Chapter One: New Beginnings
It was turning into a pleasantly cool night in Canterlot.
Despite it still being Summer, the high altitude and the last few days of rain brought in by the weather teams had ensured that the night would be a comfortable one. Not many ponies would be forced to sleep above their covers tonight. Or end up waking-up all sweaty by morning. Or be forced to keep the windows open to keep cool, potentially letting in bugs...
“Geez...what a waste...” Sea Breeze lamented, in a not-exactly-quiet voice.
Decked out in her, she thought, quite stylish Night Guard armor, the bat-pony lifted up her helmet a bit. Just enough to feel the cool breeze pass through her mane, as it swept down the halls through the open windows.
“I mean, right? Terrible timing, huh? For a night this nice, I mean.” Sea Breeze asked, turning towards the bat-pony stallion stationed with her by the doors leading to Princess Luna's quarters.
After several seconds of silence from her compatriot, Sea Breeze let her helmet back down, sliding her ears back through the holes out the top. Her ears orienting towards the stallion expectantly “...Right? Hey, Star Shade...aren't I right?”
Star Shade simply took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling and then slowly panning his gaze across the hallway once more.
Sea Breeze tilted her head to the side, pursing her lips as she did so. Panning her own gaze across the empty hall, before turning back to the stallion “Trying to ignore me, huh?”
Star Shade sighed, before finally muttering a verbal response “...Trying to.”
Sea Breeze grinned at the short answer “Funny. I knew you had a sense of humor, Shade-y”
The stallion again refused to turn his full attention towards the younger mare “That wasn't meant to be funny. It was a statement of fact.”
“...Kinda makes it even funnier, really.” Sea Breeze observed “Like you're being so serious, it cuts right back around to being funny again, you know?”
Star Shade shook his head, dismissing the mare, before refocusing on his vigil.
It seemed as if he might actually be free to do so for now, as Sea Breeze had finally managed to keep her mouth shut for more than a few seconds. He didn't particularly dislike the younger mare, but she always seemed to have trouble upholding the decorum that was expected of ponies in their position. She was a bit too flippant for his tastes, always ready to chime in with her little bits of wisdom or some odd observations. He supposed it helped keep her mood up; she was certainly enthusiastic in serving as part of Princess Luna's Night Guard.
'Can't exactly be too picky, either. And she does seem to be rather committed to-'
The stallion's train of thought was suddenly derailed as his field of view came across the mare once more.
“What are you doing?” Star Shade demanded, as he noticed the mare staring at him with a goofy grin.
Sea Breeze snickered to herself before answering “Well, you were just standing there looking all serious, so I started imagining you wearing a bunch of different hats.”
“What? Why?” The stallion asked, utterly bewildered by Sea Breeze's answer.
“Oh, you know? Just kinda imagining how you'd look if you were sporting some crazy headgear.” Sea Breeze elaborated, in a chipper tone.
Star Shade had to stare for a few moments, before suddenly shaking his head and face-hoofing. After trying to get a grip on his nerves again, the stallion turned back towards the mare “...Why?”
“Well, I was kinda getting bored and you didn't want to chat, so I had to keep myself occupied somehow.” Sea Breeze explained, as if it should be obvious.
Star Shade quietly gaped at the mare, baffled by this.
“...I think you would actually look pretty good in one of those top-hats. Oh, but I think you're gonna want to stay away from-” Sea Breeze began again, attempting to fill in the silence.
“Can you even begin to take this seriously, Sea Breeze?” The stallion suddenly bit out, clearly aggravated.
“What? Yeah. I was just trying to pass a bit of time with-” Sea Breeze began.
“We aren't here to pass the time, Sea Breeze. We are on guard-duty.” Star Shade continued in a low voice “You explicitly volunteered to take this post tonight, did you not?”
“Y-yeah. I mean it's not exactly like I'm-” Sea Breeze began hesitantly.
“Then I suggest you either approach your position, as a pony in the service of Princess Luna, with the dignity and commitment it deserves or leave.” Star Shade finished with an expectant look for the younger bat-pony.
“I-...” Sea Breeze attempted to respond for a few moments, before eventually giving a hesitant nod and turning her gaze down the other end of the hallway.
