Fallen Eagle

Chapter XIV: Weekend Escape Part II

Guys, before I reply to any reviews, I just want to sit down and thank you all SO much. When I got the notifications that I now have 74 authors following this story and 54 who have favorited this story, I was blown away. When I started out Fallen Eagle, I was still very new to this amazing fandom/community, and I didn't know how people would react. I figured it would probably have maybe four favorites and twelve followers, but to hear how much people love the story and how much they love my OC, Cougar, it just brings so much happiness to my heart and I'm glad to use that happiness to fuel my desire to keep writing.

Mallory Shadowielder: Yes, yes I did. I was hoping someone would get that reference lol

OBSERVER01: I know. That's a lot to go through.

deltafrost: They're really close friends. Luna was the first pony to sit down and talk to him in a non-interrogating setting, hence why he trusts her as much as he does with AJ.

Guest: Lol, if Cougar were to die now, the story would end way too soon! We still have a LONG way to go.

chipmunkfanatic: Well, Jaws wouldn't really make sense. And Celestia is too busy with her day court to pull any pranks.

AK74FU2: Woah, be cool man, we're all friends here. Here's Chapter XIV.

Fear-Less 1300: You laughed at that? Aw, I wanted it to be surprising yet horrifying at the same time since he's basically about to raped.

SquirtlePWN: Thank you so much! And remember that it is the Fall Estrus Weekend, Pinkie is a little busy with Cheese Sandwich, if ya know what I mean.

guestperson: Excellent theory, though seeing as how Luna is asleep and Celestia is dealing with her day court, I can't see how they're able to pull of a prank.

Ljunberg: No cookie for me :( But I know how much people despise Cliffhangers, but that keeps bringing them back.

Dixie Darlin: It can be on an unsuspecting human.

brony at war: Checkered Flag doesn't appear for another few chapters. Though in case you're wondering how he is handling the Estrus, he masks his scent and hides away in an emergency bunker.

killersqueenalpha: That means a lot to me. Though I really hope you mean when AJ got close to his face and told him to take a shower. But it is way too early for them to be doing anything romantic. I want it to progress naturally, though as the pairings in the story summary confirms, it WILL happen, I just won't say when.

---

Lake behind Canterlot Castle. Cougar's POV)

To say I was terrified of whatever was following myself and Spike to the shore of the lake would've been an understatement. The shark fin-like object seemed to be gaining speed traveling at us. On instinct, I got behind Spike and pushed him through the water faster, making sure he'd escape the lake first since he was just a kid. "Cougar, come on!" Spike paddled faster and faster as I picked him up and lifted his body out of the water with my legs still kicking as fast as I could. "What're you-" he started before I chucked him onto the shore. His body landed with a thump onto the sand, yet he wasn't fazed as he got up and motioned for me to hurry.

"Kid, get away from the water!" I ordered him. Turning my head, I saw the shark fin getting closer and closer, so I paddled faster and faster than ever.

"GUARDS!" Spike started to shout at the top of his lungs back towards the castle, "HELP!" he added. Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my leg and yank me hard, but I never fell below the surface.

"Ah!" I exclaimed as I missed a breath and coughed into the surface of the water. Spike's shouting had ceased and he stood on the shore, glaring behind me. It was then I had realized that whatever had chased me, stopped and even the water had calmed itself.

"Oh come now, you two invite yourselves up to the castle for the weekend and you don't even bother to invite your dear Uncle Discord?" I heard Discord mockingly ask. Rolling my body over onto my back (I was close enough to the shore now that I could sit on the bottom under the surface) and placed my hand in front of my eyes to shield Celestia's sun from blinding me.

"Haha, good work Discord," the sun princess in question giggled and floated down from a cloud. "Oh, you two are indeed fun to be around," she gave another polite giggle. Her cloud vanished into thin air and she extended her legs onto the sandy shore of the beach.

"Princess Celestia, what's wrong with you!?" Spike exclaimed angrily, clenching his fists.

"Live a little Spike, you were never in any danger," Discord rolled his eyes which turned into two giant beach balls and knocked against my head and Spike's head before deflating and appearing in Discord's head which was now lying flush with the ground.

"What did you use as a shark fin then?" I finally croaked out after catching my breath again. I slumped down onto some soft grass and leaned up against a bush, allowing Celesita's sun to start drying me off. The creature that was a result of mother nature dropping too much acid reached up with his eagle talons and yanked his large crooked tooth out of his mouth.

"This tooth comes in handy more often than you'd think Cougar," the tooth vibrated a few times before flying onto Discord's back and grew larger to the size and color of a shark fin. He snapped his lion paw and the tooth reappeared into his mouth. I rolled my eyes and leaned over to grab my duffel bag that housed a towel. I wiped my face over and over again before rolling up said towel and lacing it around my neck.

"So, I take it you had to leave Ponyville as well?" I questioned and stood up with my duffel bag.

"That would explain his sudden appearance, somewhat," Spike replied as he shook his body a few times to get the remaining water droplets off his scales.

"Well yes, unfortunately being the lord of chaos, I sometimes forget important events on the schedule when planning to spread harmless chaos for my entertainment," Discord replied as he put on reading glasses, stuck a bubble pipe in his mouth and pulled up a daily planner. "So, when I entered a seemingly deserted Ponyville and headed to Fluttershy's cottage to kill some time," he tossed a spear at a clock and blew it up, "I happened upon Fluttershy yanking poor Caramel into her cottage as her animals were standing outside, shivering with fear."

"Oh God," I muttered at the thought of innocent little Fluttershy, well, you get the picture.

"And anyways, I was just strolling around my own personal Canterlot when I thought to myself, 'I wonder what Celestia is up to?' and I appeared in her day court room."

"Which was actually a nice surprise since I had only two guards to keep me company. The Fall and Spring Estrus seasons really make crime rates go down for the weekends, but that leaves nothing for my day court, so I've been putting off paperwork to keep me sane," Celestia explained.

"Well, have you tried scheduling court dates for the Estrus weekend princess?" Spike questioned and hopped onto her back, which I was surprised that she allowed him to do.

"Luna suggested that about a month before the Fall Estrus a few years ago, never again," she shuddered.

"Why not? Didn't it keep you busy?" I asked as I threw on my shirt.

"Yes, but keeping that many males in one place for that long, did not end well, those poor guards," Celestia shook her head. Finally I had begun a trek back to the castle, forcing the rest of the group to follow.

"Hang on a sec, Discord, how did you walk through Ponyville without getting mauled by a group of horny mares?" I paused halfway up the hill.

"I didn't walk through Ponyville, I teleported after realizing the place was emptier than, well the Canterlot bakery on Celestia's birthday," Discord responded as Celestia embarrassingly blushed, "and even then, I put a magic spell around me that masks the scent mares in heat go after," he explained.

"Cougar, I hope our prank didn't upset you in any way, I thought you could use a good laugh," Celestia said to me in her motherly voice. Yeah, I was kinda pissed since I don't think pretending to drown someone is funny, but at least I knew they were trying to cheer me up.

"It's okay, but I just hope I don't get anymore surprises this weekend. I just want to ride it out until we get the all clear to get back to Ponyville," I replied. Just as we reached the top of the hill, two guards came rushing out of the door, spears in hand.

"Did somepony call for assistance?" One of the guards asked.

"Yeah, like five minutes ago guys! What if Celestia was in trouble?" Spike angrily hopped to his feet on the sun goddess' back. The two guards rubbed their necks and blushed in embarrassment for their shitty reaction time.

"Now, now Spike," Celestia calmly spoke up, "these two are rarely on the main guard line, plus they're one of the few handful of guards left in this wing of the castle," she politely explained.

"And I had to make sure I had backup in case something went wrong," the second guard added, "we're always trained to have backup when heading into an emergency," he explained.

"Exactly, we can't stay in one spot like most pairs of guards, we have to constantly move around during this weekend," the first guard piped up.

"Okay, alright we get it," I held my hand up, "you did your best, and that's fine, now let's get out of here before Discord rearranges my internal organs," I shot a quick look at the conniving draconequus.

"What else do you wanna do Cougar?" Spike asked me, leaning against the back of Celestia's neck as the two unicorn guards escorted us back to the castle. Slinging my duffel bag strap over my shoulder, I took a quick whiff of my arm and grimaced.

"First thing is I'm gonna take a shower," I replied, "I was gonna take one earlier today, but I wanted to see what there was to do around the castle." The two guards opened the doors for myself, Celestia and Discord before locking the doors behind them and standing guard in front of them.

"Eh, I'll probably take a bath," Spike whiffed himself and jumped off Celestia's back.

"And don't you change our water to custard or barbecue sauce or something Discord!" I exclaimed, pointing my finger back at the creature in question.

"What? Moi? Perish the thought!" Discord kicked two 55 gallon drums of custard and barbecue sauce behind a post. As the four of us rounded a corner to get back to the hallway that housed Luna's private quarters and my temporary quarters, Celestia stopped us.

"Well, if you want to find something else to do, you can always ask me Cougar; I'm still trying to keep myself occupied today," Celestia let out a sad sigh. Then, Discord appeared next to her, leaning against her shoulder.

"I can think of a few fun things to do Celestia," Discord winked and earned himself a punch to the nose. "OW!" Discord held his nose, "I didn't mean that!" He whined and conjured up an ice pack. Spike and I chuckled as Celestia shined up her golden hoof plate against her furry chest.

"Next time don't say it like that then Discord," Celestia trotted away. Discord picked himself up off the floor and held his bloody nose in his eagle talons. I turned back to Spike and chucked my towel and duffel bag into my room.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you in a little bit Spike, we can hang out in your room and watch movies on my iPad if you want," I offered.

"Yeah, I got tons of comic books I'll let you read if you promise not to get them dirty or ruin them," he threatened.

"I won't ruin your precious comic books Spike," I rolled my eyes, patted his head and shut the door to my room.

---

(One hour later. Cougar's POV)

After getting used to taking a shower in a bathtub meant for ponies at least half a foot shorter than me, I dried myself off, tossed my iPad into my duffel bag and headed out of my temporary room. It was hard, practically having to stand on my knees just to be able to turn the knobs and keep my head under the water stream. The body wash was alright I guess, coconut creme. "Good day Mr. Cougar, I trust your morning has gone well?" Wadsworth asked me in his British accent.

"Yeah, Spike and I had a little surprise waiting for us in the lake, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle," I turned to the butler Earth Pony.

"Well, is there anything I can get Mr. Cougar?" He politely held up his right foreleg with a handkerchief (or would it be a hoofkerchief?) strewn about. I held up my hands and shook my head at the butler.

"Nah, I'm good, just going to kill some time with Spike," I replied. "Look, I know I'm not in charge of you or anything Wadsworth," I stopped walking for a brief moment, "but why don't you go get yourself a cup of coffee or a veggie sandwich?" I suggested.

