//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: Discipline // Story: The Centurion Project // by TheEighthDayofNight //------------------------------// Night Flash winced as Luna’s voice ruffled his mane for what seemed like the hundredth time since he had entered the throne room. Her voice was simply powerful, and as she lashed out at the row of ponies with her tongue, Night Flash couldn’t help but feel one part impressed, and two parts terrified. The blue alicorn really knew how to intimidate a pony, and Night Flash couldn’t remember the last time he had received a reprimand from the lunar princess herself. He knew for a fact that he would be avoiding a repeat occurrence in the future. They had successfully made it to Canterlot, with a still breathing Elias in tow. Thanks to the speedy work of Thunderstorm, Scalpel had met them just outside the castle, and he had raced Elias to the infirmary in person, applying the anti-venom as he went. Once they had gotten Elias into a bed, Scalpel had pushed them out of the infirmary, stating that he needed quiet to work. That had left Night Flash in charge of the stunned, blood covered recruits, and without any orders from Elias to distribute. Knowing that his human would be livid if he simply did nothing, Flash had set the recruits into their guard positions over the standard, then had roused Book Binder. His fiancé had been asleep at her desk, and once she had woken up, she had understandably flipped out. She had immediately stormed to the infirmary with a heated glare that would have scared most ponies into submission. Scalpel had met them at the door however, and he forbade them from entering on Elias’ orders. When Book Binder had gotten in the stallion’s face, Scalpel had held his ground, drawing out a series of forms Elias had apparently made him sign to continue their friendship. Book Binder had scowled and snatched the papers away to read, and as she did so, her anger began to dry up. The forms were carefully worded and thorough, and Scalpel adamantly defended his keeping to them. As threatened in the forms, Elias would cut all ties with the medical unicorn if he let anypony that wasn’t supposed to be close near in the event of unconsciousness. Scalpel knew how valuable he was being by keeping Elias as a friend, and that meant he would keep to the word of the forms. Unfortunately for Book Binder and Night Flash, that also meant keeping to every single condition. They were both listed by name, and there was simply no way for Scalpel to allow either of them to take care of Elias; not without threatening one of the three friendships the human was keeping up. Book Binder had relented after that, though she still made Scalpel promise to notify Elias that they had tried to visit. After trudging back to their office mired in disappointment and worry, Night Flash and Book Binder had then spent much of the rest of the night doing all of the work that Elias normally did. Night Flash was floored by how much the human did. A mountain of approval and denial forms, ensuring the training schedule was planned out and ready to distribute, cleaning gear, sending recommendation orders to the other generals, and a large assortment of tasks that numbed the mind and the heart. It was soul crushing, and Night Flash considered quitting the legion then and there just so he could join Elias as a non-combat assistant and cuddle buddy. On Book Binder’s caution however, he didn’t, and instead put his nose to the grindstone to help as much as he could. He and Book Binder did their best, but they couldn’t complete much without his signature, so they were largely relegated to busy work. Until Luna had called him forth with the other members of their makeup march. A trio of Royal Guards had come to escort him, and when he got to the throne room, Night Flash could almost feel the lunar princess’s anger. The air was charged with it, and her glowering look did nothing to diminish that fact. The room had been dead silent as Night Flash led the nervous recruits forward, and since he was in charge, he was forced to hold his head high and pretend that he wasn’t scared witless. That brought him to the present, where another loud burst of speech flowed over him like a tidal wave, threatening to wash he, and his fellow ponies away. They stood in a loose line before a blisteringly angry Luna, whose eyes couldn’t seem to settle on any one pony. Her anger flowed everywhere, and if Night Flash didn’t know better, he would imagine that the alicorn was more than a little worried about Elias. “I cannot believe you could be so stupid!” Luna bellowed in her full Royal Canterlot voice. “To abandon your general to fight a manticore alone? What could you have possibly been thinking?” Night Flash took a deep breath and stepped forward, doing his best to keep his composure. He had never been yelled at by a princess before. Nightshade sure, and even Midnight Chaser a few times, but Princess Luna? Never. It was not an experience he wanted to repeat, yet he couldn’t help but feel like it would become a trend. “Princess,” Night Flash said evenly, “General Bright gave us clear orders! We all thought it