//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Royal Guard // Story: Nighty Night Scootaloo // by Lord King Cocoon //------------------------------// “Thank you for keeping an eye on Scootaloo, sir,” the mare at the reception desk said, checking to make sure Scootaloo was out of earshot, “I’ve been concerned about her for a while now. And I was afraid…” “So, this isn’t new?” Nightshade asked. “Well, having to worry about her isn’t new,” the mare, with the nameplate of Sunshine Daydream said, “But considering that her mood has been getting worse, I’ve been concerned…that she may…hurt herself.” Nightshade looked down the hall to where Scootaloo had retreated to her room. He understood how stressful it could be to be an orphan. But what was going on in her mind now? “At least I know that this was just an accident,” Sunshine continued, “I first noticed a change in her behavior not long after she got her cutie mark. A snobbish couple from Canterlot came to adopt. They saw Scootaloo and her cutie mark and snubbed her, saying how there must be something wrong with her if she has a cutie mark and still not adopted. I’m afraid that moment may have affected how she thinks of herself.” “That sounds like a fight I heard about between her and my little cousin,” Nightshade said, “What led up to it had to do with Scootaloo thinking ponies wouldn’t want to adopt a her at her age. My cousin felt angry because she had just told Scootaloo about how old I was when I got adopted.” “You’re an orphan?” “I don’t like to think of it like that, because I do have a family now. But those thoughts still resurface now and then. Things like that stick with you. Acting as an ever present shadow in your mind wondering why he had…” Nightshade paused and shook his head clear of that thought, “Sorry about that.” “May I ask you a favor?” “Depends on the favor.” "Look," she said, hooves fiddling together on the wooden surface of desk, "I don't have any business asking this of you, but could you possibly keep an eye on her from time to time? Visiting her, letting her hang out with you, or just talking with her, things like that." Sunshine stopped for a second, frowning while deliberating what to say next. "I think the best thing to get her through something like this is somepony, or somecreature," she corrected herself, "that knows what it's like to be in her place. You can relate to her a lot better than most ponies could." “That’s what concerns me,” Nightshade said, his voice becoming dark, “When you said you were concerned that she’d hurt herself… Nevermind. I’ll keep an eye on her when I can.” “Thank you.” Scootaloo, after returning to her room, had checked her forehead. There was a bruise and it was still a little sore. But it would be okay. She’s been through far worse than just a bump on the head. As for her recent experience however, the way Nightshade treated her gave her hope. Perhaps Rainbow Dash would still be willing to adopt her after all. “Where were you last night, Scootaloo?” The aforementioned filly turned to the voice to see one of her friends here at the orphanage. A five year old teal unicorn filly with a white curly mane that resembled clouds stood in the doorway. Scootaloo wasn’t exactly in the mood for company. But this was her friend, and she didn’t put the DO NOT DISTURB notice on her door. “Oh, hey, Fey. Whatcha want?” Scootaloo said, patting the bed beside her to invite the little filly up. “It’s just that I had a bad dream last night, and I wanted to spend the night with you. But you weren’t here,” Fey said. “Sorry I wasn’t there for you. But on my way back, I didn’t look where I was going, and ended up bumping my head,” Scootaloo said, motioning to the bruise, “When I woke up, I was in somepony’s house. He had taken care of me and let me stay there for the night. Then he brought me here.” “You mean that Thetsral back there?” Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin at the filly’s mispronunciation, “Yeah, that’s him.” “Does it hurt?” Fey said with worry as she reached up to touch the bruise. Scootaloo recoiled as the soreness was reignited, “Sorry.” “It’s okay. It’s not too bad,” Scootaloo said to attempt to comfort the filly, “But I would’ve like to have you sleepover last night too.” “Why?” “Because I had a bad dream last night too.” A squeak came out of the pegasus when the smaller filly squeezed her, “Sorry I wasn’t there for you.” “What are you sorry for?” Scootaloo said, hugging back, “I’m the one who’s supposed to be comforting you.” “But if me being with you makes you feel good, then I should be there for you too.” Scootaloo smiled at that remark. Whoever it was who would adopt Fey would be the luckiest family in Equestria. She was just too pure for this world. It may have been too late for spending the night together. But Scootaloo leaned back in bed and let Fey lay there with her to make up for her being missing last night. “So what was your bad dream about,” Scootaloo asked. “I was in a candy store, and I was told I could eat anything I want.” Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow, “That was your bad dream?” “Yeah. The only candy in that story was licorice. And I hate licorice.” “Well… I hope you woke up from that bad dream before it got too bad,” Scootaloo said, stifling a smile. “No, it got worse,” Fey whimpered, “In my dream, I liked licorice.” Scootaloo hugged Fey tight, if only to keep Fey from seeing her smile. When a pony’s worst nightmare is liking a food they hate, they have much to experience in life. Perhaps when she grows up, she can look back on that dream and see how silly it was. But for now, it was enough to upset her, so Scootaloo was there to comfort her. It’s times like these that she can’t let Fey know of her own personal troubles. Fey was too innocent. And if a dream about licorice scared her, then a nightmare like the one Scootaloo had could traumatize her. Nightshade was now on the train to Canterlot with Twilight. Not long after leaving the orphanage, Twilight had come to find him. She had gotten a message from Celestia claiming that there was a royal matter that required her attention. This meant that Nightshade would begin his duties as Twilight’s royal guard. Twilight didn’t divulge any information. But that was because she didn’t have information herself. What mattered was that it was a royal matter that required Princess Twilight. The trip started off quiet. Nightshade wasn’t used to small talk with the princesses, though Luna had talked to him in the past when she was troubled. She trusted him, which was an honor in and of itself. And for that reason, it wasn’t easy for him to leave to be Twilight’s royal guard. Perhaps Luna felt that she was growing a little too close to him. After a half hour of silence between the two, Nightshade braved himself to do what he had previously believed to be unbecoming of a royal guard, small talk, “So… what kind of royal business do you think requires your presence?” Nightshade asked, though a bit awkwardly, “I mean, hypothetically speaking.” Twilight lifted her head curiously at the question, “Well, I don’t know,” she answered honestly, “I’ve had a few ideas. Perhaps somepony had come specifically to Canterlot for assistance in a friendship problem. But if it were a friendship problem, I would have been summoned by the map.” “Well, there are other royal duties other than friendship problems.” “If that’s the case, then why don’t they just find me at Ponyville? I'm not exactly easy to miss,” Twilight said, beckoning to the gargantuan crystalline tree that served as her home shimmering in the distance. Her hoof however jostled as the train hit a bump, Twilight accidentally bopping her own guard in the nose, “Sorry.” “It’s okay princess,” Nightshade said as he rubbed his nose, “It was just the train. And you didn’t hit me hard.” “I thought I told you that in casual conversation, I’m just Twilight,” the princesses huffed. “Right, my apologies, prince- I mean, Twilight,” Nightshade said, sheepishly catching himself, “It’s a force of habit. But there are Canterlot nobles who refuse to even go near Ponyville, even if it is to seek out a princess’ assistance.” “I know that the nobles tend to think highly of themselves. But they aren’t that bad. Well, most of them aren’t.” Nightshade cleared his throat before speaking in a snobbish voice, “‘Why a princess of Equestria would consider dirtying their hooves in a mud-pony settlement is beyond comprehension.’ ‘No civilized town would ever befriend a brute like Discord.’ ‘Nightmare Moon, Discord, the changelings, Trixie, with how much trouble the ponies of Ponyville attract, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are actually colluding with the enemy.’” “I’m sure it’s not really that bad.” “Those are word for word quotes that I have heard in my time in Canterlot,” Nightshade’s expression turned to a grin, “Between you and me, Princess Luna has told me that she sometimes wishes she could banish those insolent fools to the moon.” “Between you and me, Celestia’s not that impulsive,” Twilight added in, “But let’s just say that though there are rumors about Celestia eating far too much cake, the rumors don’t mention that the cake is often the result of a day dealing with those nobles.” The pair shared a laugh before going quiet again, once again dropping into an awkward silence. After a few minutes of watching the scenery pass by in the window, Nightshade once again broke the silence. “Yesterday, I had the opportunity to get to know that little filly, Scootaloo, a little better,” Nightshade said in a more somber tone, “And I don’t mean at the party.” “Really?” Twilight perked up, “I mean, I don’t know about her personal life. But for awhile, she and her friends would spend a day a week with me. We called it Twilight time, and I helped them hone their skills, trying to help them earn their cutie marks.” “Technically, it was by accident that I ran into her,” Nightshade explained, “I’ll choose not to explain my reasons for following her last night, since it’s not my place to say. But I-” “It’s not your place to explain the reasoning for your own actions?” Twilight interrupted, questioning the thestral skeptically. “It’s not my place to explain the reasoning for her actions,” Nightshade corrected. He then began to think of an explanation that wouldn’t give too much away. “I’ll say this much. It was late and she was on her way home alone. I was keeping an eye on her to make sure she was safe. She was… She was trying to get home quickly. As she turned a corner, she bumped into a parked kart and hit her head. Because of her speed, she had knocked herself unconscious. She ha-” “Is she okay?!” Twilight interrupted once again, this time with concern rather than skepticism, “Scootaloo can tend to be a bit reckless! And if Rainbow Dash is any sign of what Scootaloo might do, then she may need medical-” “She’s fine!” Nightshade asserted, cutting off the purple princess’ persistent panic, “She had a bit of a bump on her head. But she was fine for the most part. But I had taken her to my own home so that I could look after her for the night. I didn’t get to know her too well. But I believe that we bonded a little last night.” “If you