//------------------------------// // Moonbeam // Story: Scattered Seeds // by Istaran //------------------------------// "Specialist Moonbeam, reporting in, sir!" Moonbeam announced with a solute as she reached her former commanding officer at last. "Moonbeam?!" Sergeant Cloud Cover said with uncontained surprise. He launched forward to give her a brief, unprofessional hug, before bouncing back a bit, straightening himself, then turning to one of his other subordinates. "Corporal Crosswind, detain this individual please." "Sir!" the corporal, a lunar pegasus mare complied immediately, pouncing on Moonbeam and holding her down, though more gently than she might have. "Good to see you back, Moonbeam," she whispered cheerfully. "What? Why?" she said to Cloud, not bothering to struggle. "You've been out for quite some time, and then you just happen to suddenly show up exactly as we're on the lookout for an evil shapeshifter that was skulking around our fair city? Awfully coincidental. Private Thunderhead! Go get the professor, the one who unmasked the changeling previously... Big muscular unicorn over at the Academy of Transcendent Flesh. Tell him we need his services immediately," Cloud Cover ordered, and another guard immediately took to the skies. The Sergeant returned his focus to Moonbeam. "So, assuming you are who you say you are: you're out of uniform, specialist! To say nothing of being AWOL for over a year. So what do you have to say for yourself. Report!" Moonbeam squirmed just a little so she could breath more easily as she spoke, Crosswind shifting her weight to make it easier. "Sir! On my last mission I was sent to investigate a missing pony case in the vicinity of Citrus Hills. Specifically regarding the fate of an earth pony seasonal worker by the name of Peach Seed. I set out as ordered, flying double-time and spending the day in the inn in town. At sundown the following night, I began my investigation, searching near the outlying farms where the missing individual had last been seen. After approximately two hours of searching, I was beset upon with a weighted net, and shortly afterwards knocked unconscious. I did not see my attackers at that time, however, when I awoke I was stripped and chained to other captives, including the missing pony." Moonbeam paused a moment to catch her breath before continuing, diverging from the truth at this point. "We were forced by a group of diamond dogs to mine gemstones for them. It was tough work, and we were barely kept fed and hydrated. Anypony who fell behind was whipped severely. However, eventually a solar pegasus named South Wind was able to drive off the diamond dogs and set us all free. I took a little time to recover and receive medical magic before returning to Canterlot to report in. However, we were not able to recover any of our belongings from the diamond dogs, including my uniform, sir." "Is there anypony who can corroborate your story, 'Moonbeam'?" the Sergeant asked her after considering for a moment. "Peach Seed should be able to corroborate. She was returning to her mother's farm when we parted ways. I have the address if you need it, and her mother should be able to tell you her usual work routes if she has moved on," Moonbeam offered. The Sergeant nodded, then settled down, waiting for the unicorn to arrive. "I believe you, Moonbeam, but we need to be sure you're not a fake. Then we'll get you a new uniform and get you back into the ranks. I'm afraid you'll likely be answering to Crosswind from now on though." "That's fine sir," Moonbeam said without hesitation. "What? She must be a fake," Crosswind said with a smirk. "You spend a year as a slave in a mine and see how much your old rivalries matter to you. Congratulations on the promotion, by the way. I would expect nothing less from my worthy rival," Moonbeam said playfully. Crosswind and Moonbeam cheerfully caught up on old times, with Crosswind eventually announcing her engagement to a stallion Moonbeam hadn't met, and Moonbeam blushingly admitting to having a date of her own lined up already. The fact that it was her best friend's brother was playfully made into a delightful scandal amongst her old friends and comrades. When Bulging Biceps, the unicorn professor who had unveiled the changeling the day before, finally arrived, he studied Moonbeam for a bit before shaking his head and declaring her transmutation-free. The rest of the night was taken up with acquiring replacement gear, a new locker, a new duty schedule for the nights ahead, and so forth. It was a long night, and a little boring, but it was great to see all of her old friends again. She only wished she didn't have the painful thread of guilt in her heart from hiding massive new developments from her friends. But she had sworn her loyalty to the Itinerant King, and for now that meant not revealing that loyalty to anypony that hadn't. She hadn't intended to rejoin right away, merely report in and let everypony know what had happened. But seeing