“...Good.” Star Shade muttered, before turning back towards his end of the hallway, pleased to finally have some quiet...
'A bit harsh perhaps...'
Harsh, but hardly unfair. The mare had not exactly been the very model of an exemplary guardspony, as Sea Breeze was regularly unprofessional, unfocused and just generally unsuited to the duties that were entailed. She may have been a likable, friendly sort, but this wasn't the kind of job that was about making friends and 'hanging out'. As 'boring' as this evening may have been, there would be days where danger could strike at any moment and lives could be on the line. And even if she shaped-up whenever disaster struck, what about how she represented Princess Luna's Night Guard to the public when things were at peace?
They had only recently been formed, after Princess Luna's welcomed return. And while the public had mostly accepted Princess Celestia's somewhat...doctored telling of the events surrounding her sister's return, they still hadn't exactly embraced the new branch of the EUP guard, or it's Princess. They weren't receiving a particularly large number of volunteers, outside of the bat-ponies, whose numbers were rather...smaller these days...
And, yes, he was grateful to anypony that was willing to give Princess Luna the chance she deserved, but still...this night wasn't even an atypical example of the mare's behavior.
And he knew for a fact that Sea Breeze had...'been with' more than one of her fellow guardsponies. Which wasn't strictly against the rules, but again it was a poor showing for the Night Guard, and rarely came without additional problems. Problems that they really didn't need right now.
Star Shade briefly glanced towards the mare once again.
Sea Breeze seemed to be sticking to the job for now, albeit with a rather troubled expression on her face.
'...She does seem to be at least trying.'
It was kind of hard for the stallion to believe that the mare wasn't committed to Princess Luna, at this point.
Sea Breeze had, after all, been a pegasus when she had first joined...
Star Shade had to resist the urge to sigh. It was feeling like he had done more arguing for the mare, than against, in his head. Yes, she was a bit unrefined, but so were most new recruits. And as a more senior guardspony, he probably should have been a bit more instructive, instead of biting her head off when he got annoyed with her.
And he had, admittedly, been feeling a bit moody today. Hadn't had enough sleep before finding out he would be part of this late-shift. Not an excuse for his behavior, but...
Glancing towards Sea Breeze once more, Star Shade was about to get the mare's attention, in the hopes that he could...even-out his harsher words from earlier.
Evidently, Sea Breeze had something she wished to say too, going by the way she was anxiously clearing her throat.
Blinking in momentary surprise, as the mare got his attention, Star Shade turned towards the mare in curiosity.
“Right, so...” Sea Breeze began, idly pawing at the floor with a hoof, as she tried to find her words “I...really don't want to leave.”
“...Uhm, yes. I gathered that.” Star Shade responded a bit awkwardly.
“I mean, yeah, I wasn't exactly serious or anything when I signed up. You know that...” Sea Breeze admitted, her eyes briefly turning towards the stallion as she did so “But, this whole things really is important to me now. And, uh...”
The mare trailed off, as she visibly tried to find the words she needed to explain herself.
Star Shade held his tongue, giving the mare the time she needed.
“...uh, I've let a lot of important things kind of...drift away from me. Or like, maybe I drifted away or something...” Sea Breeze continued, uncharacteristically serious “And I'm trying not to let that happen anymore. But...I mean, if I screw up or something, it's cool if you let me know when I do...”
Silence reigned over the duo for a few moments, as Star Shade processed all of this.
Sea Breeze coughed uncomfortably, before forcing a chuckle “So, uh, sorry for talking your ear off like that. I can go back to shutting-up, now.”
“It's...fine. And I'm rather glad to hear that coming from you.” Star Shade slowly admitted.
“Heh, well...” Sea Breeze tried to shrug at that, though again it came off as forced levity on her part.
“Have you been thinking about all of that for some time now? After all these months, it's still on your mind?” Star Shade asked. At a confused look from the mare at this question, he tried to clarify “You don't strike me as the...contemplative-type.”
“Oh...yeah. Heh. I'm kind of like water, you know? I've got a lot more stuff going on below the surface than it looks like.” Sea Breeze admitted.
“I see...” Star Shade replied slowly, before trailing off into silence.
