Sulking, Princess Luna threw herself down upon a large bowl shaped chair in the corner, her ears splaying out sideways as she settled in. She bared her teeth and ground them together angrily before clearing her throat and then scowling at Grimglammer. “How dare they just dismiss me and send me away.”
“Mistress, you were not dismissed… the Shetlands are a very troubled place. Nursing mares are needed there. There are many needy foals and spare mares with milk are needed to make butter and cheese,” Grimglammer responded in a patient voice.
Her eyes narrowing, Princess Luna peered at Grimglammer. “I could make you into a nursemaid.” Luna waited, watching Grimglammer’s reaction, and a faint smile graced her lips.
“Mistress, while I would do anything to serve you, I have to politely turn down your offer-”
“Who said I was offering?” Princess Luna interrupted.
“I will be having my own foals soon and it is my desire to save that magical moment of the first time with my own foal,” Grimglammer continued as she eased herself down into a chair and looked pleadingly at Luna.
“Oh very well. I would never want to take that from you. You are too good of a friend,” Luna grumbled as her gaze shifted to the colt sleeping in a nest of pillows in the middle of the room. “He will wake again soon. He seemed happy to suckle while we were in the Shetlands.”
Snickering, Grimglammer rested her scarred head upon a cushion. “That mare was not happy about it though. Those little teeth are sharp.”
Her expression becoming puzzled, Luna shook her head. “Why do they even make foal formula if foals won't drink it?” she asked as her ears drooped down to the sides of her face.
“Quite a few foals will. Enough of them that they can sell the product I suppose. As a medical doctor, I have to say… it is of my personal opinion that teat milk is better in most instances. A lot of the soy and grain by products in formula causes gas and all manner of digestive issues for most foals,” Grimglammer replied as she tucked in her wings and made herself comfortable.
“Looking after a foal is much harder than I thought it would be,” Luna confessed in a barely audible voice. She shook her head. “I must confess, I have nearly lost my temper a few times. I do not know why this is different. I have been around foals before. Harper… Peekaboo… others… why is this so difficult?”
“Permission to speak freely Mistress?” Grimglammer asked in reply.
Looking over at one of her most dutiful and devoted of servants, Luna blinked. “You have retired as a Myrmidon. You still have some unofficial capacity of course but I value you more as my friend, not some mere toady.”
Lifting her head, Grimglammer offered a soft nod as a way of expressing her gratitude. “Mistress… those other foals… you could play with them, have fun with them, spend time with them, but the moment that it became work, you had the means to pass them back to their parents. You’ve never had to sit up with a sick foal that has colic… you’ve had all of the play and none of the work.”
“Are you suggesting that I am spoiled in this aspect?” Luna questioned in a flat monotone.
The sudden silence was a veritable cacophony of awkwardness as it thundered into the room like a an army marching on steel shod hooves and wearing full heavy platemail. As Luna patiently waited for an answer, Grimglammer patiently waited for the world to end, hoping that the end would come swiftly.
“Your silence speaks volumes,” Luna stated.
“Mistress…”
“Call me Luna in this instance,” Luna interjected.
“Um… Luna,” Grimglammer said, saying the word strangely, she let it roll around her tongue as if she was sampling some new exotic wine. “Luna... I would suggest that you have always relied upon others for day to day tasks and you looked after far more pressing concerns such as keeping the world safe. Common dull tasks like changing diapers are beneath your notice. You are ill equipped for the tasks of motherhood… even just the simple task of feeding a newborn you immediately sought help… assistance for the task so you could delegate the responsibility to another-”
“You are very politely saying in many well spoken words that I am unfit to be a mother,” Luna interrupted as she nodded her head up and down.
“No no… I would never say that-”
“But you just did,” Luna said, cutting off Grimglammer once again.
“No… no, please, hear me out, I am merely saying that you have other more pressing concerns that get in the way of being a parent. You have obligations and duties… there are demands made upon you that are-”
“The average modern mare works and raises foals. There are single mothers now. Lone mares that work and somehow manage to raise foals upon their own and they are not royalty that can pass off their responsibilities to loyal flunkies. Are you somehow suggesting that I am not capable of the same?” Luna interrupted, once again preventing Grimglammer from a flood of clever words.
“Those mothers are not you,” Grimglammer said and then fell silent. She knew there would be no talking her way out of this mess. She had stepped in the meadow muffins and they were currently stuck to her hooves.
“Once again, I am Luna, one thousand years out of date and lost in the past. Even my sister has raised foals,” Luna said dejectedly as her lower lip protruded in a pout. She rested her head upon the edge of the chair, one ear twitching in annoyance, and she heaved a heartbroken sigh.
Regretting what it was that she was about to do, Grimglammer took a deep breath and prepared to speak openly. “Luna… from what I know of you, you were raised by nursemaids, teachers, servants, nannies, various guardians and protectors. You learned efficient delegation for tasks by being the very task that was passed along. You never had a normal sense of family… probably the closest thing you associate with familial feeling is a sense of martial familiarity; military codes of honour, allegiance, and loyalty. I think at times you confuse martial camaraderie with genuine affection. Your whole mindset is militance… you are the War Maiden.”
