Celestia stood up, lifting her wing off me and folded it to her side. I shivered, finding myself missing its warmth as a chill wind blew across my back.

“What seems to be the problem?” she asked, rising to her full posture.

The guard before us promptly bowed. “There was a fight at a tavern between an off-duty guard and a young thestral stallion.” My ears shot upright at this. “During the brawl, the thestral was killed.”

“Oh shit,” I said on reflex, suddenly becoming aware that both the guard and Celestia were staring at me.

Celestia flicked her tail, dismissing my outburst. “Please, rise.” The earth pony guard stood as she went on. “As Night Warden Crescent here has already so eloquently described, this is indeed distressing. Where did this take place?”

“Just a street over from the grain mill.”

She turned towards me. “Night Warden, return with this guard and investigate what happened.”

I was about to protest, looking down at the filly in my hooves and back up at Celestia.

“I will watch over your daughter while you are gone,” she said. “When you return with your report, you may reclaim her.”

“Well, I guess that solves that.” “Yes Princess.” I bowed my head.

Celestia’s horn lit up as her golden aura surrounded Breeze, lifting her gently from me and onto her back. “You two are dismissed,” she said and vanished in a bright pop.

I sighed and stood up. “Well,” I squinted at the insignia painted near the top of his breastplate, “Sergeant. Lead the way.”

He nodded and took off at a gallop. I snorted and took to the air.

When I landed at the scene, the first thing that caught my attention was the body. I could see the hoofmarks from where he’d been beaten, bits of glass glistened red from where they were embedded in the skin. What struck me the most were the broad, dusty lines where a wagon’s wheels had gone over him.

“Sergeant?” I called. “I thought you said this was a brawl.” I pointed at the wheel tracks. “This stallion appears to be run over.”

“Yes sir. Witnesses say that the off-duty guard threw the thestral out the window, just as the wagon was going by.” He pointed at the stopped wagon a short ways down the street. The team that had been pulling it were unharnessed and sitting on the curb. One stallion was patting the other on the back as he threw up in the gutter.

“I see.” I rubbed the bridge of my snout. This wasn’t good. Accidental or not, it didn’t really matter. A thestral dead in Canterlot by the hoofs of a guard member could be seen as an attack on the Nocturne. “Can I see the guard that was involved in the fight please?”

“Yes sir, I’ll bring him right away.” The sergeant walked off and into the tavern.

“Can somepony fetch me a blanket or something!?” I called out. “At least cover him for Celestia’s sake!” I saw a few guards jump to and begin searching for a linen large enough. I turned away and sat next to the dead stallion. He didn’t appear to be more than a year into adulthood.

Dead bodies. Dozens of them were being carried through the doorway on kits and litters. Some died screaming, their eyes wide and unblinking. Tears dried upon their cheeks. Others seemed to have expired without struggle, having just ceased to be. The pungent smell of blood, sweat and tissue hung heavy in the air. My heart pounded in my ears. A private came up to me.

“Sir, what do you want us to do now?” He touched my shoulder and gave me a little shake. “Sir?”

“Sir?” A young guard with a tablecloth was standing before me, shaking my shoulder more forcefully. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” I blinked and poked the guard's breastplate, making sure that this was real.

“You sure?” he asked, removing my hoof. “You look a little sweaty and panicked there for a second.”

“It’s nothing. Just seeing ghosts of the past." I clenched my wings a little tighter, physically trying to hold myself together. “Go ahead and drape the body.”

“Yes sir.”

I walked off into a nearby alleyway and emptied my stomach onto the stones. I panted as I waited for my nerves to settle. My heart was banging away like a drum.

“Night Warden,” the sergeant’s voice called out from behind me. “Are you alright?”

I straightened up and wiped my mouth. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I said as I turned to face him.

He turned back to the white sheet in the street. “Never seen a dead body before, sir?” He gave a small condescending chuckle. “Don’t worry the first one is always the worst.”

