As StarStep fell into pace slightly behind and to the right of Princess Luna, his eyes roamed over her body. He admired her sleek toned form, the contrast of her coat's blue to the field of black of her cutie mark, and the flowing mane and tail. Something about her ethereal blue hair was entrancing. Much like a magic lava-lamp, Star was sure he could stare into her hair for hours.

A soft cough pulled his eyes from her rump area. Luna was glancing over her shoulder with a curious expression. To which, Star could only bob his head and look away in embarrassment. She wandered down the stonework path, pausing to sniff at the bloomed Night-Lilies. Occasionally nibbling on petals of Morning Glories that had closed for the night. Star was rather certain the Morning Glories were Celestia's prized flowers, but held his tongue and allowed the Night Princess her evening snack.

The Princess seemed to have no discernible destination, as she wandered from path to flower-bed to small fountains to stare at her moon's reflection in the rippling pools. She spoke not a word, content in her stroll with StarStep as her personal shadow. Occasionally she seemed to glance back out of the corner of her eye, perhaps checking to see that Star had not fallen behind. The look was so fleeting, the pegasus wasn't certain. While he maintained an outwardly calm appearance, he was as giddy as a fan-filly at a Wonderbolt show. Butterflies danced within his stomach, and he was thankful he had a light meal before duty. Lest he made a wretched spectacle of himself.

As the evening stroll meandered on, and the moon climbed to it's zenith, Luna paused on a small hill that managed to overlook the garden walls. She settled back on her haunches as StarStep took his place off to her right side. There was but a gentle breeze tonight, brushing across his coat. The hill higher than the walls that normally prevented wind. Below them stretched the moon-lit view of the countryside. Far off in the distance one could make out the faint twinkling lights of Ponyville. He took time to admire the scene of subtle blues, blacks and greys of a kingdom bathed in the night's colors.

While musing on the color patterns of the landscape, he noticed the Princess studying him. Smiling, he met those teal-green eyes, admiring how they seemed both playful and wise. She did not break eye contact and Star refused to be the first. At last his eyes began to dry out, forcing him to blink. Luna giggled.

“Huzzah! I win!” She grinned and clapped crystal-shod fore-hooves together in delight.

StarStep chuckled softly and nodded to her, “Indeed Princess. Though I did not know we were playing.”

She tilted her head, regarding him with a mischievous smile, “Oh no? But thou hath played splendidly. I must say, I am pleased by thine adherence to decorum and knowledge of when to hold thy tongue.” She patted the grass covered hill next to her, “Come, sit beside me, my armor clad shadow.”

Star accepted her generous offer and rested back on his haunches next to the dark blue alicorn. She nodded, a smile upon her muzzle before turning her attentions to the skies above. They sat in silence for a while. The rustle of leaves and chirping of crickets a backdrop to the tapestry of the galaxies spread before them. StarStep attempted to join her in star-gazing, yet his eyes would often wander to the left. He'd catch glimpses of the Princess before he internally reprimanded himself and the cycle would begin again. As far as he could tell during his fleeting looks at her, she remained staring skyward.

Then on about his fifteenth look over at her, she cleared her throat causing him to jump slightly. She turned her head to regard him, smile gone from her lips, and her eyes seemed stern. “StarStep, I wish thee to look at me. Truly look at me. I command it.” She stood, turning her head to the heavens and flared out her massive wings, striking as regal a pose as she could.

StarStep could feel his heart catch in his throat, as an ache formed in his chest. Fighting off the sudden rush of emotions, he obeyed her order. His eyes traced her curves from that regal muzzle to the subtle curves of her flanks. Noting how the black field of her cutie mark accented that sleek rump. He took time to notice how her flowing mane seemed to highlight the sweep of her long neck and large ears. How each of her primaries feathers were as long as his entire wing, and her horn seemed to taper into a more dangerous point than other unicorns. Down his eyes went to admire the sleek legs of the alicorn. She was more gangly than her sister but that seemed to make her more attractive in his eyes.

As his roving study of her form returned to her head, he found her looking back from the corner of her eye. “Tell me, StarStep. Now that thou hath studied me, what dost thou see?”

StarStep frowned, debating internally what was proper to say to the Princess. Long seconds of awkward silence passed before he found the courage to open his mouth, “I see the royal Princess of the night sky in all her splendor. Regal in bearing and glory. The stars but a pale reflection of her, and the moon jealous of her radiant beauty. Powerful, composed, and dreamlike.” StarStep's heart beat in his ears as he held his breath and felt his forelegs tremble ever so slightly.

Princess Luna lowered her head to look at him fully. Her teal-green eyes seemed to weigh his words. Then she frowned and turned to leave, soft grass crushed under her crystal-shod hooves. “Thou art released to your previous duties, leave me.” Her voice was cold and proper.

“Wait, Princess!” StarStep pleaded as jolted to his feet and spun around to face the departing alicorn. She halted mid-stride, looking over her shoulder expressionless.

“I uh...there's more.” He began softly. He cleared his throat and stomped the grass with a fore-hoof. His voice was became more confident as he continued, “You are a beautiful mare, with quick wits and a playful personality. While some of the guards fear your mercurial nature...” She raised her eyebrow at that, “I find it an endearing trait. Compared to your sister, I find being around you fun and strangely fulfilling. When I'm not...well...making a complete foal out of myself.” He coughed lightly, then continued in a firm voice, “You asked what I see? I see a mare who could use a good friend. A friend who doesn't look at her as a goddess, but as another pony.”

Princess Luna just stared. Those teal-green eyes were unwavering as he imagined her peering into his soul. His legs wanted to tremble, he fought it down. His gut rebelled to spew everything he'd eaten in the last two days, he forced it to yield. Even his brain screamed for him to run before it was too late. He bucked it into a corner and stood his ground. He listened only to his heart thumping in his ears, the sound of his lifeblood reminding him this was not a dream, and there would be consequences to his words.

Slowly, like the tide at full moon, a smile spread across her muzzle. She turned back around, walked up to him and placed a fore-hoof on his cheek, “Truth. Truth from thy lips. One should speak no other words. Tis thy candor I appreciate, and one of the only reasons I entertain thine feelings towards me.” He sputtered out in an attempt to deny but she glared at him, forcing silence before her soft smile returned, “Utter neigh but truth to me, and perhaps...perhaps...one day...” She trailed off. “A warning before I allow thee to return to thine post.” His ears perked as a knot formed in his stomach, “Dost not confuse hollow flattery for honest compliments. And do not forget, that while thy candor is refreshing, reflect upon our game earlier, and learn when it is best to hold thy tongue.”

She sat back on her haunches to lift his helm with both her fore-hooves. As the helmet slipped free, the magic vanished and he resumed his natural coloring. She leaned down to kiss his forehead, then gently replaced the helmet with a giggle at his stunned expression. “A reward for thy honest answer.” She turned from the smaller pony and trotted down the hill, “Always be true to thyself.” her last words echoing in the darkness before she vanished into the shadows.

________________________________________________________________

StarStep returned to his post, a merry bounce in his step. However, as he rounded the last corner before the fish-pond. He slowed his gait to the proper military trot and forced his face to become as impassive as the gate-guards. Fifty yards later, he resumed his spot to Lighthoof's left and stared straight ahead.

Neither pony spoke a word for a long while. Just the sound of soft rippling water and light rustles in the trees. Lighthoof cleared his throat, but remained silent. More time passed and StarStep was finding it harder and harder to keep up the proper guard facade.

“Not going to ask?” StarStep started.

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Plausible deniability.”

“I mean, all we did was-”

“LALALALALALA.” Lighthoof sat back on his haunches and put his fore-hooves on each side of his head, “I can't hear you.”

StarStep rolled his eyes and laughed, “Alright, I get it.” he chuckled softly, “So, still on for drinks in an hour?”

The tan pegasus grinned, “Bucking right we are. Congrats by the way.”

StarStep raised an eyebrow, glancing at his friend, “Uh, what for, exactly?”

Light smirked, “For not getting your bucking flank fired for your Princess Luna obsession. I thought for sure she'd call me to come pry you off her leg.” Without looking, StarStep slugged the other pegasus in the shoulder. They shared a light chuckle and finished the last hour of their shift in relative quiet.