"Hmm," the butler pondered for a second, "I think I shall, but please do not let either of the princesses know I'm slacking off," he pleaded and put unbuttoned the top of his suit.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied with a wink. Wadsworth smiled and trotted away, shoving his white cloth into one of his many pockets before disappearing around a corner, probably heading to his butler quarters or a break room for guards, maids and butlers. Adjusting my Drive to End Hunger hat, I kept on walking through the halls of the castle, occasionally pausing to look at busts of pony rulers of the past, statues, paintings and glass stained windows.

"Cougar, can I help you?" A voice calmly called out. Thank God no one else was there, or else the secret of me screaming like a little girl would be about as concealed as the rumor of Carl Edwards joining Joe Gibbs Racing.

"AHH!" I yelled and grasped a lighting fixture to hold my body up.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Celestia apologized and rubbed my shoulder with her right wing. I nodded my head and got my wits about me before politely shoving her wing off my shoulder.

"And I didn't mean to wander, where am I exactly?" I attempted to dissect my exact whereabouts.

"You're just about to enter the royal bathhouse," she replied. I'm an idiot; I didn't notice until now that her horn had a towel wrapped around it. The doors shut by themselves, revealing the two guards standing behind them.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry Princess, I wasn't trying to peek or anything," I apologized and turned away from her. Celestia chuckled before tossing the towel into my face and walking along with me.

"Don't worry about that Cougar; I was just washing my mane," Celestia explained. "So, where are you heading now?" She asked me.

"I was just going to see Spike and watch a few movies on my iPad, or maybe just talk you know," I replied, patting my duffel bag that had a spare set of clothes and my iPad. Celestia sighed and lowered her head. "Is everything okay Princess?" I asked, stopping in the hallway. The huge bay windows allowed light from her sun to pour through; I had to squint and lower the brim of my hat over my eyes.

"It's nice that you and Spike are trying to keep the peace between you if only for the weekend, I just wish sometimes Luna wasn't nocturnal or that our duties and work didn't get in the way so much," she confessed, "I missed her so much for the 1000 years I was forced to banish her to the moon," her horn lit up and projected the image of a black Alicorn as large as Celestia herself onto the nearest window. The image showed rays from Celestia's horn shooting at the black Alicorn and forcing it into the moon. "And even though she's been back for five years, we still don't get to spend that much time together." The image disappeared and the window went back to normal. "I wish we could go back to the days of our fillyhood and spend a whole day together, no villains or paperwork to go through," she added. I clicked my tongue several times, looking down the hall and back to the saddened Princess before me.

"Look Celestia, you said you practically had nothing to do today right?" I asked. She nodded and looked back up at me. "Well, if you really want to and really have nothing else to do today, would you like to hang out with me and Spike?" I questioned.

"You wouldn't mind having me spend time with you and Spike?" She replied, a hint of happiness riding on the edge of her voice.

"Nah, in fact it might be good for us to have someone of a regal status to keep us guys from acting stupid," I replied with a smirk. Celestia perked her head back up and smiled largely.

"Ahem, well then, shall I escort you to Spike's room then?" She offered her hoof to me. I took the gold plated hoof and we whisked away to the door next to Celestia's private chambers. "Ah, Glock, my faithful guard, you may take a break, I'm sure we'll be fine with Spike," Celestia granted the guard some time off.

"A-are you sure your majesty?" Glock stammered, "I wouldn't want to shirk my duties," he said in complete shock.

"Yes of course, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, especially with the dragon who saved the Crystal Empire and the human with a military background and who killed two Timberwolves bare uh," Celestia's mind went blank as she forgot what my hands were called.

"Handed," I said for her, nudging her shoulder.

"Yes that's right, and if something horrible happens, which I doubt it will, I believe we'll manage, and you deserve a day off Glock," she touched her horn to his head, removing his golden helmet to reveal a blue mane on his white body.

"If only I had a mare to share it with," he said gloomily. The guard drug his spear along the ground, walking away from the one thing today that made him feel important. I felt bad for the guy, so I spoke up.

"Hey Glock, you know, there's this nurse in the Royal Infirmary that's really nice, maybe once this weekend is over you could invite her to dinner or something, her name is Candystriper," I called out. The pegasus guard ceased and turned around to face me.

"I'll, keep that in mind, thanks," he gave me small smile and walked away.

"Well Cougar, that was very kind of you," Celestia complimented and opened the door to Spike's room, "and how did you know Nurse Candystriper was single? She closed the door as I walked in.

"She just seemed a little alone when she was helping myself, Rainbow and Applejack a few weeks ago," I replied, "hey Spike, what are you reading?" I asked as Spike hadn't noticed either of us enter the room.

"Aw, come on Humdrum," Spike rolled his eyes, "you had one job! Watch the door!" The dragon scolded his comic book.

"Does this happen often Princess?" I questioned Celestia while the oblivious reptile continued to read his comic book titled Power Ponies.

"I've seen this before when Twilight was a student of mine and Spike brought these comic books along while Twilight studied and practiced magic with me," Celestia responded, "however, I have been shown a method or two to snap him out of his funk," she added and trotted over to Spike, "Spike, oh Spike," she said in a teasing voice, "Rarity is here with a plate of gems; she wants to share them with you over dinner," she whispered. Instantly, the dragon sprang from his chair, the comic book flying out of his hands and landing perfectly on top of the stack of comic books next to his chair.

"Where is she? Oh, how do my spikes look?" Spike glossed over his green spikes with his right hand. Then, he realized Celestia was joking and his ears and spikes drooped down, "Come on guys, that's not funny," he hopped back onto his chair.