I narrowed my eyes and scowled at him, my tone dropping to a near growl. “Sergeant. You seem to either not know know I am or have forgotten, so let me tell you. I am Night Warden Waxing Crescent, former Captain of the Lunar Guard, friend and servant to the Crown, and Prime of the Nocturne." The smirk dropped from his face immediately. "I've fought and led more battles than years you've been alive. I'm commanded legions of souls, defeated numerous enemies, and walked in the wake of death we left behind!"

I now stood before him, my wings flared at my sides. The leathery membranes bearing a light spiderweb of accumulated scars from years of service. My head was held high and my fangs were bared.

"I didn’t lose my stomach because I’ve never seen a dead pony before, but because I've seen too damn many of them and each one killed over something more foolish than the last!” I leaned forward, so my muzzle was right next to his ear and whispered, "So the next time your cocksure mouth decides to crack wise over a dead body, especially to a superior, you'd better be damn sure that your little pool of experience is more than a drop in the ocean compared to theirs."

I pulled away refolding my wings, and retreating back into mask of calm restraint while letting my cold gaze bore into him. It was a look Luna had perfected and taught to me during the years she spent grooming me as her Captain. “Now did you find that off-duty guard like I asked?”

“Yes sir, he’s right here!” He pulled the pony in question in front of him.

“Thank you. Dismissed.”

The young sergeant disappeared, leaving behind a unicorn stallion shaking in his horseshoes before me. His ears were laid flat against his head as he stared at me with wide, terrified eyes.

He whimpered. “It was an accident I swear! I never meant to kill him! It j-”

I put my hoof in his mouth. “Stop. I’m not here to pass down any sort of sentence. I’m just collecting the facts, okay?”

He nodded.

“Good.” I removed my hoof. “What’s your name, first off?”

“Heavy Hoof.”

“Okay Heavy, can you start with how the fight began?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” he fidgeted. “My evening started off at the bar. I noticed him about halfway down. Ordinarily I wouldn’t care who sits at a bar, unless it’s a pretty mare, y’know what I mean?” He slugged me on the shoulder. I narrowed my eyes at him and he gulped. “Right, um, anyway. I only noticed him because it’s uncommon to see a bat-pony in a bar. So I’m through my third pint when I see him staggering after some mare, with the best plot I’ve seen all night. I mean you could bounce a bit of those flanks they were so firm an-”

I cleared my throat, looking pointedly at his hooves groping some invisible mare. “If you could stick to the pertinent points please.”

He put his hooves down. “Oh. Alright. So she’s trotting away for him rather quickly. I figured that this colt just got turned down and wasn’t going to take no for an answer.” He swayed a bit. “And I wanted to get a crack at her too! So I teleport in front of him and tell him to let her go. That he had his chance and it was time some real stallion,” he put a hoof on his chest. “Like myself, got a crack at her.”

I raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt.

“Now I think the batpony had to’ve had too much to drink or some sort of anger problem because he goes off on me. Starts beating on me screaming some nonsense about how I’ll never touch her and she’s his. So I start hitting and shoving him back and eventually managed to buck him through the window...”

For the first time in the last couple of minutes he was silent of his own accord.

“And the cart came by and ran him over?” I asked.

“Yeah.” His voice broke. He sat down, a haunted expression on his face.

“One last thing and we’ll be done,” I said, trying to draw him back to reality. “Can you point out the mare that he was following, if she’s still around here?” I wanted to hear her side of events.

“Uh...sure.” He scanned the area and pointed out a light green pegasus mare with a charcoal colored mane weeping a short distance from the body. “That’s her.”

“Thank you.” I said and trotted across the street. I was glad to get away from him. As a father, I wanted to teach him a little respect for other ponies' daughters, but right now I had a job to do. I came to a stop a respectful distance away from the crying mare. “Ma’am?”

She raised her head, wiping at her eyes. “Yes?”

“I’m Night Warden Crescent. Could I ask you a few questions?”

She lifted up a hoofkerchief and blew her nose. “I suppose.”

“Thank you ma’am.” I stepped closer. “Could I start by asking your name?”

“Spring Showers.” She said between sniffles.

“Miss Showers, I was told that you had some interaction with the deceased. Could you elaborate on your experience with him?”

Her eyes narrowed at me. “The deceased,” she huffed.

My eyebrows knitted. “Excuse me.”

