“You became who!?”
“Not so loud Silver,” whispered Luna. “It’s true though, I . . . I nearly became ‘her’ tonight.”
“My word . . . Princess, what happened out in that field?”
“Well, a group of thieves attacked Pip and myself. We tried to fend them off, but there were too many of them. Pip tried to fight back, but their leader held him and tried to slit his throat. The next thing I knew everything went in a blur for me. Everything became so dark and I could hear a demonic laugh, but I didn’t know what was going on. I was . . . I was . . .”
Luna felt tears form in her eyes and was visibly shaking in paranoid.
Silver went over and hugged Luna. “There, there your highness. It’s all over now.”
“No it’s not,” she whimpered. “Not by a longshot now that she’s stirring inside me again. I . . . I don’t know what to do now. I don’t dare tell my sister about this, otherwise she may banish me again or think of something worse.”
“Calm down your highness,” said Silver. “Your sister would never do that to you again. Not after a thousand years of regret made her think twice before doing that. However, I do think it may be time to tell her the-”
“NO!” She boomed. She took a deep breath and said, “I can’t tell her at all. It would reveal everything going on between me and Pip. She could dishonorably discharge him for this or banish him from Equestria.”
“You can’t ignore something like this though. Who knows what will happen the next time this happens to you. You need to see Princess Celestia about this.”
“That’s not your decision to make!” Luna fumed.
Silver let out a sigh and said, “You’re right . . . but that doesn’t mean I can’t look out for you.”
“Forgive me SIlver, but I must ask you to leave. I must collect my thoughts. I believe a little bit of meditation and bedrest will do wonders for me.”
Seeing no way to continue the conversation, Silver shook his head. “Very well your highness, but please consider my words of wisdom. There’s an old saying to this, ‘Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it’. Please don’t make the same mistakes like last time, otherwise you will end up paying for it.” He didn’t hear a response from the alicorn and saw she was levitating off the ground. He shook his head and walked out the room.
Silver was now sitting in front of fire, drinking a glass of cognac in the dead of night. He stared at the fire for how long, sipping slowly from the glass he was holding with his silver aura. So many thoughts were racing through his mind; of Luna, Pip and most recently Nightmare Moon. He sighed as he was about to take another sip.
“Darling...”
Silver turned his head to see another stallion in the doorway, wearing a purple nightgown. Teal, his husband walked towards him and decided to sit on his lap. Teal held onto Silver and looked into his eyes.
“Sweetie, you’ve been here for how many hours now... aren’t you tired?” Teal asked innocently.
Silver smiled softly at Teal and caressed his chin softly. “It’s just been a long day Teally, what with all the princess’ new-”
Teal lifted his hoof in the air. “Don’t tell, that guard and her had a little fling tonight hey?” Teal asked curiously, leaning his head forward.
Silver shook his head. “They just their first kiss is all,” he said plainly, chuckling slightly hearing his husband give an ‘awww’. “What does bother me though is what happened afterwards...”
Teal cocked his eyebrow and puckered his lips slightly. “What happened? Did somepony see them make out?” He jokingly asked, but stopped laughing when he didn’t hear Silver laugh.
“Something worse...” Silver said, finishing his cognac. “They had an encounter with a thief guild, the Dead End Gang.”
Teal gasped, nearly falling off Silver’s lap but regaining balance just as quickly. “Oh my! That must have been stressful to those two lovers... to have so much stress when in love is just wrong...”
Silver shook his head and chuckled. “True, it’s not healthy,” he said before stopping with his chuckle. “On a more important note... when they encountered them, the gang did something very idiotic... and took the guard as a hostage for the princess.”
“Oh my!”
Silver nodded his head. “And Luna, seeing Pip hurt... she went berserk and...”
“And? What happened?” Teal asked sounding excited.
“ . . . Let’s just say, those thieves had one hay of a nightmare.”
“What do you mean by-” A thought crossed the teal unicorn’s mind and he gasped. “You . . . you don’t mean . . .?”
Silver gave a small nod. “Yes, I’m afraid those idiots somehow caused none other than Nightmare Moon to stir. Now I’m facing a huge dilemma about what to do with her highness.”
“Why not tell Princess Celestia? She could consult Luna about this.”
“Tried that. Luna fears her sister will banish her again, even though I told her that it wouldn’t happen.”
Teal sighed and moved off Silver. “What are you going to do Stormy? If Luna won’t listen to reason, then what can you do?”
“I don’t know, I really wish I could answer that question. But I think there may be a key to stopping this from happening.”
“What is it?”
“Pipsqueak.”
“Pipsqueak? You mean Princess Luna’s new coltfriend? What can he do to help this?”
