As Red was walking back to the castle, three flashes of light blinded him for a few moments. When he regained his vision, he saw Discord, Luna, and Celestia, all in slight shock. "What?" Red asked. "Red," Celestia said, "Not just anypony can beat Shining Armor in a fight. And besides, we still haven't found a replacement for Caption of the Royal Guard." "Wait," Red said, "You're not asking what I think you're asking, are you?" "Of course not," Luna told Red. "Actually, yes, I am." Celestia said. "I beg your pardon?" Discord, Luna, and Red asked at the same time. "But, Celestia, are you sure?" Red asked. Celestia nodded. "Princess, I appreciate the offer, but I need some time to think about it." "I understand." With another flash of light, Celestia teleported to her throne. Luna looked furious. "You!" She said, pointing a hoof at Red. "Uh, did I do something wrong?" Red asked. Luna didn't say anything. Her horn lit up, and suddenly, Red was in a chamber he hadn't seen before. There were a variety of weapons. Swords, spears, axes, bows and arrows, crossbows, and many other weapons. In the middle of the rather large room, was a raised platform, about half the size of the room. Red saw Luna angrily taking twin swords with her magic, and flew up onto the platform. Seeing that he couldn't do anything, Red stepped onto the platform, and drew his sword. As soon as he did, Luna charged, and as she did, Red noticed she was quite faster than Shining. He barely raised his sword in time to block the strike that Luna aimed straight for his head.

Red dodged blow after blow, noticing that even in anger, Luna was quite skilled. Dammit, I'm going to have to unlock some of my power just to survive. Red's left eye turned dark grey, just as he ducked under a swing. Then, Red was able to deflect or block most of the strikes. Others were able to scratch him, or even sink an inch or to into him. Red realized that if he didn't do something, he would slip up, and he was already losing enough blood as it was. His left eye turned pitch black, and he ducked again, and this time, he rushed Luna. But she was ready, and stabbed Red in the side. Red's eyes widened. He couldn't keep the grin off of his face anymore. The pain just felt so exhilarating. Laughing like a madman, he gripped the sword in his side. Despite Luna holding onto it with magic, Red pulled the sword out, and threw it into the wall. "Is that all you got?" Red asked, his eyes twitching. "Because if it is, you can't even hope to win." Red rushed at Luna, faster than she could think, and slashed at he sword, knocking it out of her magic, and into the other wall. Luna's eyes widened, her brain just realizing what had just happened. grabbing a spear from behind her with her magic, she hurled it at Red. Red simply cut it in half, but the end managed to stab into his other arm.

The grin never left Red's face. Enraged, Luna charged her magic, and let it loose, directly at Red. He blocked with his sword, but realized that he wouldn't last long with only one arm. Yelling, he focused his energy into the sword and slashed straight up, breaking her blast and sending a wave of black aura right at Luna. Realizing what he had just done, Red snapped his fingers, and transformed into smoke, traveled to Luna with frightening speed, and as he reached her, transformed back, standing in front of her, with his arms outstretched. He took the full force of his own attack, nearly getting knocked over. When the attack faded away, Red's front torso was severely injured. His left eye returned to normal. He fell to his hands and knees, coughing up blood. He fell onto his face, and managed to turn his body. Luna, who was frozen in place with fear, finally regained the ability to move. Rushing over to Red, she looked at his wound. She then realized just how much damage Red could actually do. Then, in a flash of light, both Discord and Celestia appeared in the room. Seeing the state that Red was in, they rushed to him. Looking at them, he smiled weakly, and said, "Hey, good to see you." As soon as he finished saying that, he coughed more blood up.

As Red's vision was getting dark, he heard one last comment from Broken. "God damn, you really do protect those who need it, even if they just tried to kill you..." When Red woke up, he noticed he was in some sort of infirmary. He looked around, then noticed the giant scar on his body. Damn. Did I really try to kill Luna? "Yes, you did, and it's a shame that you didn't." Shut it. Sighing, Red laid back back down. He had nearly killed one of the princesses. Hearing a door he didn't notice before open, he looked at the direction of it.

Celestia had walked in. Sighing, Red said, "Hey, look, I know how bad I fucked up. I'm ready for any punishment you see fit." "Red, punishment isn't even a consideration. You saved my sister." "But I'm the one who almost killed her in the first place." "In self defense." "But she must have had a reason for doing what she did." "Do you have any idea what it took to heal you? Let me tell you. It took my magic, my sister's, my student's, my niece's, and Discord's. You were unconscious for three days. And we're all still recovering from the amount of magic it took to keep you alive." Hearing the amount of energy it took to keep him alive made Red feel twice as guilty. "I lost control. If I hadn't you wouldn't have needed to heal me." "Because you would have been dead."

Red knew she was right. If he hadn't done what he did, the blast from Luna would have obliterated him. "It's still no excuse for what I did." Then, another voice, this one belonging to the one he nearly killed. "Red, just stop blaming yourself." Luna had walked in while Red and Celestia were talking. "Luna? How can you say that after I nearly killed you?" Red asked. Luna just walked closer to him, and made a motion with her hoof to lean closer to her. Celestia backed away from the two. She felt slightly guilty when she knew things she wasn't supposed to. When Red was inches away from Luna, he was suddenly smack in the face with her hoof. "Ow! What the hell was that for!?" Red yelled, a red mark already appearing on his face.

"Two reasons. First, I still have some pent up rage against you. Second, you need to stop feeling guilty. What happened was my fault. If I hadn't tried to kill you, you wouldn't have needed to risk your life for me."  Red looked straight into Luna's eyes, and then hugged her. Caught off-guard, Luna blushed slightly once she realized what was happening. "Uh, Red?" She asked. "Thank you." Was all he said. Just then, Discord happened to have floated in. Looking at the display of affection, he had to resist the urge to laugh. "Awww, how cute, first you try to kill him, then you befriend him. Can't you make up your mind?" He asked Luna.

Red let Luna go, and both of them glared at Discord. "What?" He asked. Then he noticed the slight blush Luna had. "Hm? What's this? Luna, are you blushing?" "S-shut up, Discord!" Luna said, blushing even more. "Oh my, do you have a crush on him?" "I-I do not!" "Uh, I'm right here." Red reminded them.  "So?" Discord asked. Celestia sighed, then said, "Discord, I think it would be better if we left these two alone." "But- Oh! Alright then." Grinning, Discord floated out, and Celestia walked out. Now it was just Red and Luna.

"So, do you really have a crush on me?" Red asked, shattering the awkward silence. "M-maybe..." Luna answered. Red smirked. "Well, in that case..." Red trailed off as he brought Luna in and kissed her. Next Chapter: Memories, Dreams, and Nightmares Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes