I groggily opened my eyes, my internal alarm clock sounding off and telling me to get off of my lazy flank. I lift my head, letting out a yawn as I stretched my neck and my wings. This always helped to wake me up every morning. My sleeping schedule is so off though; The first time I did this it, messed up my routine; but it's starting a new routine. Like waking up at five in the morning before the princess came in. Thestral guards typically sleep during the day and then work all through the night. Minus the few who were set to guard Princess Luna while she slept in the morning. Although my routine is pretty screwed up now, I couldn't really complain about the extra napping hours.

Pros and cons in mind, I guess the blame all goes to the sleeping colt still wrapped in my hooves. Looking down, I noticed that he was, once again, clinging to my barrel as if his life depended on it. His heavy breathing and clenched eyelids were clear indicators, for him at least, that he was still fast asleep. He must be having another nightmare. This isn't uncommon for him. In fact, it seems to be a part of his routine; Go to bed, fall asleep, wake up screaming, go back to bed, wake up again and then repeat until morning. I've asked him about his dreams before, multiple times actually. But, he keeps saying that he can't remember them. Whether or not he's telling the truth I've yet to find out.

I would air my concerns to Luna, but I feel as though she already suspects me of being too close to her adopted son. Saying something would probably just make her angry. It's not that I don't trust her, nor do I think she doesn't trust me, but she has been known to have a jealousy streak. If she became any more suspicious, she might take me away from him. I'm not sure why, but that thought scares me. Maybe I just pity him for feeling so lost and confused. The way he speaks is unlike any other; I've met sailors with better manners. He carries himself with confidence and is always fighting for what he believes is the truth. But, how can I be sure that what he sees as truth is a fact.

I can't help but to dwell on his words sometimes, his stories about his world, how much detail he puts into them. It's unnatural. Nopony could come up with such a complex fantasy. I can see the emotion in his eyes whenever he tells these stories; Hints of joy, anger, and sadness radiates through him during these times. It may not be real, but to him it was. I can't decide whether or not I believe him. He couldn't possibly be from another world ruled by a species completely unheard of to ponykind...Could he?

Shaking my head, I push those thoughts away from me. The sun would start rising soon, meaning Princess Luna would be here shortly. And I'd rather her not see me in her bed, with no armour, and her son clinging to me like a barnacle. I look down at him, seeing the fear plastered across his face. What could he possibly be so scared of; This colt who punches guards, argues with the princesses and even attempted to strangle a waiter with his own tie?

Again, I have to force myself out of my head. I place a hoof to his face, giving him a firm shake. "Hey, wake up." I'd rather not wake him, he's actually pretty cute when he's asleep. But, if I don't, I'll never get him off of me. "Come on, Ebah. Get up!"

He let out a groan, his face relaxing as he tries to bury himself deeper into my fur. "No..."

I felt my eyes roll on their own. "At least let me go before Princess Luna sees me." I said, knowing that he was just as paranoid about her taking me from him as I was. "She should be here any minute now and I don't think she'll like seeing one of her guards being nuzzled by you."

"Fuck!" He yelled into me, releasing me from his vice-like grip.

Now free from his clutches, I climbed out of bed and walked over to where I had placed my armor. Putting it back on was pretty easy, I've been putting it on and taking it off for years. Once I was dressed proper, I looked back at Ebah. From what I can see, he was sleeping again...and had replaced me with a pillow. I could feel a smile creeping across my muzzle. He may claim to be older than he appears-and even manages to play the part from time to time-but he still makes an adorable child. Keeping my eyes on him, I moved to a dark corner in the room. This was a common practice for thestral guards as well. Staying hidden in the dark so any would-be attackers couldn't see them. That way they could be apprehended before they could even begin to figure out what was happening.

I stood there in silence for nearly a half hour, watching over the little colt as he fidgeted, kicked and even talked in his sleep. Again, this wasn't anything new. It bothered me to no end, but -unlike Princess Luna- there was nothing I could do to help him with his nightmares. Time and time again, I tried to listen to what he was saying while he was asleep. However, I've yet to decipher a single sentence. I was lucky just to understand one word throughout the entire night.