“He loves Luna more than any other pony in Equestria. And I think he was instrumental in stopping Nightmare from fully taking control of Luna and killing all those petrified thieves. It’s only a theory so far, but it’s the only lead I’ve got to go along with.”
“If that’s the case, then how can you prove it? You can’t just make Princess Luna turn into Nightmare Moon like that. Unless you’re willing to put everypony’s life at risk.”
“I would never do something as ludicrous as that Teal...” Silver said as he looked into his lover’s eyes. “No... I think its best that we leave those two to their new found relationship,” Silver said as he got up from his sofa with Teal doing the same before him. “Right now, I’m tired... I think its best we sleep on this and see what comes tomorrow...”
“Alright Stormy,” Teal said as he gave a kiss to his husband and both went to their bedroom, resting for the night.
A knock on the throne room’s door was heard by the princess of the day.
“Come in...”
The large doors opened and a forest green stallion with lighter green mane walked in casually before he reached Celestia. He stopped for a moment, but he didn’t bow at all. Instead he simply waved at her with a slight smile on his face.
“Hiya Celestia!” He said cheerfully as he grinned at her arched eyebrow. He took a quick look at the guards and chuckled at their mouths being agape. “Guys, if you keep that open long enough... your teeth are going to be missing in the morning...”
The guards clenched their teeth at this stallion’s words, until Celestia cleared her throat. “Guards, please leave us be...”
“But Princess-”
“Now.”
The guards didn’t dare argue against their ruler and promptly left the room to leave Celestia and the mysterious pony alone.
“So how it’s going there Celestia?” Asked the stallion. “Still dealing with those nobles whose noses are so far up in the air, they could be higher than a mountain?”
The white alicorn let out a sigh. “Stealth Sneak . . . I see you still haven’t changed, even after the last discipline hearing last week. If it wasn’t for your skills, you would’ve been fired long ago.”
“Aww come on Cele-”
“Princess Celestia, to you.”
“Oh alright then. Princess Celestia, what’s wrong with living things up at the Equestrian Tactical Special Forces. Do you know how many ponies act so stoic and lifeless in there? It might as well be the Undead Special Forces. I’m just trying to make those ponies stop acting so serious all the time.”
“Stealth, I don’t really have time for this,” said Celestia as she rubbed her head.
“Oooo . . . you look pretty stressed out.” He pulled out a bouquet of colorful tulips from behind his back and handed them to her. “Flowers for the beautiful princess here.” He gave a wink.
Celestia took the flowers and put them aside. “I appreciate this and all Stealth, but you know I didn’t just call you here to see you.”
“Aww . . . I thought you were asking me out on a date or something. That’s too bad.”
“Stealth Sneak!” Scolded the white alicorn. “You’re here because of something I need for you to do! Something involving my sister, Princess Luna!”
Stealth blinked twice before pursing his lips. “If you’re trying to set me up with your sister, I’m not-”
“Don’t!” Celestia’s eyes twitched as she clenched her teeth. “Don’t test my patience! Not now Stealth...”
Stealth sighed and flexed his neck, the sound of bones cracking echoed across the room. “Alright Princess, what’s the deal with Princess Luna?” He asked with his tone deep and his brows furrowed.
Celestia got up from her throne and approached Stealth slowly. “I want you to keep your eyes on her from the moment she wakes up tomorrow... and tell me anything suspicious you see happening with her...”
The green stallion’s eyebrow cocked as he looked to Celestia. “Seriously?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You want me, to spy and eavesdrop on your little sister...”
“In a manner, yes.”
Stealth rolled his eyes as he groaned. “Celestia, to spy on an enemy and collect information that can save the country is one thing... but to spy on your family just because you never take time to understand them is just looking for trouble...”
Celestia glared at Stealth, but he did not flinch. “Don’t you dare question me! The safety of Equestria may depend on this Stealth!”
“Cryptic as always aren’t you?”
“What do you mean always?”
“You have a tendency to leave out important information about something. Sometimes you even mislead others into thinking something else is going on. There’s no reason you wouldn’t have me spying on your sister unless you suspect something and I want to know your personal reasons.”
“...”
“If the situation is so serious, why don’t you tell me what’s going on then? Why do you think Princess Luna is doing something wrong?”
“I don’t feel I need to explain my reasoning for this,” she responded. “What I will say is that I think my sister may be involved with another pony over something.”
“I’m still not sure about this. I serve both you and your sister and this country faithfully. You’re sounding like your sister is involved with a treasonous act or something.”
“Please Stealth, all I ask is for you to trust me and to carry out these orders. If you don’t see my sister doing something illegal, then I’ll drop the investigation immediately.”
