“So I don’t suppose that you’d willing to not kill me?” you ask evenly. “I’ll warn you now, I will scream. Take the mastermind here instead.”
Umbra doesn’t even get a chance to blink before you snatch her up and turn, presenting the vampony to the alicorn just behind you. Once your words catch up with her, the guard panics and squirms, but can’t get any leverage since you’re holding her by the back of her armor.
Poor Apricot, meanwhile, looks comatose on her hooves and ready to fall over at the slightest touch. In fact…
You nudge the small mare with your knee and she falls over, legs perfectly straight and stiff as a statue. Even her expression of abject terror remains frozen on her.
Luna takes in the scene with a stern yet cool visage, one befitting the Goddess of the Moon. It’s an expression that fits any situation, be it in a tense war room, in court listening to the whining and false praises of the nobility, or even watching a guard officer and alien squabble like foals.
Then it cracks.
Luna snorts and holds a hoof in front of her muzzle to stifle a distinctly un-princesslike chortling. “Oh Anon, Major, you two never fail to entertain,” she says, her mirth calming after a moment. “There’ll be no slaying of any ponies or humans today. What I wish to know, is why you did not invite me?”
The alicorn’s eyes grow large and sad, and her lower lip trembles like she’s just barely holding back tears. “Why would you not invite me..?” she pleads.
You roll your eyes and let a still indignant Umbra down. “Luna, that worked better the first few times. It’s a bit old now.”
The princess drops the expression for a pout. “Must you be a killjoy?”
“I ask him that all the time,” Umbra chimes in.
“The answer will always be yes,” you reply, looking between the two mares. “I live to suck the joy out of the lives of everyone around me. Speaking of no joy or life...” You turn to the still comatose Apricot, who looks like she’s long since had a heart attack. “You okay, Apri?”
The blue-eyed mare blinks then sucks in a breath, proving she didn't expire of shock after all. Apricot then shoots to her hooves and bows so deeply to an amused Luna that she almost brains herself on the floor.
“P-princess! I’m so sorry you had to see that!” she says. “I-I-I don’t know what happened to me, It’s just-!”
Apricot is cut off when Luna holds up a hoof. “It’s fine, my young guard,” she says, tone lighthearted. “My sudden appearance must have been startling. I understand.”
With palpable relief, Apricot stands back up.
Luna turns her attention to you again. “Like I was saying, Anonymous. Why wasn't I invited? Especially since it’s one of my films you intended to steal and use,” she asks with a real frown this time.
“We never said anything about stealing,” you retort before looking to Umbra, who nods. “We were in-route to ask you about it, and I don’t think any of us would have any reservations about you joining. That’s not just because you’re a princess, either.”
Luna’s frown deepens. “How odd. A guard reported the petty plot to me,” she grumbles. “I was about to send them to retrieve you for questioning before I decided to do it myself.”
“Retrieve me?” you ask with a raised brow. “As in, separate me from Umbra?”
Umbra scowls from her spot next you, then firmly wraps a foreleg around your own leg.
The princess nods. “It’s standard procedure, so individual stories cannot be coordinated between the accused parties. Knowing you two, however, you probably already had a story if the plot was genuine.” The implications hit her a moment later. She then sighs and rubs the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof. “I think I realize what was going on now… I apologize, Anonymous, Major. I did not intend to attack your integrity like that.”
“It’s fine, Princess,” Umbra says as she loosens her hold on you slightly. “We understand. Seems like the... less savory members of the vampony community are getting a bit bolder,” she finishes quietly.
The princess nods. “Indeed. We can discuss more in private. For now, I think we have more entertaining things to be arranging.” Luna turns to the unicorn vampony from before, who has his attention respectfully diverted away from the conversation.
“Mister Silver, please have a variety fountain sent to Mister Anonymous’ room. I will not have a movie and popcorn without cold soda,” Luna sniffs. “I’m no common mongrel, after all.”
“Of course, Highness. Your will be done,” Silver replies with a bow. “I’ll get on it now.”
He turns and briskly trots into the throng of other kitchen workers, letting you catch the platter cutie mark on his flank and explaining the name.
With a smile, Luna turns to your group. “Now that we have that out of the way. I believe we have a few more things to retrieve, yes?”
The kitchen doors close behind you and the ponies with a dull *clunk*, making the din of the busy room fade into mere background noise.
“I believe the projector will be the most tedious thing to take back, so perhaps we should gather it first,” Luna starts. “I’ll admit. I’m rather excited. It’s not often I get to enjoy a new film with company..”