There was one night when I heard him rambling pretty clearly about his mother though. Taking advantage of the situation, I listened in. I learned a lot about his relationship with his birth mother that night and I honestly can say; No wonder he's so screwed up! The things I heard, how he voiced both sides of multiple arguments, it terrified me. Just some of the things he said, in a weird imitation of what I assumed was his mother's voice, made me wonder how they hadn't killed each other. But, in some of those arguments, it sounded like they had come pretty close. I tried my best to tune out his sleep-induced ramblings after that. I think I'd rather listen to a blender filled with roofing nails and live rats than have to go through that again.

Finally, the door opened.

Princess Luna stepped in. She looked exhausted, ready to collapse at the clap of a hoof. She walked over to the bed as I patiently waited for her to relieve me. Instead of releasing me from my duties, she went over to the distressed colt, placing a tired, yet caring hoof to his head. "Mine son..." She muttered, "My poor, poor child."

I continued to watch in silence as her horn started to glow, a string of magic moving from it to Ebah's head. Once connected his trembling ceased, his muttering faded and his entire body relaxed. With him appearing to be at ease, Princess Luna cut-off her magic. She looked at him, her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't quite read. "We wish we could do more, Ebah." She said, a lone tear rolling down her cheek before falling from her face to the comforter. "We wish we could help you. All we want is to be there for you and love you like any mother should." She sniffed, holding back her sadness. "But you fight us every step of the way..."

It hurt me to see my Princess so hurt and sad. In a way, she asked for this, having decided to take such a damaged colt as her child. But, it wasn't with ill intent. Ebah is a difficult child, that goes without saying. I guess it’s both of their faults in a way. Princess Luna took to this child, letting herself get attached to him pretty quickly without knowing much about him. Then there's Ebah, who acts out constantly and makes it a point to turn her time with him into a living nightmare. In my opinion, her relationship with him is probably as dysfunctional as it gets. They're like oil and water. And the harder she tries, the harder he pulls away. He's hurting her by trying to keep her at bay and she's adding to her pain by trying even harder to be by his side.

She lowered her head down, nuzzling him gently. Despite being asleep, he pulled away from her, continuing to pretty much cuddle-rape his pillow. Princess Luna lifted her head with a solemn look on her face. "Even in your slumber, you fight us."

I couldn't stand to watch this anymore. Seeing my princess in such a vulnerable state was starting to eat away at me. I want to help her, but it really isn't my place-

"Garnette..." I felt my body stiffen as she said my name.

"Present, your highness." I said in a firm tone, keeping it just low enough to avoid waking Ebah.

"We would very much like to speak with you outside of our chambers." She said, standing up tall before departing from the bedroom with me following close behind. Once we were out, she closed the door with her magic. She then shot me the most pleading look I have ever seen.

Her eyes were brimming with tears that threatened to fall as the clap of a hoof when she finally asked, "How do you do it?"

Against my own wishes, I felt one of my brows rise as she asked me this. "Do what?"

A weak smiled formed on her face as she forced a laugh, looking away from me as if I had just offended her. "Why does he hold you in such high regard?" She went on to ask. This question caused me to feel a little intimidated as she looked back at me, a few of those tears finally breaking free and rolling down her muzzle. "He dreads every second with us, but awaits your visits with more optimism than he's show for anything else."

I knew she'd ask me this sooner or later and I've been preparing a statement to both enlighten her and save my own ass at the same time...One of which I had yet to perfect...Or even get halfway through before daydreams of her crushing my head with a hoof came rushing into my mind.

"What do you do that makes you so-"

"Permission to speak freely, princess?" I didn't mean to cut her off, or even open my mouth for that matter. That one just kinda slipped. I pray to all that is holy that she tells me to shut up and go back to the bar-

"Granted."

Fuck!

Okay, I just have to stay calm. Looking up at her, I felt a lump build up in my throat. I swallowed it down audibly, trying to think of what I could say that wouldn't result in her getting pissed off and probably killing me. Sadly, my brain decided to jump on the 'Nope Train' all the way to 'You're Fuckedville'.

There was a point where I just settled with the idea of taking off down the hall, but I doubt she'd let me get very far. I took a breath and removed my helmet, my eyes soon locking with hers as I finally said what was on my mind. "You fucked up."