Stealth didn’t say anything for a minute as he gazed out in the distance. He let out a deep breath and said, “Very well . . . but I’m still not comfortable with this whole thing. I’ll only need one day to investigate and I mean only one day. Whether she’s doing something wrong or not, I’ll report to you about it at the end of the day. Do we have a deal?”
“I’ll accept these terms. Just get to work starting tomorrow when she gets up. And one other thing I request.”
“What is it?”
“Keep an eye on her ‘personal’ bodyguard, Philip Brave. Something tells me he’s involved in this in some way.”
The green stallion furrowed his brow. “Hmm . . . a personal bodyguard? I thought that tradition died out centuries ago. Maybe you are onto something your highness. However, this still doesn’t change how I feel about this. Farewell for now Princess Celestia.” His horn lit up and in an instant, his body blended right in with the shadows of the night.
Celestia leaned her head back against her throne and looked out the window to see the moon. Luna, I hope that I’m wrong about you doing something wrong. I don’t want a repeat of what happened a thousand years ago, she thought to herself. She got up a few seconds later and made her way to her own chambers to rest.
Celestia looked across at Luna over breakfast the following morning. The blue alicorn seemed to be showing no signs of any suspicious activity to her as she ate some pancakes, buttered toast, and bananas.
“Tia!” She jumped a little and saw her sister glaring at her. “This is the third time you’ve been staring at us this morning. You haven’t even touched your breakfast yet. What is wrong with you?”
Celesita shuffled her hooves slightly, eyes looking away from Luna’s glare. “Nothing! Nothing at all Luna, why do you ask?!”
Luna simply rolled her eyes and continued with her breakfast. “Never mind!” She muttered as she looked down on her food and finished it within moments. Luna got up from the table and walked to the door. “We bid thee good day Tia,” she said as she looked back to her sister still sitting, not having touched her breakfast at all. “Come, Philip,” she ordered Pip to walk beside her, failing to hide a smile that was visible for a second from Celestia’s eyes.
Once they left, Stealth came out of hiding and walked to where Celestia was sitting. “Well now, that is pretty obvious if you ask me...”
Celestia looked at Stealth annoyed, “Not to me it isn’t, you still have a job to do remember?”
“You got it Tia,” he said as he teleported away.
Celestia clenched her teeth as she glared to the empty space where Stealth was. She sighed as he closed her eyes, breathing slowly for a few moments before resuming to her breakfast. When she took a bite of it, she paused for second before swallowing it hard. She looked down and sighed again.
“Why is it so cold now?”
“So what are we going to do Lulu?” Asked Pip. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to sneak out of the castle again, especially after last night. And we can’t really find a room in the castle to be alone in. Maybe we should stop this for a while until things cool down.”
“That’s true Pippy, we need our own place within this castle. A place where nopony, not even my sister, can find us. Something like a sanctuary...” An idea clicked inside Luna’s head and she let out a gasp. “I’ve got the solution!”
“What is it?”
“No time to explain,” Luna whispered as she looked around the castle. “Quickly, follow me to the northern section of the castle’s first floor. I’ll explain more when we get there.”
Luna took off with Pip following behind her as they both headed for their destination. As soon as they were out of sight, Stealth Sneak’s horn stopped glowing and his cloaking field went down.
“Hmm . . . where could this all be going?” He wondered. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.” His horn lit up again and he disappeared.
“Luna, slow down please!” Shouted Pip. “I may be a strong Earth pony, but I’m not as fast as an alicorn!”
“Don’t worry Pip, we’re here now,” she said as she slowed to a stop. She pointed a hoof upward. “What do you think of this?”
The spotted stallion looked up to see a white marble statue of an aged unicorn with a long white beard and wearing a magician’s cape and hat with stars and moons on it. He was holding up a staff with his hoof and pointing it. Pip recognized him as Starswirl the Bearded.
“Luna, no offense or anything, but why show me a statue of Starswirl?” He asked. “How’s this going to help us?”
“Ah, maybe I should show you what’s behind this picture,” said Luna with a wink. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear before her horn glowed and the statue slowly moved out of the way. As the monument moved, Pip looked down to see a big hole in the ground, enough to fit him and Luna.
The blue alicorn stepped near the hole and giggled at Pip’s awestruck expression. “Shall we, Pippy?” She asked.
“Um . . . where is this path going?”
“You’ll have to wait and see. I promise though, this will all be worth it in the end.” She hopped down into the hole and her horn lit up. “Come along Pip, before somepony finds us.”
