The Canterlot castle kitchens were always in a state of chaos, fit to please even Discord himself. Between serving dozens of nobleponies, hundreds of Royal Guard, and three alicorns, the staff was more than adequate to handle any culinary need imaginable.
“That’s it! I’ve had it!” Garlic Crouton exclaimed as he tossed his head irritably. “I cannot keep meeting these ridiculous requests for our... guest.”
The pot sat innocently on the stove in front of him, it’s contents simmering quietly. The rest of the staff kept a healthy distance from it, their noses wrinkled in disgust.
“Complaining about it isn’t going to change it,” Eclipse remarked as she trotted past for a peek inside. “You’ve been given an important responsibility, after all.”
“I don’t rightly care how important it is,” he bellowed back. “This gunk ain’t food, least not for proper ponies!”
Eclipse narrowed her eyes. “And I’ll remind you that our guest is not a pony. They are here at the pleasure of the Princesses, and you would do well to remember it. Now, I trust that it is ready?”
“Aye, it’s done. Now get it out of my kitchen,” he grumbled as he trotted to another oven, a large sheet cake visible within. “Got enough work as it is, pleasin’ three Princesses.”
Eclipse nodded to one of the waiters, who carefully dished the contents of the pot into a serving bowl. He set the bowl onto one of the waiting delivery carts and gripped the handle in his mouth. The two ponies trotted out the door and down the hallway toward the residential wings.
“So, what exactly is this diamond dog doing here, ma’am?”
Eclipse turned her head slightly and fixed him with a cool stare, but was otherwise silent. The waiter grew steadily more uneasy until he glanced down at the floor apologetically. The rest of the walk passed in silence until they finally came to a stop at Heather’s door. Two unicorn guards stood firmly at attention, not even twitching a muscle at their approach.
Eclipse nodded to the waiter, who turned and trotted back down the hall, disappointment on his face. Once she was sure he was out of earshot she turned back to the guards. “So, anything new to report?”
“No ma’am.” The unicorn on the left coughed slightly, and his counterpart sighed. “Well, there was the sound of furniture scraping approximately an hour ago.”
“Well, did you think to open the door, and see what it was?” Eclipse tilted her head expectantly.
“Umm, no ma’am. Our orders were very specific that she be left alone.” The guard on the right said at last.
“I see.” Eclipse stared at them for a long second. “Right. You two are dismissed.”
“Ma’am?” The two spoke in unison.
“I know I didn’t stutter.” She took a step closer, fixing them both with a glare. “You two are relieved. Tell the watch officer I want somepony competent sent here to cover your shift.”
The two guards tensed, and seemed ready to challenge her, but she stood her ground. After another few seconds they snorted and walked away, muttering under their breath. Eclipse stared after them for a few more seconds, then turned and nosed open the door. She grabbed the cart with her mouth and pushed it into the room. “Heather? Your dinner’s ready.” She closed the door behind her with a leg. “Have to say, the staff is not going to like what you’ve done with the place.”
Heather glowered at her from the bed, which had been pushed back against the farthest wall. In front of it was the rest of the furniture, forming a crude den of sorts. The whole setup looked ridiculous, and Eclipse couldn’t help a bemused sigh as she pushed the cart across the room.
“And I understand that you’re having your cravings and all, but do keep in mind how tough it is for the castle kitchens to prepare your... meals.” Eclipse lifted the lid off the serving bowl. “Although, calling beef stew with marshmallows, bananas, and iced pickles a ‘meal’ is a bit of a stretch.”
“Oh, shut up,” Heather grumbled with a half-snarl as she climbed off the bed. She froze a half-second later. “Sorry, I’m not sure what came over me. Just all of this is starting to get a little stressful and-”
“You don’t have to apologize.” Eclipse trotted to her usual spot by the window so she could see the moonrise. “You’re acting just as you should be. Well, aside from your bizarre taste in food.”
The two laughed, and Heather started to dig in on her food. As she ate, she glanced at the pegasus sitting there, her eyes distant as she gazed at the moon.
“So, what’d you mean?” Heather asked between mouthfuls.
“Exactly what I said,” Eclipse replied without turning around. “You’re not a human anymore. Did you think that you’d just be the ‘you’ that you were after this? With no consequences or changes?”
Heather glanced at the floor for a second. Eclipse did have a point, sort of. She’d thought she’d prepared herself for the choice, but at the end of the day, had she really thought it through? Who, or what, was she becoming?
The sound of hooves on marble brought her head back up as Eclipse crossed the room to stand in front of her. "Look... This is something I learned a long time ago. You are who you are, and nopony changes that. Not Celestia, not Luna, not Discord. What you are doesn't matter." She tapped her hoof on Heather’s chest. "Who you are comes from here."
Heather sighed, and pushed the cart to the side. “I have to say, that is by far the most cliche thing I’ve heard since I got here.” She got to her feet and walked over to the window. The city was mostly dark, a few ponies visible as they made their way home. “So tell me, Eclipse, how goes life in Equestria?”
Eclipse snorted. “Trees grow, ponies go about their lives, and I’m still stuck playing babysitter to an overgrown, pregnant mutt.” The two glared at each other for a second before they started snickering, then outright laughing.
The conversation died down while Heather finished her meal. As the spoon slid to a stop at the bottom, Heather found her thoughts again drifting to the only question that Eclipse had never answered. “Hey, Eclipse?”
She glanced over. “What’s up?”
“Listen, I know I asked this once before, and you shut me down on it. But I really want to know more about the Nightguard, and what happened when Luna came back.”