She stared longingly at the thin sheet in the street as her ears folded back against her head. “His name is-” she bit her lower lip, “was Onyx Gale.”

“So you knew him.”

She nodded her head. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few months now.” She smiled a broken smile up at me. “Does that surprise you? A pegasus and a thestral courting.” Her smile faltered and her voice cracked. “In love?”

I sat down next to her and rubbed a hoof on her back. “No ma’am. It sounds like a wonderful thing actually.”

She snorted. “My father didn’t think so. Threatened to disown me if I continued to see him.” She returned to staring at the sheet. “But I couldn’t stop loving him. So I left my father’s estate and have been living wage to wage to support myself, but it was worth it. To just be with him.”

“So what happened tonight?” I asked.

I felt her tense up. Her breathing became labored. “I asked him to meet me here. I was so nervous to see him that I showed up late for my own date. When I found him, I noticed that he was already a little drunk and lost my nerve. I wasn’t sure if he’d even remember whatever I had said in the morning, so I rushed out.” Her eyes welled up as she rambled on. “I didn’t even stop when I heard him call my name. I didn’t turn back inside when the sounds of fighting broke out. I didn’t look back until the glass shattered.” She suddenly became perfectly still as we just stared at Onyx. No more tremors. No racking sobs. “Then it was too late.”

I watched as a crew of ponies came in and loaded him onto a cart, laying him gently on the boards, and carried him away. The entire time, she never said a word. I didn’t know what else to do but just be there.

“I never told him.” Her voice sounded hollow and empty.

My right ear swiveled to her. “Hmmm? Told him what?”

“Tonight I was going to tell him that-” she stopped. Her ears pinned themselves back and she wrapped her tail around herself tightly, hugging it to her chest, “That I’m pregnant.”

I knelt before Celestia. “Your Highness, I have returned to give my report of the situation.”

She rolled her eyes. “Waxing, you do not need to be so formal with me, especially while we are in the privacy of my chambers.”

I stood up from the floor. “As you wish.” I looked around and saw Breeze tucked beneath the covers of Celestia’s bed.

She let out a soft snort and patted the pillow in front of her. “Now come! Tell me what happened.”

I walked over and plopped down drained, both physically and emotionally. “It’s not good. An off duty guard, Heavy Hoof, killed a thestral stallion named Onyx Gale.”

She chewed her lower lip, waiting for me to continue. I had noticed that she had a habit of that when she was thinking. “Is that it? There’s nothing more to it?”

I drew in a long breath. “It’s...complicated and I’m not sure I know how to explain everything.” I scratched the back of my head.

Celestia studied me and rubbed her chin. “Do you trust me?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. I knew that look. “Yes?”

“You don’t sound certain,” she deadpanned.

“To be fair, that question rarely bodes well.” Especially since the last time an immortal alicorn asked that question it didn’t turn out so well.

She huffed and hunkered down a bit on her pillow. “Would you consent to me reading your mind?” She suddenly found the window away from me quite interesting. “It’s very invasive, and leaves you no privacy. Everything you are, I could see. In this case though, I’d just use it to review your observations of the scene.”

“I sense there’s something more to it than you simply having a peek in my head,” I said dryly. “What aren’t you telling me?”

She chewed her cheek. “The trick is that it isn’t a one-way connection. To read another’s mind means to let them in enough to be able to see yours.”

I sat there stunned. “Did Celestia trust me enough to not go prodding through her memories?” The only answer I could come up with was, yes. Why else would she have brought it up if she didn’t. I wasn’t sure how to quite process that aside from being incredibly flattered, which inevitably showed up on my cheeks as they went red.

In all honestly, I didn’t really have much to hide from Celestia. Afterall, this was the mare who had meticulously mended my broken body and seen parts of me that I never had. She was the only pony on the face of Equestria that could quite literally say she knew me inside and out.

I gently laid a hoof on her shoulder. Her head jolted to look at me. I smiled softly and whispered, “I trust you.”