“Yeah, heh...” A few moments later Sea Breeze did the same, as they both resumed their watch.
After some consideration, Star Shade found himself taking in another breath, before releasing it as a long sigh.
“So, tell me...Which hats should I try to avoid?” The stallion asked without looking towards the mare.
Even so, working as a guardpony had honed his peripheral vision rather well, and he could quite easily see Sea Breeze's brief hesitation give way to a grin.
“Well...” Sea Breeze began.
Several months back...
“So, uh, what exactly is it you said we needed to talk about?” Asked the pegasus mare of her Night Guard escort.
A slightly younger Star Shade glanced to his side before focusing back on the hallway “Not me. Your future superior would like a few words with you, before you're formally inducted in to the Night Guard.”
“Words? Words about what?” Sea Breeze asked, the feathers of her wings fluttering a bit, as she glanced towards the stallion. Chuckling a bit before continuing “I mean, I didn't screw things up already, right?”
Star Shade spared the mare a glance, not verbally answering the question, but still managing to provide an answer for the mare, all the same.
“Oh...yeah, I guess I'm not exactly the material you guys are normally looking for, huh?” Sea Breeze asked, as she passed a hoof through her light-blue mane.
“...That's not for me to say.” Star Shade eventually replied “I was asked to bring you to a meeting to discuss your recruitment. That's it.”
Though, if it was for him to say, then he would be saying she should probably look elsewhere for a job.
While most of the branches of the EUP didn't go through a particularly rigorous check of all it's recruits, the Night Guard was undeniably sitting under some different circumstances. For one thing, they were a fairly small branch, as things currently stood. And they weren't receiving any sorts of huge influxes of recruits right now, so it was kind of easy to go over their prospective recruits a bit more thoroughly. And taking into consideration how the Night Guard would be perceived as a reflection upon their Princess Luna, that struck the stallion as a prudent move.
And the young pegasus he was now escorting down the corridors of the palace had raised a few red flags for the Night Guardsponies.
The mare hadn't gone through any of the usual channels. Simply putting forth an application to enlist, without any sort of referral or background that would normally lead to enlistment. And according to the pony that saw to her paperwork, she had only applied to the Night Guard after it was pointed out to her that there were different branches that she could join. Not exactly an inspiring start, but not really that big of an issue either. The part where Sea Breeze had never actually held down a legitimate full-time job had been worrying. She claimed to have worked as a lifeguard for her hometown for sometime. Which was only technically true. She hadn't been on any sort of payroll, or had any legitimate references from her time filling that role. The town recognized what she did, and paid her for her efforts, but it wasn't as if she was actually employed.
Apparently, Sea Breeze simply spent a lot of time at the beach, and was just good enough to keep an eye out for her fellow ponies.
Word that she may have been sleeping in the lifeguard shack, on the beach, hadn't exactly been encouraging either.
All of it had been fairly simple information to acquire; just a few requisitions, and they were already getting a decent picture of the mare.
The Night Guard needed more ponies, but it sounded like Sea Breeze needed a homeless shelter and an actual job.
“So, uh, can't help but notice that we seem to be going up, rather than down?” Sea Breeze asked, interrupting the stallion's thoughts.
“Yes, and?” Star Shade asked with a glance.
“Well, kinda figured the offices for any...superiors would be down by the barracks...which would be further down, I think.” Sea Breeze explained.
Well, at least she's observant.
“Ah...Princess Luna's has deemed it unnecessary to go into any renovations for now, to add any new offices or sections to the barracks.” Star Shade explained neutrally.
“Because, there still aren't a lot of you guys yet, right? Guess that makes sense. Probably would make a bad impression on the other guards, if they had to have their barracks torn apart, just for a hoof-ful of newcomers, huh?” Sea Breeze asked, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Star Shade.
That was...actually some fairly solid reasoning, on the mare's part.
At first, he had chalked it up to budgetary constraints simply not favoring the newly formed branch. But, if the newly formed Night Guard was concerned with making a good impression, it would probably be best to start with the other branches.
'So, she's not an idiot at least. That's a start...'
“...Do you think I'll make the cut?” Sea Breeze suddenly asked, as they continued to walk down the halls.
“I really wouldn't be able to-” Star Shade began.