“But… I love… I have relationships,” Luna stammered.
Shaking her head, Grimglammer’s ears fearfully splayed out sideways. “You have cronies, minions, lackeys, and associates that you continually assert your dominance over. Even the ones you love, you make sure to maintain your superiourity over them. You trust no one, you let no one in, even your own sister, you hold yourself back and very rarely let down your guard or allow yourself to show genuine affection. Barley, who you claim to love, you only go to him when you have time… why do you think that never once has Barley ever approached you or sent you a message about wanting to spend time with you? He’s just like the rest of us, hoping you will drop by and pay a visit when you finally decide to make time for us.”
A single tear rolled down Luna’s cheek, lingered on her fine jawline for a moment, and then continued down to the cushion where she rested her head, leaving behind a dark spot.
“I apologise, please forgive me,” Grimglammer said in a fearful voice.
“For being honest?” Luna murmured. “No. I will not forgive you for that. There is nothing to forgive. Tell me Grimglammer… can I change? I have been this way for so long… I think about it and I am filled with doubt.”
Clearing her throat, Grimglammer nodded, causing the cushion her head was resting upon to rumple. “You have already changed so much. You’ve adapted to the modern era. You learned how to speak like we do. You no longer treat your subjects quite as poorly as you did. You have adapted remarkably… so you yes, you are capable of change. You can always break the cycle.”
Blinking back more tears, Luna glanced at the colt sleeping in the pile of pillows in the center of the room. She could hear little sniffling snorts as he slumbered. Reaching out with her magic, she lifted the colt carefully and levitated him over to her chair, where she carefully tucked him in beside of her. He immediately squirmed closer, trying to get warm, letting out a soft whimper as he buried his face against her side.
“Mistress… Luna... what are you planning?” Grimglammer inquired, raising her head from the cushion to look at Luna as she spoke.
“You said it well… I must break the cycle,” Luna responded as she tucked her wing over the colt and curled her body around him.
“But… but you can’t… you can’t do what I think you are planning to do... there are so many reasons why you can’t,” Grimglammer protested in a wheedling voice.
“And there are so many reasons why I should. Am I not a mare of this modern era? Do you think me incapable? Am I too selfish? Self absorbed? Am I unfit?” Luna questioned in reply.
Cringing, Grimglammer dared not reply.
“First things first. I need to see if I can still produce milk. I know that I am sterile but milk might still be possible. Everything else, I shall learn as I go. I will do this myself,” Luna stated as she dug deep within her pegasus nature, searching for the gentle parts of her pegasus nature that had gone dormant. “I will also be a better caretaker of Tourmaline. I have treated her poorly. This must be remedied.”
Feeling a very peculiar feeling, it took Grimglammer several moments to understand that she was feeling some new variety of terror. She had killed quite a number of dangerous creatures, including a few smaller dragons, a wyvern, one very ill tempered manticore, a small army of foul mouthed minotaurs, and during her career as a Myrmidon she had been in all manner of life threatening situations. She had even been brought down by a mutant earth pony foal that had a working thaumaturgical system and had zapped her into submission.
But try as she might, Grimglammer could not recall feeling terror quite like this.
“I will help you,” Grimglammer offered, her voice an almost foalish squeak.
“Only if I allow you. The whole point of this is that I do this myself and not pass my responsibilities to another,” Luna responded as her horn glowed a fierce glittering blue.
“Then Furious, Shadowguard, and I will be there to support you should you need us,” Grimglammer countered, the cold creeping of terror still marching down her spine towards her dock. Her wings fluttered as she shivered.
Not bothering to reply, Luna began to hum an old lullabye, some ancient forgotten tune that was a thousand years out of date as she curled tighter around the colt. He was large, but so was she, much larger than the average mare, and the colt was an ideal size for Luna by comparison. The place where his snoot was pressed was dampened by his breathing, but Luna did not mind.
Watching Luna, Grimglammer could see the mare’s demeanour changing. Luna’s ears were perked now, there was a pleasant smile upon her face, and the previous expression of despondent depression seemed to have vanished for the moment. Grimglammer took a deep breath and continued to watch as Luna continued to work whatever magic she was bringing to bear. The room crackled with energy. Grimglammer could see that Luna’s face had become quite serene.
“I can feel the change overcoming me,” Luna murmured as one ear began to twitch.
Feeling concerned, Grimglammer did not understand what Luna meant.
“Luna… a foal is a very large time investment,” Grimglammer insisted in a hesitant voice. “Even modern mares turn to foal sitters from time to time. I am urging you to turn to your most trusted companions for help. Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed where it might interfere with your many duties as the Princess of the Night.”
“I will take your advice into consideration,” Luna responded as she lifted her head high. “I feel a most curious sensation of warmth… and wetness… he did it again! The diaper did not hold!”