The room was fairly sized; a yellow painted ceiling hung overhead while the walls were painted a light orange. The rug was softer and colored in a crimson. The two beds had a pair of green blankets and a pillow on each.

"Spike, why don't you take my bed?" Crimson said setting her things down on the bed. "I never really cared for them anyway."

He got off her back and immediately crawled into the blankets. getting comfortable, he put the pillow over his head and wrapped himself in his own blanket.

As Crimson was straightening the blanket at the end, she noticed the guard staring ahead, not moving. Sighing she went up to him and took off his helmet, catching the scroll when it fell, she set the items on the other bed.

"Ma'am? Permission to speak freely?" He asked.

"Would you just drop the military attitude already?" She asked sighing. "It's making me feel strange just having to glance over at you, and just see a pony staring at a wall."

"Uh, yes. Of course." He replied sitting.

As he looked around the room, Crimson went to the window and looked out to the city. Seeing the ponies mill around, talking or just saying a greeting when they passed brought a faint smile to her lips. Resting her head on her fore-hooves, she began humming.

Her ear flickered ad she stopped humming when she heard a bed's sheets move. Smiling she looked over at Spike who was looking at her with some curiosity.

"It was an old lullaby I made up for myself," she said. "It was about Shirley. It's not supposed to be a good one, but just humming it makes me feel better."

"Do you remember the words?" He asked. "I'd kind of like to learn a few things about your past."

"Sure, why not?" She replied softly going over to the bed and climbing to his side.

She began humming, gently putting a fore-leg around him. He shifted his shoulders and looked at her before she started to sing slowly. "One two, howlin' at the moon. Three, Four, the townsfolk are gettin' scorned. Five, Six, his curse is like a hex. Seven, Eight, better not walk by the lake. Nine, Ten! Here comes the lycan!"

"It was... a bit short. for a lullaby." He said.

"It wasn't meant for sleeping, it was meant for stress." She said. "It always helped when I became really stressed, like when my first husband died."

"You were married?" Spike asked in surprise. "When? How old were you?"

"It was a few months after I killed the enemy empire." She said. "I met this handsome, charming noble. He recognized me from a feast my father had hosted for a dragon slaying." Spike shivered at that. "He took me in and later, after we conversed, he proposed to me. And I accepted." She said letting her ears droop.

"W-What happened to him?" He asked.

"I outlived him." She said. "Only, it wasn't a natural death that killed him." She suddenly grit her teeth as fresh tears strained for emergence. "It was that dammed Shirley!" She hissed. "He said that I would outlive even the alicorns if I kept killing as I did. By the time he left, I discovered a note on my husbands corpse... Or what was left of it. That's when I decided to hunt Shirley down."

Spike, seeing his own mother-figure tearing up, leaned forward and wrapped his small arms around her neck. She leaned on his shoulder and let the tears sizzle away on his scales.

"A-After that," she said sniffling. "I married three more times. The best one, out of them all was a stallion in Canterlot; atleast two to three hundred years prior of me moving there. He was a baker, a very good one. While I was under a different ruse, I was working as a maid to Celestia at the time. I met him when he had accidentally tripped with a cake. The odd thing about him though, was the fact his Cutie Mark was a scroll... I never did figure out-"

"Was his name Scroll Sorter?" Spike interrupted as he sat up with a grin.

"Yes. How did you know?" She asked staring at him with a warming heart.

"Because, that's Prince Blueblood's great, great, great grandfather." He said. "You know, that snobby white and blonde stallion with the compass on his flank. The one that always complains over the smallest thing?"

"Well, it's nice to see my bloodline not dead." She sighed. "Unfortunately it's him that will most likely end it." She said sticking out her tongue.

"Ma'am, I mean no insult towards your lineage but... Blueblood is a real pansy." The guard said.

"That he is, sir. That he is." Crimson nodded in agreement.

"If I were any older, I'd say what I really think of him." Spike said. "I'm waiting to where I'm atleast the size of a cart to where I could just roar at him."

"You know, I could just roar at him for you." Crimson said smirking. "I could be crawling on the wall, hang over a doorway and then once I see the tip of his horn jest bellow out." She laughed. "I still never figured out how he became a noble though."

"I can answer that," the guard said climbing onto his own bed. "When he was a young colt, the princess saw him hornfencing, so, she had him train the guards in it. But, now with a few minor threats to Equestria, she had to implement more military like training."

"I can imagine. You know, my father actually had a peace treaty with the changelings and dragons at one time." Crimson said staring into space for a moment.

"Really, now?" The guard had his ears perked up and was leaning forward slightly. "Could we hear about it? If it's not to much trouble."

"None at all," she said. "Well, during some wars since the lands were very dangerous those few hundred years ago, we would assassinate a noble of an enemy nation and have a changeling replace them. After infiltration, they would find out what they could, and then, alert the rest of the hive to invade. Many died, but the prisoners they took fed them and the hive."