Apricot looks up at the princess with wide, sparkling eyes. “Princess, is it really okay for me to join in on this?”
“But of course! The more, the merrier they say.”
The sight makes you crack a smile. “Lead on, we’ll follow.”
And lead the princess does.
While you and Umbra are a common sight to be roaming the castle, the rag-tag group you’ve assembled draws looks from every which way. It must be odd seeing the Princess, an alien, an officer, and a private just leisurely walking about. It’s like the start of a bad joke, really.
“So are we sticking with the plan and taking one of the auditorium projectors for the night?” Umbra asks. “If I’m right, then they have some sort of enchantment that scales the picture up or down without quality loss depending how close the screen is.”
Luna thinks it over with a hum. “Indeed. My own projector is sized just right for my personal theater, so it would not work well elsewhere. It would do us well to gather one with an adjustable picture. There is actually an auditorium just a wing away from my chambers, so we’re in luck in the regard.”
“Is it really okay for us to take it...?” Apricot mumbles quietly to herself. Not quietly enough, however, since Luna’s ear flicks towards her.
The private goes stiff. “I-I mean is it okay for us to do that, Your Highness!”
The night alicorn finally looks down at her and rolls her eyes. “No need to be nervous, young Apricot. I’m not about to strike you down because you forgot to suck up to me.”
The small mare looks down, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
“Besides…”
Apricot lets out a startled “Eep!” when a blue wing as large as herself pulls her into the princess’ side, smooshing her.
“You’re so tiny and adorable, private!” Luna exclaims with a wide grin, heedless of the guard’s struggles. “I don’t think I could be angry at you even if I tried.”
“I said the same thing,” you comment.
The poor mare coughs weakly. “P-princess. I think I-I’m suffocating…”
“Oh, my apologies.”
Apricot is unceremoniously dropped from the alicorn-powered embrace, where she falls the the ground with a *thump!*. The whole group stops to let her catch her breath before moving on.
“So, what have you been up to recently, Luna?” you ask, folding your arms behind your head as you walk. “I don’t think we’ve had the chance to talk since the breakfast a few weeks back.”
“Was that a few weeks ago?” The Princess questions with a furrowed brow. “It feels like it was longer… No matter I suppose. I’ve done little of importance since we last spoke, other than creating a task force for the recent Artisan District robberies.” Luna hangs her head, a raincloud practically forming over her. “All the work and coin I put into my little project just to have this happen…”
You step a bit closer and put a hand on Luna’s wither, making her perk up slightly.
“Wait, robberies? As in more than one robbery?” Umbra asks. “Princess, I was under the impression that there was just the one. Was there another another one?”
Luna nods. “Indeed. Hardly 12 hours ago in broad daylight no less. A pottery shop set near the front was burglarized and a number of items were stolen. The general description fit the perpetrator of the last crime.”
“Right, because a stallion of normal height, dark coat, and unknown mane color could only be one guy,” you snort.
The alicorn steadfastly ignores the snark. “The unusual items taken lead me to believe that there maybe a deeper goal than just simple profit, so I formed a personal taskforce to tackle the issue.”
“A-any clues yet, Your Highness?” Apricot asks with a timid waver.
“None yet.”
“So about as expected?” you ask with a roll of your eyes, earning you a blue wing to the face. “A ‘yes’ would have worked,” you mumble through Luna’s feathers.
“I’m sure they’ll find something, Princess. No crook is perfect,” Umbra says with an upbeat smile.
“Unless we’ve got a poner Carmen Sandiego,” you mutter.
Umbra’s ear flicks. “You say something, Anon?”
“Human thing,” you say, and wave the comment away. “Anyhow, how far are we from this auditorium?”
“Not far at our pace.”
The group walks in silence the rest of the way, or at least you try. Your own footsteps are as light as you can make them, but they still make enough noise to echo in the castle’s grand halls. Apricot’s hooves make only the lightest ‘tip tap’, easily mistakable for a mouse leisurely padding along. Both Umbra and Luna make no sound whatsoever, moving silently and gracefully like prowling cats rather than ponies. The three ponies do so despite each of them wearing metal shoes.
“Feels like we’ve been walking for ages now,” you break the quiet with a grumble. “I’m starting to think that our definitions of ‘not far’ might be different.”
You inspect the simple wooden doors, each one wide enough that you and seven or eight people could walk in and not touch shoulders. They swing open on oiled hinges with a single push, revealing a monolithic room.