know me and what I’m like personally, I’m sure you know that I’m curious to learn more about Scootaloo,” Twilight admitted, “But if you feel like it’s a personal moment, I don’t want to impose.” Nightshade could see the desire for knowledge in Twilight’s eyes, “If it’s intended to be a secret, I don’t want to be the one to tell it. So as much as you may want to know more details, Luna trusted me because of my willingness to keep a secret. “On that note, I may be seeing more of Scootaloo. When I took her home and explained what had happened, they had actually asked me to keep an eye on her and talk with her if she needed somepony to talk to.” “They must be truly thankful for you watching over her. But why would her parents ask you to watch over Scootaloo like that?” “It’s not my place to say,” Nightshade said, a pout forming on Twilight’s lips, “But I think it’s their thankfulness and the fact that I can relate to Scootaloo that they asked of me what they did.” “You can relate to her? But how-” Twilight shook her head in realization, “It’s not your place to say, right?” Nightshade gave an exaggerated gasp in faux shock, “How could you have possibly guessed so accurately?” The pair shared another laugh at this. And once again, it became quiet. As they sat there, a pony came by with a small food cart asking if they wanted anything to eat. Though the options were limited, they chose to get a couple of daisy sandwiches. After taking a bite, it was Twilight’s turn to break the silence. “I want to thank you. I had actually started to get used to ponies treating me like I was set on a pedestal as if I were an object of worship. I’m thankful that you were willing to just talk with me like I was just another pony who you were just sharing recent events with.” “Well to be-” Nightshade said with a mouthful of sandwich before swallowing, “To be honest, it was awkward for me at first. As a royal guard, part of our training is to not get too friendly with the princesses. We are their guards who are their to serve the princesses. We are not to befriend the princesses, because that is a sign that we may be trying to get too friendly with the princesses for the sake of getting into a higher position.” “I think I understand why Celestia’s guards are so…well…boring,” Twilight said before taking another bite and swallowing, “Does the Lunar Guard have the same rules as the Solar Guard?” “There may be a few minor differences, though I can’t be sure. But for the most part, I believe the structure of the Lunar Guard was based on the structure of the Solar Guard,” Nightshade took another bite and swallowed, “But our training is to keep our feelings for the princesses separate from our duties.” “If I were to have a team of guards like Luna and Celestia, or even Cadance, I wouldn’t use that same social structure. I’d ask that they not do anything that would get in the way of their duties. But not to be afraid to be social, whether it be with the populis or with royalty.” “I think that’s why Luna was willing to open up to me before being transferred to you. She wanted someone to talk to. After all, Luna’s domain is the night,” the train then went darker as it entered the tunnel. “Okay, that was a little creepy,” Twilight said nervously before shaking it off as a coincidence. “I figure timing like that makes life entertaining,” Nightshade mused, “As I was saying, it can get lonely when everypony else is asleep. And the only ponies still awake are thestrals, since we’re primarily nocturnal.” “That must be why the Lunar Guard is made up of thestrals. They are also part of the night domain.” “But Luna’s royal guard are still just that, her royal guar-” the conversation was interrupted by another bump of the train, causing Twilight to drop her sandwich. Nightshade split his sandwich and gave half to her. “Thanks,” Twilight said, taking the half and taking a bite. “As I was saying,” the thestral said, continuing where he left off, “We weren’t there just to strike up a conversation with Luna. Eventually, Luna just broke her composure and started talking with me. I told her it was okay, and that I wouldn’t hold it against her. But she had chosen me to become her social outlet.” “And she gave up her social outlet to be transferred to me?” Twilight asked, finishing up her sandwich. “She transferred me because I think she believed you would prefer somepony who you could talk to, and not just somepony to stand there all day. She gave up her own personal preference, that is true. But it’s probably because she saw that I was the best choice for you in that regard. I still felt awkward about starting a conversation with you. But that’s because Luna was always the one to come to me. I never was the one to start the conversation. You’d actually be surprised at how talkative Luna can be when she’s comfortable talking.” “Really? I wouldn’t have considered Luna to be a conversationalist. But I guess that’s part of the problem. Does she ever talk about ponies dreams that she oversees?” “Not if she feels it’s a personal matter to that pony. Luna won’t give away secrets,” Nightshade finished up his sandwich, “But most of the dreams she oversees are mundane and not that secretive. Many nightmares she deals with in part has to do with the pony not opening up. But Luna seems to be fascinated with the cutie mark crusaders. Part of that fascination has to do with the childlike innocence of colts and fillies, and the kind of dreams they have. But her fascination with the cutie mark crusaders began with when she visited a string of nightmares that Scootaloo had. After a few more visits with