New Moon (My Little Pony)

26 Night Shift with Lazuli (1/5)

Artemis's ear perked at the sound of a strange click. His eyes opened to the dark room that was the Princess's. A yawn escaped him as he tried to stretch out his hooves, however, he discovered himself to be bound by the Princess's hooves. Her warm body prodded upon the colt by the repetition of her breathing.

His ears perked to the clicking sound again. Artemis attempted to remove himself from the Princess's hold, but the overwhelming weight of her body proved too much for the colt. The colt started to make cute groans of frustration as he fruitlessly attempted to remove the Princess's hoof over him. Though his endeavor proved pointless, his horn began to brighten blue. And then he disappeared, leaving only a speck of dust that the Princess's hoof fell and squash upon.

Artemis reappeared on his back, flailing his body to get back on his hooves. The colt aimlessly looked at his surroundings, bewildered by what just occurred. His eyes trailed on the Princess before, still sleeping soundlessly.

His mouth watered at the sight of the Princess's mane, but then attention was shifted by the sound of that clicking again. His eyes trailed to the exit of the Princess's chamber as the door appeared to be unlocked open. The colt's eyes met with a pair of slitted eyes that peered intently at him. Artemis approached those eyes and exited the room.

The moment Artemis left the room, he was calmly grabbed by a dark figure as it carefully closed the Princess's door to prevent any sounds from erupting. "You truly have the blood of thestral within you to hear my voice," the dark figure whispered.

The hood of the figure was removed, and Artemis widened to see that figure's face was very much similar to his sisters'. Those slitted eyes, sharp ears, and fangs were so much like Nebula. "Artemis," the thestral continued. "Though the name was given by an inferior race, I must admit that the mare has picked a fitting one for you, milord."

The colt tilted his head as he blankly glanced at the thestral. "Oh yes," the thestral whispered as he began to distance himself from the Princess's chamber. "You must be curious about who I am. Well, milord, you may refer to me as Remus. I have gone through many lengths to ensure your return to these lands; however, I did not expect for you to take upon this form. But you have nothing to fear, I shall serve to set the stones in place for your resurgence of power."

"Papa..." Artemis voiced a word. It was one he heard from storybooks he heard from his grandmother, Loving Hope. The tale of three bears that had a papa bear, a mama bear, and the baby bear. His mind would also draw back to that story when he sees Loving Bud when he sees Summer Lazuli, and now upon Remus.

"...Huh?" Remus stopped his movements when he heard the colt utter that word.

"Papa," Artemis repeated.

"No, no, no," Remus hurriedly said. "You seem to have a misunderstanding, milord. I am not your father. I am simply a servant to your—"

"Papa!" Artemis raised his voice and he flailed his hooves to reach Remus's mane. They appeared wildly fluffy, something that he felt needed to be groomed by his teeth.

Remus clamped the colt's mouth with a hoof. "Lower your voice, milord. No pony can know I was ever here." The thestral's hoof felt wet and hot as the colt continued his attempt to speak. Looking around his surroundings, Remus sighed. "Alright fine, I'm your father. Does that satisfy you, milord?"

The colt responded with a giggle, but his hooves still stretched out for the thestral's mane. The thestral sighed again, knowing clearly what the colt wants. "If that is what my milord desires, then I have no choice." Remus placed the colt behind his neck as the colt strapped himself around Remus. The thestral immediately quivered as he could already feel the slobber of his lord sinking through his coat and mostly spreading across his untrimmed mane.

Remus quickly makes his way to Pear Butter's chamber, eager to release himself from his lord's sloppy affections. Remus quietly opened the door and laid the colt inside. Artemis glanced at the thestral and then towards the bed, where he recognized Pear Butter and Little Mac.

The colt rushed towards the bed and attempted to climb up the bed, but was finding difficulty to find a good holding to prop himself up. Remus sighed again and stepped inside the chamber to lift the colt up. The thestral widened his eyes when the colt immediately pounced upon Pear and began to bite upon her ear.

"Hmm," Pear breathed as her eyes began to open. The thestral immediately ran for the open window and jumped out, diving out of sight. "What the—" Pear perked her head open at the fast movement of a dark blur that disappeared from her sight. Her eyes skimmed the room for anything out of the ordinary, but the only thing she could see was her son and her nephew suddenly pounced her face back to the bed.