Night Patrol

by Foxgear

Wiped Out

Night Patrol ch 25

By foxgear

---

Luna stood aboard the flight deck of the Moon Cutter, taking in the morning breeze with a peaceful smile while lowering the moon. Not usually a morning pony after years of staying up all night and sleeping all day, Luna’s new schedule had her days switched around. It was thanks to this that she’s come to appreciate her sister’s sun. Finally, at least glimpsed why ponies joy in seeing it. It was like a light pushing away the darkness, and though she still loved her moon and the stars in the night sky, she could at least appreciate the dawning of a new day.

The Moon Cutter veered to the right coming alongside her sister ship the Solar Ray. The crew of the Ray saluted while a team of pegasus pulled the bridge across the non-flyers. Walking across the bridge was Ray’s captain, Firefly.

“Permission to come aboard,” Firefly jokingly asked, stepping onto the deck. They exchanged salutes with Luna smiling warmly at the pink and blue pegasus. Though one of her newest officers, Firefly, proved her worth during the battle of Rainbow Factory and was given command of the Solar Ray as a reward for her service.

“Permission granted, how was your mission to Nippon? Everything alright with the Emperor?”

Firefly lowered her hoof, a big smile on her lips as she trotted with Luna towards the command deck. “Everything went fine, Princess. We were greeted very warmly, Kira Perfecta especially, her love of swords really proved to be the great ice breaker for us.”

“And where is Kira Perfecta now? I’m certain she’s fulfilled her duty as a bodyguard for Ambassador Pure Lineage beyond expectations. I have some questions I want to ask her… is something wrong, Firefly?” The pink mare was standing several feet away, seemingly rooted in place as she nervously rubbed the back of her head. “Is something the matter?” Luna repeated in a lower tone.

The pink pegasus chuckled nervously, “Well, you see, Emperor Shinjuku didn’t take a liking to Ambassador Pure Lineage. In fact, if I’m honest, I would say negotiations were about to go up in flames had Kira not taken over.”

Luna turned, giving Firefly her full attention as she wrapped her mind around what she was just told, “So if I understand you correctly. Pure Lineage is here.” Firefly nodded. “Then Kira is in Nippon negotiating a trade and treaty deal. Kira, who has no experience in such matters or is aware of what Celestia and I hope to gain through an alliance with the Nippon ponies. Do I understand you correctly, Firefly?”

Firefly nodded, “Yes, ma’am. That is the situation… at least part of it.”

She hoofed, faced, “And what else is there, Firefly?”

“Welllll… the Emperor’s son, Lord Shinto, may have a small, if not huge, crush/romantic feelings for Kira. All negotiations have come to a standstill as the final clause of the treaty is that the alliance will only be ratified if Kira marries Shinto. Of course, the actual treaty doesn’t say that it says that a blood bond between our nations will ensure Nippon's loyalty for generations. Lord Pure Lineage made a fuss and stated only nobles apply for such a thing. In his own words said: a common pony such as Kira is not suited for the honor. After that, to avoid total war. Kira had me bring Pure Lineage aboard the Solar Ray and bring him back home, leaving her and a small number of ponies behind to deal with the situation there.” Firefly paused to take a breath. “And that’s what’s actually happening. Currently, Kira is probably trying stall for time until we could get in contact with you.”

“I see a wise course of actions given the circumstances. Very well, I will send a letter to Emperor Shinjuku. Saying it is unreasonable for him to force one of my subjects, and one of my best soldiers into a marriage…”

“Kira is ok with the idea. She asks you to give her a Noble Title so she can marry the Prince without any trouble. That way, no pony can raise a fuss about it later.”

Luna did a double-take, “Kira also has feelings for the Emperor’s son?”

“Well… it’s more of a sense of duty, really. Here are Commander Kira’s words on the matter if you wish to read it.” Firefly presented a letter addressed to her from Kira. With an uncertain feeling turning in her gut, Luna accepted it and opened the envelope.

(Kira’s Letter)

Dear Princess Luna,

I write this letter to you requesting you grant me the status of nobility, not for my personal gain, of course, but for yours. You have done so much for me and my kin; I feel this is the only way I can even begin to repay the debt I feel to you.

I can assume Firefly as told you of my situation, so I will skip over the details. Rest assured, the young lord, Shinto of Nippon, is a good stallion, and well, I may not share quite the passion for him as he does me. He is handsome enough. To be honest, marrying is not something I ever planned for in my life, mainly because of my appearance. Even among my own, I am different, but the ponies of Nippon don’t seem to mind that, especially Lord Shinto. Knowing each other for a few days, he seems very taken with me. He speaks much flattery toward me that I cannot help but blush at, mainly because he has no tongue for poetry, or I the ear for it, but the gesture is heartfelt.

Basically, what I am saying, don’t worry about my personal feelings on this matter. Think of the ponies of the Equestria and what is best for them.

I assure you, my dear Princess, my friend, I will be quiet happy here.

Respectfully, Kira Perfecta

(End of Note)

Luna folded the note carefully, her mind mute as she tried to wrap her head around what Kira was telling her to do. She was giving her full permission to be used as a political pawn, a concept that Luna despised.

“I… I need time to think about this. Tell Sixes to alert me when we reach Canterlot. I assume you have another mission right away?”

Firefly nodded, “Yeah, we need to go drop Emerald Cutter off at the border to check on a group out that way that hasn’t reported back yet. I’ll be leaving as soon as we restock. I’ll pass on the message to Sixes.”

