climbed on the back and placed a tarp over me and Sunny. "Yeah, but we do agree that oatmeal is the worst, right?" "Totally, not even muffin flavored oatmeal could fix that." "It's just so squishy and slimly." The wagon began to move, slowly and surely, they made their way to the castle. "Halt." Crap... Don't move, don't make a sound. And Lady Luck decided to spit on my face. Sunny snored loudly and brush up next to me in her sleep. And then Lady Luck decided to wipe it off with her handkerchief. I peeked outside and saw that the grey coated Pegasus' stomach was rumbling. "Sorry, I haven't had dinner yet." The guard nodded and let the duo through. I gotta remember to treat him a few round at the bar later. The wagon made it behind the loading bay to the kitchen and the two of them were preoccupied with talking to the chefs. I slowly walked around to the nearby bushes, Sunny was on my back. I was careful not to step on any twigs or branches 'cause, you know, that's always how the hero gets caught in stories, not that I'm in a story, I'm just comparing. Now how am I going to get inside? I have no idea. I took a look around my surroundings and saw something that might be able to help, a box with a small slit so one could see outside, how convenient! There were also a few barrels that we could hide in, but I never trusted barrels since... THAT time... I still have nightmares... And wheels, wheels are evil too. Agh, I'm getting side-tracked. I scooted over to the box and lifted it over my head, it could be the cider talking, but this is foal-proof. I made my way inside, the chefs didn't seem to notice the box that was walking by itself. Huh, weird. I saw that we were inside the dark hallway, a few candles here and there, have they not heard of electricity before? They could at least put in a few bulbs here and there. Though I guess I should be thankful, the less visibility, the better. I walked around the corner and bumped into one of the night guards, luckily it was a good friend of mine. She pulled up the box and Sunny and I were caught. "Shield? What are yo- OH, SWEET MOLESTIA! You're not, you know, with the princess?" She said with a disgusted face. What? I really had no idea what she's- Oh... "It's not what it looks like." I said with a completely straight face... as straight as a drunk face at least. "She passed out I need to get her to bed." That sounded so wrong... "... I'll look the other way, but you better treat me to some Sweet Apple pop tarts later." She said and looked away. "Thanks, Minty." I said and she went away. I avoided the other guards, and most of them didn't seem to notice a box in the middle of the hallway. Each step I took echoed through the hallway, hopefully the guards think it was just another guard on patrol. Seriously, how many guards does Princess Celestia and Luna need anyway? I heard hoof-steps coming my way from around the corner, I stopped moving until the pony moves pass us, but sadly life hated me. "Huh? What's this? Somepony was nice enough to leave me a gift." Discord said and pulled up the box. "Oh, I life-sized plushies of two ponies I have never met before. I always wanted one of these." He said. I think he was joking, but it was hard to tell with Discord. "Uhh..." I said as he picked me and Sunny up and stroked her mane, she gave a satisfied purr, something you would hear from an old house cat. "And they talk too, that is so nice, I gotta give the guy who brought me this a pat on the back or something." With that he dropped us back to the ground and poofed away. I shook off the weirdness and merely shrugged it off as an effect of alcohol, I picked up the drunk mare and we quickly left in our box... That sounded so weird... Before long we made it back to her bedroom door. Finally! I pushed off the box and quickly opened the door. Everything was dark as I carried Sunny to her bed, and then the lights went on. Standing by the door, in their magnificent glory, Celestia and Luna stared at me as I put her down on her bed. Discord was next to them with a frown on his face. "I wanted to keep them, but NOOO you just had to ruin my fun, Celly, Lulu." He said and crossed his arms in defeat. Well.... You know what, I give up... "Where were you two?" Celestia asked in a calm tone. Luna was... slightly less calm. "WHAT HAST THOU DONE TO THY NIECE!?" She boomed in her Royal Canterlot voice, and Sunny somehow managed to sleep through that... My ears would be ringing for a week. I was really tired and I honestly couldn't care about formality anymore, since I believe to be on the brink of being out of a job. "Long story, short, she got drunk and I brought her home." "WHAT!" Sunny yelled from behind me, she had bloodshot eyes and stared daggers at me. "You could be informal to my aunts but not to me!" She said and quickly fell back to sleep. Celestia and Luna frowned. "We'll talk tomorrow, for now, you can rest in the bunkers." Author's Note I really have no idea of where I'm going with this story... I'm not sure if I should get this a scheduled update or just post stuff when I finish it, like my other story, An Angel and her Soldier(Shameless self advertisement) Yeah, whatever enjoy.
