Maybe it was just exhaustion. He worked hard all night long, and the day before had hardly involved a normal sleep schedule, either. But when Princess Luna had dropped in on short notice almost two weeks ago, her VIP had been nothing less than a perfectly cordial host, remaining calm and collected even while the corporal, and the rest of the quaternion, were overwhelmed by the Princess of the Moon's spellbinding presence. And that had been a meeting conducted with full pomp and circumstance, with a herald and a troop of Her Majesty's Life Guards; not just four ponies -- well, three ponies and a non-pony -- chatting in an open field.