“Not for you to say. Right, right.” Sea Breeze finished for him, recalling what he had said earlier “So who exactly am I meeting with? Like a captain or something?”
“You'll be meeting with your superior.” Star Shade answered simply.
“...Well, thanks for clearing that up for me.” Sea Breeze responded, after realizing that the stallion had no intention of going into more detail on the subject. Something visibly crossed the mare's mind as she looked over towards the stallion, trailing her gaze over the bat-pony, in a rather blatant fashion.
After a few more moments of this the serious-minded stallion relented “What is it?”
“What? Ah, it's nothing, nothing...” Sea Breeze answered, waving off the question as she did so “It's just, you know?...You're a bat-pony.”
“...And?” Star Shade asked with some growing irritation.
“Well, I haven't really seen a whole lot of you bat-ponies before. Don't really know a lot about you guys.” Sea Breeze explained.
“...We like to keep to ourselves these days.” Star Shade answered slowly.
“Not for any terrible reasons, right? I mean, it's not as if you guys...you know?” Sea breeze continued vaguely.
“What?” The stallion asked, not understanding what the mare was getting at.
“Like...where do you guys come from? Is it like in that book, where you get all bite-y with regular ponies and they turn into bat-ponies the next night?”
“...Are you asking if bat-ponies are infectious?” The stallion demanded.
“What? No, no, not at all...well, I mean, I don't think you guys are any more infectious than any regular pony-” Sea Breeze tried to explain.
“We are regular ponies. And we come from the same place as every other pony.” Star Shade tersely explained.
“Oh...where's that?” Sea Breeze asked.
“What?” The stallion asked, not understanding the question.
“Never really been clear on where ponies come from...I heard there was something about 'Birds' and 'Bees'...” Sea Breeze explained absently.
Star Shade had to stop for a moment. This mare wasn't seriously saying that she...
“So, is it like the same deal with bat-daddies and bat-mommies, right?...Oh! Does it involve a stork? I heard that was a thing.” Sea Breeze continued excitedly.
“No, that-...” The stallion didn't know what to say to that.
“No stork?...So where do little bat-foals come from then?” Sea Breeze asked, while sending big innocent eyes over towards the stallion.
“...It's really not for me to say.” The stallion finally responded.
“Awww, why not?” Sea breeze asked, in a plaintive voice.
“It's not...appropriate.” Star Shade replied, as he picked up his pace.
“What's 'not appropriate'?” The pegasus asked again.
“We shouldn't be wasting time on this-” Star Shade began.
“Is the truth too hot and dirty for my delicate, virgin ears?” Sea Breeze asked with a sly grin.
Star Shade drew to a sudden stop, after processing the question. Shaking his head, before sending a glare that did not seem to faze the mare in the slightest, the stallion then resumed his earlier pace.
Catching up with the stallion a moment later, Sea Breeze drew up alongside Star Shade once more “So, bat-ponies are just like every other kind of pony...including when it comes to s-”
“Stop.” The stallion suddenly demanded.
“Just trying to get educated on the ways-” Sea Breeze began cheerfully.
“We're here.” Star Shade clarified what he meant a moment later, gesturing to the ornate wooden door they now stood in front of.
“Oh, cool.” Sea Breeze replied easily “Time to chat up my 'superior', I guess.”
“Indeed.” The bat-pony replied curtly, before moving to open the door.
“...You know what? You're a fun stallion. Anyone ever tell you-” Sea Breeze began to ask Star Shade, as she passed through the doorway. The bat-pony would admit to a certain visceral pleasure in the mare suddenly choking on her words, as she spotted the sole occupant of the room.
“Pr-Princess Luna?!” Sea Breeze blurted out, in a voice that was both a shout and a squeak.
Thus far Princess Luna hadn't seemed to notice their arrival.
Rather the dark alicorn seemed rather engrossed in the piles of documents scattered across a, rather impressive, desk made of darkly-polished wood. In her magic floated a tome, whose contents at a glance would likely seem profoundly dull, but which she continued to refer to as she continued reading over another scroll on her desk. Off to one side of the desk sat some partially eaten foods, from the course of the day, along with a very cold tea set. Several unlit lamps and candles waited on the desk, to be put to use when the setting sun, visible from the westerly facing balcony, completed it's daily journey.
