Sgt. Clare, outside bank in Canterlot:

I felt myself being rolled away on a medical stretcher, I groaned as I sat up. The doctors tried to keep me down but I shook my hand. “I’m fine” I groaned as I stretched, god only knows how I survived that fall but I did, guess it’s one of those ‘One in a million’ things.

“Sir please you have to come to the hospital, you’re seriously injured” the paramedic pleaded and I sighed as I laid back onto the stretcher. Shining Armor trotted up beside me, he was holding a bloodied rag against his broken nose.

“Yeah sorry about that… didn’t have time to stand around and wait you know” I apologized and he grunted as he took the cloth away from his nose, it had been straightened but anyone could tell that it had been broken. “I know you had proper motivation but did you have to break my nose?” he asked and I chuckled, I hadn’t really thought about it when I punched him and probably should have just ignored him but something inside said punch him.

I shrugged and gave him a wink, “Yeah well laugh it up while you can cause when you get better me and you a gonna enter the ring” he said with a friendly nudge then trotted away.

The paramedics loaded me into the back of an ambulance and drove me off to a hospital. Well I think they were driving me to a hospital I mean where else would they take me?

Third person, royal castle:

“Ma’am, we just got a call from the hospital. Sergeant Clare has been hospitalized and” a shadow guard began but Luna lept up and galloped past him. He just shrugged in confusion, he was about to say how Clare was going to make a full recovery but he guessed that she just didn’t want to hear it so went along his way.

Luna ran out of the royal castle and raced along the streets of Canterlot, several ponies watched the princess go by. Even though it had only been a short time she had grown quite fond of him.

3 months ago:

Luna and Clare stood outside in the royal garden and watched the night sky. “You know back on my planet we had constellations and stuff” Clare said and Luna looked to him with curiosity. “Are they like our star constellations?” she asked and he nodded. “Well maybe a bit different, but same idea” he told her and she nodded.

“So tell me about this Nightmare Moon, she sounds pretty harsh” he suggested and Luna sighed as she remembered how awful she had become as Nightmare Moon. “We… I used to be fused with an entity known as Nightmare Moon, we caused travesty across Equestria until our… I mean, my sister banished us and when I returned we were finally separated from her but even now I feel as if she is still around” she informed him and he nodded.

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed as they watched the night sky together, “Tell us about your world. What did you do?” she asked and he sighed. He didn’t really want to talk about it all that much at the moment. “I killed people. Please let’s not talk about it” he told her and she nodded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up” she apologized and he shrugged. “Don’t sweat it, I just don’t want to talk about it right now” he told her and she nodded as they lay on the ground, looking up into the sky.

Originally Clare had begun teaching her to say I and my rather than our or us, but for some reason they had stayed out longer than expected and began star gazing. Suddenly a bright flash went across the sky as a meteor passed through the atmosphere. Clare pointed to the shooting star, “Make a wish” he muttered and she looked to him with curiosity.

“Why?” she asked and he chuckled. “Well they say when you see a shooting star you can make a wish” he told her with a wink. “Really? Will it come true?” she asked and he shrugged. “Back on my world probably not, but since there is magic and stuff here… I guess it might come true” he told her and she made a wish. ‘I wish that we would love each other until forever after’ she wished to herself.

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot hospital:

I lay in the hospital bed and tossed a bouncy ball at the door across from my bed and the ball would hit the wall, bounce off the floor then back into my hand. I continued this boring motion over and over again to try and pass time.

The hospital was so depressing, ponies were injured and usually sleeping and I had no-pony to talk to. I flicked my wrist and sent the bouncy ball across the room but just as it was about to hit the door, it opened and knocked my bouncy ball away. “Dammit” I cursed silently as I watched my bouncy ball roll away across the floor.

I felt a pony grab me tightly and I yelped in pain. “Oww, hey let… arrrg… this hurts you know” I groaned but as I looked down I realized it was Luna. She lightened the squeeze of her hug but I was still in pain from the fall.

She pulled my shirt up and touched her horn against my chest, the icy sensation flowed through my body again and I felt the pain from the fall fade away from my body. She looked up to me, shy had been crying I could tell.