Luna's eyes went wide at this, making me suddenly regret being born. "I beg your pardon..."

Well, that was stupid. But it's been said, no taking it back now. As Ebah would say, 'Bullshit it till you win it'. "In my own personal opinion, I think you're going about this the wrong way."

Her eyes narrowed at me, making me realize that I just told a mother that she wasn't raising her child right. Yet another bad move on my part. "We would suggest that you elaborate and choose your next words wisely."

I responded, but in a small fit of panic, I spoke a little faster than I had intended. "I-I just think that y-you should go about earning his trust in a different manner is all." Her mouth didn't move, but her eyes told me to continued. "You know about his nightmares, right?" I asked, hoping to direct her anger toward something other than me.

"Of course we do." She said, leaning her head closer to mine. "We are the maiden of dreams and destroyer of nightmares."

I may have squeaked a bit as she moved in on me. Again, talking faster than intended. "Then you know how he feels about mother’s, right?"

Her gaze softened as she moved to her previous position. It was still threatening, but with less 'I'm gonna slaughter your family' to it. "We are aware of his views on his previous parental figure, yes."

"No, not his mother. Mother's in general" I corrected, earning me a confused look from her. I took advantage of the following silence to explain myself further. "It's just a theory at this point, but I think it's a sound one." I began, "Given the relationship with his mother, is it really so shocking that he wouldn't like the idea of having another one? I mean, if he thinks all mothers are bad, then that would make sense as why he's avoiding any maternal affections."

Princess Luna's expression went from scary to contemplating, as if she were actually considering my idea of how he thought. "With that theory in mind, it wouldn't be surprising for him to shun a mother figure." Suddenly, her mood shifted to, what I could only identify as desperation. "Meaning that...he may never accept me." Desperation quickly mashed with panic and before I could react, her hooves were on my shoulders, shaking me harder than a crying infant...Okay, that was pretty morbid. I've been hanging around Ebah too long. "Guard, you must aid us! You gained his trust nearly overnight!"

Happy as I was that she wasn't going to kill me out of spite, a broken neck was still a possibility at this point in time. "Iwillassoonasyoustopshakingme!" I yelled, more out of fear of being paralyzed than anger. Thankfully, she stopped; Removing her hooves from my shoulders as my head rolled around my neck. Shaking the dizziness from myself, I was able to collect my thoughts enough to form a proper response. "Try approaching him, not as your son, but as you would a friend."

Luna paused for a moment, having a slightly embarrassed look about her. "B-but...we don't really...have a lot of friends." She confessed. "In fact, we are unsure how friends interact."

That complicates things just a little. "Okay then. How about trying to..." How the hell am I supposed to tell her to-Oh my moon I am going to get slapped for this. "Insult him."

Luna shot me a blank stare at that one. "We beg your pardon?"

"Ebah doesn't respond well to...anything...kindness included." I explained, hoping that she would see things in a way that would favor us both. Her by getting closer to Ebah and me by staying in one piece. "When I first met him, it started off rough...for about ten seconds. We bantered, we argued and we even threatened each other. Before I knew it, we were laughing at each other and everything seemed to work out from that point on."

"Indeed?" Her demeanor shot right back to terrifying after a flash of realization crossed her features. "Wait, you threatened our son?"

I felt my eyes widen at her. "I meant nothing by it, my princess! I swear to you, I would never lay a hoof of ill intent on Ebah!" I defended, "I was merely going off of his own sense of humor and responding in kind. It was just harmless banter, I promise."

Her body seemed to relax at my words. "Given how taken he is with you, we can only assume that you are telling the truth." I quickly let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding, only for it to get caught in my throat when her nose became pressed against mine. "But the first complaint we receive from him and we will have you sent to the moon!"

"Message received!" Was the only thing I could think of to say.

"Excellent!" She said with a smile...Sometimes, I fear that my princess may have a mental disorder...or two. "We will think over what you have told us and may try your version of befriending him." She said, looking much more upbeat than she had earlier. "We thank you for your honesty and courage."

Putting on a small smile of my own, and breathing properly again, I bowed. "My pleasure, Princess." I said, rising from my bow to look her in the face once more. "As a side note; He has complained about how you talk on more than one occasion."