Not gripped by the same momentary paralysis as the pegasus, Star Shade began to nudge Sea Breeze forward. To which Sea Breeze only momentarily dug in her hooves, before beginning a somewhat uncomfortable walk across the room.
This had been a rather unexpected turn of events for Sea Breeze. Though some part of her mind was chuckling at the stallion's description of the alicorn as her future 'superior'. The Princess certainly qualified as that. Really though, she had kind of been expecting at least a half-a-dozen different ponies sitting as liaisons between bottom-level recruits like Sea Breeze and the freakin' Princess.
Also, Princess Luna was kinda pretty...
...well, more than 'kinda'.
Princess Celestia had always been seen as the paragon of pony beauty and, frankly, Princess Luna wasn't too far off from the model set by her sister. Physically, she was gorgeous, in a faintly intimidating kind of way. The 'intimidating' part she wasn't really sure if it more came from the alicorn in front of her being Princess Luna or from her being Princess Luna.
Sea Breeze didn't really have any sort of reference point, not having ever been this close to either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.
...Staring at her seemed kind of justified. Not often you got an up-close viewing of an alicorn, and it was pretty easy to see the whole 'Princess of the Night' thing. Just looking at her was kind of like looking up at the nightsky. The alicorn's pale, bright eyes almost seemed like small moons and...
Sea Breeze blinked, as she felt a nudge at her side. Turning back, she could see Star Shade prodding her side with a hoof, evidently trying to get her attention. Realizing that she wasn't getting the message he tilted his head back towards the large desk and it's occupant.
Turning back, she could now see the Princess watching her, one eyebrow raised at the pegasus' absent-minded gawking.
“I wasn't staring...” Sea Breeze found herself blurting out, before she seemed to consider the situation a bit more “...I was staring. Cause, I mean-...”
Sea Breeze again trailed off, before trying to swallow away the anxious lump in her throat and putting on a bit of a smile “Hi...Princess Luna.”
“...Hello.” Luna said with a tilt of her head. A moment later, the alicorn was setting aside the tomes and scrolls, before slowly stepping out from behind the large desk. Sea Breeze found herself watching the deliberate, powerful movements of the Princess' muscles as she stepped towards Sea Breeze, just a bit hypnotized by it all.
Soon, Luna was standing before the young mare, openly scrutinizing Sea Breeze, oblivious to the intimidating manner in which she was going about it.
She might one day ask for some advice of her sister, Princess Celestia, on how to de-emphasize her height, and not tower over ponies in such a manner.
After a few anxious moments, where Sea Breeze stared back up at the Princess, Luna turned her gaze towards Star Shade questioningly.
“...She seems healthy.” Luna observed, to which the bat-pony simply nodded. Slowly passing her gaze between the two once more, Luna again raised an eyebrow, though this time it was directed towards the stallion “I'm afraid I'm not certain why anypony felt the need to bring this pony to my attention. Could you explain it for me?”
Star Shade seemed to hesitate for a moment, somewhat placed on the spot by Luna's question. It didn't help that the pegasus had turned her gaze towards him, as well, apparently curious about what he had to say about her.
After a moment, the stallion nodded to his Princess, organizing his thoughts in that short time “Yes, your Highness. Based on my understanding of the situation, when we were reviewing her application to the Night Guard, several...potentially worrisome issues came to the fore.”
Princess Luna gave a nod to his words, prompting him to continue.
Sparing a glance for Sea Breeze, the stallion took a small breath before simply setting out the facts, as he knew them “A cursory look into Ms. Sea Breeze's background revealed that she seems to have had only intermittent or partial employment within the last few years. It also seems she has lacked a permanent residence for a similar period. She is also lacking in references, military or civilian, speaking to her character. We also ran into some difficulty in reaching any family members, for information. It was believed these facts should be brought to your attention, before she was allowed to represent the Night Guard.”
A few moments after hearing the stallion's fairly neutral summation of her, Sea Breeze made a face before tilting her head in acknowledgment “Well, when you put it like that, it does kind of sound...not great.”
