Old Nag was a simple enough card game; the deck was dealt entirely, distributed evenly among the players and each ‘hand’ of cards had its pairs removed. The player to the left of the dealer started by taking a card from the dealer-who sat on their right-and adding it to their cards. This continued, each player taking a card from the player to their right till one was left with the Old Nag card, the one card nopony wanted to be left holding.
Sun Chaser scrutinized his cards, no Old Nag card in his hand, for now.
“You know, you’re the first, non Lunar Pony we’ve had here,” said Comet as he took a card from his brother.
Chase looked up at him, “Really?”
Wish nodded, “Yeah, of course I think that has to do with the fact that they usually run away screaming like a foal or shouting really crude insults at us when they see us.” She shook her head, “It’s kinda sad actually.”
“So instead you brought in the shaky, cowardly colt?” he asked her with a crooked grin.
“Well I’d rather that than a brash, rude one who calls us ‘torn ears’ or ‘fang face’,” she said, pinning her ears back. “They’re horrible slurs and no pony seems to have a problem with shouting them to our faces.”
Chase was silent, he’d heard ponies use the terms before, not often but he’d heard them. He’d never used them; he’d only ever called them ‘bat ponies’ or ‘lunar ponies’.
“Yeah, that kinda thing sucks doesn’t it?”
She blinked and looked up from her cards, “What would you know about it?” Her tone more of surprise than anything.
“Well, there’s a lot of ponies, especially those in the more, elite families that tend to look down on those of mixed parentage, especially the unicorns. So I’ve heard ‘half-blood’ thrown my way a lot.”
“Mixed parentage?”
He nodded, “My dad’s a unicorn, but my mom’s a pegasus. It also explains my name, which I’m always being told sounds more like a pegasus name, they thought I was going to be born a pegasus. But they liked the name so, it stuck.” Chase sighed, “It bites having foals tease you and worse when it’s from adults.” His horn glowed as he took a card from Wish and added it to his own. A pair. He removed the new pair and set them aside. “Seems everypony has their share of problems.”
“Yeah but you’re cool,” said Star Dust, “I mean you’re playing cards with us. How is that not cool?”
A ripple of laughter spread across the table from the four of them. Cards switched hooves and moved around the table and Chase had to suppress a grimace as the Old Nag card found its way to him. His eyes darted around the table nervously; he needed to get rid of the card quickly.
Chase shook his head, “Well, at least somepony thinks so. My father didn’t even want me to join the guard, wouldn’t have any of it.”
“Why not?” asked Comet, cocking his head to one side curiously. “Lots of ponies would consider it an honourable or noble thing to do.”
“I dunno, I think he wanted me to take up his profession,” replied Chase. “But I don’t want spend all day in a hot, dirty forge. Besides I can’t lift any of the equipment as it is.”
“Wait, your dad’s a blacksmith?” asked Comet.
Chase nodded, “Yeah basically. Occasionally he makes armour or weapons for the army, usually armour. Keeps him busy and away from home a lot.” The unicorn sighed as he took his turn; the Old Nag card was still in his hand, somehow Star Dust had continually managed to avoid taking it. “So when I told him what I was going to do, that I was going join the guards, he didn’t take it well.”
“What happened?” asked Wish. “I-if that’s not to personal a question to ask.”
He just shook his head, “It’s ok. He just got really loud and for a moment I thought he was going to overturn the coffee table. He just said that if I wanted to do that I had to do it on my own, he wasn’t helping me, in any way.”
Star Dust held one hoof up, as if to halt Chase’s story, “Wait, so you came to all those tryouts, at the crack of dawn, all on your own?”
Chase nodded in confirmation, he done just that. He’d had a bit of help from his mother in getting up and out in the mornings, and making sure he ate something before he left, but for the most part it was all him. The Lunar ponies gaped at him, before one of them finally spoke.
“Now that’s dedication.”
The game continued on till Star Dust found himself holding the Old Nag card, having taken it from Chase and been unable to get rid of it.
“This bites,” groaned the colt, his head hitting the table with a thud as he put his card down. “I don’t wanna be an old nag.”
“Don’t worry only mares can be nags, you’d be a-uh,” Comet tapped his chin, “What’s the opposite of an old nag for a stallion? Oh right, an old geezer.”
Star Dust scowled, “That doesn’t help any.”
Ripples of laughter filled the room as Comet scooped up the cards back into a pile. Chase yawned, hiding it as best as he could behind one hoof, though his best was no good enough as Wish spotted it and giggled.
“A little tired are we?” she asked.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night, or today and it’s catching up to me now, and it’s late” he replied. “Why aren’t any of you tired?”
She smirked, “We’re the Lunar guards, which means we work at night,” she said. Chase gave her a blank look and the mare snorted in annoyance, and rolled her eyes “It means we’re nocturnal genius. We sleep during the day and are awake at night.”
“You’re nocturnal, really?” he asked.
Wish nodded, “Uh-huh. Always have been. How else do you think we take night shifts?”
Chase shrugged, “I dunno. I sorta assumed you were like everypony else and just adapted your sleep schedule to working at night.”
The Lunar ponies shared a laugh for a moment, Star Dust wiping a small tear from his eye. “Well, that’s a new one,” he said finally. “No, we’re naturally nocturnal, like bats.” He gave his wings a flap as if to demonstrate a point before folding them back up. He looked Chase up and down, now that he was no longer blocked by a table, the unicorn having stood up to stretch his legs, before speaking. “Alright, I have to ask, how on earth did you even make the cut. I mean no offence but you’re not exactly, well, build like a guard.” Comet and Wish shot him a dirty look, as if to say ‘that’s rude’ and he flinched slightly. “What I mean is you’re not exactly, um, big. You’re more, thin.” He made a motion in the air with his hooves suggesting broader shoulders and stature around Chase as he spoke.
“I’m not going to start as a guard right away,” said Chase. “I mean, I have to be trained first. I was told I was going to be a squire. I’ll eventually train under a guard or somepony, like an apprentice of sorts. At least that was how it was explained to me during the tryouts.” He rubbed the back of his head with a hoof as he spoke, “I know I don’t look like much at the moment but I am going to work hard to become a guard.”
Wish just shook her head, “Well, you’re got the determination that’s for sure. But you know, you do realize this means you’re gonna have practice in the morning right? If you don’t nap, you’re gonna be more asleep on your hooves than you are now.” She pointed at the colt, who was swaying slightly where he stood and looking rather tired.
“Where would I sleep?” he asked, rubbing a eye with his hoof.