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// Chapter 6 
// Story: A Squire's Tail- Lunar Guards 
// by BBkat 
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	While Chase may not have had the same enthusiasm for the stars that Wish had, he found himself enjoying his star gazing lesson. Listening to her explain things and seeing first hoof proved to be far more interesting than trying to learn from one of the books. 
The Horsehead Nebula had merely been the tip of the iceberg of things to see in the skies; there were double stars, star clusters, some of them even had names! The brightest, and apparently most well known star cluster, was one called The Seven Sisters, though Chase was sure that there were more than seven stars there. It resided in a different portion of the sky, or quadrant as Wish as put it. 
The strange astronomical terms confused him and he was more than sure he wasn’t going to be able to remember them all by the time all was said and done.
It was interesting nonetheless even if he didn’t understand half of what she was saying, the mare bouncing about the observatory, turning the telescope in different directions, flipping through books and talking. 
“So, I’m going to take a wild guess and say your special talent has to do with the stars, right?” asked Chase during a brief respite as she peered through the telescope to scan the skies. 
She replied with an ‘mmhhmm’ without even lifting her head, carefully adjusting the telescope as she tried to focus it on, something. 
“Care to elaborate?”
She lifted her head and gave him a confused look; tilting it to one side, “Elaborate on what?”
Chase just about face-hoofed where he stood. She hadn’t been listening as much as he’d thought. “Your special talent, how’s it related to the stars?”
“Oh!” She covered her mouth in embarrassment; tail swishing nervously when she realized her mistake. “Maps, I make maps, well star charts if you want to be specific. I can plot out the nighttime sky onto a map for ponies to look at, like the ones in the books over there.” She pointed to the pile of books behind him. 
“Got any in the books yet?” he asked. 
“No, I’m not that good, but I’m working on it. As corny as it sounds, that’s exactly where I want to get them put, or heck, just even to have one of the princess see my work.” She squealed like a foal at the thought, hooves pattering about where she stood. “Especially Princess Luna. I mean, could you imagine, the Princess of the Night herself actually seeing one?”
“Um…” Chase wasn’t sure what to say. Anypony would give their left hoof to have either one of the princesses so much as look at something they’d made, that was practically a fact. “So wait, why are you a guard then?”
“Because, maps don’t sell that well. I mean some maps do, maps of Canterlot sell like hot cakes to tourists, but star maps, not so much. I mean, schools and magazines will buy them, but they’re few and far between and even if someone does buy them I wouldn’t make that many bits from them.” She cast him a sideways glance, “Besides, the guard always needs someone who can read star maps, it’s a useful skill.”
“So wait, you’ve actually sold maps you made?” he asked. 
She nodded, “One to a school, one to a small magazine. Nice pocket change but, nothing I could make a living on. But I’m working on it, I’m going to get better and make the best maps I can.” She stomped one hoof on the ground in determination, a proud smile on her face.
She certainly had a dream, and by the sounds of it was going to pursue it, Chase had to that.  
“Well, that can’t be easy to do,” he said. 
“Finally!” She nearly yelled, the sudden increase in her volume causing Chase to jump. “Some pony who gets it. Every time I tell somepony what I do they make some quip about it being ‘easy’ and that ‘anypony could do it’. But it’s not easy at all; it’s actually quite hard. You have to get every star positioned just right or else the entire map is ruined. It’s no easier than making a map of the city, if anything it’s harder, because the city doesn’t move, the stars do. You may see a star in one spot, but look again in an hour and it’ll have moved. You can’t complete a map in one night, not really.” She shook her head with a sigh as she sat down, stretching her forelegs out in front of her. “I didn’t mean to vent like that on you, I’m sorry. It’s just, frustrating that everypony assumes that it’s super easy, ya know?”
He waved it off dismissively, “Naw it’s alright, everypony needs to vent once in a while. Besides it sounds like that’s been sitting on your chest for a while waiting to get off.”
“Just a little,” she admitted meekly, poking the floor with her hoof. “It’s been a while since somepony asked me about my talent though. Most just assume that because I’m a guard I’m good at fighting or something. I mean, look at Dusty, you’d never guess his talent has to do with stealth at a first glance.”
“Which one was he again?” asked Chase. 
“Oh, that’s Star Dust, but we all call him Dusty. He’s the twin with a cutie mark that’s a bat and cluster of stars. Doesn’t matter if he’s flying or walking, he could sneak up on anypony. We joke that he’s the resident ninja because of that. His brother’s a lot less, subtle.” She cast him a sideways glance, “So if you’re going to be wandering around our wing of the dorms, and you don’t know where he is, keep your eyes peeled.” 
Chase raised an eyebrow, “Oh, how come? And should I be worried?”
She smirked, “Because he seems to like dropping out of the sky on his friends in a sort of, flying tackle.”
He gulped nervously, suddenly very worried about wandering around alone. A thump against the back of his shoulder caught his attention and he looked up, having being staring at his hooves silently for the last couple moments. 
“Come on, we should get moving. I think I’ve bored you long enough chattering about stars.” She rose to her hooves and trotted towards the stairs, stopping at the top and glancing over her shoulder at him. “Well come on,” she said when he hadn’t move. “Or I’ll just leave you here and make you find your way back in the dark.”
This spurred him into action and Chase was on his hooves in the blink of an eye, trotting across the small room towards her. Being left behind was definitely not ideal, especially at night when he could get in trouble for being out. 
Their hooves clattered against the stone steps, the sound echoing loudly in the silence. Wish reached the door first pulling it open and waiting outside for Chase. Her breath fogged in the crisp night air as she let out a sigh. 
“So, where are we going?” he asked as he joined her, pulling the squeaky door shut behind him. 
“Back to the dorms. You may have eaten already, but I am hungry. Plus it’s cold out here.” 
“You make a very good point,” said Chase. 
The autumn air was unseasonably chilly as of late, feeling like it was later in the season than it really was and making the days cool and the nights chilly. There hadn’t been any frost yet, and Chase hoped it would hold off a bit longer. He disliked the cold, especially the feeling of a cold floor on his hooves first thing in the morning; it gave him more reason to stay in bed and less desire to get out. 
The trip back was far less eventful that the trip out, in fact it was uneventful and quiet. They slipped in the same door they’d come out, back into the warm building and headed towards the common room.
“You wait here alright, I’ll be right back. I’m just grabbing a bite to eat,” said Wish as they entered the common room.
“Why can’t I come?” he asked.
She gave him an incredulous look before shaking her head, “You’d stick out like a sore hoof. Just, wait here for five minutes, I won’t be long.”
“What if somepony comes back before you do?” he asked.
“They won’t, if they’re not on duty everypony’s probably eating, and like I said I won’t be long. Now just relax.” With a swish of her tail she trotted down the hall, leaving Chase sitting alone in the common room.
“I really hope she’s right,” he thought as he paced about the room, oblivious to the form creeping up behind him. At least until it was right on top of him at which point Chase screamed.