Everypony in the room was coughing like madponies as the smoke began to clear. “Why-” *cough* “Why did it do that?” Trixie managed to choke out from somewhere in the black cloud. I heard Luna’s coughing and hoofsteps approach the edge of the room where I believed the balcony to be. When I heard the doors open, I activated a wind spell to help clear the air.
*Cough cough* “You let the spell fray too much,” I tried to explain. The air began to clear enough to let us see each other. “If you separate enough strands from one thread to another and give nothing in return, the integrity of the spell diminishes and has a cha-” *Cough* “a chance to backfire.”
“Oh, sorry,” Trixie apologized and I laughed.
“It’s fine,” I said, still trying to blow all the smoke out to the balcony. “I had misfires like this almost twice a week. That’s the risk you take in researching new spells.”
Luna almost burst out in laughter. “Thou should have seen him sprinting down the corridors with his tail on fire! It was nearly a week before he attempted spellcasting again!” Trixie giggled.
“In my defense,” I said, “that was shortly after I discovered the very possibility of making my own spells! You don’t expect the new guy in Equestria to get it right on his first try, do you?” We all started laughing but stopped when we heard the sound of wings from out on the balcony.
“What happened? Is everypony alright? Luna, are you okay?” Smith rapidly blurted, using his wings to clear the last bit of smoke near the doorway.
“We are fine, Silver,” Luna said as she stepped out onto the balcony, Trixie and I close behind to let the room air out a bit. As she was about to nuzzle him, Smith took a couple steps back, fear spread across his face. He avoided looking directly at her. Luna flinched in surprise before she remembered yesterday and hung her head. “Silver, I…” she started and paused.
“I’m sorry about what happened yesterday.”
“I’m sorry about what happened yesterday.”
Smith and Luna quickly looked at each other in surprise. “Please,” Smith said, frowning. “Let me go first.” Luna reluctantly nodded and I looked back at the bedroom door, considering whether Trixie and I should leave or not. “You don’t have to leave.” I turned back around to see Smith smiling softly at us and I nodded with a smile of my own.
Taking a deep breath, Smith turned back to Luna. “Luna… I know I should have told you from the beginning. I should have told you what I was the moment we became a couple. I shouldn’t have led you on like I had those first couple of years. There’s a whole list of ‘should have’s and ‘shouldn’t have’s that I blatantly ignored, and it not only hurt me, but hurt you as well and I’m sorry.” Luna looked like she was about to respond when Smith held up a hoof to stop her. “Please, let me finish. I’m not very good at this deep mushy stuff,” Smith lightly chuckled, “so let me get everything out while I’m on a roll.” Reluctantly, Luna relaxed a bit and let him proceed.
“At first I had hoped that your crush was exactly that, a crush, and that it would eventually fade away. As a changeling, I never put any real thought into having my own relationships or doing anything spectacular, but after a year passed and your crush only grew, I began to question what I really wanted.” Smith sighed. “My hope in coming to Equestria was to remain safe and be one of those stallions that just faded into the background as everypony else’s lives just passed on by. I tried to keep myself isolated and act like I hardly noticed you, when in reality, you were almost all I could think about, but when Sapphire Knight showed up…” Smith glanced at me and started to chuckle, “He helped me realize things about myself that I never thought of before. That I could make a difference in ponies’ lives and that I wanted somepony to help make a difference in my life.” He looked back at Luna, grinning sheepishly. “With his help I was able to see that the only thing that made me happier than being a guard and protecting the innocent… was you.”
Cheesy, I thought to myself and smiled, but it works. I glanced at Luna who was on the verge of tears. Trixie was wiping her face with a handkerchief she teleported in from somewhere. Sometime during our lesson, Trixie had asked why I was looking after the all-powerful Princess, so I told her everything that had happened in Tia’s study the day before, including Smith’s identity. As expected she recoiled a bit at the fact, but what I didn’t expect was for Luna and me to ease her fears so easily. She almost took it in stride after we explained.
