//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Of Scales and Moonlight // by TheTraveler //------------------------------// CHAPTER 2 Stardew and Strawberries “Dear Spike, if We may ask, where art thou taking Us?” As the secret Prince of Equestria led his unwitting companion on their trek through the deeper parts of the palace gardens, Luna was willing to hedge a bet that the young dragon was taking her towards the furthest corner of the castle grounds, if not to the very perimeter wall itself. As to his reasons why, however, the Princess of the Night was still none the wiser. Coming to a sudden stop, Spike turned and flashed her a smile as he spoke. “Wonder no more, Your Majesty.” With a wave of his arm, he gave a little flourish as he gestured to the area before them. “We’ve arrived.” Taking a moment to examine the area that her young companion had gestured to, Luna couldn't help but cock her head gently to the side. What lay before them was a wall, and though she had indeed been expecting them to have eventually come upon one, she had not expected to find any such as the one presently before her. It was not made of towering white stone for one thing, nor did it stretch high into the Canterlot skyline as all the perimeter walls did. Instead, she found herself looking upon a mass of ancient-looking grey stone that only reached a few feet above her head, and appeared to be held together mostly with nothing more than ivy and the occasional tuft of moss. “As lovely as it is, young Spike," stated Luna as she turned her head towards her companion, "may We inquire as to why thou hast led us all the way out here merely to look at a wall?" Spike merely grinned at the princess as his eyes sparkled playfully. “Look closer, Your Majesty.” Blinking, Luna muttered quietly to herself as she inspected the wall much closer, only to suddenly give a start a moment later as her eyes focused on a single spot about two-thirds of the way up. There in front of her, partially hidden amongst the stonework by the foliage surrounding it, was a triangular shaped stone–a keystone. “Going off your reaction, Your Majesty, I take it you’ve worked it out.” Turning her head, she gave the grinning dragon beside her a confirming nod before returning her focus to the wall. “We believe We have indeed, young Spike. There is a door here, is there not?” Smiling, Spike simply nodded before gesturing for her to follow him once more as he walked up to the section of wall just below the freshly discovered keystone. With Luna fresh on his heels, he reached out and grasped a handful of loosely hanging ivy, gently pulling it aside as if it were a curtain. This revealed an antique wooden door, previously hidden from view behind the mass of overgrowth. As he twisted the handle, Spike looked up at her, his eyes shining as he gave the door a firm push. “Princess Luna Solaris! Welcome, to the Stardew Allotment!” Luna could hardly believe her eyes as she walked through the open doorway. She stood in a walled garden full of raised beds, each packed with fruit and vegetable plants of all sizes and types. Further back she even spied a couple of tilled areas filled with ripening watermelon, as well as a packed greenhouse, a shed, and a pair of large water tanks. “It’s…” breathed Luna as she tried to find the right words to describe the sight before her. “Amazing, perhaps, Your Majesty?” “Exactly, Spike!” exclaimed the Princess. Giddy with excitement, she swept Spike up in her forelegs and held him aloft. “This place is indeed amazing! Beautiful, even! Tell us,  how didst thou know it was here?” “But... I didn’t say anything, Princess,” replied Spike. Blinking in confusion, he tilted his head in a manner not too dissimilar to Luna herself when faced with a perplexing situation. Tilting her own head in a mirror of the dragon that she held between her forelegs, Luna returned his quizzical look. “But if not thou, young Spike, then..." With an unfortunate Spike still in her grasp, Luna started twisting her body left and right, scanning the area for the source of the voice until. Finally, her eyes fell upon an old green stallion standing next to one of the raised beds, chuckling softly to himself as he watched the duo's antics. “It is an honour to finally meet you, Your Majesty,” he said. His head bowed in respect before lifting as he slung the shovel he held over his shoulder. He then nodded gently towards the dragon in her embrace, a smile playing gently upon his lips. “If I may be so bold, however, may I suggest that you let Master Spike down now? I do believe he has had enough.” Turning her head back to the small dragon in her grasp, Luna uttered a soft, if not cute squeak as she saw her companion now dangling limply between her outstretched legs, all the while muttering nothing but dizzy-sounding nonsense. Pulling her hooves back in shock, she flinched as she heard Spike hit the ground with a soft thud and a groan, in turn causing her to fall into a mild panic as she once again pulled the poor dragon into another embrace. “Dearest Spike, We are sorry! Art thou alright? Dost thou need a medic?” “Huh... what…” came Spike’s intelligent