"Well, you were lost in the fantasy world of super ponies wearing tights, how else were we gonna get you back to reality?" I asked and ruffled his green spikes.

"So? You don't mess with a guy's feelings like that," Spike picked up his comic book and went to reopen it, but Celestia wrestled it from his grip with her magic; Spike crossed his arms and glared at the Sun Princess.

"I am sorry Spike, but Cougar has some movies he wants to watch with us," she explained and sat down next to the small dragon. Taking my cue, I set down my duffel bag and opened up the zipper.

"Alright, since you like superheroes so much kid," I flicked my thumb across the dozens of movies on my iPad until I rested on one of my favorite superhero movies of all time, "how about one about one of the greatest superhero teams ever?" I questioned.

"How did your dimension know about the Power Ponies!?" Spike exclaimed excitedly.

"Power Ponies? Yeah, right," I showed both Celestia and Spike the iPad screen. The screen showed a picture of a group of superheroes standing in a demolished city. One was wearing red and gold plated armor with lasers shooting out of his right hand. Another had a red, white and blue costume on with a blue helmet that had a big silver 'A' on the front and he was throwing a circular red white and blue shield. A third superhero had a large maroon cape, silver armor and a huge hammer being held in his right hand. A fourth one was a large and green angry looking behemoth. The fifth and sixth ones had black leather costumes on.

"The Avengers? Please, I bet the Power Ponies could whip them without losing their breath," Spike rolled his eyes.

"Oh really? Ya wanna find out?" I replied and clicked play, "Princess, you don't mind a superhero film do you?" I asked. Instantly, the Princess conjured up three large buckets of popcorn that levitated in front of all of us.

"Why don't we make things a little bigger?" She took a smile bite of popcorn as her golden aura surrounded my iPad. The screen began to stretch and deform as it suddenly grew to the size of a 32 inch TV screen and floated in mid-air. Then, the curtains in the room closed and the fire died down, making the screen appear clearer.

"Director Fury, what do we do now?" Agent Coulson questioned to his superior over the walkie-talkie. The screen changed to show a badass looking black male with an eye patch. He lowered his walkie-talkie before looking up into the distance. Suddenly, the screen went dark as the words THE AVENGERS appeared in big bold letters.

"Interesting so far," Spike said nonchalantly and threw some popcorn in his mouth.

---

(A little while into the film)

"Cougar, who is this man?" Celestia asked while taking a sip of water and munching on popcorn. The man on the screen was viciously punching a punching bag inside a 1940's styled gymnasium as he had flashbacks to his prior life. The movie showed the man in his superhero costume, running through a winterized forest with explosions and bullets covering the area.

"Peggy, it's too dangerous, I gotta put her in the water!" The man exclaimed. The screen showed him deflecting some sort of laser blast with his shield pounding another man's face in.

"You won't be alone," a woman's voice said softly as it showed a large machine crashing into ice.

"My God, this guy's still alive!" A second man shouted as the man in his costume was shown frozen in a block of ice.

Suddenly, the screen went back to real time as the man in the gym punched the punching bag so hard it exploded, sending mountains of sand everywhere and flying the remains of the punching bag across the room.

"That, is Captain America Celestia," I smirked and popped some snacks into my mouth.

"Oh my, he's certainly a strong human," Celestia stopped munching on her food to stare in awe at how strong Captain America was. Spike chuckled when Cap grabbed a second punching bag, hooked it to the ceiling and began to punch at it.

"Let me guess, this guy was some sort of soldier and he fell into a vat of toxic waste or was struck by lightning or whatever?" Spike played with is tail.

"Nope, he was experimented on," I replied and sipped on a cola. Just as Director Nick Fury was about to hand Cap his mission briefing, there was a knock on the door. "I got it, don't get up guys," I allowed the movie to keep playing since I've seen it dozens and dozens of times. "Yeah?" I opened the door only to discover an empty hallway. "Celestia, is this another one of yours?" I asked and held the golden door wide open.

"What are you talking about Cougar? I didn't do anything," a confused and puzzled Celestia replied to me.

"Eh nothing, I must be hearing things," I said and shut the door. I sat back down in my chair which suddenly turned to a huge mound of popcorn, as did Celestia's and Spike's.

"Hey, what's going on!" Spike's muffled voice came from underneath his popcorn. Celestia's head poked out the top of her popcorn chair with some butter dripping off her horn.

"Discord," Celestia seethed as the chaos raving maniac appeared from thin air wearing blue and red 3D glasses.

"What, I thought you could all use a refill," he flicked some of the buttery goodness into his mouth and swallowed it. He then snapped his lion paw and a jumbo cup of soda appeared in front of him. However, instead of putting the red straw up to his lips, he inserted it into his ear. "Ah, refreshing," he sighed happily until he groaned in pain, "AH! BRAIN FREEZE!" He shouted and grabbed his head. I finally crawled from my mound of popcorn with bits of the snack sticking to me thanks to the butter.

"Did you want to watch the movie with us?" I asked, beginning to lose my patience with this guy.

"Oh goody, I thought you'd never ask!" Discord clapped his paw and talons together. He conjured up a lawn chair for himself to sit in and laid back, still drinking his soda pop.

"You could've just asked Discord," Spike crawled from his trap and coughed up some food.

"Where's the fun in that kiddo?" Discord teased. Celestia's horn flashed a bright golden light as the chairs returned to normal and all three of us were cleaned up of the butter and popcorn.