For Princess Luna's part she considered all of this impassively, briefly humming to herself as she did so. Turning back towards Sea Breeze, which immediately earned her the mare's attention, Luna again stared down upon the mare once more.
“...You wish to join my Night Guard?” Luna neutrally asked, to which Sea Breeze had to stare for a moment.
“I-...” Sea Breeze trailed off for a moment, as her thoughts were set a-jumble by the simple question. Maybe it was because she was being asked by Princess Luna herself, but she found herself tamping down some anxiety and uncertainty, as she answered “...yes?”
Luna didn't seem to pay any mind to the mare's hesitant response, only nodding before continuing “And do you...take exception to myself?”
This one was a lot easier for Sea Breeze to answer, as she quickly shook her head to say 'no'.
Again Princess Luna nodded “...Very well.”
Both Sea Breeze and Star Shade blinked at this short answer, before the stallion spoke up “Your Highness?”
Luna closed her eyes for a moment, before turning towards the balcony “It seems only fair to give this mare an even chance. Regardless of how she has chosen to lead her life before now.”
Star Shade hesitated only a moment before nodding, accepting Princess Luna's decision on the matter.
“...Seriously?” Sea Breeze asked, arguably more surprised by the decision than Star Shade, though Luna didn't seem to pay either of them any mind. Watching as Luna made her way towards the open balcony, Sea Breeze soon came to the decision to follow quietly.
Star Shade seemed briefly tempted to stop the mare, but she was already beyond easy reach, and so settled for simply following after the pegasus.
The sun was sitting upon the western horizon, very nearly ready to dip below the horizon.
Within sight of this balcony stood another of Canterlot Castle's many elegant towers, with another alicorn, as pale as Princess Luna was dark, setting hoof upon a similar balcony.
Sea Breeze could see the distant figure raise her head, as Princess Luna did the same, a glow alighting down her horn as she did so.
The following sights would stay with the young mare for the rest of her days.
With this last nudging, at the behest of the Sisters of Night and Day, the Sun sank fully below the horizon beginning the steady change from sunset to true night.
Sea Breeze had seen many sunsets in her time, had watched as the sky became dark and the stars began to come out. They had always been...nice, but watching as Princess Luna brought the nightsky to life, was entirely different.
Where before the stars seemed to fade into sight in their own random fashion, Sea Breeze could now see how every star's debut was but a result of Luna's own deliberate design. She could see each star coming out to greet the world with every flourish of Luna's magic. She could see wide sections of the night sky become glittering swaths of cloth made of light, at Luna's call. Sea Breeze could swear that she could even see the exact motions that Luna went through to set the stars twinkling.
It was a carefully choreographed dance the stars performed, as they almost seemed to beckon the Moon into the sky, welcoming their bright sister ever upward.
Sea Breeze could honestly say that she had never truly grasped the scope of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's abilities before that moment. Seeing it unravel before her eyes reminded her of the first time she had dove underwater and opened her eyes to see the endless expanse of the ocean hiding just below the surface. It was like looking upon something too vast to measure, that was only fathomable to mere ponies in the broadest of terms.
And then it was over.
Or, not exactly over, as the night sky was only just coming into it's own this evening. It was more like the stars and Moon were doing their own dance now, with no further guidance from Princess Luna.
In the distance, Sea Breeze could see the pale figure on the tower send a nod towards Princess Luna, before retreating indoors. To which Luna nodded in turn, with a faint smile gracing her lips.
“Do you spend much time outside, after night has fallen, my little pony?” Luna asked, without looking back towards the young mare.
“Sometimes...” Sea Breeze answered, after a moment. It had seemed...surprisingly easy to speak-up, despite what she had just witnessed. The air about Princess Luna seemed so different now...
“...sometimes, I'll be along the beach and everypony else is getting ready to head to their homes...and I'll just wait for them all to go and watch for...you know? The Moon to come out.” Sea Breeze slowly explained, her eyes still watching the night sky “Then, I'll just...start swimming and flying. All alone...I don't have to worry about anypony else, about somepony needing my help or having to think about my day or tomorrow or anything...The water ends up staying warm for a little while, while the air's still getting cool, and everything just...looks so different.”
By now Luna had turned back and was attentively following the mare's words.
