Lending a Helping Hoof.

“Good morning dear sister, I should hope that you rested well?” Celestia entered the chambers of her beloved sibling as she did every morning.

The night princess sat up in her bed and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She didn’t initially acknowledge her sister’s presence; instead, she gazed out her window which had been left ajar overnight and watched as the sun shone brightly against the sky. There wasn’t a single cloud within sight. She turned her attention to the mare responsible for the sunlight cascading into her chamber.

“Well enough I suppose.” She responded with a yawn.

“I suggest you get ready quickly; today is the day you formally address your branch of the guard.” Celestia informed her.

“I am aware dear sister, well aware.”

“Have you given any thought to what we discussed last night?”

“About… him?” Celestia nodded in affirmation. “Perhaps a private discussion can be arranged.”

“Good. I’m glad you are at least giving this a chance. I hate seeing you this way.”

“Believe me when I say that I am not rather fond of myself either these days. Maybe you’re right, maybe this might be what I’ve been looking for.”

“Just remember Luna, big sister always knows best.” The sun Goddess departed from her sister’s quarters, leaving her to her own thoughts. She hoped that today just be easy, yet for a princess, nothing was ever easy.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

My eyes shot open at the sound of banging at the door.

“Nightwing, are you awake?” I could hear Octavia from the other side of the door.

“I am now.”

“Are you decent?”

“Yes, you can come in.” The door gently swung open and Octavia entered the room.

“Breakfast is ready if you would like some. I’ve prepared pancakes if that’s alright?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll be down in a sec, just let me freshen up quickly.”

“Okay.” She exited the room and closed the door.

Today was the day, the day I make a complete ass of myself, in front of royalty no less. The only fortunate variable in today’s events was that the only thing I have to lose is my pride. Then again, that’s really the only thing I have left.

I proceeded downstairs after a brief shower. The sound of a sizzling skillet and the smell of fresh batter made my stomach rumble uncomfortably. As I entered the kitchen, I noticed two things; Octavia standing over the counter-top and Vinyl sitting on her rump in the corner of the dining room facing the wall.

“Should I ask why you’re sitting in the corner?”

“I forgot to brush my teeth last night and she…” Vinyl was cut short by the stern voice of the cooking mare.

“Hush Vinyl! You’re still in timeout for not thinking I wouldn’t notice the alcohol on your breath and for raiding my secret compartment. Nose against the wall!”

“Okay mother.” Vinyl muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me, is that an attitude I hear?”

“No ma’am!” Vinyl answered in fear.

“Good, now stop talking and face the wall until I say otherwise. Nightwing, come and make your plate. There is butter and syrup on the table if you want any.”

“Abusive relationship much?” I asked

“No, just a managed one. I can’t tolerate her childish behavior; therefore she shall be treated as such if necessary. Don’t worry, she’ll learn her lesson once I start revoking privileges; especially bedroom privileges, but that won’t be necessary will it?” Octavia raised her voice so that Vinyl could hear loud and clear. Vinyl simply shook her head; afraid to utter another word for fear that she would be punished further.

I took my seat at the table with a rather generous stack on my plate. Octavia joined me with a much smaller portion.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Water is fine, thank you.”

“Ice or no ice?”

“No ice.” She brought the cup to me and set it down next to my plate

“Lukewarm water, my favorite.” She added sarcastically.

“To each there own.” We mostly ate in silence for the duration of the morning. Eventually Octavia let Vinyl out of the corner and allowed her to the rest of the food.

“Any big plans for today?” Octavia asked from behind her coffee mug. Vinyl and I traded glances.

“I guess you could assume that. There’s going to be an announcement by Princess Luna to every member of the Lunar Guard so that should be interesting to say the least.”

“Anything else you want to add… lover boy.” Vinyl nudged my arm, hoping to coax me into sharing more information.

“Lover boy huh, to whom shall the honor be granted?”

“Well Vinyl is getting a bit ahead of herself at the moment. What she meant by ‘Lover Boy’ was that I would be attempting to engage in conversation with a mare that has caught my eye recently.”

“Is she a member of the guard as well?”

“Not quite.”