---

(Cougar's POV. 7:00 PM)

After finishing up the Avengers, the four of us took a break before returning to watch some more movies on my now gigantic iPad. When we were done with the Avengers, it was about 2:00, so we watched a comedy because Discord claimed he wanted a good laugh. So, I chose one of my favorite all time comedies: Dumb and Dumber.

"One half tea-spoon, for fast effective relief," Jim Carrey's character laughed evilly as he poured half a bottle of Turbo lax into Jeff Daniels' character's coffee mug.

"Oh ho, ho, ho!" Discord guffawed, spilling some popcorn into Celestia's wavy rainbow mane. "I LOVE this Jim Carrey fellow, I simply must see more of his works," Discord slapped his knee. Suddenly, there was another knock on the door, so I paused the movie. Celestia, Spike and myself turned our heads upwards to Discord. "Oh sure, blame the guy who pulled the last prank, how typical." Instead of one of us opening the door, the knocker in question appeared in the room herself.

"Luna!" I exclaimed and stood up to shake her hoof. "I take it you slept well?" I questioned the princess of the night.

"Oh most definitely," Luna stretched out her neck, "though I have been awake since 5:00," she winked, "and I see you've spent some time with my sister, little Spike and, Discord?" She questioned when the draconequus was spotted.

"Yeah, he wanted to tag along so we let him," I explained.

"Tia, did you get any of your work done today?" Luna asked her sister.

"Yes, though there was not much to do considering what weekend it is," Celestia got up from her chair.

"Hmm yes, this weekend does limit what we can do sister, though I do have one case in my Night Court tonight," Luna grumbled. "But anyways, the head chef has alerted me that dinner is ready if you're all ready?"

"Well, I am kind of sick of popcorn," Spike tossed his empty bucket into the garbage can. I turned off my now gigantic iPad and held the golden door open for everyone as we all exited the room to head for the dining hall.

"So Luna, what's on the menu for tonight?" I questioned, hoping for some barbecue corn on the cob or some mashed potatoes with country gravy and possibly cornbread, though I'm sure none of it would be as good as Granny Smith's recipes.

"The normal routine for us," Luna led all five of us down the hallway as Celestia joined us up front and Spike hopped onto Celestia's back for the second time, "a regular vegetable salad, fruit salad, pasta and baked jalapeño cheese bread for the side," the Princess of the Night explained, "and of course gems for Spike," she patted Spike's head. "Is something the matter Cougar?" She asked when she saw my crestfallen face.

"No, of course not," I replied, trying not to offend her, "it's just, I'm so used to the Apple family's cooking and I haven't really had any other food than theirs since I've been here," I delineated.

"Ah, that does make sense Cougar," Celestia chimed in, "although, after you and Spike left to go swimming this morning, I requested that the head chef make you a meal that they would normally make for the Griffon King and his guards when they arrive," she told me.

"Griffons?" I asked in disbelief, "well I shouldn't be too surprised," I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, and although we do not ourselves eat meat, King Gryffindor showed us an alternative to meat called Seitan," Luna piped up as the main dining hall doors flew open. "Ah Bat Fang, there you are."

"And Glock too, I trust you all had an interesting day?" Celestia and Luna greeted their personal guards. I had never ever tried Tofu before; fake meat sounded nasty and cheap to me back on Earth, but the princesses and the chefs went to the trouble just for me, I might as well try it. Discord, Luna and Celestia's noses crinkled at the smell coming from the kitchen, but my nose was loving it, Spike however, was indifferent.

"That smells really good," I wiped my lips of saliva as I smelled beef, most likely a steak or ribs. We all sat down at the huge round table as the few remaining servers set down glasses of water and milk.

"Speak for yourself Cougar," Luna wiped her nose. I chuckled and sipped on my water while Glock and Bat Fang stood around the table.

"And dinner, is served," one of the servants announced. Six plates, one for each of us, (and Bluebutt I'm guessing) were brought into the room and set down before us. The servers uncovered the plates and we began to eat. My dinner was Seitan beef tips, which I was still hesitant to try at first, but I slowly stabbed on cube with my fork and stuffed it into my mouth.

"Well Cougar, do you enjoy your food?" Celestia questioned while swallowing her salad.

"This is pretty damned good," I stuffed another cube of Seitan beef into my mouth and swallowed it. I then buttered a piece of bread and ate that as well. Discord on the other hand, was being Discord of course. He used his magic to turn his dinner plate and utensils into pieces of salad and his actual salad into broken pieces of dinner plate.

"Mmm," his teeth crunched the dinner plate, "my compliments," he belched. Then, the doors flew open to reveal, a very different Blueblood. He was shaking all over and his mane was a complete mess, kind of like Sarah Connor's hair in Terminator 2.

"Nephew, so glad you could join us," Luna smiled evilly and quietly stuck some vegetables into her muzzle, chewing slowly. Blueblood's hooves clacked against the marble flooring several times, almost as if he were trying to crack the floor itself.

"S-s-so m-m-much d-d-darkness," he shivered and sat down, the chair vibrating violently.

"What the fuck did you do to him?" I whispered to Luna.

"Ha, an old friend of mine taught him a valuable lesson about treating others with respect," Luna politely sipped her water.

"Lulu," Celestia glared down at Luna. I was confused as hell, but Spike and Discord continued to eat their dinner as if everything was okay. Blueblood was breathing shakily while trying to pick up his fork with his magic. The silver utensil was vibrating to and fro, like it was having its own seizure during an earthquake. The fork clanged against Blueblood's dinner plate loudly, picking up some salad that flung off as he couldn't stop from shaking.