Chapter 3: Facing The ConsequencesChapter 3: Facing The Consequences I couldn't sleep. The bunkers were only used for a few guards that decided to go overtime. I never stay for overtime. There was nopony else here, it was strangely quiet. A few of the night guards paid me a visit, just to say goodbye. News travels fast during the night. Right now, I was just lying in bed, thinking how this went so wrong. I never really got angry before, but right now... AGH, just thinking about her makes my blood boil! I was alone in the dark room, just staring at the ceiling, trying to calm myself. The door opened, I didn't bother to look anyway. I don't care anymore. "Uhh... Hey" I know that voice, I really don't want to hear her right now. "Umm... I'm real sorry-" "You should go to sleep." I said in a cold tone, I don't want to talk to her right now. She stayed quiet for a while. I really feel bad for her, she's probably feeling a lot guilty about what happened tonight. "I'm serious, you're gonna have a headache tomorrow." "I'm really sorry..." "Don't worry about it..." We stayed silent for a little while. She stepped closer to me. "I'll make it up to you." "Don't worry about it, I was planning to quit anyway." "... Can I... uhh... stay here with you?" She asked. "... Do what you want." She climbed on to the bed next to me, I could hear her sniffle a little. "I really shouldn't tell you this, but do you know why I didn't have any guards when I got here?" "No." "I was supposed to have a guard when I visited the Crystal Empire last week, but... he quit... I don't know what I did, but he just quit, said I should just go to Canterlot by myself." I think I could hear her sobbing. "Every bodyguard I ever got either quit or just left... I don't think I'll ever make any friends if I can't even get my bodyguard to stay for more than a day." I could hear her sob right now, and I don't know what to do. I turned to face her. "Hey, pretty mare like you shouldn’t cry." "You're leaving like the rest..." She said, I got up from my bed and walked over to hear. "You remind me of a little filly that left here and went to Ponyville. I guess you're trying to make friends, unlike her. And now she's got friends there, she was the most studios, know-it-all bookworm you will ever meet. And if she could make friends, so can you." I said and placed my hoof on her shoulder. "But... I'm a princess, the only ones that like to hang out with me are nobles, and you know how they're like." I looked around, seeing nopony here(I could be wrong), but what the heck. "After the whole 'getting fired' thing tomorrow, I'll show you someplace we can go." "Right..." "I'd say you already made a friend, me! Come on, go to sleep, wouldn’t want my new friend to be tired tomorrow when we get chewed out." I said and pulled her up. "Let's get you to bed." "Thanks..." I fell asleep outside her door... I don't know how, but I have a HUGE hangover and a sore neck, I really couldn't care about that right now. "Hey, Shieldy. Wake up." A guard said and kicked me up. "You're gonna be late for your execution." "WHAT!?!" Was this guy serious? I really can't tell, guards all look so serious. We stared for a few minutes and then he bursts out laughing. "OH! You should have seen your face! Priceless!" "Ha ha, very funny. Get the princess, she's in her room." I said and rubbed my head. He nodded and went inside. I really feel bad for her, it was one thing for me to get in trouble, but both of us are getting in trouble with Sun Goddess of Equistria. I got up and looked out the window. It's a nice day outside... Shame I won't be seeing it when I'm in the dungeon. The door opened and both the guard and Sunny left the room. "Hey..." She said. She looked horrible, didn't look like she got a wink of sleep last night. I should treat her to some coffee after this. "Hey, why so glum. It's just a job, come on." I grabbed her hoof and ran, leaving the guard. We stopped around the corner. She still seemed sad about last night. "Sunny..." "No, I'm fine. Let's go." She said and headed to the throne room. "Sunny..." I followed her, she's really going through a lot right now... We went through the large doors to the throne room, Princess Celestia and Luna was sitting on their respective thrones. We both bowed in respect. "Rise." Luna said. It was still loud, not Canterlot Voice loud, but still pretty loud. We both stood up. "Tell us what happened last night." "It was my fault, I-" "No, It was me!" Sunny yelled. I turned to look at her, she wasn't confessing, she was begging. "Sunny... Don't..." "I told him that I wanted to drink, he was just following orders. I should be the only one in trouble, not him." She yelled, she was desperate now, I could hear it in her voice, and I bet Celestia and Luna could hear it too. "Sunny..." I said, I turned towards the two Goddesses. "I offered her to go to the bar, I was the one who ordered the drinks, it was on my tab, it was all my fault, she had nothing to do with this, she wanted to back out, but I forced her." I lied, at least I could take some heat off of her. "No, he's lying! I ordered the first drink. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was too stubborn... and now..." She started to cry. Sunny... what are you doing? I stepped forward. "Ask the bartender, he'll believe me." "He's lying! Please... Auntie... Don't fire him..." "Sunny... Don't worry about me." "Enough!" Celestia yelled. "We want answers, not lies." I sighed, there wasn't a way out of this. "Really though, it was me, I told her about the bar. You can ask one of Luna's guard, Stalwart" "Yes, but I only told him I wanted to eat, not get drunk. I lied to him, and used his tab to empty the bar." Sunny said. "I just let her drink, I knew it was wrong, but I didn't even stop her." I said. "But, he was looking out for me and I didn't take his advice..." She said. "Stop," Celestia said. "I know what both of you did was wrong, and that deserves punishment." She said, we both looked away. "I may be the Goddess of the Sun, but I cannot let this go without punishment." Here it comes... "Sunny Skies..." Well, I hope I didn't get her to burnt... "Shield Breaker..." I wonder if I get banishment, a nice change of pace that's for sure... "Sunny gets a week probation and with a probation officer." She got off easy... "Shield Breaker... You will be her probation officer." "What?" "You will not leave her side, this whole week. Am I understood?" Praise the merciful Celestia! "Yes, ma'am." I gave a salute and smiled. Sunny was smiling too. "Thank you, Princess." She bowed and both of us left with a smile on our face. We walked out the gates and laughed... Well, actually, I guffawed and she giggled lightly, but still laughter. "So, where should we go 'probation officer'?" She said in a mocking tone. "Get drunk?" I said, sarcastically. "You've read my mind." Both of us laughed again. "Let's not. Let's go get some coffee, first. I need something to wake me up in the morning." I said and took to the air, she quickly followed. We flew for a while, I love the wind passing through my mane. The air just feels nice. "I love flying! I love the wind!" She yelled against the air current. I smiled, today was going good. "We have more in common than I thought." We dropped down to the ground. Ponies were busy getting to their jobs or having a quick breakfast, it was still pretty early so I expect a lot of ponies trying to get to work. I never really cared for schedules, hence that is why I am always late, did I mention I threw my alarm clock out the window? We went to one of the coffee shops "Star Bucks" I believe. I went over to the counter and ordered some coffee, for both of us. The mare at the counter nodded and brought out two cups of hot coffee, I placed the bits on the counter and picked the coffee up with my wings. I walked over to the table she was sitting on. "Coffee, ma'am?" "Thank you, waiter." She said with a sarcastic tone. "So where are we going?" She took one of the cups and placed it on the table. I sat down on the opposite chair. "There's a carnival in town..." "I'm liking this idea!" "Finish your coffee first." Shield said and sipped his coffee, it was still steaming hot, and I quickly spat it out. Sunny giggled as the hot black liquid dripped from my, now burnt, mouth "Laugh it up." She stifled her laughter. "Sorry, sorry. I just needed a laugh after last night." She smiled and sipped her coffee too. It was also hot and burned her tongue. I started to laugh. "Karma." I said with a smile We finished our coffee and left the shop. The day was cool, a nice breeze going through the air, I saw Sunny's mane blowing with the wind. She looked like she was in deep thought actually. I wonder what she's thinking. It wasn't before long, we made it to the carnival. The carnival was packed... with up-tight snobs, and bored looking foals. Some had actually fallen asleep on the carousel. "Well... I was expecting a much more festive mood." I said as saw that even the mascot was just sleeping on a nearby bench. Sunny rubbed her chin, thinking of some clever way to liven up the party. "Shield... Follow me." I don't know what happened, but now I'm dressed as a clown trying to juggle TEN balls on my wings while she kept throwing more stuff for me to juggle. A few foals started to laugh as I basically failed at juggling more than ten balls, I don't even know how I got to ten. "Go on, you can do it, Shieldy." "Shiedly!?!" I stammered and the balls juggled out of my wings and hit me on the head. The foals laughed, and a few noble snickered. I'm not really sure if they were serious. She was now on to the games, water guns, throwing rings and the like. All the foals joined in and even a few not-so-uptight parents too. "Clowny!" She squealed at me. "Come on, join the party!" She pulled my arm and gave me a few rings. "Just get the rings onto the stick over there." She pointed. I was horrible at this game and every other game for that matter. Sunny was dominating EVERY game. Every. Single. One. Even the big hammer thing... Things were at full-swing now. Foals were playing and smiling, the older folk were actually somewhat having a good time. I finally got out of that weird clown costume and found Sunny sitting on a bench with two milkshakes. I assumed one was for me, unless she ordered two for herself. "Hey there, Clowny." She said and handed me one of the milkshakes, I noticed that somepony drank from it. "Did you drink this?" I asked. "I like strawberry." She shrugged and drank her milkshake. "Why didn't you order strawberry then?" "I also like watermelon." I shrugged and drank my own milkshake. "Backwash?" "I know you like it." "Agh..." Really what is wrong with this girl? She's a princess yet she acts like... me? Disrespectful, doesn't care about the rules, happy-go-lucky, cute... scratch that... I'm not cute. We just walked around the carnival for a while, taking in the sights. She looked up and saw a rather large roller-coaster. I hate roller-coasters... "Let's