“Then who is she, or am I prying too much?”

Before I could get a word out, Vinyl interjected.

“He’s going to tell Princess Luna that he loves her and wants to kiss and cuddle and have her babies!”

Vinyl was met with dropped jaws and gaping eyes. I could feel my cheeks becoming redder with each passing moment of silence.

“Not in the slightest!” I responded.

“Oh puh-lease, you would be all over her if the opportunity presented itself. I know I’d be and I’m sure Tavi would too as much as she’d deny it.” I could see Octavia blushing in my peripheral.

There was more unbearable silence that lasted for several moments.

“May I be excused from the table?” I asked

“By all means, go right ahead. Vinyl and I have things that need to be discussed anyway.” She turned to her marefriend with fire in her eyes.

“Line up you slackers! Believe me when I say that you don’t want to be the last soldier in formation or so help me I will castrate you and serve your cojones to you at mealtime with a side of mashed potatoes!” The drill sergeant barked commands to the groggy-eyed guardsponies. Everyone shot up instantly at the idea of becoming a eunuch. The burly, mud brown stallion slowly but meticulously made his way down the rows upon rows of guards. He checked for posture, focus, and most importantly; attendance. The sergeant stopped in his tracks at a gap within the formation. He spat on the ground of where the pony should’ve been standing. He looked to the stallion left of the empty slot.

“Who is the feeble-brained sack of skin that belongs here soldier?!”

“Commander Nightwing of the dusk battalion sir!” The soldier responded hastily with his hoof in a salute.

“And do you have any idea where he would be during a time such as this.”

“No sir!”

“At ease,” The soldier in question lowered his hoof and stood at attention. “Would anyone like to inform me as to the whereabouts of sir Nightwing of the dusk battalion?!”

I could hear my name being called from a distance and knew that it could only spell disaster for me later. Might as well be honest.

“Right here sir!” I yelled as I sprinted to assume formation. I was stopped by the sergeant before I could get to my spot.

“You better have a damn good excuse as to why you are late soldier.” I could smell the tobacco in his breath and it made me gag.

“No sir, I do not.” I tried to maintain some form of confidence. The drill sergeant ushered me to my spot with force and urgency.

“Now for those who may be unaware such as this young stallion, today is a very important day! You all will be addressed by Princess Luna herself! This could be the most important thing you ever hear in your pathetic lives! So I suggest you be more punctual and responsible during such an event! Now for this soldiers negligent insubordination, every last one of you will do push-ups until the princess gets out here! I don’t care if she takes one minute or one hour! If anyone gets tired and decides to stop, I will personally see to you doing laps after the address! Do I make myself perfectly clear?!”

“Sir, yes sir!” The group yelled in unison. Everypony got into push-up position and began. I did the same. As if my situation weren’t bad enough already, now I will be getting filthy looks and remarks from everyone for the rest of the day. To make matters worse, the drill sergeant decided to increase my difficulty by standing on my back. The pain coursing through my legs was excruciating. I knew that if I stopped and had to run laps, there would be no possibility in me ever getting to talk with the princess. I could feel the veins protruding from my legs and face. I was beginning to get dizzy before eventually I passed out. I don’t remember much after that. What I do remember was the drill sergeant picking me up off the floor and yelling something vulgar and disrespectful in my face; things that should not be repeated to anyone under any circumstance. By the time I had gotten my bearings, I could see Luna standing on the podium in front of everypony. I couldn’t quite understand what she was saying because of the continuous ringing that bombarded my ears. Before I knew it, she was already off the podium and everyone had dispersed.

“Mother Bucker!” I murmured to myself under my breath. I missed every word of it. I tried asking around for what she had said but I was only met with angry glares and snorts of indignation. Not much time had passed before I could feel a firm hoof on my shoulder. I turned only to be eye to eye with a pissed off drill sergeant; then again, when didn’t he look pissed?

“You got a date with the track now, so I suggest you get to it boy.” He spat at the ground in front of my hooves before storming off in the other direction. Fortunately, running had been my forte for many years but not today. The sun beat down with unforgiving heat and there was nary a breeze for miles. I approached the track with a dry throat and sweating bullets. The track was solid concrete all the way around. This only amplified the effects of the already searing sunlight.