the rest of them, she eventually came to one night when the trio were actually having nightmares on the same night based on a fear of getting cutie marks that they didn’t like. Even before they earned their cutie marks, Luna saw something unique in those three.” “It’s curious that destiny had connected those three fillies even more tightly than myself and the other element bearers. We all got our cutie marks through a shared event, that being witnessing Rainbow Dash’s first Sonic Rainboom. Each of our cutie marks is in some way connected to that event. “As for the cutie mark crusaders, they had received their cutie marks were not just connected through a shared event, but their cutie marks were in fact was received as the same event together, and got the same cutie mark. I feel that destiny has greater plans for them than even for me and my friends. When they got their cutie marks, it wasn’t just a flash and they got their marks. There was a magical surge and they were lifted into the air. I was almost surprised that they weren’t ascended into alicorns in that moment. But the thing about alicorn ascension is that you can’t just go through a transformation. Your body has to be magically switched out. The night I ascended, my previous body had to be destroyed to release my spirit, while the magic that ‘killed’ me had used the ‘blueprints’ of my spirit to built a new body.” Nightshade took a moment to let everything that Twilight said to sink in, “Wait, becoming an alicorn requires dying?” “Indirectly. Becoming an alicorn requires access to the ethereal plane. And the only way to access the ethereal plane is by severing the connection with the material plane. And to do that, you have to, in essence, die. But in order to ensure that you don’t return to your original body, the original has to be destroyed. And in order to return to the material plane-” “You need a body to return to,” Nightshade finished, “And once you’ve accessed the ethereal plane in that way, you have full access to the ethereal plane, and vice versa. Among the ethereal plane, Celestia’s domain-” The train brightened up as it exited the tunnel. “Now that was creepy,” Twilight insisted. “How I see it, once is a coincidence, twice is suspicious, and thrice is creepy,” Nightshade explained. “That’s an interesting way to look at it,” Twilight said. “Perhaps. But it’s a way to keep from getting distracted by coincidences,” Nightshade said as a nostalgic look formed on his face, “When I was younger, I was easily distracted. And when I was training to be a Lunar Guard, one of the trainees taught me to use what she called the ‘rule of threes’. Essentially, it means not to focus on something unless there are at least three of them. There are some exceptions to the rule of course. But with practice, it allowed me to control my distraction issues better.” “That sounds like it could be a technique to help a lot of ponies who have issues with distractions in school,” Twilight said, her studious mind getting the better of her, “Although, I’ve learned from my friends that different ponies learn in different ways. So a ‘rule of threes’ technique may not work for some ponies.” “It only works for ponies who can focus on something,” Nightshade pointed out, “Like me, my fellow trainee were able to focus on numbers, which is why it works for me. But not everypony will be able to focus on number the way I do.” “Perhaps there could be a ‘rule of red’, or other colors. Or shapes,” Twilight was getting into her egghead mode, “Maybe using other senses! Perhaps focusing on the sense of smell or touch! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? It’s such an easy concept to figure out!” “Says the studious student of Princess Celestia, who couldn’t figure it out for herself,” Nightshade said with a cocky grin, “There’s not enough research on the subject, because there aren’t enough ponies who need it. Most ponies who have attention issues are either able to get on with their lives in another way, it’s so minor that the ponies don’t even realize they have an issue, the ponies have an issue that makes focusing too difficult, or the issues is simply too severe.” “There’s not enough research because there’s not enough data,” Twilight concluded, “Personally, I believe that should change.” “I agree. My fellow trainee was lucky enough to have met a psychology student who helped her,” Nightshade had a thoughtful look on his face, “She said he wasn’t from around here. Not even a pony.” “Well, at least there’s some creature willing to look into-” Twilight was interrupted by another bump of the train. Nightshade had fallen over, and landed on top of Twilight, the awkwardness and the distraction caused him to not know what to do, “Sorry, I was just… I’m not top of you. I don’t… Uh…” “Three bumps,” Twilight said, “Rule of threes! Focus… Focus… Focus…” Nightshade shook his head clear of the cloud in his mind, focusing on Twilight’s words, “Sorry… And thanks…” Nightshade got up off of Twilight and helped her off. But the awkwardness was not yet diffused, “The downfall of the rule of threes is that I completely lose focus when something reaches three.” “Perhaps that means your technique can use more study, and perhaps fine tuning,” Twilight said, also feeling a bit awkward. Suddenly, the two just started laughing at how silly that was. As the journey continued, even though it was against the well-ingrained Lunar Guard policy, Nightshade and Twilight continued to converse rapidly amongst each other. They scarcely noticed how close they were to the hustle and bustle of Canterlot until they all but arrived.