“Ho-ly shit.”
Monolithic is actually an understatement. The massive chamber could hold an entire modern apartment complex inside with room to spare. What had to be thousands of seats sat in rows, broken by aisles stretching down the hundreds of meters long room. At the end was a stage multiple times larger than anything that could be found on Broadway. The ceiling is as high as the room is long and curved outward from the stage, presumably to maximize the sound for listeners. It’s has the telltale Canterlot extravagance seen elsewhere, with the seats all wide and padded, the floor fine hardwood and soft carpet, and not a speck of dust to be seen.
You close your hanging jaw with a quiet click of teeth that echoes around the enormous chamber. “Jesus, this place is enormous. When would you ever need this much room?” you ask, turning to Luna.
Luna takes in the sight without much of a reaction. “If my sister is accurate, then this was meant to be a briefing room for troops, big enough to seat all the royal guard if needed. After my, well, defeat…” She rubs the back of her neck with a forehoof uncomfortably, “Many of the other nations were cowed by Celestia’s display of power and strived to remain on Equestria’s good graces. Equestria has never had need of such a space considering the worst conflicts in the past millennia barely count as skirmishes.”
You nod along. Facing an angry Sunbutt would be daunting, even to a whole nation. “Now, how does this huge-ass place fit in the castle? I like to think I know the dimensions of the place I live in, and this doesn't quite fit.”
The princess smiles slyly. “You’re quite right. It should not fit. The spells upon all of Canterlot are powerful things. Spacial stretching is rather tame compared to the other oddities you may find if you look hard enough.”
Magic. Should have guessed.
“So this place was made into a…” Apricot starts, looking around and pausing for a phrase.
“A theatre hall?” Umbra suggests.
“Indeed,” Luna nods. “Now, where is that projector…”
Where indeed? You swivel your head around, finding nothing on the ground level. Inspecting higher on the wall reveals nothing either, despite the usual position of projectors in a theatre. Further up is...
“Is that it?” you ask, pointing up to a small, black object attached to a thick pole protruding from the center of the ceiling.
All three ponies look up, spying the object as well.
“Looks like a projector to me,” Umbra chirps. Without waiting for anyone else, she hops up and takes to the air, flying up to the supposed projector. She flutters around it for a moment, seemingly unsure. After a fruitless minute, the vampony shoots over to the stage and behind the curtain.
“What’s she doing?” Apricot asks with a tilt of her head.
“It’s probably screwed or bolted on there,” you start. “The maintenance guys should have some tools stashed away nearby.”
Sure enough, your guard flies back out with a screwdriver in her mouth and rises back the projector. The metallic tink tink scritch scratch! of the screwdriver on the projector mount echo in the large room, as do Umbra’s increasingly frequent growls of frustration. Several minutes pass with seemingly no progress
You sigh as your patience slowly diminishes.
“Oi Granny! Sometime tonight, please!” you yell into your cupped hands, getting an impressive echo.
Even from what has to be over one hundred meters up, Umbra’s sour face is easy to see. “I can’t get the screwdriver in right!”
“What? It’s a screwdriver, it’s not hard to use!” you yell back.
“Harder than you might think!”
“Uh, no!”
“Really now, smartass!?”
“Yeah, because basic tools aren’t beyond me!”
The pearly white grin should have been your warning to not walk right into her taunt, but you did it anyway. “Like you’d know how to use hard tools the right way. You nearly put yours in the wrong hole earlier!”
She really went there, and you let her do it. Already you feel your face burn a feverish red.
Luna’s jaw drops but she hastily raises a wing to cover the expression. Poor, innocent Apricot furrows her brow, trying to puzzle out what her superior meant. It takes the petite guard a moment, but when it finally clicks, so much blood rushes to her face that a normal pony would have fainted.
C’mon. Comeback. comeback. comeback...
“But but but..!” Apri stutters. “Doing things like t-that with the major? T-that’s so naughty!” she cries, her hooves on her red cheeks
Comeback, comeback, comeback…
Luna clears her throat and looks away. “Well, that’s certainly not convincing me that you aren’t together. My oh my, how risque.”
Comebackcomebackcomeback!
Bingo. “Yeah, you didn’t try to stop me though!”
Wait. Shit.
Luna’s eyes widen and her cheeks finally tinge pink. Apricot looks two steps away from a heart attack. And Umbra…
Umbra blinks like she doesn’t believe her ears. Slowly but surely though, her face takes a red hue through her smokey gray fur. “U-Uh... “
You turn to Luna and will the blush away from your own face with little success. “You mind helping her? We’ll be here all night otherwise.”