"He'll be fine Tia," Luna said, "besides, you don't mind it when I transform during Nightmare Night," the midnight blue Alicorn countered.

"Yes, but that's just for fun; using her to purposefully scare somepony into acting the way you want them to is wrong," Celestia scolded her eyes and chewed menacingly at her younger sister. My head darted back and forth as they retorted to each other, like I was watching the championship tennis match at Wimbledon. Spike chuckled when Bluebutt was finally able to take a bite of food without shaking it off his fork.

"What exactly are you two talking about?" I wiped my mouth.

"Oh, nothing Cougar, Luna just didn't think straight when punishing our nephew," Celestia looked back and forth from Luna to Blueblood.

"What the hell did she do to him exactly?" I asked again.

"I showed him what would become of him if he continued to treat his fellow creatures like garbage," Luna explained before polishing off her pasta.

"S-s-so d-d-d-dark," the white unicorn in question spilled his water onto the table. One of the servants quickly wiped up the water from the table.

"Anything else going on?" I changed the subject so there wouldn't be any bad air between Celestia and Luna considering how much Celestia missed spending quality time with her sister.

"Well, besides the Gala which you seem determined to miss," Luna started, "the annual Running of the Leaves in Ponyville will be occurring towards the end of next month, about a week and a half before the Gala," Luna explained.

"It's a race where any species of pony can run, and it's all for fun, an exhibition really," Celestia doused some of her salad in ranch dressing.

"A race huh?" Now they had my full attention.

"Yes, and we were curious to see if that would peak your interest," Luna downed the last of her water before a servant refilled the glass.

"And it's called the running of the leaves because it's in fall?" I asked, finishing up my Seitan beef tips.

"Something along those lines Cougar," Celestia swallowed her food, "mainly what the event is for is to make the gusts of wind generated by the running ponies to lift the dead leaves off the trees to make way for winter," the sun pony finished explaining. Boy, I hadn't been to a race since I was a teenager; this sounds like it could be fun.

"Do any of my friends compete?" I asked and started to pick apart my loaf of bread.

"Oh yeah, Rainbow Dash and Applejack run every year," Spike chimed in, crunching on a huge green gem, "Twilight did one year, but she really ran to just take in the scenery, not to compete," he explained. "Oh, and Pinkie Pie and I do the commentary every year!" he added with a sparkly grin.

"This sounds like fun, did you want to have me compete? I'm in shape, but not into running unless it's for my life," I said.

"No Cougar, we wanted to invite up to our private viewing booth at the top of the grandstands for a spectacular view of the race below," Luna cut in.

"Will there be nachos and soda? That's all I'll need to say yes."

"Of course, it wouldn't be a sporting event without nachos and soda would it?" Celestia replied, "or without cake," she added as quietly as possible, but we all saw right through it.

"Ah yes, the Running of the Leaves," Discord belched out some dust from the plate he feasted upon, "I was hoping to make things more, interesting at this year's run," he drank his cup of water.

"Discord, no," Celestia put her hooves upon the table, glaring at the draconequus.

"Whatever do you mean Princess?" Discord pouted like an innocent puppy dog.

"No greasing the path with axle grease," Celestia ordered.

"Or digging pits for the racers to fall in," Luna added.

"Ah, or trip wire across the path to trip the racers," Celestia pointed her golden hoof at Discord. His parchment marked 'Dastardly Plans' disappeared in a ball of fire, leaving him in an unhappy state.

"Fine, fine, we'll have it the old boring way if you want, but don't whine to me if it is boring!" Discord shook his lion paw. He suddenly yawned, covering his mouth with his eagle talon; snapped his lion paw and appeared in a slumber outfit, complete with Teddy Bear and night cap. "Well, I'm off to bed," he announced.

"At a quarter to 8:00?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Oh what, do I have to stick to the sleeping schedule your mommy gave you?" Discord bopped Spike on the nose, "I'm over a thousand years old; I'm old enough to make my own bedtime and I'm tired now!" Discord whined, "so, where will I be sleeping Celestia?" He appeared in Celestia's forelegs, sucking his thumb and cuddling his Teddy Bear.

"Well certainly not with me!" The Sun Princess dumped him into a bowl of pudding that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Luna, myself, Spike and even Bluebutt snickered as Discord shed himself of the chocolate pudding.

"Aw come on Celestia, I can sleep on one of the chairs in your room, you won't even know I'm there!" He begged.

"No means no Discord, I'm afraid you'll have to sleep in the guard quarters tonight," Celestia crossed her forelegs across her chest.

"OH PLEASE NO!" Glock dropped to his knees in a begging motion, "for the love of the monarchy your highness, anything but that! I don't want him to mess anything up and put the toilets on the ceilings or something," Glock begged. The Princess of the Day looked from Glock to Discord and sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you may sleep on the little couch in my room next to the fireplace, but," she sneered, "if a single picture is so much as a centimeter off normal, you're gone and sleeping in the gardens, understand?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh but of course, and thank you Celestia!" Discord kissed her hoof, making her blush slightly, "I'm off to bed now, I'll make sure nopony disturbs your room!" He saluted and disappeared in thin air. The servers then took our dirty silverware and plates and brought in a huge covered tray on a cart.

"And your dessert for the evening ladies, gentle colts, gentledrake and gentleman?" The main server questioned. I nodded with a smirk. Two other servers took the lid off of the plate, but where flabbergasted to find nothing, nary a crumb on the silver-plate! "But how can this be?! I just checked the dessert cart before we left the kitchen!" The server pony checked everywhere for the dessert.