Luna let out an annoyed sigh, "Yes. He has aired those complaints many a time to our face." She explained, "We...I am working on it. Slowly but surely." My smile grew as she looked at me with something that didn't spell out how many ways she could end my life. "You are relieved for the night, Garnette. Return to the barracks at once."

"Yes, Princess." I said with a salute, replacing my helmet as I walked away.

More than once I mentally thanked every deity I could think of as I took my time getting back to the barracks. The fact that I was walking away from that with only slight mental trauma was nothing short of a miracle. Nearly everypony in the royal guard has seen the princess when she was upset. If ponies thought she was a force to be reckoned with while she was calm; Trust me, Hell hath no fury like Luna's.

Mentally drained, I made it to my bed, placing my armor in the wooden trunk that rested by the foot of the bed. I took a breath, feeling exhausted, despite having slept a good few hours before Luna's arrival to her chambers. I still couldn't get over how well things went when she called me out to speak with her. But, I was way too out of it to bother dwelling on the memory. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say.

Putting any and all thoughts behind me, I climbed into bed and covered myself. The mattress was stiff, the blanket was itchy, and my pillow was so flat it might as well be paper. But, it was my bed and I had grown accustomed to it. In fact, I only noticed how uncomfortable it was after Ebah started forcing me to sleep beside him.

That kid is spoiling me. In no time at all, I'm gonna be as soft as a common noble. I chuckled a bit at my own thought, resting my head on my flat, lifeless pillow as I closed my eyes and waited to drift off. It took some time, but eventually I was greeted by the dream land with open hooves.

I woke up only a couple of hours later. Looking over at the clock, I cursed the child that had gone and screwed up my sleeping schedule. I wasn't supposed to be up for another few hours, the sun wasn't even close to setting! The day guards were likely still roaming the halls.

Rolling around a bit, I tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail. After a few minutes of angry muttering, I accepted my fate and sat up with a huff. My eyes scanned the barracks, looking over the many thestrals that were fast asleep, as they should be. I couldn't stop the growl that came from my throat as I tossed my blanket aside and climbed out of bed.

Very much awake, as well as annoyed, I grumpily trotted to the showers, doing my best to keep quiet so I wouldn't wake anypony. A hot shower might be what I need to calm my nerves. Who knows, maybe it'll relax me enough to help me sleep.

Upon entering, I was greeted by the smell of musk, soap, and various other scents I didn't bother trying to identify. I walked over to the furthest shower head, turning it on and adjusting it to a tolerable temperature. Testing the water with a hoof first, I walked under the the pouring waters, closing my eyes as I let it run through my mane and down my face.

A satisfied hum escaped me as I felt the anger I was feeling wash down the drain with the warm water. I don't dare to sit down, Faust only knows what kind of filth was embedded in the tiles in here. But, it was still a calming little experience. I wiped some of the water from my face with my forehoof before grabbing a bar of soap and scrubbing myself with it. While doing this, I heard the pattern of hoofsteps not too far from me.

Dammit... I thought, So much for not waking anypony.

I set the soap down and turned around. "Sorry about that." I said, a little pissed at myself for ruining somepony else's sleep. "I didn't mean to-" My breath became caught in my throat once my eyes locked with a familiar stallion, one that should be forbidden from even coming near these barracks. He wasn't hard to recognize; White coat, grey mane, bright green eyes. "What do you want, Armor?" I asked with no small amount of venom in my words as I glared at the solar guard.

Of all of the ponies who could show up and harass me, it had to be this tool. Thick Armor; Elite solar guard, expert markspony, and cheating asshole!

Thick looked at me with a cocky smile, not even a little bit intimidated by me. Of course he wasn't. That was one of the things I used to like about him. "I'm just checking on my favorite bat." He said, taking a few step closer to me. "Is that really so bad?"

"Solar guards aren't allowed in these barracks, or the night wing for that matter, unless directly ordered by the princess." I hissed, even knowing he wouldn't listen. It never stopped him before.

Armor rolled his eyes at me, still wearing that smug grin. "You realize I only started coming here after you begged me to, right?"

I turned away from him, unable to keep looking at his face. "That was then, this is now. And you're not allowed in here, so leave." Hoping he would honor my wishes, I didn't bother facing him again. Instead, I went back to letting myself soak.