reply as he tried to free himself from the distraught princess’s death hold. “I do believe Her Majesty is apologising for her actions and enquiring if you are okay, Spike,” translated the stallion as he now leaned on his shovel. Giving a gentle 'ah' of understanding, Spike gently reached up and booped the still-rambling Luna on the snout, silencing her instantly. Then, flashing her a smile, he sat up and rubbed the back of his head a couple of times before slipping out of the mare's grasp and turning his full attention toward the old stallion. “I should have expected to run into you here, Lord Greenhoof,” said Spike, a warm smile playing upon his lips. Standing up straight once more, the stallion gave the young dragon a smirk. “Now then, Spike, no need to be so formal. We are alone in this place, after all.” Slinging his shovel back over his broad shoulders, he gave the young dragon a sly look as he walked closer. “Or would you rather I call you by your official title as well, my Prince?” Spike gave the old stallion a warm smile as the playful spark flickered across his eyes once more. “You’re starting to sound like my mother, Cereus,” he countered as he gently helped Luna back to her hooves. Then, turning his attention to one of the raised beds next to him, he inspected one of the many plants. “Looks like the food banks will be getting some of their delivery early if this weather keeps up.” Smiling at the dragon’s earlier comment, the old Stallion, now known to Luna as Lord Cereus Greenhoof, joined his friend by the raised bed. “Not to mention the kitchens. I’ve already been cornered by old Pan Flash trying to get his delivery of summer fruits. And don’t get me started on Princess Cadance and the watermelon patch. Every time I turn my back, it feels like she’s attempting a new stealth raid on the blasted place…” Leaving the two to continue their conversation, Luna slowly started to examine the garden around her for herself, wholly taken back by everything. Starting with the raised beds nearest to her current position, she couldn't help but notice that some were split into different sections, each producing a plethora of plants ranging from potatoes to carrots to radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and nearly every berry she could imagine. She even spied a smaller bed, packed with growing dandelions, near one of the garden walls. A sign staked at its front read ‘Twilight’s Pantry’ in bright gold paint. Smiling to herself, Luna turned her head back to the beds around her only to pause as her eyes fell upon one bed in particular, causing her to mutter softly to herself. “You can have some if you want, Your Majesty," came the voice of Spike, startling her as he took his place by her side once more, having moved from his inspection of a nearby tomato plant upon hearing the sound of her voice. Luna looked longingly at the strawberry plants in front of her as one of her ears twitched. “If Lord Greenhoof doesn’t mind the intrusion…” replied Luna slowly. “I’m afraid it’s not my permission you must ask, Your Majesty," called Cereus. "I just care for this allotment in her master's stead.” “In her master's stead?” asked Luna. Turning to face the stallion behind her, she began, “Then who—” When Luna saw him nodding his head towards Spike, she blinked in shock, then snapped her head around to look down at her companion once more. “Spike? This garden is thine?” “Yep,” replied Spike smugly, though his smugness was short-lived. It evaporated almost instantly the moment he saw the knowing look that the old Lord was now giving him. Coughing in embarrassment as he scuffed his foot against the ground, Spike's expression changed as he gave Luna a sheepish look. “Well… I may have had a bit of help.” “A bit?” chimed in Cereus. “Okay. I may have had a lot of help,” Spike confessed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment before nodding towards his friend. “Cereus here helped me design the layout and taught me all about gardening. Twilight's brother and some of the guards pitched in to help me clear this entire area of the overgrowth and brambles, and they helped me build the raised beds and fill them with bags of compost from the central gardens. Even a couple of my friends from the Wonderbolt Cadets lent a hoof when they visited the castle from Cloudsdale. “Then there was the Black Watch. I honestly don’t think this place would be anywhere as amazing as it is now if it wasn't for them. They helped with repairing the wall and felling some of the larger trees. Not to mention they also found us the garden shed, greenhouse, and rainwater tanks you can see against the back wall… though they never did tell me where they got them from.” Spike paused for a moment, smiling at the fond memories he held of those childhood days building the Startdew Allotment with his friends and family while waiting for Twilight and his mum to finish Twilight’s magic lessons for the day. “Even Blueblood helped out by using some of his connections to not only source all the general plants you can see in the raised beds, but also the rare specimens you can see in the greenhouse. He still