"Huh... What about the dragons? What did they do?"

"We let them have three fourths of the treasure whenever we attacked a wealthy nation." She shrugged. "We even had one living under the mountain where the castle once was. He stayed there to protect the town and castle. But, when he passed away... A month later is when there was a direct attack on the castle. The day I was cursed, and the day when my father was murdered." She said shaking her head.

"Crimson... I..." Spike was at a loss of words. "I... Guess I know where your coming from. I never even knew who my parents were, or what happened to them if anything did happen. I can sort of relate to you." he said twiddling his thumbs.

"I know, and you shouldn't have to not know." She said. "Hey, after this is all over, why don't we go on our own little quest? We can see if we can't find your parents. There's no reason you shouldn't know who your parents were."

"Yeah, that does sound kind of nice." He said before yawning. "Hey, I think Princess Luna is raising the moon." He said leaning back. "If any of you wake me, I'll roast you where you stand."

"He will." Nightmare said coming out from underneath the pillow.

The guard quickly grabbed his spear from his armor and put it through Nightmare's throat. Crimson face-hooved while Nightmare looked questioningly at the stallion.

"You're kidding? You're kidding, right?" She asked.

"Ma'am, please leave while I-"

"Relax my brave knight." Crimson said rolling her eyes. "She's with me."

"Nightmare Moon, is helping you?" He asked incredulously. "Of her own free will? The evil alicorn of the night and reaper of nightmares?"

"Aye," Nightmare said. "We want to kill the traitor Shirley Silver for his crimes against us and his lycan brethren."

"Traitor? He was under your service?" The guard said taking his spear out from her throat. "How old is this killer? Is this 'Shirley Silver' even the killer? Or is there another lycan running about?"

"Aye, he was one of the first of his kind. When Celestia fought us, we had called upon our lycan's to fight for us when the regular soldiers would fall to quickly. He though, betrayed us when he poisoned the others and fled such as the coward he is."

"So... He's extremely old?" The stallion said.

"Aye, he is aged." Nightmare said glaring at him. "What would we be then?"

"Wine. Aged like a fine wine." The guard said before going back to his bed.

Nightmare just stared at him, slowly, a smile formed on her ethereal face. Soon she was laughing, and eventually he began laughing too.

"We favor thee." She said. "We have not encountered a stallion with such true words spoken so bluntly to us. This era is-"

"So, how old are you then? A few thousand years? Maybe a million?" He asked with a roll of his hoof.

She stopped and merely stared at him again. He glanced over at his armor before carefully putting on his helmet. Putting up his hooves, he made a sign of defeat as she was readying her magic.

"We will push him from the window, thou shall say twas an accident." Nightmare whispered to Crimson.

"We are not killing him." Crimson whispered back. "I might need him as bait."

"Would you all be quiet?" Spike said lifting the pillow. "I need my bed rest, and you all flapping your gums isn't helping me heal any faster."

Crimson nodded before getting comfortable on the carpet, the guard got under his own covers and Nightmare slipped into his body with a feint chuckle.

Hours went by, Crimson was listening to Spike's slow breathing and the guards small grunts. As she laid in the moonlight coming from the window.

Feeling the electric chill of the lunar magic coming from it, she gave a soft purr. Turning on her side, she stretched her legs out trying to get as much as it in as she could; stopping, she laid there in a suitable position. Letting the cool air move away from her, she felt herself almost sink into the carpet.

She shot up with a scream caught in her throat when a shrill, almost unheard noise cut through the air.

Looking towards the window, she saw nothing on the rooftops of the buildings. Panting with a hoof on her chest, she gulped and laid back down. With one eye open, she kept watch on the manes of glass before the sandmare took hold of her.

Ground floor. Big Ben's inn.

"Hello sir," greeted the elderly pony. "Would you care for a room?"

"Why yes," he said letting an Maretalian accent slide off his tongue. "That would be splendid." He smiled.

"Well, I have a key right here." She said taking a key off its hook and holding it out. "Enjoy your stay, the bill will be sent directly to your room in the morning."

"Thank you, madam." He chuckled lightly before kissing her hoof. "Goodnight. And please, make sure that the door stays locked, I think he may be some wild animal howling outside. It didn't sound very friendly either."

"I will," she said. "Goodnight, Mr... What is your name?"

"My name?" He said stopping in his tracks. "You may call me Silver. And I'll make sure to pay up front in the morning, I need to leave to prepare a little gift for a friend also staying here. But don't tell her, it's a surprise." He chuckled.

As he left, the old mare quietly laughed to herself. Leaning back, she sighed a sigh of a content pony.

"Young love," she laughed. "Such a strange little thing."

Author's Note

Yep. Silver has some stones walking up in there. And what might this surprise be!? I don't know really.