Two hours, and several hard ciders later, Lighthoof and StarStep were relaxing in a booth at Ol' Rowdy's. The new band was in full swing, a smattering of ponies shaking their rumps in the impromptu dance area. The crowd was about average for the start of the work week, just enough ponies to keep it loud but not so jammed to cause a safety issue. The two pegasi friends were fortunate to find a booth far enough in the back, so they could speak without yelling at each other.

“And then you flick the tip with your tongue back and forth just as she's begging to finish her. And that, is how you can please a unicorn.” Lighthoof finished and took a long draw of his mug.

StarStep blinked, a little stunned by all the information his friend had fed him about pleasuring a unicorn mare. Far, far more than he expected Lighthoof to divulge. He processed the tidbits of insight as he drained the last of his own cider and stared down into the mug, “But, wait, I thought unicorn horns were all just bone or something, how does all that teasing even work?” He glanced up at his friend, “You're not making all this up are you?”

Lighthoof spread his fore-hooves, “Dude, I'm so not making this all up. I'm not sure of the specifics. Sherry wouldn't go into details, but as far as I can figure. When they're using magic, even really minor stuff like making something glow, they sort of....feel, everything their magic touches. There's like a nerve down the center of that horn. So when they're casting, and you go teasing that horn, it's like it amplifies everything you're doing to them. I think Sherry called it some sort of feedback. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention at the time, too busy, uh, being busy.” He chuckled, tipping back the last of his drink. He shouted at Sherry, waving his mug above his head and pointed a hoof at StarStep as well. She nodded from across the room and Light turned back to his friend.

“Say Star. That cute pegasus filly from yesterday?”

“Scootaloo?” Star raised his eyebrows, curious where Light was going with this.

“Yeah, Scootaloo. Were you two like, sweet-hearts in the past or something? That little hook-up moved really fast for her to be anything less.”

Star frowned, waiting till Sherry brought their refills by. She paused to give Lighthoof a kiss then wandered out into the crowd with a flank wiggle. He played with his wooden mug, passing it from hoof to hoof, before lifting his eyes, “If tell I you, you can NOT breath a bucking word to another soul. Not to Scootaloo. Not even Celestia herself. Deal?”

“Princess Celestia, dude. And yeah. Not a word.” He leaned forward, “Spill.”

StarStep sighed, hesitating on where to begin, “When I moved to PonyVille, it was rough. My family was from the coast and moving to a backwater town was really hard. The biggest waves that place had ever seen was when a storm whipped up the lake. Anyhoof. I was pretty damn depressed. No friends, no motivation, not a whole lot of anything. That place was pretty dull. At least, it looked that way on the surface.” He cracked a grin, awash in memories of the strange occurrences in that town.

“Right, well, the school I had to go to was nice enough. The school-mare, Cheerilee was awesome and cute as hell.”

Lighthoof smirked as he interrupted, “Oh? Got the hots for teacher?”

Star ignored him, coughing softly into his hoof as he fought down a blush, “Moving on. My new class-mates were pretty welcoming, barring a couple. I don't think the other colts liked how the popular girls sort of fawned over me. I guess being a new guy from out of town tends to perk the fillies interests. I ended up in a few fights with a some of the colts. Even after I explained I wasn't after their filly-friends, it still persisted. Oh, it got bad a few times. Cheerilee was always understanding and did what she could to help. My parents were dismissive as long as my grades were good, and no pony else seemed to give a buck.”

He paused to wet his throat with the cider, “Then, one year, a colt shows up with his massive earth pony brother who works construction. Now keep in mind, I was still a few years from graduation. Really gangly and dealing with those pegasus growth spurts.” Lighthoof grimaced, remember his own puberty, “The colt fabricated some crazy story that I was bullying him. The big brother wasn't having it and jumped me as the little bucking colt cheered on. I was pretty sure I was screwed, then I hear the colt crying out for help and the earth pony stops pounding my face long enough to look. There I see three fillies pinning the little colt down. I knew them from school. The three were always hanging out. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. They shouted at the colt to tell the truth and threatened to tell everypony about his bed-wetting problem. He paled, and fessed up to his big bro that he'd made the whole story up.”