The Princess clears her throat after a moment. “Ah. Certainly.” She spreads her wings and takes off.
Jesus Christ what brought that reply on? You wonder to yourself. You shut your guard up, but did nothing to deflect the accusation off of yourself. Hell, you painted yourself along with her by not denying it. Now both Luna and Apricot probably think that you tried to…
The half-remembered sensation of what lays under the cobalt-colored tail makes your stomach flutter and your knees weak. You press your legs together more firmly to suppress a third reaction.
You let out a shaky sigh and return your attention upward.
Umbra relinquishes the screwdriver to the Princess, who takes it in her magic and tries to work the screws on the mount herself.
Keyword “tries.”
The muttered cursing Luna lets out makes it down to the ground easily, and the sounds coming from her work are much more violent than Umbra’s.
The metal mount groans and squeals under Luna’s harsher treatment, but it looks like she has the first screw out.
Creeeeeeeeek-SNAP!
Or not.
“Goddess damn it!” Luna roars as a broken screw and a nut fall to the floor with a terrible clatter, making both you and Apricot wince.
“Perhaps we should have gone to an actual cinema,” you mutter, scratching the back of your head as you look at the screwhead on the floor. “This is turning into a real hassle.”
“Maybe we could convince them to just show the movie here?” Apricot asks hopefully. “Then we won’t need to tear anything down.”
You snort. “Umbra might go with that, but Luna? No way. We’re in too deep and our beloved moon goddess has a ‘no half-ass’ rule. It’s do or die now. That thing is coming down even if the whole ceiling comes with it.”
The orange-maned guard sits back on her legs and crosses her forehooves. “That’s not very funny…”
“Good, because I wasn’t joking.”
Apricot inspects your flat expression for only a moment before she gulps.
“Come now, dear Anonymous. No need to make me out as a brute.”
Both you and Apricot turn to Luna and Umbra as they touch down. “Though I do appreciate the goddess comment. If you weren’t seeing the good major already, I might have thought about pursuing you,” the princess says with a wink.
You roll your eyes. “Jokes between friends, Princess. Jokes. What’s the situation with the projector?”
“Not good, I’m afraid,” Luna replies, unconcerned. “Major Umbra cannot get the proper leverage, and I... seem to be a bit too powerful for such an old fixture,” she says with a grumble. “This is something that needs more than a little dexterity. As such, I believe that you ‘are up’ as they say.”
You’re up?
You look up at the huge ceiling, where the projector is honestly more of a dot than anything. How they expected you to get up there, you have no idea.
“Gunna need a tall ladder,” you comment.
Luna smirks. “We’ve no ladders or time to acquire one. You’ll be flying up.”
“Excuse me?” you ask with a raised brow. “I think I misheard you. Fly? Last I checked, I’m the only one without wings here.”
“Who said you’ll be going up alone?” She asks, smirk growing. “I recall that the major can easily lift you.”
“Oh hell no.”
“No half-assing,” Luna says, quoting you. “Get up there. We’ve come this far and we’re not stopping now.” She raises her nose up and tries to hold a stoic visage, but her lips keep twitching.
“Is this because I was talking shit? Because I do that to all my friends, Luna. Don't do this,” you say, trying to not sound like you’re pleading.
You look over to Umbra helplessly, only for her to shrug. Her gold eyes dance with mirth, however. “Well, hop on I guess,” she says, turning to face you broadside with her wings open.
Turning to Luna and Apricot helps none. Luna just keeps her pose and Apricot…
Where is she? The fun-size mare is nowhere to be found. You glance around for her but find nothing.
You gulp and lock eyes with Luna. “You’re serious then?”
The alicorn can't hold back an amused smile.
“I’ll remember this.”
With a groan, you accept the screwdriver from Luna’s magic and step over Umbra’s back, lowering yourself until you were seated between her wings. It must have looked comical to any onlookers seeing such a small creature like a pony support the full weight of a grown man.
“Ready?” Your guard asks.
“I really don’t want to do this,” you groan again, gripping Umbra’s sides with your thighs.
“Here we go anyway!”
Just one flap of the vampony’s wings takes you three meters straight up, sending your stomach right to your feet. It only gets worse as you rise faster, making you grip her armor with your free hand.
“Oh god oh god oh shit…”
You look up at the approaching ceiling and valiantly try to pretend that the floor isn’t so far down that you’ll splatter should you fall.