best that we follow them.” Luna glared fiercely at him, and fire seemed to light up her eyes as her hoof stomped, the sound echoing through the throne room despite the cushion in her seat. Night Flash was almost sure he saw the stone beneath the throne crack. “Do not start with me! General Bright is still learning to be an effective leader of ponies, just as you are still being taught to be a soldier. Neither are wholly capable yet, and his orders should be thought about and disregarded when they are clearly foolish!” Night Flash curled his muzzle in distaste. He knew she meant well, but he did not like Elias being talked about like he was dumb. The human was many things, but dumb was not one of them. “Princess, are you telling me to deliberately ignore the orders I’m given by General Bright?” “I am telling you to use your head!” Luna shouted. “Orders be damned, Elias could have been killed!” “But he wasn’t!” Night Flash protested. “His plan worked out, nopony else got hurt, and we got him back to Canterlot in time!” “And if you hadn’t?” Luna growled. “What if you weren’t fast enough? In this plan of yours, did it ever occur to you that the castle infirmary might not have manticore anti-venom? What would have happened then?” Night Flash stomped his hoof. “Chief Strategist Shield knew that the castle had anti-venom, it’s why we decided to come here first! Besides, General Bright has told us to focus on what is, rather than what might have be-….” “General Bright is not here!” Luna interrupted. “He is lying on his deathbed because he dove into a fight he could not win, like an idiot! He will have his day in court, and I promise you that when I see the man, I will-“ “You’ll what?” a voice called from across the throne room. The ponies collectively blinked and turned, looking to the tall figure standing in the ajar throne room doors. Elias was only wearing the lower half of an incredibly bloody tunic. His stomach and chest were wrapped with thick, red-stained bandages, as was one of his legs. Night Flash bit his tongue, doing his best to suppress his natural urges. His human looked far too pale, and far too skinny, and Night Flash just wanted to leap on him and smother him with love, keeping him safe forever more. Judging from the look in Elias’ gaunt, sunken eyes, Night Flash doubted he would appreciate such a display. Scalpel was alongside him, doing his best to support the hunched human. The unicorn had a soft scowl on his face, and his eyes constantly flicked up to Elias with worry filling them. He was clearly unhappy that Elias was moving about, but he was silent, no doubt the result of a tongue lashing by the human. Night Flash gulped nervously as Elias began to walk slowly forward, using a pilum in his other hand as a walking stick. The clicks of the weapon seemed like massive bells, ringing loudly as he limped toward the throne. It took him a few moments to advance across the entirety of the throne room, but as soon as he was within striking range of the line of ponies, he stopped, scowling at the silent, shocked recruits. His lip curled as a low growl emanated from his throat. “You are standing before your princess; stand at attention.” Night Flash didn’t focus on the scratchy timbre of his voice, and instead snapped to, facing the throne. The other recruits snapped into a line beside him. Elias’ eyes wandered up and down the line for a moment. He clicked his way forward, putting himself between Luna and the row of recruits. After giving each pony a glare in equal measure, Elias’ eyes settled on Night Flash. “First Centurion, why are these recruits not at their barracks?” Night Flash stepped forward and saluted sharply. “General, Princess Luna told us to report to her shortly after we delivered you the infirmary. We followed those orders.” He took a step back as Elias nodded slowly. His mismatched eyes flicked to the ground for a moment, then he took a deep breath and looked back up to Night Flash. “First Centurion… do I look like a princess to you?” Night Flash blinked as his mind froze at the ridiculous question. The obvious answer was no, but Elias had to know that. There was clearly more meaning behind the question, but Night Flash couldn’t fathom why. As the gears of his brain struggled to work, his mouth opened. “S-sir, I….” “YOU WILL NOT ADDRESS ME AS SIR!” Elias roared, getting in Night Flash’s face in an instant. The human immediately staggered back, gritting his teeth as he clutched at his injured thigh. Scalpel’s horn lit up, but Elias waved him away, taking several deep breaths. Night Flash ached to sweep the man off his feet and whisk him to a bed. A soft, cozy bed, with plenty of pillows, and blankets, and Book Binder, and… Elias coughed wetly, looking like he wanted to spit, then he cleared his throat, his face wrinkling in disgust. He looked back to Night Flash, leaning heavily on his pilum. “First Centurion, you know better than to call me sir. I am General Bright, or General. Am I clear?” Night Flash nodded, doing his best to not let his tail lash with nervous energy. “Yes General.” Elias matched his nod, looking back to the floor. He spent a moment clearing his throat, then