“Augh, I feel so sappy,” Smith grumbled. “But I know this needed to be said.” Smith started shuffling his forehooves around a bit, taking a sudden interest in a loose pebble on the ground. “I… I don’t expect you to forgive me so easily, but just so you know… I’ll always be ready t-” He was suddenly cut off by a dark blue Alicorn wrapping around him, her hair a solid light azure. Luna had reverted to her older form and began crying on his shoulder. Smith was taken aback by this for a moment but eventually put his hooves around her to comfort her.
I slowly approached them and, after a few moments, decided to use this time to explain what happened to Luna and about the Nightmare. He was already aware of the incident a thousand years ago, so he was informed enough to understand what had happened. When she finally calmed down enough, Luna started filling us in on the Nightmare. She told us about the year leading up to her transformation and how she felt so trapped by it. Then Luna explained that the Nightmare works by finding even the smallest speck of doubt in somepony’s heart and picks at it until the pony can’t stand it any longer and surrenders their mind and body to the evil entity.
After we finished, Smith looked very concerned, but relieved at the same time. “So, that was Nightmare speaking in Tia’s room? You’re not really mad?”
Luna smiled warmly. “Of course I am not. I care not what you are or who you once were, just that you truly love me.” Smith grinned again and hugged the smaller Alicorn.
“Oh, yeah,” I mumbled. “The ancient evil that’s loose in the castle, probably searching for a new host until Luna leaves her room, doesn’t matter all that much. Just as long as she’s not mad at you.” Smith shot me a dirty glare and I started to chuckle. My attention turned back to the table inside where we left the practice rock, only to see a large black smudge in its place. “You may have overdone it Trixie.” She turned to look at the smudge in shock as I sighed. “Guess I need a new practice dummy.” I glanced at Smith and grinned.
Before I could say anything, he held up a hoof at me and frowned. “Not even once!”
We all laughed some more and Luna looked around. “We should return inside. Tia did not shield the balcony and I fear something may happen.” She turned to go back inside and the rest of us followed.
*bop* “Ow.”
I quickly turned to see Smith sitting in the doorway rubbing his nose in pain. “What’d you do that for?” he asked me.
“Do what?” I said. Smith stood back up and stuck his hoof out in front of him, only for it to stop abruptly at the doorway. He stood up on his hind legs and put his other hoof on the invisible wall as well. Either he’s an excellent mime, or Tia wasn’t very specific on what ‘evil’ things were not allowed inside. I groaned to myself. “Tiaaa,” I whined.
Smith fluttered up in the air and started punching the barrier as Luna watched curiously. His hits weren’t even making a sound. “This may be the reason We were able to sleep through the invasion,” Luna thought aloud.
I groaned in irritation. “Let me see what I can do,” I told Smith. My hoof lit up as I closed my eyes in concentration and examined the room. There were… quite a few enchantments, actually. Taking a closer look, I realized most of them were castle-wide enchantments. I’ll ask Tia about those later. I found the strongest enchantment to the room and found that it was very complicated and powerful. I withdrew my hoof and sighed. “I’m sorry. The spell is too strong for me to do anything with,” I explained to everypony. “Tia probably made it so only she could alter it on purpose.” Luna frowned.
I turned to Smith to see him leaning against the barrier with his forelegs crossed. “Can’t even enter my own marefriend’s bedroom,” Smith scoffed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Celestia put me on the ‘No Entry’ list on purpose.” He lowered himself back down to all fours and looked at Luna. “How long are you stuck in there?”
Luna shook her head sadly. “We are not sure. At least until Our sister returns this afternoon.”
Smith smiled devilishly. “Then you’ll be all mine,” he said quietly. Luna blushed and shied away while I just gave him a questioning look. That did not sound like the normal Smith.
I was about to step closer to him when some harsh whispering stopped me. “Everypony be quiet!” I yelled.
“Why do we-” Smith started.
“SHH!” I lowered my head and focused on listening. I felt my ear twitch slightly as I heard more whispering. Glancing around, I couldn’t quite place where the sound was coming from. But given the circumstances… I carefully stepped closer to Smith, keeping my gaze off him. Please no, please no… A few moments of silence later I heard it again, but to my extreme relief, it wasn’t coming from Smith. “Phew, for a second I thought-”
I was suddenly interrupted by a very loud knock at the door. We all glanced at each other as I cautiously approached the door. There was another loud knock and I cracked the door open… just to get a face full of apron.