"I wouldn't know," Celestia looked back and forth after wiping her foreleg across her mouth.

"Tia, honestly," Luna shook her head. Celestia gave a small and cute little belch.

"Oops, excuse me," she blushed.

"Well, today was fun, but I'm gonna go lay down until I fall asleep, I'll see ya tomorrow kid," I rubbed Spike's head. The dragon stretched and yawned before hopping off his chair and scratching his back.

"Okay, well have a good night you two!" Celestia called.

"I shall see you in your dreams!" Luna added. I wish she had thought about that before saying it out loud.

---

(Midnight. Cougar's POV)

I had lay down in bed for four hours now, but the Sandman never seemed to check in for his scheduled appointment with closing my eyes. The only light in the room was the silvery glow from Luna's moon pouring through the balcony doors and the small reddish glow of the fire in the silver and black fireplace. I wasn't too warm or too cold, I just couldn't sleep.

It wasn't because of my rude awakening with Applejack, nor was it because of nearly drowning earlier that day. Maybe I was too tired to sleep? No that's stupid. Was it because I missed the sounds of jet engines landing and taking off? No, I've been able to sleep for three months without them now. Was it because I didn't belong in a castle like this? And bingo, that was it. A castle was just too of an unfamiliar territory for me, so I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes and fall asleep, even trying a second shower for the day and listening to my phone. Whether it was the large rooms, the sophisticated atmosphere, or the fact that it was a rather large building that was nearly empty thanks to the Estrus Weekend, something just didn't sit right with me. Suddenly, there was a soft knock on my door and Luna poked her head in.

"Cougar, are you alright? I couldn't find you in the dream realm," she asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, sitting up and propping my back against the headboard of the bed.

"Oh, well then what is troubling you?" she sat on the edge of my bed.

"Nothing really, I just can't sleep," I stretched my arms around, "and I don't even feel tired really," I added. Being too bored to sleep was certainly a possibility as well. Luna tapped her chin with her silver hoof plate.

"Have you tried warm milk?" She asked.

"Nah, and to be honest, I don't really care if I do sleep or not," I admitted. "Is there anything I can do at night that won't disturb anypony?" I questioned, getting off the bed and grabbing my navy blue T-shirt off the top of my duffel bag.

"None that I can think of at the moment Cougar," Luna said as the clock in my room chimed 12:15 AM.

"Besides watching over dreams, what else are you doing Luna?" I asked her, leaning against the wall of the room.

"Unless you count my night court, then nothing Cougar, and I have but one case tonight; it shouldn't take too long to do anyways, so I'm trying to get it out of the way at half past midnight." Her eyes lit up as she mentioned her night court and she too sprang from my bed, "how would you like to join me? It would certainly pass some time for you if that's your main goal for the night," Luna asked me.

"Join you in your court? Like just sit in the court room and watch as you sentence a pony or let him free?" I questioned.

"Not exactly, for you see, Bat Fang is my only guard left until Monday and I would rather have two guards in the court room should something go wrong, even though I can handle myself mind you," Luna raised an eyebrow at me.

"You want me to be a guard?" I asked another question.

"A temporary guard for the night to be exact, if you want to of course, I'm not forcing you if you don't want to Cougar; I just think it may lead to something like my offer I made to you a few months ago." I breathed out, contemplating Luna's offer for a brief moment. What the hell was I going to do for the rest of the night?

"Sure, at least it'll kill some time, but what about a guard uniform or armor?" I asked.

"My, my, you are the curious one tonight," Luna teased before I was engulfed with her white aura and found myself wearing dark blue, black and silver armor, complete with a black helmet with the blue furry thing that Marvin the Martian wore, dark blue body armor with black and silver trimmings and a big white crescent moon on the chest area, black and silver shoulder pads and finally, black leg armor with white and dark blue flames going up the legs. "Well, what do you think Cougar? I think you look very stylish," she checked me over.

"Wow Luna," I whistled, "you sure know how to give your guards some kick ass looking armor," I admired my reflection in a mirror, "although, I do have one complaint," I said nervously. Luna's face froze and she gave a stoical look at me.

"And what might that be?" She asked. I took off the helmet, set it gently on the bed, unzipped my duffel bag and inserted my head into my old and familiar purple and yellow Air Force helmet.

"I'm more comfortable with this helmet," I buckled the strap onto my chin. Luna smiled and playfully smacked my shoulder.

"I do like that helmet," she peered into piercing yellow eyes above the white letters that read COUGAR below the left eye of the helmet, "especially the bloody claw marks down the sides," she added. "Now, for your weapon," a spear appeared in my left hand. "Now, you are ready to be a guard Cougar," Luna exclaimed.

"Thanks, let me get that for you," I opened the door for her. I found out that although my armor was actually fairly thick and heavy, it was still easy to maneuver around in.

"Oh, where we're going, we don't need doors," Luna winked and we were whisked away to the courtroom where there was a giant clock above the judge's bench. with only one had that pointed to Luna's cutie mark on the bottom. I'm guessing it pointed to whoever had the court as judge determined by the day or night.

"There you are princess," Bat Fang bowed, "and Cougar, that armor suits you pretty well; nice helmet," he complimented me.

"Thanks Bat Fang," I replied, setting my spear to the side as I stretched around a bit. "So, where's the accused or whatever you guys call them?" I asked.

"Oh, he's chained up right outside here, shall I get him your majesty?" Bat Fang asked Luna as she flew up and perched herself atop the judge's bench.