another one stabbing at the floor with the blunt end of his pilum. Without looking up, Elias asked; “First Centurion, answer the question; do I look like a princess?” “No General,” Night Flash replied quickly, “you do not.” Elias nodded and stabbed at the stone floor again. “Do I sound like a princess?” “No General,” Night Flash replied. “Do I smell like a princess to you, First Centurion?” “No General you do not,” Night Flash replied again. Elias smirked. “That’s good, because I’d be a pretty unintimidating fighter if I smelled like lavender and perfumed soap.” Night Flash caught a twitch from Luna, but a glance up found nothing about the alicorn changed. She seemed to be staring at Elias, either hanging on every word, or watching closely for signs of his imminent death. Elias chuckled softly and twisted his pilum into the stone. Then like a switch had been flipped, his demeanor changed. He seemed to grow taller, more aggressive, despite his hunched over stature. His eyes flicked up to Night Flash, and the anger they held seemed unending as the pegasus tried to not wither under the heat of his glare. Even the sunken gray around his eyes seemed to make him look meaner, more vicious. Everything about his posture and his face told Night Flash that he had bucked up royally in the eyes of the human, and the sight made Night Flash want to ensure that such a thing never happened again. “So tell me First Centurion, if I do not look like a princess,” Elias took a step forward, “and I do not sound like a princess,” another step. Night Flash could feel the energy in the air again. He most decidedly did not like it. “and since I most definitely do not smell like a princess, then do you care to explain to me why, my recruits, are receiving their orders, FROM A FUCKING A PRINCESS?!?” Night Flash felt the heat of Elias’ anger as it radiated off the man. It took all of his willpower not to take a step back. “G-General, I don’t…” Elias’s hand snapped across Night Flash’s face so quickly that it took the pegasus a moment to register what had happened. Only the sting of the blow gave him an indication. Elias had slapped him. Hard. “First Centurion, if you say I don’t know to me even once I will make sure you scrub toilets and run laps until the day you die. Give me an answer, or give me your helmet. Now.” Flash blinked, and he would have been dishonest with himself if he said that he wasn’t a bit hurt. Elias never looked like that, not with him. He had never been on the receiving end of that anger. The man’s pain, yes, but his anger? It honestly scared him, and everything, all the stress, the worrying, the attempts to convince him to quit the guard, it all made sense. Elias had known this would happen at some point, and had tried to prevent it, but Night Flash had stumbled stupidly forward. Now though, it was too late to back out. He would hurt Elias irreparably if he walked out after the dress down he was receiving. He had to be strong, had to be the stallion that Elias needed at his side in the present, and as a father in the future. Night Flash straightened and cleared his throat, trying to make himself more like the stallion Elias needed him to be. “General, I followed the princess’s orders because you were otherwise incapacitated. As the legion manual states, it is my duty to take your place should the need arise, and I accomplished that duty by reporting directly to Princess Luna when she called.” He smiled inwardly. He had made sure to add a reference to the legion manual, and he knew that Elias of all ponies would appreciate that he had read it in detail. Judging by the sudden change in the human’s body posture, he was right in spades. Night Flash could tell that Elias was only just barely holding back a smile of pride. It had been a test, and Night Flash had passed. He felt his heart swell a little as Elias straightened as best he could and nodded slowly. The barest traces of a smile poked at his lips as he spoke. “Good answer First Centurion,” Elias said. “That kind of sound logic is probably why you have the position.” Elias nodded his head toward the line of recruits. “Take the recruits to their beds, and make sure they have their gear clean and polished for inspection tomorrow morning. Dismissed.” Elias watched Night Flash salute sharply, then turn to his fellow ponies and bark a quick order. None of them moved. All of their eyes were still focused on him. Elias acted before Night Flash could. The shaft of his pilum cracked into Orchid’s knees, driving the mare into a crouch. To her credit, she didn’t cry out, so Elias let her off with just the knee crack as he got in her face. “Recruit, you are testing my patience with your insubordination. When I give an order, I expect it to be followed with all haste, am I clear?” The mare’s eyes lit up at the word recruit, and she nodded briskly. Elias shot a glare toward Scarlet, then toward Thunderstorm. Both stallions saluted, and with a look toward Night Flash, the four ponies turned on their heels and trotted toward the throne room doors. Their steps were quick, and as Elias cast a glance back to watch them go, he noticed that they all held a bit of pep in