Lighthoof just nodded as his friend continued, “So anyhoof. The big bro apologized and swore he'd make it up to me one day. I was just glad he hadn't got around to breaking my wings. From then on, the little group of fillies would intervene when some pony started a fight with me. It wasn't that I was a coward, I just had no desire to fight some pony over something so foalish. One thing led to another, and me and the three fillies began to hang out a lot. I was around when the three finally got their cutie-marks. I've never seen three more happier ponies.” He leaned back in his seat and smiled at the memory.

Tipping back his mug, Light polished off his cider and clacked it to the table, “Alright, what then? Where's the real history between you two?”

“Patience, my friend. Right, so the more we hung out, the closer we all became, till one hearts and hooves day, all three gave me a card.”

Lighthoof blinked, “All three?”

His friend nodded, “All three.”

“Buck you, dude. It's no wonder all those other colts were flipping. I bet they had like, spider senses, and KNEW you were about to web up their fillies!”

“...Spider, what?” He raised an eyebrow and slid Lighthoof's mug from his hooves. “Ahem, well, sadly, I was pretty new in my infatuation with Lu...Princess Luna. So while I accepted their card, it wasn't all they'd hoped for. I wasn't showing as much affection as they'd have liked, and one by one they found other colts to direct their attentions towards, except Scootaloo. She found my interest in the sky fascinating. We'd spend a lot of nights cuddling together around a telescope or a book of constellation stories. In return I'd help her get better at flying and was there for her during a rather painful wing-growth spurt. She was pretty much in tears for like a week.” he shook his head. “We got really close and sometimes a little...frisky. She understood my love for the Princess and seemed pretty cool with it.”

He sighed, “Then, a year or two before graduation, that Big-Bro colt, who was then dating Sweetie Belle, set up a house party while Rarity was out of town. True to his word to make it up to me, he set things up just right so Scootaloo and I ended up in a quiet bedroom. All to ourselves. With no chance of interruption till morning. Things got hot and heavy. We were both young and our hormones were pretty crazy after all the teasing and petting we'd done for each other over the last few months. It was leading up to the big moment. That moment, alone in the moon-light in that bedroom. She paused in our passionate making out, looked me right in the eyes and said, 'I love you, do you love me?'” He couldn't help but grimace at the memory.

Lighthoof was leaning intently over the table, “And then?”

“I said, 'No'.”

The tan pegasus blinked, blinked again, and growled, “You dude, are the biggest bucking idiot I have ever met. She was putty in your hooves. A school sweetheart. And she's about to GIVE herself to you, you bucking say NO?!”

Star slammed a hoof onto the table and look away, “Yes, you're bucking right, I bucking said NO!” He looked back at his friend, “What, you think I wanted to lie to that filly? She wanted to give herself to me, just me. Under the pretense that I loved her back. Well I didn't. I had my Celestia-bucking head so far up Luna's crack I could see the full moon.” He rubbed at his eyes, “I like Scoots, a LOT. I care about her terribly, but did I love her then? No. No, I honestly didn't.” He cleared his throat, “Anyhoof, let me finish since you wanted to know the story.”

He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts, “After I said it, she of course wept and I held her and tried my best to comfort her. A long while later she said she understood and asked if I would still like to be her first. Trying to be the gentlecolt, I didn't feel right about it. So I said no, but swore I still wanted to be her friend if she'd let me. Time passed, we drifted slightly apart. We were thankfully still best friends. Doing all the things we used to do, barring the making out. And well, then she showed up in Canterlot and all those old feelings and regrets just kinda...exploded.” He made lightly threw his hooves into the air.

He finished, realizing his mug was empty and frowned. Lighthoof reached out to pat his hoof. “Dude...I'm sorry I gave you a hard time. That's a bucking gutsy thing to do for a filly. It's no bucking wonder she still has a flame for you.” He tried to smile reassuringly at his friend. “Hey, one last question though.”

“Yeah?” StarStep lifted his eyes.

“Just how hot was the teacher?”