ride one!" She said. I was afraid of that... "Uh... let's not..." I said nervously. "Don't tell me you're scared." She said and laughed. "You are! You're a Pegasus for Auntie's sake." "It just doesn't feel natural being in the air without using your wings..." I said and looked up at the giant tower and the roller-coaster, I started to feel very dizzy. "Who's the boss?" She asked. Ha, little does she know that I'm the boss now! "Me, that's who. I'm your probation officer, remember?" I said with a cocky tone. She deflated a bit. "Ummm... didn't think that would back-fire at me..." She sighed and looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, my heart seriously exploded... "If you don't ride with me, I'm gonna make this face all day." She said. I've got an iron will, she won't break me. "Pwese, can we go on the roller-coaster?" ... ... ... ... How did I end up here? I was being strapped to the front row of the roller-coaster with Sunny right next to me. I was tense... Actually, I was downright terrified of roller-coasters, I gripped on the railings as the cart or whatever the you call them started going up. We stopped at the top. "Well, that wasn't as- AHHHHHHHHHHHH" I screamed as we rocketed down at insane speeds. I could hear the others scream behind me, most of their screams were ones of joy, but mine was genuine fear. This went on for several minutes, mostly because I was paralyzed in fear and Sunny took the chance to ride it again. After she got bored and dragged me off my seat, which I was clinging on to for dear life. After I calmed down, by dumping cold water on me. "NEVER DO THAT EVER AGAIN!" I yelled. "How about something calm this time?" Sunny asked with a genuine smile. "I'll make it up to you, promise!" "Anything that doesn't involve falling to my death at extreme speeds sounds good." I said. By Luna's mane, I don't want to do that ever again! "How about a Ferris wheel, just the two of us, I think there was supposed to be some fireworks later." She said. I suppose nothing could go wrong. We made our way to the Ferris wheel and boarded. It was a slow circular motion, it was somewhat soothing being up here. I could see the light of the moon reflect off the lake below Canterlot, and the city itself was beautiful, lights that shimmer through the dark, it was nice, like I could stay here forever. I felt Sunny's head rest on my shoulder. "Hey." She said. "You're buying me a plushie later." She said softly and yawned. "I'm not carrying you back if you fall asleep." I stifled a yawn as well. "And I'm NOT carrying you back either." She said. The fireworks started, the sky was colored with all the colors of the rainbow, it was beautiful, the sky was lit up with pictures of Celestia and Luna and even a little Discord there. "Hey, look at that." I said and pointed to a pink heart shaped firework made from smaller hearts. She fell asleep on my shoulder. She was cute, when she smiles, her eyes are beautiful... Her wings are perfect, she's perfect... I have a problem... I think I'm in love with royalty... This is like a crappy romance novel... I hope this isn't going to be tragedy... I'm in love with Sunny Skies, niece of the Sun Goddess herself, Celestia... Forbidden love... Why does the Universe hate me? Author's Note I wrote this on a whim. Some people say you should have a clear idea of what the ending going to be, but I am currently wingging it.
Chapter 4: It's in the air...Chapter 4: It's in the air... I got her home, safe and sound. We had a little chat after that, and I was about to leave the castle. When I was stopped by Princess Luna. "Where art thou going?" Luna said with a small frown. "I'm going home, Princess , it's already late." I said with a formal tone. Ponies just can't help sounding like those olden time ponies around Princess Luna, well... maybe just me. "Thou art disobeying orders from thy Princess of thy Sun." She said formally. "Our sister said that thou must stay in close vacinity of thy Princess." "But, surely she doesn't mean ALL the time, right?" I said. You can't be serious... "She does." Luna said still frowning. She must not like having a complete stranger watch over her niece, even if I am a guard. "Thou can stay in the Barracks." With that she left back up to her tower. Are they serious? Because right now, I just want to go home and make faces in the mirror... It's a past time. I quietly made my way to the Barracks and opened the door there, it was dark inside, I couldn't see anything and had to feel my way through. I made my way to the bed I had last night. I sat down on my bed and felt a soft squishy feeling. I looked down a saw Stalwart sleeping on the job. I am the worst guy on the day force, but this guy is the worst at the night force. "Hey, Stal. Wake up." I shook the pony awake. He opened his serpent like eyes and yawned. "Stal, get back to your shift, unless you want to get in trouble... again..." Stal got up and yawned again. I thought the night guards were nocturnal or at least try to be. "Hey, Shield... wait... what are you doing here?" He asked. "I am forced to stay close to the Princess..." I said and took his spot on the bed. He smiled and pushed me off the bed. "You playa! I didn't even know she was the princess and you are totally got her under your hoof." I got up from the floor. "No, I'm just forced to be with her 24/7... well just for the week." "Yeah, yeah. Of