everypony again reminded her that this was where she belonged. This is where she had lifelong friends, a friendly rival she needed to catch up with, and plenty of opportunities to put her talents to good use. Besides... it was really hard to stay afraid with her blood speaking to her so encouragingly, assuring her that she could handle any danger life could throw at her. Just like her new king, she had been mistaken for dead and written off, only to rise again. As their shift came to an end, and Moonbeam and Crosswind were undressing in the locker room, the newly returned guardpony looked shyly toward her former rival. "Hey, Crosswind, I was wondering..." "Yes?" Crosswind asked, not even looking at her yet. "Can I borrow a couple hundred bits? I know it's a lot to ask, but I kind of don't have anything right now, and I've got a date tonight..." Moonbeam asked. "Alright, say no more. Just until payday, though, okay? And I'll see about getting you a little something extra to help you get back on your feet. No promises though. Well, okay, I can promise to return a few of your things I bought at your estate sale..." Crosswind offered, as she separated out some cash from her coin purse. "Oh? I'm touched that you bought something to remember me by. But.. you can keep what you bought, it's yours fair and square. It kind of feels like it's time for a fresh start, anyways," Moonbeam offered. Armed with the small loan, Moonbeam set out into town to quickly acquire that most necessary of necessities: a new dress. While she personally thought the lunar guard armor looked great on her, and ponies generally had no objection to nudity, a very important date demanded a nice dress, or at least the best she could come up with on such short notice. She knew better to expect as much from Midnight Hunter, but hoped he would at least think enough to put on a nice shirt. Few dress makers were open this hour, but fortunately the ones that were specialized in lunar pegasus clientele and new how to work with their wings and other features rather than just around them. Her measurements worried her a bit, the numbers clearly speaking to her weight loss during her time as a prisoner, and she made sure to buy the dress a bit larger than she could currently fill out, hemmed in temporarily to fit her form in the meantime. Guard work, training, and a healthy diet would soon fill her back out properly, but in the meantime she was left a bit more self conscious by the time she took flight again. At least her ribs weren't poking out anymore. The rest of her budget quickly disappeared to a mix of necessities and accessories, including a set of saddlebags that went well with the dress but were practical enough for everyday use. Perfume and makeup were tastefully applied; enough to be perceptible without being noticeable, highlighting her natural scent and features. She kept a calm outward demeanor the whole time, but inwardly she was practically giddy from the simple joy of being able to make herself really presentable for the first time in far too many months. When she alighted in front of the restaurant, Midnight Hunter was there waiting for her, with a pressed shirt on. He was standing in an awkward 3-legged stand, his other leg crossed beneath him to hold something out of her view, between him and the wall. He smiled as he saw her, blushing a bit through his dark fur. "My, aren't you quite the vision of beauty? Here, I got these for you," he said as he offered her a small bouquet of roses. "And I'm treating tonight. I insist." Moonlight beamed happily as she accepted the bouquet, nibbling daintily on them as they headed inside and waited for their table. "Neighponese, huh? Good choice." "Well I have it on good authority that you've wanted seaweed for nearly two years now," he said with a grin. "And I'm quite fond of sushi myself." Unlike some other ponies in the Kingdom, Moonlight didn't think to communicate mentally through their Kingsblood. They had a lot of catching up to do that didn't need to be hidden from outsiders anyways, and so they spoke openly about their shared past, and things that had transpired in Canterlot amongst those they both knew. Hunter didn't press the matter, enjoying the fact that her subnet happily fed him tips on how to make her happy without telling her, like the warning about the shirt. "... so I've decided I am going to re-enlist immediately after all," Moonbeam said, concluding her tale. "It just felt.. right to be back with them, you know?" Hunter nodded. "Well, I've never left my passion so I don't know what it'd be like to, you know, doubt myself like that. But I do know how great it is to be doing what you were born to do. And I'm hoping I'll be even better at it now." "I..." Moonlight looked embarrassed, "I just realized I don't even know what it is you do." Hunter laughed out loud for a bit. "Other than being the 'goofy brother'? I'm a monster hunter!" "Monster hunting.. isn't that guards' work?" she asked. "No, guards only