Their first…
At the next day Pipsqueak woke up wearing a huge smile. His date had gone wonderfully and now he had a whole new day to spend time with Luna.
But a part of him still tried to figure out how did this childhood dream became true.
It wouldn’t last, of course. But the little Pip inside him planned to enjoy it as much as he could.
“The Princess and I, who would say that?” asked Pip to himself as he stretched out of his bed.
Reality Slash and Cold Dusion glanced at him from their beds but didn’t say anything not wanting to pop his bubble of happiness.
“Morning Squeak.” said Cold, stretching as well.
“Hey Pip! Ready for another day of guarding and stuff?” greeted Reality Slash.
“Stuff? What you mean by ‘stuff’?” frowned Pip.
“You know, kissing a Princess.” mocked Reality Slash.
“We haven’t kiss yet.” said Pip, blushing. “We’re not… I mean, I’m not ready for that.”
“Oh, you poor thing.” continued mocking Reality. “Come on pal! If you think the Princess is the right one for you, then go for it. Is not like you have a chance like this every day, you’re dating Royalty. The only soldier who achieved such honor was Captain Armor from the Crystal Guard, and he ended up marrying his Princess!!”
Cold Fusion rolled his eyes. “Slash, shut the buck up. This is Squeak’s life, is up to him. Right Squeak?”
“Thank you, Cold.” smiled Pip. “Now, if you don’t mind, we have work to do.”
He was right, so the trio of soldiers left the room to then go to check for their assignment of the day.
“Patrolling the streets of Canterlot.” read Pip out loud. “Alright, see you later guys!”
Reality Slash waved a hoof enthusiastically as Cold gave him a small nod. Pip smiled back at them, and joined his unit. Under command of a unicorn called Rolling Stone.
The group left the Castle happily, but when they went around the corner, the group were surrounded by an army of reporters, journalists and photographers.
“Cadet Squeak! Cadet Squeak! Is it true you know Princess Luna since you were little? Did she actually babysat you?”
“Mister Squeak, Inquirer from ManeHattan Times. I heard that you met during the Nightmare Nights. What can you tell us about it?
“At least can you tell us if it’s true that you joined the Lunar Guard just to be closer to your Princess?”
Pip tried to put some distance between him and the media, but they were simply too many. He looked at his commander asking for help, not wanting to hurt the innocent. But they were not giving him an option.
Finally, a journalist tried to call his attention by pulling his mane, and Pip had no choice but do something about it.
He unsheathed Ice Pick, and with a precise move, he cut the journalist’s mane, his notepad, and his camera.
Everypony around moved backwards as he aimed his sword at them.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? This is a clear violation of the freedom of the press!” protested somepony.
Commander Rolling Stone moved forward, making the journalists stalking Pip to increase the distance between them even more as he aimed his sword at them.
“I’m sorry but we all saw clearly how this gentlecolt physically assaulted Cadet Sqeak. And attacking a member of the Royal Guard is considered a Federal Offense. You’re lucky Cadet Squeak doesn’t want to present charges against this pony. Or do you, Cadet?”
Pip nodded. “You know? Yes I do. I’ll take this moron to the dungeons personally.”
“Very well. You know which area are we patrolling today, don’t you cadet? Join us when you finish.”
Pip saluted his commander, and dragged the journalist to a cell. The message was clear, nopony bothered Pip again for that day.
That night, when he met with Luna, he noticed that she also was in a very bad mood.
“Shall I come back later?” asked Pip.
Luna smiled at him. “No Pipsy, it’s okay. The perspective of seeing you was the only thing that kept me from hurting somepony today.”
“That bad, huh?” asked Pipsqueak. “Yeah, I had a hard day too. I always thought my first arrest would be different. Instead of protecting the public from a menace, I had to throw a moron who annoyed me to a dungeon.”
“I’m sorry I dragged you to this situation Pip. I should know this would happen, I am a Princess, a famous pony and I wasn’t capable to think they would go after you too.”
Pip sighed. “I saw this coming too, but I thought I would stand it better. I told myself that they’ll be bothering us only as they find us interesting. Then they would move on to the next ‘big thing’. But no, I lost my temper to a random reporter.”
Luna sighed too. “I guess we should think in a better way to deal with them.”
“Oh, I did!” said Pip. “We can talk to the God of Chaos and his Agents and ask them to make ponies can only speak with the truth for a whole day. Can you imagine the secrets the ponies would reveal?”
“Come on Pip! I don’t think they’ll do what you say just because you went to school together.”
“Luna, they’ve been accepting suggestions from fans since they accepted their new role.”
“Huh… I bet I should tell Twilight Sparkle about this.”
“As you wish.” Said Pip with a smile. “Now, what do you want to do?”
Luna shook her head. “I can’t think in anything. If we go out, the reporters would annoy us again.”
Pip nodded. “I know! What if we take a walk in the gardens? I’m sure we won’t be disturbed considering you scared every single reporter in the castle.”
Luna agreed. “Good idea Pipsy. Huh, what a failure of a date night!”
Pip smiled. “Come on, Luna!! As long as we’re together I’m happy! You know I am a simple pony.”