course, this is just a job after all... I bet you ten bits that by the end of the week she'll fall madly in love with you." "... No, just no. For one thing, she's royalty, the only why she could like me would be if I was at least a noble." I climbed back to bed and heard the night guards CO yell something that involve swearing, Stalwart, and a chair. Stalwart quickly ran out the door, silently praying that he won't get what he thought he's going to get. It was late, I should really get some sleep... after that really loud yelling stops, that is. After a few hours of lying on the bed, I just couldn't get to sleep, even though I was dead tired. I got to thinking of what I said to Stalwart. "The only way she'll like me is if I turn into a noble..." I said silently. "Me, a noble? That's a laugh..." But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about Sunny, and the more I thought about her, the more I thought about Celestia and Luna, how would they react? Will they accept me, am I good enough? What would Sunny think? I couldn't sleep, so I decided to fly for a while. I opened the window and jumped out, wings flapping, the night air was nice. It was a cold night tonight, everything was quiet except for the dance club in downtown Canterlot, there was a few neon lights that were shooting up to the sky. There were a few Pegasus that started flying towards the club. I wanted to just lay down on a cloud and stare at the moon. I picked a fluffy cloud and lay there for a while. I was drifting in and out of sleep, like I was having a nightmare, but I can't remember anything. I was worried about Sunny for some reason. I couldn't help but feel like something is wrong. I jumped off my cloud and went back to the castle. I went through my window and left through the door, I ran through the hallway and went to Sunny's room and knocked on her door. There was no answer... I knocked again... No answer... Again and with the same result. "Sunny? I called out. There was still silence, but after a while, there was a loud crashing sound from inside, and then I heard Sunny scream. I rammed my shoulder into the door but it didn't budge. A few other guards heard the scream and came running. "Help me with this!" I yelled and we busted down the door. "Sunny!" "Princess? Where is she? The other guards asked. GAH! Where the hell is she!?! "Search the castle!" I said to the other guards. "Check with the guards posted outside, they might have seen somepony fly out the window." The guards looked at each other and nodded, they all left. "Damn... where is she?" I said to myself. "Looking for me?" I turned around and saw Sunny with a large grin on her face. I rushed to her and gave her a tight hug. "Where were you?" "I fell under the bed... Sorry, I worried you." She said and we broke the hug. "Didn't know you cared so much." "What was scream for? I heard you scream." I said and she went back to bed. "Nothing, just a nightmare. You shouldn't worry yourself with that." She said. She looked a bit shaken up, actually. Why didn't Luna help with the nightmare? "What was the nightmare about? Talking about it is the best way to overcome your fear." "You'd probably just laugh." She said and sat down on the bed. "It's really silly." "Don't worry, I have silly nightmares too, there was this one time with these weird hairless-ape thing." I said. Really those things creep me out, that’s the last time I let Minty and Stalwart tell scary stories. "Hairless-apes? That's funny!" She laughed. They were really scary, especially those ones that have those huge udder things on their chest, always with the hugging and the squeezing. "Yeah, weird things that call themselves 'bronies' weird bunch of whack-jobs if you ask me." "That sounds like something Discord would come up with." She laughed. "My nightmare was really silly, you'd just laugh I know it." "No I won't." "Fine... I dreamt that I was a princess... an Alicorn, immortal, powerful, and years go on, I didn't age, friends and family were getting older and weaker until they stop... dead and I was still alive. I met somepony, the perfect stallion, we got married, and I didn't age... he died too. We had a kid, and the same thing happened... I was really scared... I was there, on each of their death beds. I know it wasn't real, but... is that how Auntie feels like?" "That's not silly, I sometimes think that, living forever is more of a curse really. You can do anything and everything, but after... it just gets bland, and those you love start dying around you... Life losses it's meaning without death... I learned that little while ago, that's why my motto is 'live life to the fullest'. Come on, don't be sad." I said. "I'm not sad... don't treat me like a foal..." She said and rubbed her eyes. I patted her on the head. "Get some shut-eye." I said. She looks really tired right, I would be too, it's past midnight. "Right. Maybe I should ask Auntie to get you a bed in here." "A bed? In your room?" What is she trying to say? "Yeah, just like a slumber party! I could definitely style your mane." I stepped back. Style my mane? I couldn't even brush it without it trying to eat the brush. "I don't think that's a good idea..." She rested back to her bed. "I still don't think I can sleep... You can't sleep either, right?" "No, but I was falling asleep on a cloud earlier." "Can you... move two clouds in here? I never actually