“You promised” she began but she stopped and sniffled a little. I rested a hand against her face and caressed it gently. She crawled into the hospital bed and I held her close to me, “I know, I was going to come see you but the paramedics wouldn’t let me” I whispered and she nestled her head against my neck. I have to say I wasn’t proud of myself for breaking my promise but then again what else could I do, I doubt I would’ve been able to even walk let alone get back to the castle the way I was.

“Please… take a vacation for a while, don’t do this anymore” she whispered to me. “Okay… how long do you want me to vacation?” I asked and she looked up to me with teary eyes. “Please, I just want you to stop this, no more dangers. No more killing” she whispered and rested her head against my chest. Her tears trickled onto my chest and her resting against my chest like this was nice, the feeling made me feel warm and tingly.

“Okay but uhm, can we get out of the hospital? It’s kind of depressing around here” I suggested and she nodded. She took her head off my chest and allowed me to get out of the hospital bed and I was thankful that I still at least had my pants on but I still needed my shirt. “I’m sure the docs will just let me out once they see how well I’m doing” I muttered, knowing that they probably would want to examine me first.

I walked through the hallways with Luna and I was relieved that it was late because there usually weren’t a lot of doctors in the hallways late at night. We reached the receptionist desk and the receptionist looked to me.

“I’m here to sign out” I told her and she looked at me curiously as she got up and walked around the desk and to my side. “Before you leave I have to do a basic examination, but since you can obviously walk I just need to do one thing” she informed me and I nodded.

She lifted her hoof up and gave me a light nudge to the side of my ribs “Did that hurt at all?” she asked and I shook my head. “Well then, I guess you can leave Mr. Clare. Have a nice night” she said and I nodded to her. “Oh wait before you leave” she called to me and I turned back to her, hoping that she didn’t forget about another medical examination.

She tossed me my shirt. “Oh, thanks doc” I said as I removed the hospital gown and slipped my shirt back on. I was so glad that I didn’t have searing pain from the fall anymore or putting this t-shirt on would’ve been a living hell.

I turned to Luna “Well that was easy” I chuckled as we both left the hospital. As we started walking back towards the castle, Luna started to trot ever closer towards me until she was literally walking right up against me and she nuzzled the side of her face against me side as we walked along.

“Clare… do you love me?” Luna asked and I was immediately taken back by the question. “Uhm like… love you like a sister or…” I trailed off and she shook her head. “No, do you love me like a lover?” she asked seriously and I looked away in embarrassment as I blushed, I had become rather attached to her ever since I became a shadow guard but my code of honour prohibited me from romantic relations with the princess.

I looked back to her, “Okay if I answer truthfully can I still keep my job?” I asked and she gave me a look of confusion. “Why in Equestria would you not be able to keep your job for telling me whether or not you have feelings for me?” she asked as I scratched my ear. “Well because the code of honour prohibits me from having relations with you, didn’t you make that rule?” I asked, figuring that she had probably made the rule.

She shook her head, “No, I never made a rule like that… Clare, over the last few months I’ve begun to have feelings for you but a long time ago I vowed never to love again and now I’m conflicted between my emotions” she told me as she stopped and we faced each other eye to eye. “Uhm okay wait… are you saying that you have feeling for me? Oh my god…” I trailed off as I thought about it, every time she had made an advance I simply regarded it as playfulness because I feared that if I asked her to get together with me I might lose my job.

“You… don’t really love me do you” she said and her eyes filled with tears as she ran off crying. “Oh shit” I muttered to myself as I realized that my poor choice of words during my realization of her feelings could have easily been misinterpreted into thinking that I wanted nothing to do with her.

I swore to myself as I ran towards the castle, figuring that she’d probably be going there and would seclude herself in her room. ‘God I feel like a asshole… all those times she tried to open up to me and I had regarded her advances as simple joyfulness’ I thought to myself as I ran through the streets.

As I zipped around a corner but I slid in the slush and slipped onto my side. The cold wet slush felt gross and sloppy as it soaked into my shirt and trousers. “Okay… I deserved that” I muttered as I stood to my feet then began to run towards the castle again.