“Whats with the bellyaching? You had no problem with me flying you home last night or any time before that.” Umbra looks over her shoulder with a raised brow. “Don’t be a foal.”
“I was so drunk last night that I couldn’t tell up from down. I’m nice and sober now, but I wish I wasn’t!” You say as you keep your eyes screwed shut. “Why is this thing so far up without a way to get to it? This seems like a gigantic design flaw.”
“Well, pegasi can get to it.”
“So only one third of the ponies around can get to it if something happened? I’m somehow unsurprised. This is definitely pony levels of foresight.”
Umbra lightly jostles you for the indirect insult, but you keep your mouth shut and refuse to give her the satisfaction of hearing your fright.
Your vampony mount slows to a stop next to the projector, letting you see that it’s just held to the ceiling with a pole and a circular plate with holes for screws. One of the four screws is missing thanks to Luna, and the whole rig is small enough to explain why Umbra couldn't get a decent angle on it. As you look at it…
...You catch a glimpse of the floor, which looks like it’s miles down at this height.
“If I fall and die, burn my things. I want no one to have them,” you tell Umbra with a huff.
She snorts and shakes you with her laugh. “You’re such a drama queen.”
You grunt and start on the projector mount. “I could just scream and shit myself to express how much I don't want to be up here.”
“Please don’t…”
It’s slow going and your shaky hands don't help, but the rusty screws and nuts steadily come loose. Luckily, Umbra has enough control in a hover to remain in place and balanced as you undo the screws.
Right before you undo the last one, a thought strikes you. “How are we going to get this thing down?” you ask, considering it’s too large for you to safely carry down while balanced on Umbra.
The pony under you is quiet for a moment. “We didn’t think this through, did we?”
You sigh. “Do we ever? We should have gone to a real cinema. Hey, Princess! Catch!”
The blue dot on the floor jumps. “What?!”
Umbra gasps as the last screw twists off, letting the old timey projector enter a free fall with an almost cartoony Acme whistle.
Luna scrambles to the spot right under it and just barely manages to catch the contraption in her magic before it can smash into the floor. She breathes a sigh of relief and sets it gently on the ground.
You and Umbra loiter in the airspace for a moment. “You know,” she starts, “if I didn’t feel them on my back, I’d think your balls are huge.”
You somehow manage to choke on nothing and sputter. “You’re so full of shit. Like you could feel my junk through your armor. J-Just get us to the ground. Those balls are freezing, you flying icebox.”
She looks back at you with a smirk and starts a slow glide to the ground.
“Do you think you’re funny, Mister Anonymous!” Luna calls up, a slight scowl marring her pretty face.
“I’m a god-damn comedian! Buy tickets now because my shows sell out quick!” you shout back, prompting Umbra to let out a melodious giggle.
Luna puffs her cheeks out in annoyance. Good.
“Do you have to antagonize the highest authority in the land?” Your guard asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Someone has to.”
“Everypony! Look at what I found!” a new voice cuts in.
All eyes turn to Apricot all the way over on the stage. The small mare holds a small remote controller in her mouth that she sets down and presses a button on. The ceiling rumbles, then a hydraulic hiss sounds from somewhere. Nary a second later, the pole that once held the projector starts to lower to the ground with a mechanical whine.
You pinch your eyes shut and hiss out a breath through your teeth.
“Anon? I can feel your pulse climbing…”
“That’s because it is, Umbra. That’s because it is.”
The trip to Luna’s chambers is thankfully much more sedate. True to the princess’s word, it’s a short trip but still long enough for your temper to cool. Though you can’t help but wonder about the odd placement of her room, considering the various royals, nobles, and VIPs get a special wing.
“I’m not terribly social, but you know that much already. Much of this area is unused, so I’ve taken it as my own for a number of projects and indulgences,” Luna says as she opens her chamber door. “Here we are!”
Despite being one of the few close friends of the Lunar Princess, you’ve never actually seen her room until now. It’s… not what you expected.
“This seems a little bare for the personal space of an alicorn, to be honest,” Umbra says, her gold eyes scanning over the sparsely furnished room. “I sort of expected… “
“Extravagance? Luxury? Eye melting beauty?” you finish for her, walking in and looking over a weathered desk of varied magic doodads yourself. “I’m surprised as well.”
The room is immensely spartan by the standards of a royal. A few bookshelves against the mono blue walls, work desks covered with magic items and tools of uncertain origin, a currently closed balcony with a few telescopes, an unmarked door near the back and... A crescent moon shaped bed frame?