I should have known better.

Out of nowhere, his hoof was on my shoulder, but I still refused to look at him. "Come on, Garnette." He pleaded, "I know I screwed up. I'm sorry. You mean everything to me and I don't want to lose you."

Dammit, I could feel my eyes starting to water. No, I wasn't going to spend another second crying over him! "Your apologies mean nothing!" I said through clenched teeth, pulling away from his touch. "If I really meant so much to you, then you never would have slept with her in the first place."

"Garnette, please-" He continued, replacing his hoof on me.

"I said, no!" I yelled, pulling away, only for him to try even harder. This time, placing both hooves on me, I was forced to face him as he held me in place. "Leave me alone!"

"Gar-"

"SOAP TO THE DOME!!!"

I felt his grip on me loosen, causing me to look at him curiously as his eyes crossed before his entire body fell to the shower room floor. My eyes followed the now unconscious lug to the ground, staring at his limp form for a moment before moving up just enough to see Ebah standing behind him, his eyes locked on the stallion as he held a sock tightly in his right hoof. A sock that, I could only assume, judging by the stretch marks, as well as his wording, was full of soap bars.

I stared at Ebah in a mixture of shock and confusion. He shared this look, but it was instead directed at Thick Armor. "That worked out better than expected." He said, finally tearing his gaze from the body and moving it to me. "You alright, sweetheart?"

"That worked out better than expected."

We should skin him while he's out.

I wanna wear his rib cage like a chest-plate.

If we tie him down we could show him what happens when he crosses us.

Ignoring the psychopaths haunting my thoughts, I turned my attention off of this...Armor? Was that what she said his name was? I can't remember, I was a little preoccupied once things started to escalate. Anyway, I looked up at Garnette. She was a little shaken, which was something I wasn't used to seeing with her. She was usually so headstrong and acted like she could take on anything. Seeing her like this made me uncomfortable.

"You alright, sweetheart?" Was all I could think of to ask. I know it was stupid, but if she could at least lie and say that she was fine, I'd be content enough to let this all drop.

She stared at me, unblinking for a few seconds before responding. "Y-yeah, I'm okay..." Not as satisfying as I was hoping it would be, but it did ease my nerves a little. That feeling was short lived as she looked back down at the lug on the floor, a look of pain and sadness reflecting in her eyes.

Suddenly the idea of skinning this cock-hole became a lot more tempting. I followed her gaze to the stallion, feeling a certain amount of rage building up in my chest as I saw him beginning to wake up. It took everything I had not to beat him to death with my makeshift weapon.

The stallion opened his eyes, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof as he got up. "What- What happened?"

I'd say that I tried to stop myself, but that would be a lie. "Soap to the dome!" I yelled, jumping up and swinging at him again. However, I was not as successful the second time around. As I jumped up, a white hoof caught me by the hair and threw me to the side. "Ow...dick!"

Shaking myself off from my little tumble, I climbed back to my hooves to see Garnette all up in this guys face. "You keep your fucking hooves off of him." She yelled, bumping her chest against his, causing him to take a couple steps back.

Armor responded in kind, bumping her back a little harder. "What the hell is your problem?"

I got more than a little mad watching him shove her. Figuring I'd give it a least one more shot, I ran over. The floor was slick from water. I used this to my advantage as dropped down, letting my small form slide beneath the stallion. I was going to remind him what I do to ponies bigger than me when they piss me off, but once again, he saw it coming. As I slipped under his body, my stomach was painfully introduced to one of his hind hooves. So there I laid beneath him, my chest aching and my lungs deprived of air as I struggled to take a breath with the weight of his back half pushing down on me.

"Get off of him!" I heard Garnette yell. From down here I couldn't see much, but I definitely heard someone get hit.

That's my girl! Kick his ass!

Despite my predicament, I was hopeful that Garnette would beat the ungodly shit out of this fucker. Then, for the third time in a row, my prayers were denied. There was a loud smack that echoed above me, and before long, the body of the thestral mare falling to the ground.