I hadn’t noticed but her body went a little limp as she released whatever tension she’d been holding waiting for my answer. A simple little smile danced across her lips. It was different from the one she ordinarily wore. This one wasn’t nearly as big or bright, but infinitely more genuine and beautiful. Her horn lit up, blinding my vision. I felt it tap on my forehead.

What felt like an eternity later I woke up. My eyes shot around the room as I covered my mouth with a hoof.

“Here, it’s clean.” Celestia set a chamberpot down in front of me. Diving for the rim, I hung over it and puked. She pulled my mane back and rubbed my back with a hoof as convulsion after convulsion racked my body. “I should’ve mentioned the disorientation afterwards. It’s typically worse for non-unicorns.”

“You think?” I snarked and prepared for the next wave of nausea. A good five minutes passed until I felt well enough to step away from the pot. Chicken didn’t taste as good coming back up. Celestia had a cup of water already waiting for me in her magic. I nodded my thanks and went about trying to remove the taste from my tongue while she took the chamberpot away. I set the now empty cup on her bedside table and laid back down on one of the pillows.

Celestia stepped back in the room and rejoined me. “Sorry about that.”

I waved it away. “Did you see everything you needed?” I certainly felt her presence in those memories now. So much so that I could’ve sworn she was actually standing there beside me.

She nodded, “I believe so. At least enough to have Heavy Hoof investigated and possibly discharged." She gave me a sidelong glance. "Also, what does 'Prime of the Nocturne' mean? I don't recognize that title."

"Oh that? Eh, not much really. Used to be that the Captain of the Lunar Guard had a spot on the Council. However, since that's been dissolved, and they wanted to keep me on, they created a new title and awarded it to me." I stated matter-of-factly. "Basically, I'm their most experienced warrior and am there to speak on behalf of our fighters.

“My main concern is for Spring Showers.” I ran my tongue across my teeth making sure they were clean of bile. “Tomorrow I’ll have to do the notification to whomever Onyx’s family is and see where the council sits on the matter.”

Celestia shot up in alarm. “Tomorrow!”

I stared at her bewildered. “Yes. Tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “You just reminded me why I came to find you earlier this afternoon.” Her magic fumbled about her desk until latching onto a scroll tied in a shimmering ribbon. “This was delivered to me today.” She laid it on the ground before me.

“You're being really cryptic. What is going on tomorrow?” I asked leaning forward trying to open it.

“I need to ask a favor.”

I flicked my tail and continued to fumble with the scroll, trying to catch the lip of the paper with my hoof. “What do you need?”

“Can you stay up tomorrow instead of sleeping like normal?” she asked, her eyes pleading.

I cringed. I hated being awake during the daytime. It was just too...bright.

She sighed, lighting up her horn, she opened the scroll for me. I nodded my thanks and began to read.

The name at the bottom caused me to scrunch up my nose. “King Sombra from the north?”

“Yes.” She deadpanned. “Do you know of any other King Sombra’s roaming about?”

“Okay. Okay.” I put my hooves up in mock defense. “Stupid question.” I pointed at the message. “Kind of rude of him to announce his visit only a day before arriving, but I don’t quite understand why you want me there.”

“My guess is to try and throw me off guard.” She stood up from the pillow and stretched. “The Crystal Empire and Equestria have been on friendly terms in the past, primarily just trading with each other,” she walked to her vanity and started taking off her regalia. “Recently though, caravans have been coming back with rumors that not all is well up there.”

“I’m still not hearing why you need me.” I mentioned as dryly as I could without being disrespectful and watched her set her crown and peytral down. “I’m not saying no, but I’m still not keen to agree either.”

“The rumors I’ve heard tend to surround Sombra himself and I could use a second set of eyes to determine if there is anything indeed ‘off’ about him.” She practically pranced over to her bed, kicking off her shoes, scattering them to the corners of the room. She shook her mane about and her wings bristled.

“You want me to stay awake so that I can meet some pony I’ve never met, so that I can confirm whether or not I think they are ‘off’?” I asked, waving a hoof absently.

Celestia lifted Breeze up with a wing and scooted her over in the giant bed. “No, I want you there because you have a seasoned gut about things and know when something is up. I don’t want to base my suspicions on rumor alone, hence why I want a second opinion.”