fell asleep on a cloud before." She never took a nap on a cloud before? "Sure, I'll be right back." I flew out the window and pushed in some white clouds. It is not comfortable to sleep on a black cloud, trust me. I climbed on one of the clouds and she quickly followed. "It's so soft... this is better than the beds..." She cooed. "Ahh...." It wasn't long before both of us fell asleep... "Hey, Useless wake up." I was pushed off the cloud and landed on the hard, unforgiving ground. I looked up and saw my CO staring down at me, her dark velvet eyes are effing scary man! I quickly got up and gave a salute. "Ma'am!" "How did you even get into the force?" She muttered to herself. "The princess is waiting for you outside, how you got to be her personal escort is beyond me." She scoffed and left. She didn't bother to wake me up? Heh, I guess I would have just slept through it. I looked out the window and saw her walking around the Royal Garden. I jumped out the window, 'cause... screw doors... really, does anypony think a Pegasus would use doors if you could use windows? I only use doors when it's more convinient. I glided down next to her. I yawned. "Morning." She just stared at me. "It's already noon..." She said. Wait... what? I couldn't have overslept that much. "Noon... It's noon... Why didn't you wake me?" "Because I was busy rigging the door with a prank when you woke up, but you seem to have seen through it." She pouted. "You know how long I've waited for you to wake up? Three hours, three hours of staring at you while you sleep and then I got bored." "You were... staring at me while I sleep... that's kinda creepy... "It's not..." She paused. I don't know why, dramatic effect, maybe? "...Creepy." "Umm... yes it is." "I know you like it." She winked and left. That girl is whack... I followed her towards the hegde maze. She was waiting by the entrance with Discord. "Uh, hey... what's going on?" I asked, why was Discord there in the first place, nothing good or sane that's for sure. "Let's play a little game!" Sunny said, she was just brimming with anticipation, this could only spell trouble. "First one to the center wins!" This sounds easy enough, I've patrolled the maze many times, I know it like the underside of my hoof. "And I asked Discord to rearrange the maze, so it won't be so boring." Sunny said with a smile. "Spike traps, anypony?" Discord smiled. "Nah, I'm just kidding, the spike traps are actually candy traps." "Why am I doing this?" I asked and looked at the maze. "In fact what are you two planning? This isn't just a game." "Nope, it's game." She said and ran in. The hedge shifted and changed directions. "Well, go in. I don't have all day." Discord said in an inpatient tone. I sighed and ran inside. It didn't take long for me to get completely lost, and I never cheat at anything... except for that one time with Minty and Stalwart in poker game, but that's another story. "I bet I'm walking around in circles." I muttered and turned right. I came to a large clearing with Sunny waiting on the other side. "Hey, get over here, I got something to show you!" She yelled and ran back into the hedge. I followed her in and when I finally got to the center... "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Everypony was there, My parents, Stalwart, Minty, and even Barkeep, heck some of my old friends during school. There was only one problem... "Thanks and all for the party, but... My birthday is next week..." They all stared at my parent who just gave a sheepish smile. "We forgot..." I swear, I got both their useless genes... "Anyway, let's not waste the party." I went up to the food table and grabbed whatever I could shove down my throat. This went on after a while, it was normal party routine, cake, drinks, games, getting buzzed, and stuff like that. Then something really weird happened. Ponies think that partying with the Princess would be all formal, tea and crumpets and stuff... Well, apparently not with Luna. Somehow, Discord got Luna to the party, got her drunk and now she's dancing on the table wearing a lamp shade... Meh, I've had weirder parties. "Hey, birthday boy." Sunny said from behind. "How's the party?" "Where are the mares? I asked sarcastically. "Yeah, they should be here by now." "Yea- wait, what?" "Nah, just fooling with you, I'm the only eligible mare here." "You and Minty that is." I shrugged and grabbed another piece of cake. "Nah, look over there." She pointed to Minty and Stalwart... yup he's drunk... I managed to listen in on the two's conversation. "Hey pretty lady! How's about we party back at my place." Stalwart said in drunken slur. "Stal, go home, you're drunk." Minty facehoofed and pushed the drunk stallion away. "This ain't a party without that idiot getting drunk." I said and took a bite out of my cake. I sort of got drunk myself and really can't remember anything after that. Though... a few images of Luna in bikini came to mind... and Discord in a cheerleader outfit... I take back what I said earlier, this is the weirdest party I've ever been to. Author's Note I don't know how many times my parents forget my birthday... :-/