Pip heard some hoofsteps coming down the hall. He gave a nod and quickly jumped into the hole with Luna. The alicorn used her magic to move the statue back, but before it was fully closed, Stealth quickly jumped in, but accidentally caused some pebbles to fall down the slope.
“What was that?” Asked Pip.
Stealth held his breath as he prayed he wouldn’t be found out.
Luna turned around and uses her magic to sense any breathing. She stopped and shrugged it off. “Must have been this passage, hasn’t been used in a while. Come along...” she told Pip and both he and Luna walked onwards.
Stealth breathed out slowly and used his magic again to blend in with the surroundings. The princesses never told any pony of this place... He followed the duo further down the passage, staying close to the walls.
Pip was behind Luna the whole way. The only thing he could see was the view of her flank waving with each step. His eyes fell onto them on more than one occasion. Pip smiled slightly before shaking his head and slapping sense into himself.
Don’t be a daft prick now Pip! He thought to himself as his eyes went to Luna’s head.
“Lulu, how far do you we still have to go?” He asked her, seeing her turn her head to have her eyes face his.
“We should be there now Pippy,” she answered with a smile and turned back to face forward.
“Alright.”
Luna was smiling broadly when she finally saw light and decided to trot faster to their destination. The light grew brighter, and sound of leaves brushing could be heard from the exit.
“Close your eyes Pippy.”
Pip did just that, and could feel the light beaming on his face as they came closer to the exit. He could tell he was outside when he felt a breeze blowing against his face.
“Open your eyes now, please.”
He opened them and was instantly mesmerized by what he saw. He was standing, along with Luna, in the middle of a grassy field, with a couple of shady trees nearby to provide some relief to the summer air. Pip heard water rushing and turned to see a small river was running down nearby and felt a cool breeze against his face as it blew by.
“Blimey . . . it’s beautiful Luna,” he said with a smile. “When did you have time to find something like this?”
“Quite simple actually. Shortly after I returned from banishment, I did some flying around to stretch my wings out and survey the land. I grew tired one night and landed in this field to relax. The sound of the animals, the river running, and the wind blowing made me feel at peace here. Because there were so many guards around the castle and watching the skies, I couldn’t just fly there overnight.”
“So did you dig this tunnel then?”
“You’re somewhat correct Pip. It turns out that cave over there was partially collapsed, but what it was originally for is something I have no idea. I saw the castle in the distance and figured I could build a tunnel to this place in case I wanted to get away. It took some careful planning and trial and error, but I finally managed to rebuild the cave and use the Starswirl the Bearded statue as a means of covering the hole.”
“What if somepony moves it and finds it though?”
“Don’t worry, that section of the castle is always quiet and nopony really uses it at all.”
“So what did you bring me here for Luna? It’s not like there’s much to do around here at all.”
“Well, I was thinking that we could talk to each other,” she said. “In all this time of meeting up with you, I don’t really know much about you, aside from serving on the C.S.E. Lunar Eclipse as a navigator.” She walked a little bit to a patch of grass and sat down. “Go ahead and sit down Pippy, I’d love to hear why you joined the Lunar Guard.”
Pip gave a nod and sat down next to Luna, who put a wing around his body and nuzzled him. “So . . . where do you want me to begin? Like what happened to me in my time in Ponyville?”
“I would prefer to hear about how you joined the Lunar Guard, what prompted you to join please.”
“Well I guess it started when I was still a little colt, a month before moving to Ponyville,” he said. “My mum was a brilliant chef and I had a little brother named Featherweight, who later went into being a big time journalist. The one pony I looked up to the most though was my dad, who was continuing the tradition of the Brave family being in the military.”
“My word, I had no idea your family had such a strong tradition. Which branch of the Guard was your father in? Solar or Lunar?”
“He was a member of the Solar Guard and worked as a Master Sergeant at a boot camp. He may have been tough on all the recruits, but he was a caring father to all of us. I looked up to him and saw how brave he was and I wanted to be like him... Until that night.”
Luna gulped as some sweat was on her forehead. “That night?”
Pip’s eyes gazed downwards as he sighed. “My family was out at our local restaurant, The Lucky Clover... was owned by Lucky Mccloud, but it closed down a year ago... anyways,” Pip cleared his throat and looked up the sky
. “As we walked home, some petty thief thought he’d try his luck and rob us and maybe get into my mum’s knickers. Dad was not up for that, fought back... but,” Pip paused as some tears were building up in his eyes.
“Pip?”
Pip closed his eyes, and the tears ran down his cheeks. “That bastard got a lucky strike at my dad’s heart. He ran off with our goods, but that didn’t matter to us,” Pip whispered softly as he looked down. “That night was the night when I lost my father.”