I looked over at Garnette as she placed a hoof to her face. There was a small trickle of blood coming from her nose. What I felt earlier was nothing compared to whatever was rising through me now. I felt warm all around, a literal burning sensation pumping through my veins as I stared at my friend with wide eyes and a decent amount of built upon rage.

And I don't know how I did it, but I did. My cranial erection went off like some Dragon Ball Z bullshit, blasting the fucker above me with a bright orange beam that sent him flying to the other side of the showers. Not thinking, my adrenaline doing all of that for me, I hopped back to my hooves. I was going to charge him until I noticed the shower head. They started shaking violently, even going as far as stretching out of the walls and shooting pipping hot water out like a fire hose.

This caught me off guard a bit, seeing how I had no idea how I was even doing this, but I didn't complain. In fact, I was mentally cheering myself on when they started to bend, angling themselves at the stallion I Kamehameha'd across the room. The water hit him like a jet, pinning him against the wall.

"Oh sweet Celestia!" I heard him call out, his voice being muffled by water. "Please make it stop!"

"Aww, what's wrong?" I teased, a smile quickly working it way on my face. "Is it too cold for you? Here, let me turn up the heat!" Focusing purely on my rage, the shower heads obeyed my command, which was easy to tell by the increasing amount of steam coming from the water. That and the fact that this Armor prick was screaming a lot louder. "Is that better?"

I let my little heat jets do their own thing, turning around and walking over to my vampiric friend. "I retract my question from earlier." I said. Id offer a hoof to help her up, but that wouldn't make any sense seeing how short I am in comparison. "Now are you okay?"

Garnette just kinda shot me a dumbfounded look, her eyes exchanging glances between me and the pony being waterlogged in the distance. "How are you doing that?"

I looked away, then looked back at her shrugging. "Beats me."

"Well, you should probably stop before he drowns." She suggested, which was actually a good idea.

"Fine..." I submitted, turning back to face Armor. That was when I realized something pretty important. "Uh, Garnette?"

I turned my head to look at her, watching as she stood up and wiped the blood from her nose. "Yeah?"

"I don't know how to stop it..."

From dumbfounded to dumbstruck in the blink of an eye, she was. "You're kidding...right?"

"Not even a little..." I was completely lost when it came to this pony-voodoo-bullshit. I don't even know how I managed to make all of this happen, let alone know how to undo it! "Any ideas?"

"I don't know how to use magic!" She announced rather loudly. "I'm not a unicorn!"

"I don't know how to use it either, dammit!" I defended, "This just kinda happened!"

"Well figure it out before he dies!"

I growled in frustration, walking to the end of the shower heads, but being careful not to step into the line of fire. "Uh...stop?" That didn't do anything. "Presto-fuckoff-o..." Yeah, that was just as helpful. "Open Sesame!" There it is! A whole of nothing! "Motherfucker, I will end you! Piss off!!"

Surprisingly, that actually worked. The water stopped flowing and the pipes slowly began to reshape and position themselves until they had returned to their former glory. Behind me there was a wet 'Flop'. Naturally, I assumed I was too late and the guy had fallen over; Deader than shit.

Turning around, a certain amount of dread filling my chest as I did so, I was actually met with a living pony. The dread was gone in an instant as I looked down at his wide eyed, panting form lying pathetically on the floor. I could see the redness of his skin beneath his coat, as well as a number of decently sized blisters.

"I'd say I over did it, but I don't think I did." I said, lowering myself down to his level. "Karma's a bitch, ain't she?" Armor looked up at me with only his eyes, fear being very evident in them. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear; Garnette is not some toy to be played around with. She is a lady and you will treat her as such."

"On top of that, she's my best friend." I continued, making sure to glare a few daggers into him. "Now, I tend to be pretty possessive over the people I care about. That being said, if I ever see you, or even hear about you, being so much as within sniffing distance of her..." I moved forward, pressing my nose against his. "I. Will. Fucking. Kill. You. Is that clear?"

The look he was giving me was more than enough of an answer. This was satisfying enough. I got my point across and got to beat a horse with a bar of soap before boiling it alive...Today has been a good day...And this guy is still just laying here...

I shot him another glare. "Run..." Apparently that was all he needed to take off, cause he shot up like a fucking bullet and was gone in the blink of an eye. I wasn't even all that surprised, moreover, I was impressed. "You'd think he'd be slower after taking that kind of punishment..."