You try not to let out a mean-spirited laugh, deciding that you’ve pushed Luna’s buttons enough for today.
“I like it…” Apricot says quietly, only to squeak when the Princess pulls her into another crushing one-winged hug.
Luna rolls her teal eyes at you and your guard. “With the amount of disdain I hold for the nobility and their sort, do either of you think I would go out of my way to mirror them? I do not require useless luxury. And Anonymous?”
Your hand freezes halfway to a little glass heart glowing an enticing gold. “Yes?”
“Don’t touch that. If I have to show your ash pile and soot silhouette to my dear sister, she will not be pleased.”
You click your tongue and return your hand to your side.
“Now don't touch anything else either. I’ll be just a moment,” the alicorn commands, setting the projector in her magic down and trotting to the door in the back, Apricot still under her wing.
You sigh for what seems like the million time today and turn to Umbra as you hear the door Luna was heading into shut. The little vampony pick-ups on the unspoken message and trots to your side, pressing her chilled body into your leg.
“Tired?” she asks, already knowing the answer.
“Also got a migraine from hell.”
“I’m sorry.”
You slowly run your fingers through her cobalt mane, letting the pleasant cool radiate up your arm and silently relish the contact. She responds by wrapping a gentle foreleg around your leg and resting her face against your hip in a light nuzzle.
“If I had known how much of a bother this was going to be, I would have just gotten everything myself and let you sleep,” she continues, her form slackening against your side. “I should have stood up for you when the princess wanted you to fly to the ceiling with me.” She smiles ruefully.
You take a slow breath. “I’m not going to ask you to go against your commander in chief. I’m aware that having a friend who is also your superior is some wonky shit, but that’s how Luna runs things. Your first loyalty is to her, after all.”
“You’re my charge, though…” Her grip on you tightens just the slightest amount, “and I keep failing to protect you. Tartarus, Anon, you provide more for me than I do for you. Your well being was and still is trusted to me, but I can’t even speak out against a bad idea? What if you had fallen, Anon? I would-”
“-Have caught me,” you cut her off with a frown. “If I didn’t trust you with my life, do you really think I’d let you fly me that high, even with Luna getting uppity about it?”
Umbra remains silent, but her eyes lock with yours.
“You have kept me protected, you know,” you venture on. “Just because the threat wasn’t physical, doesn't mean you haven’t done your duty,” you idly rub the spot behind her ear as you think on your next words. “When I got dropped into this wild pony world, still half in shock and missing home, I learned I was getting a permanent guard. I thought for sure that meant some stiff who was just supposed to spy on me and drag me out of trouble by force. A life of just being an alien kept on a leash, if that could be called a life. But what I actually got?”
The mare at your side hangs off every word.
You snort. “Fuck me, this is corny. What I got was the best friend I’ve ever had across two whole worlds. One who worries, who listens, who goes out of her way for me not because it’s her job, but because she cares. She chased away a lot of my fears and doubts just by staying close at my side, protecting me from things a regular guard couldn't. Even when a reward other guards would kill for found its way into the little system, she still would have gone above and beyond without it.”
A lopsided smile grows on your face. “She’s kind of an impulsive scatterbrain, and sometimes doesn't know when to shut up, but I wouldn't have her any other way. That mare’s name?” You look down, sparkling golden eyes staring back, “Major Umbra of the Lunar Guard.”
Umbra sits back on her haunches and covers her mouth with a hoof, her eyes wide. “A-anon… Do you mean it…?”
“Every single word.”
The guard sniffles, and when she lowers the hoof on her mouth, she has a quivering smile. “I…” She stops her words short and just lets her smile grow just the slightest bit, She raises herself on her hind legs and hops, her forelegs wrapping around your neck in a hug.
You smile and bend just enough that you can hug her back, but the soft sensation and quiet smack of lips on your cheek stops you. Her soft cheek is pressed to yours right after.
“Thank you, Anon,” Umbra whispers in your ear, her cool breath sending tingles up your spine.
You pull her into a tight embrace, feeling nothing but her, seeing nothing but her, and hearing nothing but her.
For a moment, all is right with the world.
Luna watches the young (to her, at least) pair hold each other through the crack in her personal theater door with a small grin, the film reel held in her magic long forgotten. “I do so love when a plan comes together,” she says to herself. “Don’t you think so private?... Private Apricot?”
The orange-maned mare can only groan from her place smashed into Luna’s side thanks to the large wing pinning her there.
“Oops…"