“And then, I'll just end up swimming and skimming along the waves all night and it won't be till the Sun starts to come up that I realize I need head back to my own bed...” Sea Breeze finally finished.
“...In your shack?” Luna asked with a smile.
Sea Breeze had to chuckle and look away for a moment “I prefer to think of it as a beachside cottage...”
A moment later Sea Breeze had to chuckle again “Ok...it's a shack.”
Luna's own smile remained, as she turned back to admire the Moon steadily rising through the sky “I'm glad to hear that you appreciated my nights...”
Things fell silent for a little while after that. And though peaceful, it took a moment for Sea Breeze to note the way Princess Luna's smile seemed to steadily fade away.
“I used to not believe that anypony could appreciate what I did. That nopony saw the beauty of my nights, for their fear of the darkness...” Luna slowly admitted, gaining Sea Breeze's attention.
“Have you heard the tale of Nightmare Moon?” Luna carefully asked.
Sea Breeze saw Star Shade, almost forgotten off to the side, start at this question as if he wished to speak-up but only barely held his tongue. Sea Breeze's gaze stayed upon the stallion for several moments, though the bat-pony seemed to be refusing to look her way.
The pegaus turned back to see Princess Luna facing her once more, the alicorn looking as if she were bracing herself.
After a few moments of consideration, Sea Breeze finally answered “I'm not sure...”
Luna merely nodded, before continuing “My sister has had her own telling of the story...But, for those that are going to pledge themselves to my service, I believe that I should share my own recollections...”
“I was Nightmare Moon. Or still am, perhaps, depending on one's perceptions.” Luna admitted.
Sea Breeze said nothing.
“My sister would have others believe that I was...consumed, that I wasn't myself, when I plunged the world into darkness...I remember things far too clearly for me to believe in that.” Luna continued somberly “I remember my anger, my jealousy at what Celestia had, and I did not. I remember turning a blind eye to those that claimed I had their love and appreciation. I...remember the justifications that came to mind for what I did...and the rage that rose up against my sister for stopping me...”
“Perhaps there was more to those events than what I remember now. Perhaps not. But, Celestia cannot convince me that I was not responsible for what transpired. I will understand if this affects your decision to join my guard.” Luna finally finished.
Sea Breeze had to stare up at the alicorn for a few moments, after hearing all of this. She had of course heard the rumors of what truly happened on the eve of Princess Luna's return, but had done as most ponies had and trusted in Princess Celestia's telling of the event. This was a radical shift for that narrative...
It was a lot to process.
Still, she could only think of one question to ask.
“What about now?”
“Now?...Now I...” Luna seemed to trail off at this, considering what she wished to say “Now, I try to do better. I trust the word of my sister. I don't stop trying to...make things right.”
“And hopefully, I...” Luna trailed off, evidently having her own troubles putting her emotions to words. A shocking thought for Sea Breeze, as not once had Luna's strong voice truly faltered before now, with Luna scarcely taking more than a moment or two to find the exact words she wished to use.
“I-...I didn't really set out to...join the Night Guard...” Sea Breeze admitted with a great deal less poise.
At this Luna seemed to hold her breath for a moment before releasing it, as she nodded “I understand. If you wish, I can refer you to one of the other-”
“No! I mean, no. That's not what I meant at all.” Sea Breeze interrupted, surprising the Princess “I meant, that...I was trying to change things, and...I mean, becoming a guard seemed like something that was a change for me...”
“It wasn't really a decision I put a lot of thought into...I've never put a lot of thought into the things I do...” Sea Breeze admitted “And, it's like...one day, I looked around and saw myself just sort of...alone. I didn't, you know, like it...but I didn't really know how to change it. Or how to change me...”
“...I still don't really. All I really did was leave my town, and just kind of...”
She hadn't really been changing who she was.
Joining the guard had really just been the next thing Sea Breeze had let herself drift towards. Always taking the path of least resistance through life, when things had become too difficult for her to accept in her own home, she had left. If she was being honest with herself, she probably would have abandoned any position she had taken in the EUP within a few months, if it even lasted that long.
Sea Breeze had never tried to hold onto anything. Not things, not feelings, not friends. They all came to her, but always slipped through her hooves like water. Not that she ever made the effort to hold onto anything. Things would become difficult, or require some commitment on her part, or she might have had to admit these truths to herself.