Luna gasped as she placed a hoof to her mouth, her own eyes becoming watery. “Pip... I’m so sorry...”
The stallion shook his head and looked to Luna with a gentle smile. “It’s not your fault,” he said to her as he gave her quick peck on the lips. “After that, I decided to become a Lunar Guard. Because there weren’t that many guards in the night protecting the streets when innocents were with their families or rotten ponies were out grabbing some poor sod’s well earn money,” he said to Luna and looked her in the eyes. “When I heard of your return, I was amazed that there was actually a princess to the night.”
“Really?”
Pip nodded his head answering Luna. “To be honest, I wanted to know why your sister wiped you out of the history books? I mean, what kind of sister does that?”
“Well . . . we all know what happened over a thousand years ago. I found out my sister removed me from history for a reason.”
“What reason is that?”
“Tia told me that shortly after I was banished to the moon, some historians weren’t too kind to my plight. Many historians called me a monster who was selfish and cruel to my sister and others called me the ‘Greatest traitor in Equestrian history’. My sister was so shocked by this, she gathered those historians responsible and banished them out of Equestria. After that, she ordered that I be written out of history to prevent further slang against me like that.”
“. . . Whoa, that’s sad to hear that so many ponies acted like that to you. I understand why Princess Celestia acted this way, but to remove you from history is something worse than death in my opinion.”
“Well to me, I find it much better to be written out of history than be seen as a monster by everypony. So you can say this is a mixed blessing...”
“At least The Winter Moon Celebration hasn’t been cut out of the books, though to be honest,” Pip said as he nuzzled Luna. “Having you raise the moon during that time, really brings out the beauty in you...”
Luna giggled and kissed Pip softly. “You are such a charmer. But enough talking about my past Pip, tell me more about your adventures on the Lunar Eclipse. I’ve heard quite a few tales of it in the last war.”
“Ah yes, I remember my days on that ship before it was decommissioned,” said the spotted stallion. “As you know, I was a navigator on the ship and was in charge of plotting the ship’s route. It was a bit boring at first, but I soon found myself, along with the rest of Equestria, in a war against the Diamond Dog Consortium.”
“Who knew a group of gem greedy dogs could be so ambitious as to try to conquer Equestria?” Pondered Luna. “It’s amazing that they declared war on us, much less fight for nine months before it ended.”
“Ay, they may not have been the smartest lot in the world, but they were still tough enough to put up a fight. I remember the battles the Lunar Eclipse was in such as the battle for Manehatten, the siege against Dodge City, and, of course, the Conquering of Diamond City, the capital of the Consortium. Although the Lunar Eclipse suffered major damage at the last battle, it served me and the rest of the crew well. It’s a shame that after it was repaired, it only stayed in service for six months.”
“‘Tis true Pippy,” said Luna. “But one thing I still have to ask is this. Why did you decide to join a part of my guard? I thought they would’ve put you on another ship after the Lunar Eclipse was decommissioned.”
“Well since the war was over, most guards were reassigned to new duties instead,” he said. “I requested that I be placed on the Lunar Royal Guard and I was accepted. And the rest is history.”
“I have to say Pip, you certainly are quite the brave pony and I think-”
Snap
“What was that?!” Luna stood up and looked to where the sound was. “Is somepony there?! Show yourself!” She commanded but was met with silence. Her horn burnt brightly as she focused her magic. “I’m warning you, who-”
The sound of a roar was heard and Luna looked to her side to see a giant manticore there, ready to attack the two ponies before it. “You fiend! You dare attack us?!”
The manticore charged to Luna, who was ready to strike back. Before the manticore could maul at the princess, two hooves met the manticore’s face and the beast staggered backwards.
Pip was standing before Luna, sword in his mouth and glaring daggers at the manticore before him. “You messed with the wrong princess tonight puss!”
The manticore shook its head and roared at Pip. When the manticore’s claw was near, Pip sliced the paw of and a scream of pain and anguish came from the beast.
“Had enough yet?!”
The beast roared again in anger and he glared at Pip. He leaped forward and tackled the spotted stallion to the ground. He struggled to fight off the manticore, who was slashing his claws frantically. He could barely see Luna out of the corner of his eye and saw she was horrified and unable to move in fear. Remembering what happened the last time that he was nearly killed and how his marefriend acted, Pip scrunched his hind legs and delivered a powerful buck to the manticore’s stomach.
He was sent flying back for a few seconds before landing back on the ground. The beast slowly got up and let out another deafening roar as he charged towards Pip once more. The spotted stallion was ready this time for the attack as he leaned down a little. The closer the manticore came, the more Pip waited to act.