Figuring that fuck-hole was no longer a problem, I directed my attention back to my favorite vampire. She had a smirk on her face, like she knew something that I didn't. "What?" I asked, "What the fuck are you looking at me like that for?"

"So I'm a lady now, huh?" She brushed a bit of her wet mane from her eyes as she asked this. "That's something I've never heard you say."

"Well, you got lady bits don't ya." I shot at her, only helping to make that shit-eating smile grow. "Would you rather I call him back in here and let him get all hoovsie with you?"

That one earned me a chuckle from her. "I think I'll pass." She said, giving me a look that I couldn't quite identify. "I suppose a 'Thank you' is in order?"

"I would think so."

She nodded, a flash of curiosity coming across her. "Why though?"

I blinked a few times before answering. "Because I did you a solid...Duh!"

"No, not that." She said to correct herself. "I mean, why did you help me? You should know I'm more than capable to handle one stallion on my own, so why bother."

"You choked, need I remind you." A small blush formed on her cheeks, likely out of embarrassment. "And I don't know about you, but I have certain rules when it come to people I care about. The first, and most important, reads thus; I am the ONLY one who gets to treat you like shit. Period!"

"That fucker is lucky that he got away with only a few burns!" I continued, throwing myself into another rant. "If I had the means, I would have strung him up by his hooves and beaten him like a pinata." Honestly, I'd do a lot worse than that, but I didn't feel like scaring off the only mare that doesn't hate me, or love me like a maniac. "He doesn't have the right to even be near you, let alone touch you! And let it be known, if he tries anything like this again, that will be it! I swear to all that is divine and damned, I will wipe his ugly fucking face from existence! Just say the word and I will-"

Somehow, during my little tantrum, I failed to notice Garnette walk over, sit down, and then wrap her hooves around my body before pulling me into a hug. "Thank you, Ebah." She all but whispered into my ear. "You had no reason to stand up for me, but you did. You don't know how much that means to me." I couldn't help but smile as a strange warmth built up in my chest. My hooves moved on their own, returning her embrace whole-heartedly. "You're a good friend."

I warned you!

I told you not to get attached!

Once again, you've succeeded in hurting yourself!

I felt my smile fall a bit at her words there. "Yeah...friend..." I muttered to myself, forcing my smile back to my face as she separated us from each other and looked down at me with a smile of her own. Unlike mine though, hers was genuine.

Then one of her eyebrows raised, her expression looking more playful than anything else now. "Say; What were you doing down here anyway?"

Oh fuck!

"Oh, you know..." I began, trying to come up with a decent lie. "I was just wandering around and got curious about what your home away from home looked like. So, I decided to drop by and have a look around when-"

"You are lying through your teeth." She said with a giggle.

Fuck it, I submit. "Yes, I am."

What was worse than being caught, was that it only took her all of about two seconds to put it together. "You were trying to sneak a peek, weren't you?"

"Absolutely."

After kicking Ebah out of the shower room so I could dry off, I replaced my armor on my body. I didn't have any reason to, seeing how I wasn't on duty at the moment, but that hit I got from Thick Armor left a pretty nasty bruise and the helmet helped keep it hidden. I carried Ebah through the halls on my back. I was going to take him back to his room, but the sun was up now and he said he wasn't tired. So, instead, I took him to the dining room. The plan was for me to drop him off then go back to the barracks, which is where I was still supposed to be until sunset, but we ran into a bit of a delay. As I carried him to the table, the two of us spotted a rather wide-awake and reprimanding looking princess.

I came to a complete stop as my eyes met those of Princess Celestia, hers filled with calm anger. "Good morning, Garnette, Ebah." She said almost too calmly, a simple frown resting on her muzzle. "Please, have a seat." She motioned to the chairs beside her.

I felt myself gulp against my own wishes, mentally questioning the child above me when I heard him growl. How is he not freaked out? This is the princess of the sun! The one who banished Nightmare Moon to the moon for a thousand years! How is he not freaking out!?

Seeing no other option than to cooperate, I obeyed the sun goddess. Moving forward, I let Ebah climb down from my back and we both took a seat, staying somewhat close to each other with him sitting in front of me.