Chapter 5:...And it's killing meChapter 5: ...And it's killing me! So... it was my early birthday, and what kind of birthday would it be without presents? A boring kind that's what. Anyway, I saw a few stacks of presents on the corner of the garden, some say I'm too old for presents, but... dude, presents. Who doesn't want presents? I ran to the stacks of colorful wrapped boxes and eagerly picked out a his first gift. The other guests gathered around as closed my eyes and randomly picked... Drum roll... "Discord's?" Sunny said. I opened my eyes and saw that Discord's gift was a small mismatch of colors that would make Photo Finish or any other fasionista burn in an unholy fire. "Can't be that bad." I said and carefully pulled the ribbon off and pulled off the cover. "What in this Tartarus is this?" "I miniature black hole!" Discord said, and I was slowly being pulled inside. "Now that I think about it, maybe a real black hole would have been better." "DAMMIT, DISCORD!" I was pulled to who knows where, I felt like I was being broken up and rearranged over and over again, like some sort of science experiment. After that I somehow got to the future and crashed into a robot, then this dude with a blue box and a bowtie came out of nowhere, knocked me out, and when I woke up I was back at the party. "Heh, didn't think you'd be back so early." Discord said with a shrug. Everything went by normally after, I opened the gifts, Stalwart had rigged his gift with a water balloon, Minty gave me a some breath mints, and a full dental health care stuff. I went over to the last present, Sunny's. It was just a plain box, wrapped in pink wrapping paper. "Hurry up. Open it." She said, a large smile on her face. I tore off the wrapping and pulled up the cover. It was... me? A small plushie version of me with light green button eyes. "It's me? A small doll of me..." "Do you like it?" She said. I don't actually. "No, I don't." I said and picked up the doll. "I love it, thanks, Sunny." She gave me a quick hug. "I knew you'd like it, anyway, what do I get in return?" She said with a coy smile. "Maybe a kiss?" She puckered up her lips and slowly closed in on me. "No!" I yelled and pushed her away, my cheeks were bright red, a complete contrast to my blue coat. "I'm kidding! Look at your face! Priceless!" She laughed and fell down on the grass. Discord laughed along with her. "A classic, I remember when Celly did that to me." "You guys suck." That was that, the rest of the day was spent with a few of my new gifts in Sunny's room, apparently, when I fell asleep, she stayed up all night to make that doll. I picked up a spud launcher, and accidentally broke the window. Luckily, Sunny was a heavy sleeper. Why would somepony give me this anyway? She snored on the bed, some drool dripping down her mouth. She started to sleep-talk. "Nah, it's too big, it won't fit." What is she dreaming? I fired a spud at the miniature black hole. "You're so naughty..." "What?" "Your hooves feels so good..." What? My wings were starting to go up. "Oil? Yes, please." Dammit wings! Go down! "That was a nice message." I looked over to her bed and saw that she was lying on her back. "Whew, she's dreaming about a message." I sighed and went over to the small black hole, I got Discord to modify it. I shoved my hoof in there and pulled out some soda. Wait a minute... what was that about something big? I sipped my drink and looked at Sunny. "Shieldy..." She said, she was still asleep. I'm starting to doubt that she's actually asleep and just toying with me. "Come sleep with me." "Nope, I'm out of here." I said and flew out the broken window. I saw Discord on a candy cloud, just lying there. "Sleep talking?" He said, with a knowing smile. I silently nodded. "Yup, Celly used to do that ALL the time. She's weird like that." "I've guarded Celestia's room from time to time, and I never heard her sleep-talk before." I said and landed on his cloud, it was all sticky and made of cotton candy. "Pfff. Magic." Discord shrugged. "I guess Celly and Sunny have a lot in common. She is totally hitting on you." "What? She won't like a throwaway nopony like me." Really though, what chance do I have with a girl like her? "Pfff... Whatever, word of advice from a being of chaos. She likes crazy, random, and fun, and you fit into this category." Discord said and pulled out some live gummy worms, LIVE, still wiggling. "I get crazy and random, not so sure about the fun part, more like a magnet for trouble." I said with a smile. "Look at me, I'm a being of chaos and I'm living with my Ex and her sister." "Yeah, strange twist of- wait what. You and Celestia were together?" What? My brain cannot comprehend. "As in together, together." "What part of Ex don't you understand?" Discord asked with a smirk. "The 'E' or the 'X'?" "The part where both of you are together, I mean how the hell did that happen?" I asked. "That's another story the author's going to write." "What?" "Nothing, just I'll tell you later, okay?" Discord and poofed away, leaving a large likeliness of him with a funky mustache. I was left alone, with my thoughts. The Sun was setting, I looked up to the sky and saw a shooting star. I would have made a wish, but I was to old for that... but it never hurts to be a little childish sometimes. I closed my eyes and silently wished. "What 'cha wishing for?" Sunny said and startled me off the cloud. I quickly flapped my wings and got back up. "Nothing." I quickly said. "You can't wish for nothing, come on, what did you wish for?" Sunny said and poked me. "You know, if I told you my wish, it won't come true, right?" "What about I tell you mine?" She