“Watch out Pip!” Warned Luna. “Get out of the way!”
“Now!” He shouted as the manticore was within inches of him.
He jumped to the side and missed the wild beast. The manticore suddenly saw a huge, thick tree that he was charging to and panicked. He tried to stop, but before he could skid to a stop, he crashed his head into the tree, with a sickening CRACK along with it. The manticore’s body went completely limp and was motionless.
Pip waited a minute before going to inspect the aftermath of the battle. He saw that the manticore’s head smashed through the tree and was bloodied and covered in splinters. He went to go see if the beast was breathing, but he heard a moan emitting from him.
The spotted stallion backed off and turned to Luna. “I think we better clear out before he wakes up,” he warned. “Manticores are notoriously known for being quite strong and have very short tempers. Needless to say, I don’t think we want to be here when it wakes up from its beauty sleep.”
“But it’s stuck in a tree,” said Luna. “Surely we can’t just leave it here like this.”
“Like I said, manticores are notoriously known for being quite strong. He may struggle a little bit, but he’ll turn that tree to toothpicks in a matter of minutes after he wakes up. Now come on.”
“Hold on, before you go, I need to say something.”
“What is it?”
Pip’s question was immediately answered with Luna leaning in and kissing him on the lips. His shock quickly died out as he returned the kiss as well and caressed her face. Luna broke the kiss a couple of seconds later as she gave Pip a sultry look.
“Thank you, for saving me again,” she said. “You’re the best knight a princess could ask for.”
Pip blushed and said, “Anything for a princess as beautiful as you.” He gave a small peck on the cheek. “Now come on, I think we’ve done enough relaxing today.” Luna gave another nod and they both went into the cave.
From behind one of the trees, Stealth Sneaks’ cloaking field went down and had a glare on his face. “Hmph, I was hoping for some more action and for things to get a little heated,” he said. He heard a low growl and saw the manticore was starting to stir. “Then again, methinks it’s time to report to Princess Celestia about this. I better pull out my earplugs though just in case she screams in anger over this.” He hurried to the cave and quickly followed Pip and Luna back to the castle.
Pip and Luna now walked the hallways of the castle towards Luna’s chambers. Both of them looked at each other with loving eyes. Luna leaned in on Pip’s shoulder and Pip nuzzled Luna. They looked into each others eyes and both of their lips connected.
When Pip let go of Luna’s lips, he saw a small trail of tear escaping her eye along with a fragile smile. “I love you, Lulu...”
Luna blinked her tear away and brought her hoof to Pip’s chin. “I love you too, Pippy...” she replied and gave him another fond kiss. The kiss ended when both ponies heard the sound of hooves clopping approach them. Both were now acting professionally as they walked on, but sighed when they saw who it was that greeted them.
“Ah! Silver... what news do you bring?” Luna asked him as she smiled broadly at her advisor.
Silver chuckled as he shook his head, walking closer to the pair. “Nothing at the moment, but it seems that you two have some news for moi?” He said as he looked to the blushing ponies.
Luna nuzzled Pip and giggled at Silver’s sly smile. “Just having a moment with my special somepony, something you are accustomed with I am sure?”
“Indeed...” Silver remarked before clearing his throat. “But now, we must return to your chambers...”
“We were just planning that... care to join?”
“Delighted.”
The three ponies trotted to Luna’s chambers and opened the door, revealing nothing but pitch blackness.
“Hmm . . . that’s quite strange,” said Luna as they all walked in the room. “Silver, did you close my curtains while Pippy and I were out?”
“No, in fact I’ve been busy all day with paperwork and other duties,” he responded. “Maybe the royal maids did this to keep the heat out of your room.”
SLAM! The door closed behind them, causing the group to jump a little.
“What . . . what just happened?” Pondered Pip. “Did you do that Luna?”
“No . . . I did,” said a voice.
The curtains opened up to reveal an infuriated Princess Celestia, with a rather shy Stealth Sneak next to her.
“Um . . . sis-sister!” Said Luna in a nervous tone. “W-what a surprise! What brings you to my chambers unannounced?”
“I’m here to check on you and . . . Pippy, as you call him,” she said coldly.
Luna’s insides froze and she could feel some sweat starting to form on her head. “Um . . . I decided to give my guards new nicknames?” She said, trying to sound innocent.
“More like a nickname for somepony that you kissed.”
“Princess Celestia, I think that-”
“Silence, Silver Storm,” she scolded. “It seems you're just as guilty of this as well and you’ll be dealt with later.”
“But . . . but how?” Asked Pip. “I mean um . . . how did you come to that conclusion?”