their step, their tails lashing back and forth with a taste of excitement. He didn’t let them distract him from the task that had dragged him from bed. Elias limped his way back toward the throne, stopping dead center before it. He leaned heavily on his pilum, and he simply stared at Luna. She stared back, shifting nervously before his eyes. Elias didn’t let her shuffling distract him for even an instant, and he waited in complete silence for the throne room doors to close. When they did, Elias continued staring at the alicorn in silence. He let the weight of his gaze make Luna nervous, as if the silence wasn't already accomplishing that goal. Scalpel’s tail flicked nervously at his side, but Elias ignored the unicorn. He had already threatened the pony thoroughly, so he knew that the pony would stay in line. After another small shuffle, Luna opened her mouth to speak. “Elias, I…” “Stop,” Elias said quietly, cutting her off. The alicorn’s face twitched with mild anger, but Elias knew it wouldn’t stick. The only one who had any justified cause for anger was him. His bad eye twitched as he stared at Luna for a few more silent moments, then he took a deep breath and asked; “Princess, what did I say when I accepted this position?” Luna let out an exasperated sigh. “You said that you would only do it if you could run it your way, that-…” “Nope,” Elias said simply, cutting her off again. “If you’ll recall, I said that I didn’t want it. That I didn’t want to lead anyone, that I just wanted to be a normal soldier, and do my job. Then I could continue maintaining all of my friendships, and maybe even find a modicum of peace in my ever-violent life.” Elias felt a twinge of pain lance through his chest, and he rubbed at his rib cage, doing his best to massage away the pain without reopening his wounds. Luna’s look of anger changed to one of concern, but she didn’t move from her throne, despite the fact that Elias could tell that she very much wanted to. Her tail flicked nervously, and had it been a few months earlier, the alicorn would have already been on top of him, nuzzling away. One could only dream. Elias cleared his throat, and swallowed a glob of iron filled spit before looking to her again. “But,” he said, ignoring his weak wish to have a certain snuggle buddy again, “I let you convince me. You said I was needed, that more ponies would suffer if I did not help in this capacity, and with all the evidence around me, I believed you.” “I believed,” he said with another deep breath, “that you trusted me. That you were one of the few people to actually put their full trust in me.” Elias sighed and shook his head. “But you don’t. You don’t trust me at all. I expected this behavior from your sister, but Princess, it’s been less than a month since I got my recruits, and I’ve already been questioned three times!” Elias stared to the side for a moment, running his thumb up and down the shaft of his pilum. He took a deep breath and looked back to Luna. “Princess, I don’t know what to say, other than this has to stop. You either need to show me your respect and trust, or remove me from this position, because this halfway thing we keep doing won’t work. I have allowed so much, have stretched my word to the very limits, but no more. I made promises; to you, to myself, and to every recruit under my command.” Elias shook his head and ran his tongue over his teeth. He could still faintly taste iron. “I can’t bring them home alive if they don’t trust my word. If you won’t trust me, won’t respect me, neither will they, and hundreds will die. I will not be party to that.” He sighed. “And I have no idea what to do to earn your trust. I had hoped that the results, the obvious distinguished behavior the recruits are already showing would be my evidence, the clear and utter proof that what I am doing is right, no matter how wrong it looks, but apparently not.” He sighed again. “You just don’t trust me. I can’t work without your trust. I simply can’t.” Luna let out a low whine. “Elias, I… I do trust you. I trust your judgement and your techniques completely, but this situation was different! You could have died! You must be able to see that your ponies needed to be held accountable for leaving you.” Elias nodded. “Maybe, but am I to protect myself over my recruits? Are they meant to be expendable in my eyes?” “Of course not Elias, but…” “But what Princess?” Elias snapped, clutching at his stomach. “But what? Either I risk my life for them, or they risk their lives for me. I promised them that I would bring them home, that I would keep them safe. I can not do that from the back. I must fight, I must bring them home. I’ll throw myself into as many battles as it takes for that to happen.” Luna’s anger made a return, but Elias also noticed tears at the corners of his eyes. “So what then Elias? Are you simply going to through your life away? What would Book Binder, or Night Flash think?” Elias’ face curled in a snarl. “They will think nothing because they are no longer anything to me. They knew what they signed up for. It is my hope that if they decided not to mentally sever our personal ties, then that they feel pride that I saved