Luna hugged him.
“And that’s why I love you. You are right, as long as we’re together, we can have a date night wherever we want.”
“And having a walk around the gardens every night sounds like a good start for us.” suggested Pipsqueak.
Luna nodded. “Yes, it sounds wonderful, but Saturday is your personal day, so you’ll be mine for the entirety of it. But you can keep the night to have fun with your pals.”
“Sound good.”
“As long as you don’t get too close to that Acid Javelin, of course.”
“You know Acid is a nice girl. Give her a chance, you’ll like her.”
“She acts flirty around you and I don’t like it.”
Pip better tried to change the subject, looking up.
“Hey, I like your night.”
Luna embraced Pip with her wings.
“Thank you. I like your eyes.”
She approached her muzzle to kiss Pip, but he broke the embrace and moved backwards.
“Luna, it’s only been a day. I’m not ready yet. But I promise, when I’m ready, I’ll be the one kissing you.”
Luna blushed. “My lips will be waiting for you Pip. Don’t make them wait for too long.”
“I’ll do what I can. It’s a promise.”
The rest of the week passed without major incident. But for the newly-formed couple, it felt really slow. The few hours they spent together weren’t enough, and the rest of the day felt like an eternity.
But at least the gardens of the Castle became their especial place. They walked around then every night. According to Celestia, if they continued like this they would end up leaving a permanent mark on the grass. But whatever.
Finally, Saturday arrived.
Pip opened his eyes, only to find a pair of blue eyes too close to his.
He screamed, and fell from the bed because of the impression. But Luna got him with her magic right before he touched the floor.
“What is wrong with you, Boss damn it!” complained Pip, as Luna lifted and placed him back on his bed.
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Pipsy! That’s no way to speak to your marefriend!”
Pip shook his head. “You just gave me a Tartarus of a scare! Where are Cold and Reality?”
“I sent them out early since I wanted to give my coltfriend a little morning surprise.” explained Luna.
Pip stretched out. “You know? I wonder if Acid would make this kind of jokes.”
Luna pouted. “Hey, that was low Pipsy!”
Pip finished his stretching, and shrugged. “Sorry about that but that was a pretty big scare. Anyway, I’m taking a shower and then…”
“You’ll be joining Tia and I for breakfast. Don’t take long.”
Pipsqueak nodded and went to take a shower.
Once he finished he dressed with his civilian outfit, and went to meet Luna and Celestia. He greeted the guards on the door to the balcony where the Royal Sisters used to have breakfast together.
He could feel the glances from three of the four guards. And a death-glare. Ragnar’s.
“Look who is here, the one who thinks he’s so cool because a Princess began dating him. What would she think if I tell her she’s dating a coward.”
“Now what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me! You owe a rematch and I won’t rest until…”
A heavy dictionary fell on Ragnar’s head, knocking him down immediately.
Pip looked up, and greeted Sinon who waved a hoof at him, and returned to her position, hidden in the beams.
With a small shrug, Pip entered the balcony.
Princess Celestia gave him a big smile. “Oh, hello Pipsqueak! It’s been a while since you have joined us for breakfast.”
Pip smiled shyly. “Yes, since I was little.”
“But the circumstances have changed a lot. Almost as you’ve changed.” said Celestia, winking an eye at Pip.
The stallion gulped nervously as he sat with Luna. “You tell me!”
Luna hugged him with her wing. “Yes, a lot have changed. But I can’t complain.”
They started eating, when suddenly Celestia interrupted. “So, young Pip, I understand you yelled at my sister this morning.”
“I did. She has a peculiar sense of humor and I almost die of impression. She says she doesn’t get modern sense of humor. Well, I cannot understand old sense of humor.”
Luna giggled as she raised an eyebrow. “Hey who are you calling an old lady?”
Pip shrugged. “Nopony. I just said that I, Piper Squeak, don’t understand old-fashioned sense of humor. I never mentioned you or anypony.”
Celestia and Luna laughed at this.
Pip joined them too. He have shared a lot with the Princesses back when he was just a child. That’s why he got used to treat them so familiarly without thinking.
But still the whole situation with Luna seemed a bit odd for him.
“So what have you planned for today?” asked Celestia.
Pip shrugged. “I have no idea. Luna?”
She sipped he cup of coffee. “For starters a small air show from the Shadow Bolts.”
“Oh, great! I haven’t seen them since I was thirteen and my brother took me.”
“Isn’t your brother a Wonderbolt?” asked Celestia.
Pip shrugged. “He wanted to have closer look on the competition. And, being completely honest, the Shadow Bolt’s fame comes from captain Black Swordsman.”
“He is an ace in the air, and he deserves recognition for that.” argued Luna. “And I don’t see what’s wrong with celebrating both his sword and his aerial skills.”
Pip shrugged as he finished his breakfast along with Luna. They both stood and said goodbye to Celestia as they left.
“Have fun!” wished them the Alicorn of the Sun.
They rented a pegasus chariot to take them to Cloudsdale.
Luna would have preferred to use her own chariot but Pip refused. Arguing that being carried away and guarded by his comrades would be awkward for him.