Sea Breeze had never truly stuck by anyone's side.
Even when that someone needed her to.
“I want to be a part of your Night Guard.” Sea Breeze said with absolute certainty.
Both Luna and Star Shade had watched the internal tumult play across Sea Breeze's face, and both were startled by the sudden declaration.
It didn't take but a moment for a smile to cross Luna's lips.
“Then let me be the first to welcome you into my service.”
Sea Breeze found herself smiling back up towards the Princess, even as she felt an unseen pressure settle across her shoulders. Some part of her twisted under the weight, unaccustomed to it. Some part of Sea Breeze wanted to go running out the doors, and never look back.
But she knew this was the right course.
After a few moments of silence, a thought visibly occurred to the young mare.
“Uhm...there's one more thing I was hoping to bring up?...If that's alright?” Sea Breeze began.
Luna nodded, her smile fading slightly “I think I can spare a bit of time, for one more question.”
Sea Breeze briefly glanced towards Star Shade, to the bemusement of the bat-pony stallion. Taking a couple of steps towards Princess Luna, Sea Breeze leaned in, or rather up, conspiratorially.
“So, I'm not sure if you know this...but, I just found out that the bat-ponies have been off having sex with each other this whole time!”
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My own strange opinions do not prevent me from recognizing that this story has incredible potential. It is well written, hilarious, engaging, and has lovable characters. Well done so far, and keep up the good work.
Seabreeze isn't a naturally born bat pony?!
You done shattered my world a bit there.
Well, I'll give it a read now. I was wondering when this one was going to pop up!
P.S. Too many sentences starting off with AND in your long description. That's like a no no. xD
Well, that was a fun start. I loved the backstory, and Shade works as a good contrast to her. Too tired to type, (4:20AM BLAZE IT, Seabreeze!) but great chapter. Might wanna make a less telling long description though. My own personal opinion there.
5015151 Noted, I'll pare down the summary a bit, later today. Glad you enjoyed it.
EDIT: If you can't tell, the story summary is almost always the last thing I end up writing for any story. Doesn't always get the attention it deserves. :P
Not sure what to think of this one, dungeonguy.
The story is for the most part pretty cute, and Sea Breeze is a fun and interesting character.
However, it does still falter every now and then.
And the narrative... could honestly use some work.
For one, the perspective kinda switches between being subjective and omniscient, where as I find that going full on "subjective" would suit the story much more.
Further more, you do mess up the tenses once or twice, and the sentence structure could be a fair bit better(you do have a nasty habit of using the same word repeatedly in too quick a succession).
Finally, your commas feel out of place a lot of the time, either with superfluous commas, or missing commas.
Basically, I think this story has the potential of being pretty good, but it would need getting another pass by yourself, followed by a pass by an editor.
Feel free to send me a private message if you need more detailed advice and/or an editor ;)
~Sind
5015752 Fair enough. This little side-story isn't really one of my main stories, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be tightened up to proper standards. I'll probably be going over it this evening, and I'll keep in mind the issues you raised when I do so.
And having someone that could properly proofread chapters, before I post them, has been something I've been on the lookout for. If you'd like to offer your assistance, it would be more than welcome. It's just too easy for things to slide beneath my notice, when I'm reviewing things my self.
5016414
Sure.
I tend to work on a case by case basis. Whenever you have a google doc ready for commenting, send me the link and I'll see if I feel like taking a look at it =P
Well, Sea Breeze is absolutely adorable, and the way she plays off Star Shade is great. I am definitely looking forwards to reading more of this in the future, especially if Luna gets a bigger part (I was half way expecting Sea Breeze to hug her after the Nightmare Moon talk).
Oh man, that last line.
Nice little look into Sea Breeze's backstory.
Kinda lost interest when you brought up Sea Breeze sleeping around. I just stopped caring.
I tried to keep reading because this is REALLY good. But I just kept thinking back to that one point and wondering, why mention that? What does it add to her character other than she is promiscuous? Which is irrelevant to the fic.
I'm going leaves a thumbs up for how good the first chapter was, but I just wish that wasn't in the story.