offered. She took a piece of cotton candy from the cloud and tossed it in her mouth. "Well, I don't think it will come true if you told me." "But the only way to would come true is by telling you." She took a deep breath. "I... think we stop seeing each other." "W-what?" I... What is she saying? "Don't get it the wrong, I love spending time with you, but... I just thought I should tell you before Celestia assigns a new parol officer." She said and tears started to roll down her face. "I-I got to go." She said and flew off. "Sunny..." Why... Why does she want somepony else? Am I not good enough? Has she meet somepony else? Does she find me annoying or something? I can't think straight! I need drink... at least that way, I could relieve some stress... I flew off towards the bar, I couldn't think about anything else right now. My mind was a blank, the only thing that was in there was Sunny, and the question of 'why' It's not even five minutes and I already miss her. I landed in front of the bar and walked in. Barkeep just opened for the nightshift since he was at the party earlier today. "Bourbon, on the rocks, no ice." I said and slumped down on the stool. Barkeep placed the entire bottle down in front of me. "Sound like you need the whole thing, lad." "Thanks, Barkeep." I quickly down one shot of it and poured myself another one. "You want to talk about it? Ain't nopony here, so I got time." Barkeep said. "Nah, when I get to drunk and I can't see where I'm going then we'll talk." I gave a weak chuckle and downed another drink. The bar was full now, everypony was either singing or drowning their sorrows, for me it was both. I was drunk so bad I can't see how many hooves I'm holding up. My voice was scratchy and I can't even remember the lyrics, I can't even remember the name of the song. I saw Stalwart come in, with full armor, minus the helm, of course. "Shield? I been looking for you, man." He said. I didn't pay any mind to it. "Shield! Snap out of it and listen." "Buck you!" I said in my drunken slur. "I do what I want!" "Shield, this isn't you, come on. Let's get you back to bed." He said and tried to grab me. I pushed him off. "Leave me alone, Stal." I said and pulled him up. "Alright, alright. Just stop drinking, and go home." He said and took my hoof. "I'll lead you back." The walk was uneventful. Silence mostly. The streets were really quiet tonight, the only sound that could be heard was the bar. We finally made it back to my house. I took out a key from under the doormat and unlocked it. The place seemed so empty for some reason. Everything exactly the same as I left it, dishes undone, empty coffee mug on the table, and all that. I said goodbye to Stalwart and made my way to my room. I walked into my dark room and flicked on the lights. There was a note stuck on my bed. My vision was blurry, but for some reason I just needed to read that note, tonight. I took the note and opened it up. "Hey," the note said. "if you're reading this, that means I'm leaving tonight, don't worry about this... and... don't think about what I said earlier... Auntie said to never say goodbye, that way, they'll know you'll come back. I don't want to leave you, but I need to go... I loved spending time with you, every single second, I'm not saying goodbye, I'm saying we'll see each other again. I love your crazy antics, your goofy smile, that twich with your wing when nervous, and when you look at me when you think I'm not looking(don't try to act dumb). I'll miss you. I'll probably be going back to Stalliongrad, I'm a political advisor there, it's not a permanent thing, just something to help me earn some spending bits. Well... I'll see when I see you. -Love Sunny Skies. P.S: I love you." I love you... Sunny! I opened the window and flew off. There were no scheduled sky carriages today, so that must mean she's taking the train. I rushed off towards the train station. Luckily the train hasn't left yet. I saw the train, the one for Stalliongrad, down the mountain. I rushed down. The wind wasn't gentle tonight, it felt like it was forcing me back. I didn't stop. "SUNNY!" I yelled. I was slowly nearing the train. "SUNNY!" I called out again. I made it to the back of the caboose and went inside. "Sunny?" I said, quietly this time, a few ponies were already asleep. I went to another caboose and saw that she was still awake, looking out to the sky. "Sunny?" I said to her. She turned her head in surprise to see me, and then she started to cry. She wiped off her tears. "You're an idiot." She said. "Hey, I'm your idiot." "I'm sorry, but I can' be with you." She said. "I love you, but I just can't. I know this sounds cheesy, but I got a responsibility back in Stalliongrad." "I...I know... I just want to say one thing." I leaned in closer. Our lips connected, I'm not going to say, it's the most magical thing I ever had connect with my lips, but It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Period. We broke our kiss, though I didn't want to stop. "I love you." "I know, hey, I'll come back when I come back. I won't be staying in Stalliongrad forever." "I'll write to you..." "Make sure to send a stuffed teddy bear, you forgot to buy one for me during the carnival." "You're impossible." I left, just like that. I know I'll see her again, maybe someday. Author's Note I really could have stretched this out to two or three more chapters, I'm lazy.