“Let’s just say that I had a careful eye on you.” She pointed her hoof to Stealth Sneak.
“I’m sorry Princess Luna,” he said. “Your sister grew worried about you and wanted me to spy on you. I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t want her to get paranoid over your safety.” He turned to the white alicorn. “Please Princess Celestia, don’t be too hard on all of them. They didn’t do anything wrong illegal or break the law. They were just-”
“That’s enough out of you Stealth Sneak,” she said. “You did your job and I thank you for it.”
“Princess-”
“Enough!” Celestia shouted at Stealth and turned to Pip, who was standing still in place there. The funny thing was he was not shivering in fear, he was simply standing there with his brow furrowed at Celestia. “Do you have anything to say guard?”
Pip walked forward, but did not bow. “I don’t have to say anything, since I haven’t done any wrong nor has Luna,” he said plainly to Celestia.
Celestia eyes widened at the guard before her, standing up to her. “What did you just-”
“Are yer deaf or daft? You heard what I said.. this is utter bollocks what yer doing now.” Luna, Silver and Stealth gasped as Pip said those words. “First of all, Luna can do things on her own without yer permission... Last time I checked your not the Supreme Empress of Equestria, you’re the Co-Ruler of Equestria alongside Luna who,”
“Why of all the-”
“I. am. not. finished.” Pip spelt out those words to Celestia, who could only stare in awe at Pip. “Plus I don’t find it very kind of you to have one of the best spies to sneak up on Luna and I, when you could simply ask her what is going on... or haven’t you learned in last millennium?”
Celestia stood there, closed her eyes and opened them up slowly. She glared at the guard before her and with her lips quivering slightly as they became contorted she stepped slowly to him. “Just who do you think you are?”
“My name is Philip Brave, but ponies close to me call me Pip and I am-”
“He’s my special somepony Tia.”
Celestia turned to Luna who walked up next to Pip and draped a wing over the stallion, drawing in closer to him. “Luna, not now. I am-”
“Tia just shut up for once!”
The white alicorn looked at her sister with a mixture of shock and anger on her. “What did you just say?”
“I said for you to shut up!” She shouted. “Pip here has done nothing wrong at all and neither have I. He actually loves and cares for me and protects me from those who harm me. All I wanted was to have a special somepony and I never told you about it because of the last stallion I dated, you drove him off!”
“Luna, you’re not-”
“Listening? I don’t think it’s you who’s listening Tia! Pip and I have had so many good times together and we love one another. He makes me feel happier than I’ve ever been my whole life. And here you are once again trying to ruin my chances with a special somepony! Tell me sister, if I’m supposed to be your sister and friend, then why can’t you be happy for me? Pip here is a fine gentlecolt who’s done everything in his power to protect me!”
“If you would calm down and stop acting irrational, then maybe I can talk some sense into you.”
“I think it’s you who’s acting irrational Tia!” Scolded Luna. “Pippy here was right! You truly haven’t learned anything in the last millennium! You’re acting just like what happened to me before I became . . . her. You have no right to act this way towards me, Silver, or Pip here. I love him with all my heart and I’d rather be killed by you before I give him up to you!”
“Luna...”
The blue alicorn turned around and said, “I think this conversation is finished sister. I want you to leave this instant and leave me and Pippy alone. And be warned, if I hear something happened to Pip by your hoof, then I can assure you that you’ll be dealing with somepony far, far worse than Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Queen Chrysalis combined together. Do I make myself clear?”
Celestia tried to say something, but felt somepony tug her hoof. She looked down to see Stealth Sneak shaking his head.
“I think it’s best we let her cool off,” he said. “We better not provoke her any further your highness.”
Celestia hesitated for a moment before giving a small nod. “Very well . . . but he will come with us.” She pointed a hoof at Silver Storm.
Silver simply bowed and walked up to Luna and Pip. “Pip, take care of Luna... she needs you more than ever now,” he whispered to the two of them and walked out with Celestia and Stealth. Before the door closed, he was seen smiling at the pair of lovers.
Once the door was closed, Luna and Pip sighed. Luna leaned into Pip and nuzzled him. “You are a crazy stallion, for standing up to my sister like that,” she said softly and folded her wings over him, bringing him in closer to her.
“Well... it was high time somepony put her in her place. Honestly, she can’t just act like everything has to be her way,”
Luna nodded and looked down. “You know, I thought I was going to lose you there. I was really scared Pippy. I still am..”
Pip lifted Luna’s chin to face his eyes. “You don’t have to be scared anymore, I won’t let anypony hurt you. Not even Celestia...”