Instantly, Eclipse stiffened, her eyes growing hard. “Heather, I’ve already told you. That question isn’t one we answer for outsiders. Ever.”
“I know, but I mean, I’d at least like to know a little about you,” Heather muttered, annoyed. She scratched irritably at her stomach, which had finally begun to show.
Eclipse glared at her, then rose to her hooves and trotted out the door, not even looking back as the heavy door slammed shut.
Heather stared plaintively at the door for a few minutes before she sighed and climbed back into bed. “Just great Heather, way to piss off the only real friend you’ve made around here.” She rubbed at her temples for a few seconds before closing her eyes and dozing off.
What felt like five seconds later the door banged open, accompanied by the sound of hooves on marble. Heather sat up, her expression sour as she saw Eclipse, dark blue saddlebags draped across her back. “Eclipse? What’s going on?”
She sighed and dropped the bags on the floor. “Look, I won’t tell you everything, but... you do have a point. So, I decided I’ll talk. About myself, not the Nightguard of course.” She dug a book out of the saddlebags and tossed it to Heather.
“When I was just a filly, I believed my parents to be simple ponies. My mother worked in the mail distribution center, while my father was one of the accountants for the treasury. But eventually, I got old enough to stay awake later,” she explained as Heather opened the book. Inside, the first page bore an aged photograph, a pegasus filly beaming at the camera while a pegasus mare and a unicorn stallion smiled at her. She flipped through the book as Eclipse continued, “Well, one night, I was trying to stay up for when my father was supposed to come home, but he never showed up. So, my mother put me to bed, and I pretended to fall asleep. Once I heard my mother go to bed, I snuck out of my room and down to my father’s study, hoping to surprise him when he did get home.” She chuckled at the memory.
“Well, you can guess how short the attention span of a six-year old filly can be. So, I started to look around the study for something to do. I pulled open his bottom desk drawer, but got a little overeager and pulled the whole thing out, spilling stuff everywhere. Mostly odds and ends, but one in particular caught my eye as it rolled to a stop in the moonlight.” She reached up and lifted a small pendant from under her armor. It was a simple disc, with a crescent moon emblazoned on the face. “This disc is the first thing given to a Nightguard recruit. It’s... a mark of their initiation, you could say. Well, to me, it was just a pretty coin, and so I was in the middle of reaching for it when my dad opened the door.”
Heather winced. “So, I take it he was mad you nearly picked up the disc?”
Eclipse cocked her head. “What do you mean nearly? By the time my dad realized it I had the disc in my hooves.” She turned and walked slowly across the room to look at the moon again. “Oh, he was furious with me, and punished me pretty harshly, but what was done, was done. By touching the coin, I’d been marked.”
“What do you mean?” Heather asked quietly.
“Well, like I said, the discs are given to a Nightguard recruit as the first part of their initiation. It was once tradition for Luna to fashion one for each new recruit, however with her banishment, we had to improvise. So, the discs were used with all of the recruits and agents for a thousand years. Every pony who touches one is marked for the Nightguard in some way. Even me.”
Heather just stared. “So you mean... they had you start working for-”
Eclipse shot her a puzzled look. “Are you crazy? I was six. It was just a marking, not like I signed up to put the armor on. That came later.” She grinned. “But it did necessitate some awkward conversations about what dear old dad really got up to.”
“So... when did you decide that becoming a guard was really for you?” Heather asked curiously.
“Well, I finished all my schooling, got my special talent, all a normal, everyday life. But I dunno, it just wasn’t doing it for me. I needed something more, something... exotic.” Eclipse took a deep breath and stretched. “So, I made my choice. Took some getting used to, but I don’t regret a second of it.”
Heather blinked. “That... doesn’t really answer my question. At all.”
Eclipse laughed. “Now you’re getting it.” She trotted back to the saddlebag and dug out another book. “I figured that this might be something nice to pass the rest of the night with.” She tossed it over, and Heather groaned once she saw the title.
“Really? Yet another language lesson?” She glowered at Eclipse, who only shrugged.
“Hey, don’t get your tail in a twist about it. You’re getting better, but you still need some work. After all, the little one’s going to be the first of the continuation of their species. No sense in letting their mom be some poor, uneducated dog from the hills, right?” Eclipse smirked and ribbed her with a wing.
Heather growled, but there wasn’t any threat behind it as she flipped open the book.
Outside the door, Guiding Light reeled back, his eyes wide at what he’d heard. The rumors had been flying that the diamond dog was pregnant, but the scuttlebutt had assumed it was just some peace effort to unite two of their packs.
But this... this was something beyond anything he’d ever feared. He’d sworn an oath to serve the throne, but if the throne was seriously contemplating doing something like this... no. No, this was something bigger than him. He was in a position to do something, prevent a horrible mistake from coming to fruition. And he couldn’t let himself be weak, he’d been weak when Firefly Dreams had gone Earthside. He closed his eyes as the memories came back, turning up for duty to see the other guards giving him that look. He still couldn’t forgive himself for letting him go...
He practically jumped out of his skin as the sound of hooves on tile brought his focus back to his fellow guard, trotting back from the bathroom.
“Hey, sorry bout that, kind of didn’t anticipate having to be shaken loose this time of night, and well, when nature calls,” the stallion laughed. “So, did I miss anything?”
His mind racing, he forced his face to remain stoic. “No, not really.” Inside, he pulled himself back under control. Okay, he had this knowledge now, and the responsibility for it.
He had to tell somepony.