They arrived to Cloudsdale where they headed to the Royal balcony to watch the presentation.
And Pip couldn’t help but hide his face when he recognized two of his companions as their assigned guards at the balcony. But they simply joked with him and even gave him a friendly slap on the back.
Pip nodded grateful and sat with Luna.
Much to his surprise, two ponies were already waiting for them at the balcony. Captain Lightning Flash and her daughter Yui.
“My captain!” saluted Pip.
“Easy Pip, today is my free day as well.” assured the white unicorn. “Today just call me Lightning, alright’”
Pip blushed. “Oh, okay then. And, what are you doing Princess? Cheering for your husband?”
She nodded. “Yes, I love to see him flying. His aerial skills are one of the many reasons why I fell in love with Black.”
“He is not as skilled as auntie Leafa, but he has talent.” assured Yui. “It’s always a pleasure to see him flying.”
The demonstration was amazing, as usual. But Pip preferred the Wonderbolts.
Faithful to their style, the Shadow Bolts took a bunch of clouds and modeled a structure where they got inside and moved it from the inside as they were puppeteers. They chose to represent an old adventure from Aincrad. When Black Swordsman and his friend Klein stopped a group of warriors trying to enter by force to a dungeon, as they won time for Lightning and her mentor Zekken to go and destroy the monster before the others.
When it finished, Pip applauded as enthusiastically as the others but in the end it was okay. Not great, just okay. “Interesting but why do they insist in representing battles from Aincrad?”
“Because Equestria it’s a peaceful land, and they haven’t lived that many adventures here.” explained Luna.
“But they’ve lived a few. Like when they defeated you, or when the Bearers of Harmony, the Team of Chaos and them escaped from the Wolf-Pies.”
“That one time Black was affected by the curse as well.” reminded Lightning. “But is not a bad idea, you should tell him when you see him.”
Pip smiled. “I will, thank you.”
After a lovely flight back to Canterlot it was finally time to eat.
“Let’s eat something Pip.”
“Sure, what do you want?” asked the young colt.
Luna considered it for a fraction of a second. “Last time you mentioned a Hay Burger, remember? I want to try one!”
“Okay, I hope you like them. Personally, I love them.” said Pip. “Especially at the end of a night of party with my friends.”
By Pip’s suggestion, they went to the Lunar Guard’s favorite food-truck, which was as full as usual. And most of the customers were Lunar Guards enjoying their free day.
Blackest Knight, recognized Pip. “Hey, look! Is cadet Squeak! Good to see you here, squirt, I was worried about you.”
“Commander!” greeted Pip. “Good to see you too!”
“Excuse me, Commander,” said the Princess, as she approached. “Why were you worried about Pipsqueak?”
“Because we thought that you would end up spoiling the poor dude taking him to fancy restaurants, but in the end he brought you here. Good to see there’s still hope for the little guy.”
The other guards laughed, and Pip joined them.
Luna seemed hesitant at first but she quickly joined the laughs too. It was all harmless joking between companions.
“Is not like she didn’t try to spoil me.” commented Pip. “Can you believe she actually wanted me to get into a chariot pulled by two colleges?”
“Seriously?”
Pip nodded. “I know! Is not like I’m an officer or something.”
“Princess! What are you doing? You’ll ruin the poor bastard!”
The comments continued like that for a while but Luna wouldn’t dignify those jokes with an answer.
So she went to the counter to order her food and go find a table.
A few moments later, Pip joined her with his own order.
“Sorry for the delay.”
“No problem, now let’s see why is this place so popular among my guards.” smiled the Princess. “Also, I prefer a few jokes with my guard than having to stand the constant harassing of the press.”
“Anypony would prefer that.” agreed Pipsqueak.
“Also, if they dare to show up, most of them are on duty so they better stay away.”
Pip watched how a few trash cans moved out of sudden as sompeony was hiding behind.
“How did you…?”
“Alicorn senses.”
They started to it, and Luna had to admit this was the first time she tried something that good. “Unbelievable! And the ponies have enjoyed this marvelous meal for generations without me or my sister realizing?”
“Since my parent’s generation at least.” said Pip calmly, as he munched some onion rings. “Try your onion rings, they are great too.”
Luna did as he said and she agreed that they were pretty good too. But she always preferred the hayburger.
They finished and walked back to the castle.
“It was wonderful Pip. I needed this for so long…”
“Me too, Luna. I’m still surprised that I am living one of my childhood dreams.”
Luna hugged him. “Oh, Pip.”
The stallion smiled as he hugged her back, and before Luna could react, he kissed her.
She was surprised at first, but she gladly accepted the kiss. They stayed with their lips pressed against each other’s until the need for air forced them to separate.
“Tell me, Pip, was it all that you’ve ever imagined? Because it was for me.”
Pip shook his head. “Nope. Honestly, I never considered that both of us would have bad breath. But considering we just ate onion rings, we should see that coming.”
Luna stayed quiet for a second, and then she laughed happily.
“True. As tasty as they are, I do not recommend them to kiss somepony.”
“We’ll do better at our next day.”
Luna blused. “Yes, you’re right. Our next date would be better.”