"Yes you may Bat Fang, bring forth the accused!" She boomed in her royal Canterlot voice, surprising the hell out of me. Bat Fang bowed to his princess, flew back to the doors in the back of the courtroom and opened them up. Right away, Luna and I were met with a loud, cursing voice.

"LET ME OUT OF THESE BUCKING CHAINS YOU BAT FREAK!" a burly stallion's voice shouted.

"Calm down sir, don't make it any worse than it is!" Bat Fang struggled to keep the stallion in his grip. As they entered, I saw that there was a large set of silverly chains locked with a dark blue key lock on the front of the guy's chest all around the tan stallion's legs. He had a black mane that was ruffled up and he had a stench of alcohol that was so powerful that even Luna had to hold her nose. The tan stallion had a heart as black as ink on his flank with a bloody knife stabbing it in the center.

"I'M INNOCENT CELESTIA DAMMIT! LET ME GO BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASS! AND WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT THING DOING HERE!?" The stallion kept shouting and noticed me standing in front of Luna's bench. Bat Fang kept pushing the stallion until he was stopped right where there was a sign that read 'Accused' painted on the floor where he now stood. Looking up, Luna looked pretty fucking intimidating from up where she was perched, but that was probably the point, though I couldn't imagine Celestia looking that intimidating.

"Welcome to the Royal Canterlot Night Court, the honorable Princess of the Night Luna presiding," I cleared my throat.

"Thank you Cougar," Luna cleared her throat as well and read off several sheets of parchment. "So, you are the stallion known as Darkheart correct?" Luna politely asked.

"Yeah, and you're that bitch Nightmare Moon that tried to bring nighttime forever five years ago, yet you're not in jail are you?" Darkheart spat at Luna.

"SHOW YOUR PRINCESS RESPECT MAGGOT!" Bat Fang yanked his chains down hard, bringing Darkheart's head down.

"I've heard worse Bat Fang," Luna nonchalantly sipped on a mug of cocoa. "Now, you stand accused of Drunk and Disorderly, assault and battery on another stallion, and stalking your ex mare friend, how do you plead?" She asked.

"Not guilty your whoreship," Darkheart grinned evilly and spat some spit in Luna's direction.

"Hey asshole!" I exclaimed.

"What the buck do you want you bucking monkey freak!?" Darkheart exclaimed at me. "Look at you, you're more of a freak of nature than Discord, you should've been dissected the moment this bitch and her whore of a sister found you," he growled.

"THOU SHALT NOT TALK THAT WAY ABOUT MY SISTER! Luna's Royal Canterlot voice bellowed out, breaking a few windows in the court room.

"You're treading deadlier waters by the minute fucker," I jabbed the blunt end of my spear into his knee cap.

"One more bad word outta you and you're out of here, buck the trial," Bat Fang agreed with me. Unfortunately, this drunk piece of shit didn't know the meaning of shut the fuck up.

"And what's with this Cougar bullshit? You ain't no cougar," he hiccuped drunkly, "what's your real name? Only bucking cowards hide their real names, like a scared little bitch! I bet that's all you are! A scared little bitch, letting others around you fall while you run with your tail between your legs," he spat on me, the loogie trailing down my leg. I then had a flashback of back to when Reaper and I received our call signs.

"SILENCE YOUR BUCKING MOUTH!" Bat Fang jabbed his hoof into the rear leg of Darkheart.

"THIS MAN SAVED SIX PONIES FROM TWO TIMBERWOLVES! HE HAS MORE HONOR IN HIS EYES THAN YOU DO IN YOUR BODY!" Luna shouted again. That snapped me back to reality. I shook my head and continued to point my spear at him. "Now then, with the written testimonies of witnesses and the owner of the bar who's window you broke, and the fact that this is your fourth offense, you are to serve 5 years in the dungeon, no parole! And we'll tack on another six months for threatening the lives of my two guards, dismissed!" Luna banged her gavel.

"You bucking BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU AND YOU'RE BUCKING COWARD GUARDS!" The Earth Pony began to thrash around. Bat Fang and I stabbed him in the sides with our spears, but not enough to kill him, just immobilize him. However, he kicked his legs out so hard that he tripped Bat Fang's legs, causing him to fall down and the tip of his spear to break the lock off Darkheart's chains.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE MOTHER FUCKER!" I stabbed his rear leg with the tip of my spear as the chains released their grip on his legs. He kicked out with his legs, hitting my gut in the process. "Oof!" I groaned and buckled down, but grabbed onto his tail. "No you don't," I yanked him back and held onto his head in a headlock. "Luna, we need some help!" I shouted. But before she could help, Darkheart reared up with his fore hoof and sucker punched me across the face, breaking my nose. "AH FUCK!" I shouted as blood gushed out my nostrils.

"See ya in Tartarus assholes!" Darkheart bolted out of the courtroom and into the hallways of the castle.

"Cougar, are you alright?!" Luna exclaimed and magically healed my nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but we gotta catch that guy before he escapes! With the Estrus still going on, no one is gonna see where he goes!" I shouted as the three of us dashed out of the Courtroom.

End Chapter XIV

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The hunt is on for Darkheart who just made his sentencing even worse! Will Cougar, Bat Fang and Luna catch him, or will Darkheart escape the castle and into the night? Find out in Chapter XV: A unexpected find

BTW, I'm glad everypony was patient for this chapter. I know it took awhile longer than most, but I do have my other story I'm working on, so I'm churning out chapters as well written and as quickly as possible. Please review!

Also, did you guys like Discord's return?

I do NOT own The Avengers, Captain America or Dumb and Dumber