somepony with my life, rather than simply killing. I do not matter.” Luna recoiled at his words, but Elias felt the familiar heat of his anger, and he continued unheeded. “My legion matters, my recruits and soon to be legionaries matter, my almost adoptive parents matter. Everypony that I have ever considered friend matters far and above me. If I die in the heat of battle, paying my life so that those that matter more than me survive, I will do so with a god damn smile on my face, because I do not matter.” “YOU MATTER TO ME!” Luna shouted. There was no power to her voice this time, a far cry from the usual anger of her normal Royal Canterlot Voice. Instead, all Elias could feel from the alicorn was sorrow as she shrank slightly in her throne. Luna sniffled and rubbed at her eyes as she stared at the cushion beneath her. “You matter to me Elias. I…” She looked up for a moment, her eyes filled with tears, then sighed and looked back down. Her star filled mane drooped over her face as she spoke. “You are my best friend Elias. Perhaps I have not been very good at showing that, especially not recently, but it is why I wished so desperately to keep you close, despite your position.” She rubbed at her muzzle with a hoof. “I know I am selfish, but I cannot bear to be without you on a personal level. I apologize for laying this at your feet now, but I truly care about you Elias, and if you refuse to look after your own safety…” She sighed and looked up with some steel in her eyes. “I will do it for you. I want you to come home, I want you to find peace, with whomever you choose. You are far too young to yearn for death, no matter your past traumas. You matter Elias. To me, and to others, but you do matter, and I’m sorry you won’t accept that.” She sighed again and shook her head. “Thank you for visiting with me General Bright, you may go. I will not interfere with your legion again. You have my word.” She sounded utterly beaten, defeated. Had he done that? Elias hated that slouched posture, the look of pure defeat in Luna’s form. It… it almost hurt to look at. On some unknown, soft instinct, Elias limped forward. Luna seemed to shy away as he climbed up to her throne, but when he stood before her, she glanced up with more than a little nervousness in her eyes. Elias pointed to a small gap on the left side of her throne. “Mind if I sit? Standing on this leg probably isn’t good for my health.” Luna’s eyes filled with confusion, but she nodded quickly and scooted to the side. Elias winced and grunted as he turned around and unceremoniously plopped on to the throne. Luna was just barely avoiding physical contact, but that wasn’t the point. He hadn’t sat on her throne to make her uncomfortable, he had done it to comfort her, to make the look of defeat disappear from her body. Unfortunately, there was only one surefire way to comfort a pony. Elias’ hand snaked around her side, and he dragged the pony close until she was almost in his lap. Luna flushed red as she instinctively nuzzled his neck. Her green eyes found his mis-matched ones. “I- I had thought… Are you alright Elias?” The human nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes. He could already feel his anger fading, replaced by mild pains, and a pure tidal wave of total exhaustion. “Just fine Princess. Cuddle all you like; this is your one freebie until after the march. We’ll resume our normal agreement come tomorrow when I’m thinking clearly.” He shifted so that his head was leaning on her shoulder. He kept his arm tight around Luna’s barrel, and after a moment of tense silence, the alicorn relaxed and surrounded him with those luscious soft wings. Elias couldn't help but feel incredibly warm pressed against all of her cozy fluff. She nuzzled his head and sighed in his ear. “Thank you Elias,” she whispered as softly as possible. “I’m sorry I got emotional, I just needed you to understand that I care about you, and that you matter to…” Luna stopped when she heard a small snore. She glanced at Elias to find his face fully buried in her shoulder, and his mouth slightly open. Somehow, his other hand had a full grip on his spear, yet it was clear that the human had fallen asleep. Luna smiled and shifted so that his face was buried in her chest fluff. She then eased the spear from his grip and passed it to the still silent Scalpel. Without the weapon on hand, the human nuzzled into his living pillow and sighed happily, wrapping both arms around Luna. The alicorn could have squealed with joy, but instead opted to remain subtle, and quiet. She gently wrapped her hooves, then her wings over the human to keep him warm until they could move him back to the infirmary. Luna looked back to Scalpel to arrange it, only to find the unicorn trotting toward the throne room doors. “Doctor, do you not need to oversee Elias’ health?” she called. Scalpel turned and winked at her. “He’s in good hooves I think, and there’s no better medicine than a nice snuggle. Send for me in a few hours, and I’ll reapply his pain spell, and maybe give him another sleep spell. That should get him rested enough for work tomorrow.” He turned away again, trotting happily out with Elias’ spear in tow. Luna watched him go for a moment, then looked back to Elias. The human seemed to be in bliss, snoring softly as his hands gripped at her fur. Luna studied his face as she watched him rest. From the obvious signs, it was likely the first time in weeks he had truly slept. His eyes, normally squinted in anger, were actually heavily sunken in. That wasn’t just the result of the manticore attack, but rather a symptom of exhaustion. Wrinkles that had no place on his face seemed to touch every part, making him look far older from up close. Even a few of his brilliant red hairs had dulled slightly. They weren’t greyed, but they were far less radiant than they should have been. His face was thin, and frankly a bit pale. Luna tightened her grip, making sure that the human would be good and warm while he slept. Elias responded by hugging her tighter, and mumbling something. Luna didn’t quite catch the words, and in truth, it didn’t matter what he had said. His face was still relaxed, still calm. He wasn’t at risk of a nightmare, not yet at least. Luna mentally prayed that he would sleep peacefully for the rest of the night. That left her with time, however. She still had much to get done, but she refused to leave Elias when he had made such a generous concession for her. The kindness of the motion was not lost on Luna. Heck, she doubted he had hugged any ponies in the past few weeks, let alone one of his “former” friends. It was an immense boon, and Luna refused to spit on it. Elias was at peace, if only for an evening, and Luna would not spoil that for her human. Luna shifted as little as possible to reach behind her throne for her saddlebags. Once she had them in hoof, Luna eased them openly quietly, using Elias’ sleeping form as a table. The unconscious human didn’t seem to mind overmuch, though he did swipe at her hooves as she pulled out her dragonfire candle. Luna giggled as she rubbed his back in small circles with her free hoof. Elias moaned softly, and he wiggled his whole body, seemingly trying to dig his way deeper into her fur. Luna smiled at the human, making a mental note to look further into that cuddle escort service. Ponies that could be paid to follow someone around and cuddle them all day, what a brilliant idea, and one that she absolutely needed to take advantage of. Luna stopped writing her letter to her newly hired assistant, Silver Scroll, and switched over to her post-march to do list. At the bottom, she added the note: · To-do: Ambush Elias with no less than thirty cuddle buddies. Perhaps seek employ of cuddle escorts to fill out numbers. · (Stay in the cuddle dungeon?) Too severe, wait and see if this level of cuddles is needed. Luna smiled and tucked the list away, satisfied that it would provide her sufficient reminders of her schemes. She then resumed writing her letter. With her now non-existent use of magic, she had become very adept at writing with her hooves. It took her no time at all to finish it, and almost as soon as it was sent away, her unicorn assistant appeared at her side in a silent flash of light. Silver Scroll took a single blink to adjust her eyes to the light of the throne room, then looked immediately to the human sleeping in Luna’s hooves. She then looked back to Luna with a questioning gaze. “General Bright has had a rather traumatic night and needed rest,” Luna said quietly. “Doctor Scalpel has prescribed some healing pony snuggles, so here we are. Care to join us while you and I finalize this year’s tax reforms?” Silver Scroll smiled and nodded silently. Her horn lit up, and the wall of silence around her disappeared. The mare then trotted around the throne, climbing easily onto Elias’ back. The human snorted in his sleep, hugging Luna tighter. The alicorn giggled as Silver Scroll made herself into a comfortable pony blanket. The grey colored unicorn wiggled herself into the unwounded part of Elias’ back, causing the human to grunt happily again. Silver Shine smiled down at him. “So this is the legendary General Bright? I’m surprised Princess, with all those rumors over what happened during the winter, I expected him to be trapped beneath a pile of cuddlers.” Luna sighed longingly. “One could only wish. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately for Equestria, Elias is a very talented individual, and he exceeds on the field of battle. It is a crutch we desperately needed in these turbulent times.” Silver Scroll nodded. “Fair enough I suppose. Say though Princess, you wouldn’t happen to be looking for more ponies for another cuddle pile, would you?” She rested her chin on Elias’ shoulder blades. Luna smiled widely. “Officially, I cannot say. Unofficially, talk to General Nightshade. She is the one coordinating a massive cuddle pile for after the march.” Luna wrote a quick note and passed it to Silver Scroll. The unicorn giggled as she read it, and she looked down to Elias’ sleeping form with a wide smile. “Oh you are one lucky pony Mr. Bright, just you wait.” With a glance and a wink toward Luna, the pair quietly set about completing their nightly work, saying as little as possible as they savored the warmth of the snoring human.