I had lost all sense of time during my time on the track, it felt as though twelve hours had passed but realistically it had probably only been two. The sun was at its peak in the clear sky. Not a cloud in site for miles. I stopped sweating a few minutes ago and knew that I was slowly declining towards severe dehydration and heat stroke.

“Someone please make it stop.” I pleaded to deaf ears. Or so I thought. As the words exited my mouth, a silhouette appeared before me; a silhouette that I had wanted to see all day. Princess Luna stood emotionless and commanded for me to stop. In hindsight, going from a non-stop run to a sudden halt was probably not the smartest thing for me to do. I could feel my back legs tighten up as I collapsed on the track in front of the princess. Writhing in pain on the floor was not exactly how I wanted to look in front of Luna but fate would have me believe otherwise.

Without uttering a word, she walked behind me and began massaging my cramped muscles. It felt somewhat embarrassing yet satisfying at the same time.

“It appears that you have over-exerted yourself.” She stated bluntly.

“Really,” I winced in pain as her hooves dug into my aching legs. “I couldn’t tell.”

“I will say though, I appreciate the sense of humor.” She finished what she was doing and stood up. She dropped a canteen on the ground next to my face. “Drink.”

I gladly took the canteen and downed the whole thing without hesitation. It was colder than the ice that ran through the sergeants veins.

“That probably wasn’t a wise thing to do.”

“Just following my commands.”

“I wasn’t referring to the running, it isn’t wise to chug that much water at one time being as exhausted as you are.”

“Why not…” I was interrupted by a sudden surge in my gut as the contents of my stomach were emptied on to the ground before me.

“That is why. Just breathe and relax.” She said calmly.

I sat up and took several deeps breaths before my heart-rate returned to its normal pace.

“Can you stand?” she asked in a motherly tone.

“I can certainly try.” Cautiously, I made my way to an upright position. My legs wobbled beneath me and felt like collapsing again. Before I could hit the floor, Luna used her body to prop me up. I turned to her with a weak but sincere smile

“Thank you Princess.”

“It’s just Luna to you Nightwing.” She returned a gentle smile of her own.

“So you remember my name now.” I jokingly mocked her for mistaking me for my uncle the other night.

“Don’t forget who’s helping you right now.” She giggled slightly. It felt rewarding to make small talk, but it was a start. Certainly a start that I could be content with.

I received many confused looks as I was escorted by Luna through the courtyard. I could see guards exchanging whispers as they looked in my direction. We entered the barracks and made our way to the nurse’s quarters. Luna helped me onto a bed as the nurse approached.

“He’s dehydrated.” Luna told the nurse. She turned back to me with concern in her eyes. “Just rest for now, I shall return shortly.” I gave her a nod before she exited the room. The nurse came back with ice and more water.

I stayed in the bed for the remainder of the day. Truthfully, it was far better than doing drills all day. Luna-true to her word-returned. She didn’t stay long but she gave me an envelope before she left with implicit directions to not open the envelope until I returned home. The royal seal was plastered on the front so I knew that it was a legitimate parchment. Not saying that something personally delivered by Princess Luna wouldn’t be legitimate but I digress.

After the nurse medically cleared me, I headed home to get ready for my time of active duty. Vinyl and Octavia greeted me with a bombardment of questions regarding Luna. I told them what happened during the day. I was more concerned however, with the contents of the envelope. I took a seat and carefully opened it. A piece of folded parchment was inside. It was a letter from the the princess addressed to me.

Nightwing,

Do not worry about preparing for your shift tonight; I have excused you from your duties so that you may rest. After much deliberation with my sister and your drill sergeant, I have decided to pardon you from drills tomorrow as well. If you are wondering why I have done all of these things on your behalf, meet me at the Canterlot Café tomorrow at noon, I will explain everything. I hope that you rest well tonight and I am looking forward to seeing you; that is if you can make it on time,

Sincerely yours,

Princess Luna.

“Well, what did she say?” Vinyl asked with a playful curiousness. I slowly put the letter down onto the table.

“I have a date with Princess Luna.”