Luna blinked and a few drops of tears escaped her eyes. “But what if-”
“Even if a pony hurts you, they will answer to me. Even if I somehow get separated from you, I will find you again... and you know why?” He asked her rhetorically, bringing his head closer to hers. “Because I love you and I have given you my heart, just as you have given yours to me,” he said to her with a soft smile.
Luna smiled broadly as she began to cry more tears of happiness. “Pip...” she couldn’t finish the rest as her lips were met with his. She melted into the kiss, intensifying it as she wrapped her hooves around his neck. Luna released Pip from her hold and dragged him off to her bed. Pip lay next to Luna and closed his foreleg around her, bringing her in closer. He was the first to succumb to sleep. Luna lay there thinking of Silver and of Pip, though a feeling inside her made her feel safe with the stallion holding her close like this.
Celestia looked down on Silver with narrowed eyes. “Silver Storm...” she spoke to the Silver stallion, her voice carrying none of its caring side.
“Yes Princess Celestia?”
“For conspiracy against the crown and for treason, I am sending you down to the brig for two weeks with visiting hours included.”
Stealth, who had been at Celestia’s side, looked shocked and slightly angry at Celestia. “Now just wait a minute here, your highness. He is not guilty of conspiring with the enemy nor any act of treason towards you or Princess Luna! Just because your sister is out dating-”
“Enough!”
“You know your highness, in all my years of serving you and your sister, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act this way before,” said Silver.
“What are you getting at?”
“Your sister only wanted love from somepony and to be loved back. Is that so bad?”
“Silver, you’re not being-”
“I think you need to open your eyes Princess Celestia. Your sister is more than capable of making her own decisions and she’s very happy for once. Yet you’re here acting like judge, jury, and executioner about her and Pip’s relationship. Your sister deserves to be happy, not be treated coldly like how you treated her a millenium ago.”
Celestia’s eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted. “You will be silent at once!” She scolded. “Since you seem to not be grateful for my ‘generous’ sentence, I will extend the sentence to two months behind bars. Any further outbursts and I will extend the sentence even higher.”
Silver lowered his head and shook it. “Very well your highness.” He turned to the guards who were standing besides him. “I guess I’ll go start my sentence. Please let Teally know that I will see him soon and to please don’t overreact to this.”
“Very well then,” she said. “Any last words before you leave?”
Silver pondered for a moment before saying, “Yes . . . ‘Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it’.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You haven’t learned anything at all your highness,” responded Silver. “You’re turning a blind eye to your sister’s plight again and not listening to her. You’re dooming yourself to repeat what happened a thousand years ago. You can extend my sentence all you want, but the way you’re acting is causing the same events to unfurl again. I only hope you realize your blunder before it’s too late.” He lowered his head and turned around.
“Shall we take him away your highness?” Asked a guard.
Celestia gave a small nod. “You may do so,” she responded. The guards bowed to her and led Silver out of the room, until the doors closed with a loud BANG.
The white alicorn leaned back and rubbed her head in exhaustion. “It’s all for the best . . . “ she told herself. “My sister needs to realize we aren’t normal ponies. If she continues to date Pip, then there will be dire consequences in the future.”
“You haven’t learned anything at all your highness,” Silver’s voice echoed in her head.
Celestia shook her head and said, “You’re wrong Silver, I have learned from the past. I’m not going to let her relationship with Pip cause her to turn into her again. She may not know it now, but if Luna dates Pip, then she’s only delaying the inevitable about what happens to normal ponies. I must stop this before it gets even more out of control.” She got up to walk out of the throne room.
She turned to Stealth and said, “Are you coming Stealth? I think the E.T.S.F. will be expecting a report from you soon about your actions. I’ll be sure to let them know you did a brilliant job in this mission.”
Stealth did not look at Celestia, only to where to door where he walked to.
“Stealth?”
Stealth stopped in his tracks. “Princess,” he said and slowly turned to Celestia, giving her a menacing glare accompanied by a deep scowl. “Don’t talk to me right now,” he said plainly to her and opened the door, banging it close when he left.
Celestia stood there shocked and baffled by Stealth’s actions. She blinked and looked out to the moon, not tearing her gaze from it. “I am doing the right thing, aren’t I?”
Stealth stomped towards his room and entered it, closing it with another bang. “Holy Equestria! I know she is a princess, but buck she’s so blind!” He said to himself and made his way to the table, taking out a quill and scroll. He began writing on it furiously, finishing it within a minute. Stealth went to his window and channeled his magic, making himself disappear. He appeared before the postal station, ‘The Royal Mail’ and dropped his letter into one of the postal boxes. He walked away from it before teleporting back to his room again. “I just hope that letter gets in time to you, Princess Twilight.”