Explosions rattled around me as I solemnly regarded the shimmering vision of my beloved mentor in front of me.
"Novalis, status report, now!"
"Well, Princess, it seems that our scouts were right. I ended up teleporting right into the middle of a hotzone."
"What is the situation at the moment?"
"Well, to put it bluntly: Big, scaly, ugly lizards are flying around in the sky raining meteors of flame and destruction upon big, scaly, ugly lizards on the ground who keep regenerating and trying to snap at the fliers with their multitude of heads."
Luna stared at me in silence for a moment before speaking softly.
"I see stress and pain in those eyes of yours. What else happened?"
I nervously shuffled my hooves before I looked back into her luminous eyes. I mentally prepared myself for the memories I had been repressing for the past week, the horrors of what should have been a simple mission.
"A few of my guards have fallen to the enemies. When we first arrived, a dragon snapped one of my soldiers up and ate him like a damned cookie. One of the others guarded our retreat line, valiantly battling a hydra, but to no avail. The constant regrowth overwhelmed him, and when the beast closed in, he... *sob*. And last night, one of the dragons misfired at a rather ancient hydra, and the errant gout of flame engulfed the scout I had sent to survey the battlefield."
"I'm sorry Novalis. I know how close you are with your guards, and I understand your reluctance to speak their names. I am withdrawing your mission. Get out of there, and do it alive, Novalis. If you die, so help me..."
"No, milady. This cannot be allowed to continue as it is. This war will spill outside this small land, and many innocents will perish in the fires of war, unless I can find a way to halt this. I will find the source of this, and extinguish it. But I will not risk my soldiers' lives. I will be sending them back home in the morning. Novalis, over and out."
"Don't you dare end this communi-TSSSSS"
As the magic holding the illusion fizzled and faded, I sighed and sat down. This was a right mess I had managed to find myself in. I had been ordered to check out reports of a disturbance in the Dragon Wastelands. When I arrived, I found that the hydras from the south had left their homeland for reasons unknown and assaulted the dragons. Why they would want to leave the Forgotten Marsh was beyond me, but their brutality was being met with equal ferocity from the Dragonkin.
Tomorrow, I would be sending my fellow kinsmen home. They wouldn't like it, but I had to make them leave me. This was far too dangerous for them to be here. But first, sleep, and hopefully, I could avoid nightmares this night. Shutting the flap of my tent, I blew out the candle on the stump that made for a makeshift table and clambered into my sleeping bag. As I slipped off to sleep, I could hear the battle subsiding, even if only briefly...
That night, I dreamed a pretty dream. I was outside the castle with Luna, sharing an evening lunch with her under the starlit sky. Her soft mane billowed in the breeze, twinkling with the multitude of stars that shone from within. On the table was a simple meal, mostly gone, with only tea and a few biscuits left.
"Princess, I am glad you invited me here tonight."
"The pleasure is mine. You have been doing well in your studies of magic and astrology, so I thought you deserved a treat."
"I am only doing so well to impress the best teacher in all of Equestria. And the prettiest mare in the universe, I will be so bold as to add."
Luna giggled softly as she took a sip of tea, smiling over it at me. I could feel my cheeks grow warm from her eyes being fixated upon my face. I held her gaze for a few moments, drinking in the wondrous sight of the mare that held place in my most enduring infatuation. After a few minutes had passed, during which she had set her cup down and looked across the sky, she turned back to me with a sad look.
"You must think me awfully selfish to ask so much of you without giving you much in return..."
"You are mistaken there, milady. I am happy to be of use to you, to alleviate some of the weight and responsibility."
"Still, I don't give you proper dues or compensation for all your hard work. I'll make a deal with you. Soon, I will be sending you on a potentially dangerous mission, but one I have faith you can complete. If you return to me alive and well, you may make one request of me. If it is within my power to grant, it shall be yours."
I found it difficult to find my voice. Such a high honor was usually reserved for ponies with outstanding benefits to Equestrian society, like the Element Bearers. Each of them still held the option, although only Applejack had used the opportunity as far as I knew. But hey, the Apple family deserved a new farmstead. I gathered my wandering thoughts to speak.
"Such an honor is far above me, Princess Luna. I do not think myself worthy of that high reward."
"Nonsense. You have done far more for me than you think. You have been by my side faithfully all these years. You have acted as my voice in further lands and, even without my explicit guidance each time, you have managed to make me proud of your choices. You have given me company when I was lonely, cheered me when I felt low, and have been both my staunchest defender and my best friend in these years. If anything, I have been negligent, rude, and selfish to not have offered before."
To my surprise, Luna shed a tear as she completed her monologue. Rising from her seat, she walked around the table towards where I had stood in respect. Smiling softly at me, she leaned in, kissed my cheek, and whispered into my ear.
"Fly with me, Novalis. Trust me to keep you safe as I show you the joy that is flight."
I could only nod as I felt the impression from her lips fading. She walked behind me, and with her forehooves lifted and cradled me beneath her. With one mighty flap of her wings, she soared into the sky, leaving my stomach back on the ground and my breath caught in my lungs. I could feel her powerful wing muscles as she soared through the sky. Her heart beat against my back, sure and strong. The wind sang through my ears and played with my mane. I looked below and could see the glimmering lights of cities and towns flashing by as Luna rose into the deep blue night. Finally, we burst through a cloud, and I could behold the entirety of the earth beneath us. Illuminated by pale moonlight, the towns and cities for miles around were starting to quiet down. Lights within homes winked out one by one, and clouds passed by lazily underneath us.
"It's so... beautiful, Princess."
"The freedom of flight is one of the most glorious things in the world. To be unrestricted by ponies on the ground and their constant demands. To soar freely and swiftly, with naught but the wind to call your name. The scenery is peaceful without the bustling sounds of the inner city. It just feels like a different world when in the sky, and there is no greater joy than that freedom."
I could only nod as I gazed around in wonder.
"Know this Novalis. Just like now, you will always be safe with me. If you slip from my grasp at any time, anywhere, you need but call my name, and I will be by your side to catch you."
My dream faded slowly as a barrage of explosions shook the earth around my camp. I could hear my guardsponies yelling and moving about, preparing to defend me to the death should a threat arise. Some of them, most of them, really, were Pegasi. There was no way I was going to let them die and lose the freedoms the sky offered them.