Celestia levitated a cup with her magic, the contents within being unknown to me, but producing a fair amount of steam as she raised it to her lips. She kept her eyes on us the whole time, lowering the glass before saying anything. "I received a message from the burn ward within the castle's medical center." She began, causing my whole body to tense up. "It would seem that one of my guards had an incident in the shower room."

Her head leaned forward at an almost unnoticeable pace. "However, upon further investigation, we discovered the showers in the solar guards barracks to be dry while the lunar-"

"Get to the fucking point!" Ebah snapped, earning a shocked look from me.

Celestia froze, her head going back to its previous position. "Very well." She said, her tone still disturbingly tame. "I was going to give you a chance to confess, but I guess it's time to play hard ball." Taking a breath, her eyes locked onto Ebah's. "I want to know exactly what you did, why you did it, and why I shouldn't punish you right now."

"Okay." He said nonchalantly, raising a hoof and using the other to count as he spoke. "I taught him a lesson. Because he's a prick. And because you owe me." He made it a point to glare at her when he listed the last one. "So let's go ahead and pretend this never happened, sound fair?"

For the first time ever, I heard one of the princesses growl like a pissed off animal. But, she reeled it in and recollected herself. Didn't look happy about it, but she did. "Fine...I will uphold my word and forgive you this one time." She declared, "But only if you explain yourself."

Ebah clicked his tongue before making a response. "He crossed a line he shouldn't have..." He began, each word carrying a certain amount of weight behind it. "I stepped in, defended that pony as best as I could, then he put his hooves on me. I could overlook that, but when he dared to strike the pony I was defending, I got a little upset." He paused for a second, shooting daggers from his eyes. "What he got was only a fraction of what he deserves. Your boy should consider himself lucky that he isn't on a spit, being roasted over a campfire while everyone sings Kumbaya."

It isn't surprising that the princess wasn't pleased with his explanation. If anything, she was going to ream him endlessly. That would only make it worse though. I had to do something. He's saved my ass from getting in trouble more than once, the least I can do is have his back like he's had mine.

I raised my head a bit, just enough to catch Princess Celestia's attention. Her face was still glued to Ebah's, but her eyes did wander my way. Once I was sure her attention was on me, I angled my head to the side and pressed a hoof to my helmet, lifting it just enough to show the hoof shaped bruise on my cheek.

Her eyes widened slightly as the realization came to her. Quickly, her eyes moved back to Ebah, who didn't seem to notice what had happened. Whether he was ignoring it or simply too mad to care was a mystery to me. Her expression became neutral, like nothing had happened.

"Ebah..." Celestia said, making sure he was still paying attention. "I will respect your wishes and let this slide. But, should something like this happen again, I will not be able to overlook it."

"If I had fingers, I'd flip you off."

"Duly noted." Celestia rose from her seat, making her way out of the dining room. "If you are hungry, feel free to summon one of the chefs. I have some business to attend to."

I held my blank expression as I left that room and trotted into the night wing of the castle. I honestly don't see the appeal of the dark color scheme that Luna has chosen for these halls, but it hers to do with as she pleases. Pushing that thought aside for now, I focused on my goal, over time approaching the door to my sister's bedroom. I opened the door and moved to the side of her bed, quickly spotting her sleeping form.

I gave her shoulder a light shove with one of my hooves. "Luna..." I said in a voice just above a whisper as to not startle her. "Luna, wake up."

She stirred a bit, a groan escaping the covers before they were lowered enough for me to see her tired face. "Yes, sister?" She said groggily, "What is it?"

"Luna, you will not believe what Ebah has done..." I said quietly.

In an instant, the sleep in her eyes vanished and she sat up with purpose. "What is it? What has he done?" She asked in a panic tone, her expression shifting to confusion as I felt a my lips stretching into a smile. "Sister..."

"He made me proud."

Author's Notes:

I am having way too much fun doing this story again. I hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as me.
Again, I would like to thank,

DekaSkittalz

for editing this story for me. You've been a real help buddy, don't know what I'd do without you.
ANYWAY! If you are enjoying this story, make sure to slap that LIKE button like a bitch! Share it with your friends and leave a comment below. Comments make me feel special :P