does, even now, actually." Leaning against the raised bed next to them, Spike paused again as more memories flooded back to him, the warm smile that played across his lips never lost for even a second. “And then there was the help mum gave me," Spike continued, closing his eyes as he spoke. "We used to come down here in the evenings when she had finished with the court for the day. And sometimes Cadance would come with me if mum was busy, or even join us if she didn’t have any foal-sitting to do. We used to plant, water, and weed while we talked about how our day had been. Mum even donated some golden apple seeds so I could try and grow an apple orchard…” Opening his eyes, Spike slowly turned his head to look towards an open archway set within one of the garden’s side walls before turning his head to take in the rest of the Allotment. “Sadly, I won’t get to see Stardew much anymore. Not now that I’m living in Ponyville.” Luna couldn’t help but feel a slight ache in her chest as she heard the sadness in those final words, especially after all the joy his previous words had carried. Reaching out to try and support him, a painful realisation suddenly dawned on her. They had only met a few hours ago, and she had not dealt with a situation like this in so long, let alone with a dragon of all creatures. More than that, who was she to try and comfort anypony? The Fallen Princess, bringer of eternal night; a monster, undoubtedly, to so many ponies within this world that she now inhabited. Would he even appreciate her sympathy, or would he reject it? What if she made a fool of herself or made matters worse? Opening her mouth to say something, anything to him, all she could manage was silence as her mind went blank. Only the sound of her heart filled her ears. “I wouldn’t worry about that, Spike. Stardew will always be yours no matter how long you are away from her, as will I to care for her in your stead. I can guarantee you that,” came the caring voice of Cereus, breaking Luna from her panic as she watched on. He then reached out and patted Spike on the shoulder. “And failing me, do you think Princess Celestia or any of your family would let anything happen to this place?” he continued with a gentle laugh. As Luna watched on from the sidelines, her lip gave a slight tremble before she slowly turned her head away from the duo. Looking at the strawberry plants next to her, she closed her eyes, berating herself silently for her inaction as she left Spike to be comforted by his old friend. With her focus turned inwards, Luna clenched her jaw tightly as she felt yet another failure fall upon her. Spike had displayed a greater kindness to her over their brief time together than so many of her little ponies had done—at least sincerely—since her return. Not that she could blame them, given her actions as Nightmare Moon. Throughout their day together he had treated her as nothing less than a friend, refusing to let her past sins mar his treatment of her. Yet she had allowed her fears and doubts to once again control her when it was her turn to be a friend to him in return, and it stung. It stung to realise that in the one moment that Spike needed her to return some of the same kindness he had shown her, she had failed to think of even a single word of comfort for him. With a shuddering sigh, Luna pushed her broken self-esteem aside and slowly opened her eyes. To her surprise, however, rather than seeing the green leaves of the strawberry plants beneath her, she instead found herself staring at a pile of Strawberries held a couple of inches from her muzzle–strawberries that were being held there by none other than Spike himself. Chewing on what Luna could only assume to be one of the berries currently being offered to her, a gentle smile played upon his lips. Upon looking into his expectant eyes, Luna shook off her dark thoughts as best she could and gave him a gentle smile in return, followed by a nod of thanks, before taking one of the freshly picked berries in her magic and placing it into her waiting mouth. Suddenly, almost as if a switch had been flipped, the princess's eyes widened before she snatched the rest of the berries from the young dragon’s grasp, devouring them in an instant as she moaned happily, savouring the taste of the small fruits while her tail flicked about in joy behind her. Suddenly, a new sound broke the silence that previously filled the Allotment, causing the princess's ears to twitch as they subconsciously tried to track the source of the noise. Looking down, however, the source soon presented itself as her eyes fell upon the form of Spike, rocking back and forth on his tail while laughing happily. “Quite partial to the occasional strawberry,” he cackled as she pouted crossly at him. “I haven't seen strawberries disappear that fast since mum was given that triple-layered cheesecake last year!” Holding her pout a moment longer, Luna suddenly gave a loud snort at the thought of her sister and the supposed cheesecake, before breaking down into her own bout of laughter, mixing it with Spike's to fill every corner of the Allotment as their joy rang out into the very sky above.