“I quit!” I heard a mare yell.
Pulling the pink apron off my face, I noticed a very angry matching pink Earth pony with a short white mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of a bowl and whisk. She must work in the kitchen, I cleverly devised. “I’m sorry?” I asked her, opening the door just wide enough for Luna and Trixie to see her as well.
“I said I quit!” she screamed again. “I’ve worked here for years, slaving over the kitchen stove all day and forced to work with the laziest group of imbeciles this castle could possibly hire!” I heard more whispering and she stomped her hoof. “And yet I get the worst paycheck of the entire cooking staff! Do I ever get any proper acknowledgement for my meals? Have I ever gotten a proper thank you from any of the royals I’m forced to serve? Hay no!” Before I had a chance to react, she stomped her hoof again and started leaving. “I’m out of here!”
Luna quickly trotted to the doorway, stopping before she passed the threshold. “Sesame, wait!” she called. Sesame didn’t even respond and continued stomping off.
Now that I had a moment to think, the first thought that popped in my head was Her last name better not be ‘Seed’. The next thought kicked in as I heard the whispering again. Oh, no. I scrambled out the door and pointed. “Trixie, quick! Grab her!” Trixie’s brows rose in surprise, but immediately followed my order anyway and lifted Sesame in a light violet glow right as she got to the stairwell.
“What is the meaning of this?!” She screamed. “Let me go!” Sesame began thrashing around as I instructed Trixie to sit her in the bedroom with us. As she passed the threshold, Sesame’s energy seemed to vanish and she started to go limp like she was half asleep. Poor mare. I had Trixie set her on the bed as I scanned the area outside the doorway, but the Nightmare had disappeared before I could analyze it. It… it was just there, right on the edge of the doorway, then it just vanished! After making sure there were no more threats around, I stepped back inside and shut the door, just to find Sesame passed out on the bed.
Smith looked at me questioningly from the balcony. “What the buck just happened?”
---------------
Forcing back a sigh, I stared at the pink Earth pony that had been unconscious on Luna’s bed for over an hour. Shortly after Sesame’s little… episode, a couple of Luna’s personal guards, a Batpony and a Unicorn of the same color scheme, quickly reached her door to check on her saying they heard screaming. They came up for that but not the explosion? Of course they had to do a double take since Luna had yet to change back into her more ethereal form. She managed to defuse the situation and asked about Sesame. They said that she was just one of the kitchen staff so they let her through.
After that, I asked Luna about Sesame.
“Sesame Seed-” Oi, “-is one of the best young chefs here at the castle,” The dark Alicorn explained. “We always enjoy getting Our meals prepared by her hoof. In fact, that delightful breakfast this morning was almost entirely her work.” She shook her head. “Her paycheck is only so low because she had very little work experience outside the castle and has only been here for just under three years, when the majority of our staff has been with us for nearly a decade.”
“You weren’t kidding when you said the Nightmare will target even the smallest spark of doubt,” I said. My stomach rumbled and I looked up at the clock to see that is was just before noon. “Who else could go for something to eat?” I asked. Everypony in the room (and one pony outside the room) all nodded their heads and Luna wrote down our orders. Along with the order, Luna also requested that one of the ponies that was on duty with Sesame deliver the food.
About twenty minutes passed before we heard a knock at the door. Luna opened it and invited the red stallion with an orange mane carrying a large tray on his back and one in his orange aura inside. “Everypony, this is Chef Lebouge, head chef of the kitchen in this section of the castle.” Trixie and I nodded in greeting while Smith just sat on the balcony waving like an excited school filly. The Chef took notice of him and flinched away for some reason. “Chef, these are Our friends, Blast Shield and Trixie Lulamoon, and our…” Luna paused when she turned to Smith and blushed for a moment, “…coltfriend, Silver Smith.”
The Chef jumped a bit in shock that the princess had a coltfriend, or maybe that it was Smith, but he quickly caught himself and cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I have already had the, uh… pleasure, of meeting Mr. Smith at breakfast this morning.” Even though his name sounded French, he had no sign of an accent. Rather disappointing, actually.
