Miss Starlight opened the door for a very enthusiastic Pinkie Pie. "So where's the birthday colt?" she asked, bouncing around the room like she was made of rubber.
"Oh, I hardly think he's a colt anymore Miss Pinkie. But all the same, he is just getting up." Luna said with a smile.
"NO! THAT WON'T DO!" Pinkie screamed.
"Whatever is the matter?" Starlight asked with a look of concern.
"Prin-er, Miss Starlight, We can't put up decorations for a birthday pony's birthday party with the birthday pony here. It makes no sense." Pinkie replied, hooves waving in the air.
"Well what should be done then?" Luna asked
Pinkie, putting on her 'serious' face, thought for a moment…literally. "There's only one thing we can do…CALL HIS PARENTS!"
Starlight gave Pinkie a poke with her hoof, "Um…Miss Pinkie, need I remind you of Pip's 'parental problems'?"
"Oh right! Well in that case….CALL HIS FRIENDS!" Pinkie, in her usual way, worked her 'personal' magic and pulled a phone out of thin air. It was a mystery that even the most brilliant of ponies couldn't figure out. "Hello…Scootaloo? Hey! Can you and the other crusaders distract Pips? Uh-huh…uh-huh. Hold on…Miss Starlight?" Pinkie asked looking at Starlight, "Scoots wants to know if it's alright for him to be a little late."
"Of course."
"She said yes. Really? YES! GREAT! Alright…bye-bye." And with that, Pinkie hung up and put away her phone. She turned to Starlight "Alright I have good news and bad news," she pronounced, once again putting on her serious face.
"What is it?" Starlight asked, a little worried.
"The good news is that we can get Pip out of the house." Pinkie remarked, a little reluctant.
Starlight gave a look of concern. "And the bad?"
"It seems that the crusaders are going out for a hike which may take most of the day. If he goes, he won't be back till sundown."
Starlight let out a sigh of relief, "Then there's nothing to worry about. The party wasn't going to start till then."
Pinkie looked back in surprise. "Oh. And here I thought…ah never mind."
Starlight looked confused. "You thought what?"
"Nothing Miss Starlight." Said Pinkie, trying to wave off her thoughts.
Starlight cocked an eyebrow, "We asked what you had just thought Miss Pinkie." She said with a stern tone. It was rare for her to use the 'royal we' anymore, but it had become a bad habit of hers when she became serious.
"Weeeeeeeeeeeell, I just though since you're into all the old traditional stuff, you wouldn't want Pippy to be alone with Scootaloo and them; because they're all, you know, 'that age'." Said Pinkie, whispering the last part.
Starlight stared blankly at Pinkie and then giggled. "Oh dear Pinkie, of all the ponies in all of Equestria and beyond, Pip is one of THE most modest of them all." She looked up towards his room. "Besides," she thought to herself, a small blush appearing through her mint coat, "he is not one to have such lascivious intentions."
"Oh, well if your okay with it then I'll go tell him," Pinkie remarked with her usual smile and was about to make her way up the stairs when Starlight cut her off.
"Wait!" Starlight interjected, "Uh. *Ahem* Let me tell him, it is one of my duties after all."
"Okie dokey. I'll just go out to do one last guest check list. See ya later alligator!" Pinkie said, bouncing out the front door. But as Starlight watched Pinkie go, she began to contemplate her previous statement of Pip. She truly believed that he would never have such thoughts. He was a gentle colt with the best intentions at heart. Never would he be like those colts who only want a mare for her "services". But even so, she still felt a painful feeling in the pit of her stomach.
For as long as she had served as his guardian, a choice she had made freely, she had always felt a connection to Pip. But now that he had grown and matured, she felt something different, something…more.
As she trotted up the steps to the second floor, drawing ever closer to his room, she felt uneasy. She for the life of her, could not understand why. She had been to his room many times before; and this time was no different. But there she stood at his doorway, lost in thought over him, only to be brought out by the sound of his voice. Curious, she looked inside. To her surprise, she found Pip talking to a locket. But this was a very special locket, both for him and her. Luna gave him the locket for his tenth birthday as a present from her royal self. It even had a tag that read, "To our first friend Captain Pipsqueak, ~Luna". It was a silver locket with a blue moon crafted on the front, and Pip's name on the back. But unlike most lockets, ones that usually only served to hold a picture inside, this one was enchanted with a spell. If one was to sleep with it on, it would allow the wearer to have the best lucid dreams ever imagined. Granted it seemed a little much for such an average pony, but Luna felt that for him, it was worth it.
But as much as she loved what the meaning of the locket meant for them, she felt worried about Pip. A few months after he received the locket, she found Pip having formal conversations with it, as if it was alive. She had tried to rid him of it, using various sorts of magic to do so, but each attempt failed. Not because the spells failed, but because she failed. Every time she would get close to the locket, ready to be rid of this object of foreboding, she found herself thinking of Pip's reaction at her deed. True she had good intentions, but was what she was about to do really going to help? And if so, why did she still feel guilty? Was she not trying to protect him as a guardian should? Surly this was so. And yet she felt the painful burden of guilt on her. In the end, she could not bring herself to do it. So she stayed her hoof and horn, for the moment, watching him and that locket with curious eyes and alert ears.
Closely she watched and listened to his conversation.
Inside…
"I know it still seems a bit soon, but even you said she probably knows by now," Pip said looking at his locket as if it was another pony. For a few moments, everything was silent. Then Pip's ears shot up and in a burst he seemed to retort, "Then when am I, sorry, we supposed to tell her? I'm sure she's already noticed a few oddities in my behavior and I know for a fact she's not an airhead." After another round of silence Pip sighed, "Yeah you're right. But you know that I don't want to put you in any danger. I made you a promise and I plan to keep it, you know how I am." Again silence. It was rather unnerving to Luna. "Fine, but promise me that this year we'll tell her…Thank you. I know, but that's what's so nice about you. Oh crumpets, I need to go meet Luna down in the kitchen, she's probably worried about me." Pip took the locket off the nightstand and wiggled it onto his neck, something rather difficult for an earth pony. As he made his way to the door, Pip thought he saw a passing shadow. Quickly, he went to the door and had a look. Strangely enough, there was no one there. He shrugged off the feeling he had as paranoia, something he was used to, and went to the kitchen.
There, Pip found Luna preparing a wonderfully smelling breakfast. Compared to the first time he saw her cook, she had come a long way. Already she could go almost two weeks without 'smiting the lowly curs that dwelled in the kitchen's pots and pans".
After taking a long whiff of the soon-to-be made meal, Pip sighed. "This maybe your most delectable meal yet Miss Starlight".
Luna blushed. Though she knew that him as a very educated pony, it still surprised her that someone so young could talk so mature, though the effects of his voice cracking was obviously there. "Nothing less for a young stallion such as yourself dear Pip."Pip walked over to Luna and simply stared at her, making the princess both a little flustered and uncomfortable. She couldn't help but let out a giggle, "Please Pip, if you stare like that I may think you in love with me."
"If only you would." He thought. Breaking the stare he apologized. "Sorry, it's just that although your meal will most likely be nothing but the best, I do have one minor critique."
"Oh, and what might that be?" asked Luna.
"Just that as much as I am flattered that you would do this for me, if somepony were to pass by right now, they would be confused as to why Luna, the princess of the sacred night, would be in an apron serving a lowly peasant breakfast."
Luna looked in a nearby mirror, "Confound it!"