fight monsters defensively, fighting them back when they get too aggressively interested in ponies or their settlements. I go out where they live and bring back scales and nail clipping and other bits that have thaumatological and research applications. There's good money in it sometimes, and lots of days off in between, depending on the demand," he answered. "Nonlethal?" she asked after a moment's delay. "When I can. It's easier to collect again if the bits I collect grow back. That's why our guild keeps the prices so high on anything that can only be gotten with the monster's death. But, well, I can't say I've never killed a living thing." It was a point of pride among Celestia's royal guards that they never killed anypony, even enemies. The night guard were.. less innocent, but they still did what they could to keep blood off their hooves. Especially the blood of their fellow ponies. "So.. that sounds like really unsteady work." "Well, there's always both supply and demand for hydra meat," he said with a grin. Moonbeam made a face. Hydra meat was tough and chewy, but it had a certain popularity as a rare form of meat that could be harvested without killing anything. As the only subspecies of ponies that regularly ate meat, social pressures could drive some lunar pegasi to adopt it for their diets. But she had never gotten a taste for it herself. There was, of course, also the question of whether forcing a regenerating species to use that attribute actively was more or less cruel than just killing them for their meat. But ponies tended to be a bit unsympathetic toward big, scary, carnivorous monsters. "Good thing I'll have a regular paycheck... well, once I get paid. I had to borrow money from Crosswind tonight," Moonbeam commented. "Aww, you should have asked me first. I would have covered you. I just had a good haul a few nights back," he said. Moonbeam shook her head. "Borrow money from you to get ready for our date? It's embarrassing enough I had to let you treat." He chuckled at that. "Hey, it's my treat to be able to treat you." Before she could reply he shut her up by popping a sushi roll into her open mouth. She let out a contented sigh and they finished their meal in silence, simply enjoying each other's company. After dinner, they returned to Hunter's home. Moonbeam was rendered homeless by her assumed death, and they had already been caught sleeping together once, even if it had technically been Mirror in bed with the stallion, so there wasn't much reason for her not to spend the day there. So they discarded their clothing, cleaned up in the shower, brushed their fangs, climbed into bed together and Midnight Hunter kissed Moonbeam sweetly before snuggling up to her and closing his eyes. As he swiftly drifted off to sleep, Moonbeam was left alone with her thoughts, which very quickly began to derail. She had lost her virginity just a few nights before, to a changeling no less, whom she was now cut off from because she had hurried to Canterlot to take Mirror's place in what the Kingdom now considered a no-changeling zone for the safety of its insectoid subjects. And then she had experienced a rather impressive bout of love-making from Midnight Hunter through a sensory connection to another changeling, Mirror, while he bore her form. But now that Hunter had the real Moonbeam, the mare he'd had a crush on as he passed out of adolescence, the mare who's form he had just ravished the night before, and he just goes to sleep?! The fact that he had the kingsblood in him, and thus no longer even had to sleep ever again made it all the more infuriating. She had spent the last twenty four hours debating with herself about whether she was really okay with sleeping with him, as though there was ever any doubt what the outcome of their date would be, and here he was... being an insufferably perfect gentlecolt! He finally roused as she got up out of bed. "What's wrong with you?!" she asked accusingly. "Wha?" he countered groggily. "Even after all that, I'm not good enough for you to seduce? You didn't seem to have a problem with my looks when Mirror was wearing them, so what is it?" she continued angrily. "Didn't know you were that eager... I just wanted to take it slow, do it right..." Hunter began. "I told you what you had to do to get with me again... and you did it. Didn't it occur to you that now was the time to collect your prize?" "You're more than a 'prize' to me," Hunter objected confusedly. He still was really unsure why what he did was wrong. "But not enough to seek after? Hmmf!" and with that she made for the exit, quickly taking flight out into the morning sunlight. [What did I do wrong?] he tried to ask Mirror. [Message could not be delivered. Subnet Rorrim is unreachable at this time,] his blood responded. Hunter frowned. It wasn't too surprising, since Mirror was headed into a dangerous situation, but it was definitely reason to worry for the little bug. But he still needed advice. So he turned to Midnight Oil instead.