Everypony else in the room glared at Smith. “What’d you do this time?” I asked.
“What?” he said innocently. “I was bored when nopony I knew showed up for breakfast, so I took a quick tour of the kitchen.” Smith looked at me with excitement in his eyes. “Did you know they have a contraption called a ‘microwave’ that heats things up like an oven, only much quicker? Or that their stoves don’t use gas anymore? They use metal coils that heat up as magical electricity flows through them!”
I facehooved and sighed. “Yes, I am well aware of some of their technological advances,” I said with a nod. “If you recall, I said that where I come from, technology was much further along than we are now.”
“Honestly, it’s like he’s ever seen a kitchen before,” the Chef grumbled. “He nearly blew up half the kitchen microwaving something that he wasn’t supposed to.”
“May we eat now?” Trixie asked. “I am getting rather hungry.”
“Oh, my sincerest apologies, Miss Lulamoon,” Lebouge said and levitated the two trays onto the recently cleaned table. Once we figured out whose order was whose, I levitated Smith’s food outside to him. The Chef looked on curiously but refrained from asking, turning his attention back to the Princess. “You’re Highness, you wished to see me about Sesame Seed?”
Luna turned from her food. “Yes, I wished to ask about her behavior this morning.” She turned to look at the unconscious pony on her bed. The Chef did as well and gasped.
“O-oh my! I-is she alright?” he asked.
“She will be fine,” Luna nodded. “Tell me, did you notice anything strange about her this morning?”
“Well, yes,” Lebouge said after a moment’s hesitation. “Everything was alright up until breakfast. She and a few of the other staff members were even cracking jokes about how much food you had ordered this morning-” He quickly stuffed a hoof over his mouth. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Luna grinned and shook her head. “It is quite alright.”
“Were the jokes about her eating all of it herself, or sharing with somepony in her bedroom?” I asked with a smirk.
“W-what does it matter?” he asked as Luna shot a glare at me.
“It could matter a great deal,” I said with the most serious face I could muster. I could use this as ammo on Luna later.
“U-um, a little bit of both, actually.” I snickered and received a jab from Luna, only making me burst out laughing. The Chef looked between the two of us curiously and turned to Trixie, who only shrugged as she ate.
“Getting back on topic,” Luna said, “What happened afterwards?”
The Chef gulped. “W-well, Sesame began preparing your order as a few other cooks and I attempted to remove… uh…” His eyes briefly flicked to the balcony and I turned to see Smith shoveling his food into his mouth. Luna followed our glances and caught on with a facehoof.
“We’re sorry about him,” I said to the Chef. “He’s even more ‘out of the times’ than Princess Luna, believe it or not.”
“Oh, I believe it,” he said. “Anyways, once he was out of the kitchen, we finished your order and a maid and I brought it to you. Once I had returned, however, Sesame’s mood just seemed to plummet for no apparent reason. She’d start mumbling to herself and wouldn’t talk to any of the other staff about it. After a few hours, she suddenly exploded, telling everypony in the kitchen off and stormed out.”
Luna gave Sesame a sympathetic glance before turning back to the Chef. “Thank you, Lebouge. You have been most helpful.”
“My pleasure, Your Majesty.” He bowed his head.
“How exactly was that helpful?” Trixie asked.
“Well, now we have a general idea for the symptoms of Nightmare,” I explained. “We could alert the Royal Guard and staff of what to watch out for and to report it to one of us immediately.” Trixie nodded in understanding and went back to her food.
The Chef turned to leave. Just as he opened the door, Smith looked up.
“Oo! Can you bring me a piece of chocolate cake?” He asked.
“No!” I said. “Ponies who nearly blow up kitchens don’t get dessert!”
“Aww, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaase?” He then gave me his best attempt of the puppy dog face.
“I said no!” I told him. “You know just as much as I do that only mares can pull of the puppy dog look.” I continued eating my daisy sandwich but Smith didn’t let up on the face.
“I think we should let him have it,” Trixie said. I nearly choked on my food.
“What?”
“Yes,” Luna spoke up, “everypony deserves a slice of cake now and then.” I looked at the two mares who were both frowning in Smith’s direction.
“Augh,” Lebouge and I both facehoofed.