I opened my mouth to interject that Iron Oak would be just as good, but she held up a hoof to cut me off.

“I’m tired and I want you there,” she gave me a weary smile. “From the sort of things I’ve heard, I strongly suspect that Sombra has been toying with magics he shouldn’t. Point is, this meeting feels ill timed and off. If he proves to be an enemy, I’d rather face him with somepony I trust.” She batted her eyes at me and twirled from side to side. “So, will you please be my wingpony?”

Just like that, she had destroyed any argument I had. “Well when you put it that way, how can I say no?”

“Good. Now!” She clopped her front hooves together and adopted a wicked grin. “It’s time for bed!” She flopped onto her back and made a show of getting comfortable. After she was down she stared at me with half lidded eyes and rubbed the spot between her and Breeze.

I laughed at her antics and rolled my eyes. “I suppose I’ll go get some rest while I can then and collect Breeze in the morning.” Dealing with Sombra during the day and then meeting the Nocturne later that evening meant tomorrow was going to be long. I stood up from my pillow and bowed. “Goodnight Celestia.” I rose and turned to leave.

A strong jerk on my tail held me in place.

“Wax...”

I turned around to face Celestia sitting up, her wings hung limp at her sides and her ears drooped.

“Please. Stay.”

I sighed as I took a step towards the bed. “What am I doing?” My left forehoof stepped onto the soft mattress. “Stop.” I took another step. Then another. My legs moved, possessing a will of their own. Before I knew it, I sidled up between Celestia and Breeze.

“I’m not sure that-” a pristine white hoof was shoved in my mouth.

“Thank you.” She kissed the top of my head. “Something nopony often admits is that it is lonely when you are at the top, especially now that I've no one to share it with." She rested her muzzle between my ears. "I may be a immortal goddess of the sun Wax, but I too am a pony, and a mare. I have needs and wants and desires just like anypony else." She squeezed me to her chest tighter. "And sometimes I need and want and desire cuddles when the weight of my crown weighs a little heavy somedays." She breathed in deeply and I felt her relax. "So thank you."

Her magic snuffed out the candles in the room, plunging the room into darkness. She then draped a wing over me, bringing Breeze snug to my chest and released a small hum of contentment.

"Good night Waxing,” she whispered, her warm breath causing my ear to flicker.

"Good night Celestia," I whispered back and she fell asleep.

I stared at the door to her chambers wide-eyed. Celestia was literally using me like some sort of pony-sized teddy bear. If it weren’t for the fact that I was so damn comfortable, I might have been able to work of some sort of indignant anger but just couldn’t find the resolve. Sighing, I resigned myself to the situation. I had noticed before that when she wasn’t wearing her regalia, she was a little more free spirited, more open. But never this much. This was a new first for me.

I closed my eyes as the day replayed itself in my mind, in particular the memories I saw in Celestia’s mind. I hadn’t gone searching for anything in particular, but couldn’t help the fact that I found a few. Almost as if they were waiting right there for me. One was a bit private, of her bathing in a spring back in the Everfree. She looked much younger and not nearly as tall; her eyes bright and unworried. As if the world was a place to be explored and enjoyed, not some tiresome beast that gradually wore you down. I watched as she played and frolicked in the water, her mane and tail at the time, were not yet a flowing mass of colors, but a tame pink cascading down her shoulders and legs, clinging to her wet frame. She somehow managed to look both innocent and alluring at the same time. Realizing where that train of thought would lead, I jumped the tracks and focused on the second memory I saw.

This one was of her waiting beside me as I slept after patching up the worst of the damage. She ran her hooves through my mane and scratched the spot between my wings while she sang a soft lullaby in a tongue I didn't understand, but at the same time didn't need to. She would fret over my bandages from time to time and gently administer salves and lotions to my shredded wings, to speed along their regeneration. I'd been told that she took care of me during my recovery, but I didn't realize how well until now.

Between the two memories, a warm feeling spread through my chest that I couldn’t quite describe, but regardless, it filled me with youthful hope and admiration and made drifting off to sleep really pleasant.

Author's Notes:

Edited by stanku. He's the best.

Edited again 22 Dec.