“Thank you, Firefly,” Luna said, walking away with the letter clenched tightly in her magic.

The walk to her cabin was a long and silent one; she simply nodded to the ponies that greeted her, a gesture they’ve come to know as code for leaving her alone. Inside, Luna placed the note on the nightstand beside her bed and lay down, her mind a buzz.

“How can Kira ask me to do that to her, she is my friend, not a pawn to be used for political gain,” Luna muttered into her pillow. She had no idea what to do. Well, she knew what would be the right thing to do as a princess of Equestria, but she didn’t want to do it.

Luna rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, “I wonder what Celestia would do? Would she do what’s best for Equestria or for Kira?” That was the other thing, what was the best thing for Kira? By her own words, she didn’t seem to care either way, like she was deciding what to have for lunch. A very Kira thing, Luna thought with a smile.

“I’ll ask for Celestia’s wisdom on the matter, and if I don’t like what she has to say, I will fly for Nippon and talk to Kira myself.” She smiled, happy at her reasoning. Yawning loudly, Luna decided to catch a bit more sleep before they reached Canterlot. She rather liked the warmth of the sun on her coat while she slept; it was like having Celestia beside her.

---

Hours later, there was a knock on her door. Groggily Luna rolled out from her blankets and gave the pony at the door permission to enter. The door opened, revealing Sixes carrying a tray of food.

“Hungry?” He asked, setting the tray on the bed. Luna nodded, levitating an apple off the plate and bit into the fruit. The cabin was silent safe for her chewing, which sounded kind of funny as her lips smacked together. “We are about ten minutes out from Canterlot; we’ll be docking on the south side of the castle. I’ve sent a messenger ahead to inform Celestia if there is anything urgent, we’ll be informed right away. Also, Fury, Applejack, and Overheat are still on the Twilight Morning, making their way back from the southern badlands. It seems the Changeling hive there was more trouble than we thought they would be.”

Changelings, one of the many creatures without an official nation of their own, they roamed the lands looking for their next food source. They were popping up more frequently since Maredor fell into civil war with the fall of Sombra. Luna couldn’t help but sigh as she thinking of Sombra’s fallen kingdom. In a way, it was their fault war had broken out as they were the ones to put the unicorn king down, but on the other hoof, it was bound to happen someday either way.

Maredor was a nation made up of several different smaller countries that Sombra forced under his rule. He kept everypony in line, but as there were no less than three different sides of the conflict, it was clear he never truly got the tribes there to get along. The three factions were the pro-Sombra supporters, ponies that wanted to continue his legacy and keep the whole nations for one of Sombra’s many offspring to rule. Next was the anti-Sombra movement that wanted to keep the government together but start a new royal bloodline. Then there were the independents, ponies that wanted to regain their own countries back, the coastal siren nation was the leader of this group.

Overall, Maredor was a mess and has been the central issue in the courts for many weeks. It was also yet another thing that pitted her and Celestia against each other. Celestia wanted to send aid to the ponies caught in the crossfire. At the same time, she argued letting the ponies of Maredor sort things out for themselves and then send aid depending on who took power. Luna was all for helping ponies in need, but to send support now would only lengthen the war. After all, battles could only go on as long as ponies had the resources to fight.

“Hey, quit zoning out and eat,” Sixes chastised, shoving another apple in her face, this one covered in caramel, her favorite. Happily, she took the apple and munched on it loudly. “We’ll be docking soon, make sure you clean your muzzle.”

She huffed at Sixes' advice as the dragon pony left the room. Quickly Luna finished the rest of the meal and cleaned up; as she cleaned the remains of her breakfast from her muzzle, she hoped everything would go smoothly in the courts. The new council of nobles was as critical of her actions as the last. However, that was due to the incident of when Sixes burned down Yellowblood’s home, so she could understand them at least a little bit. That didn’t mean she liked them in the slightest, especially their pet project, the EUP.

Trotting out onto the deck, Luna took in the sight of Canterlot, the gleaming white city shined in the sunlight giving it a bright and majestic look. She continued to admire the view as they descended towards the airship docks. Once the ship was docked, she was flanked by Sixes and Nightingale, and together they disembarked. Three ponies blocked their path at the end of the ramp, an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn all clad in gold armor. Luna’s eyes narrowed at the sight of it, gold was Celestia’s color, yet these three lacked the sun seal.

“We’ll take it from here, you too can remain on the ship,” The unicorn of the group gruffly said, there was something in his tone that Luna didn’t like. Neither did Sixes or Nightingale as the two gritted their teeth at the three.

“I think not, now remove yourselves from my path, or you will be dealt with accordingly,” Luna said trotting forward, the ponies did not move.

The unicorn spoke again, “Allow us to escort you, Princess Luna, as members of the EUP we…”

“As far as I know. My sister nor I recognize the EUP. Your group could be best-considered vigilantes. Which I assure you will not gain you leniency in court. Unless something has changed, which I assure you, I would know. I suggest you lot stop impersonating military officials and go home. Next time, this happens, it will be the dungeons for you! Understand?” The three ponies quivered in their boots and screamed a terrified, “Yes, your majesty!” and scattered to the winds.

“Come, let us not delayed any further,” Angrily Luna marched into the castle, her mood all but destroyed. Made only worse by the stares and whispers of the castle staff, she closed her eyes and folded her ears to ignore them. They didn’t understand, they couldn’t understand and they never would.

---

Celestia sat on her throne, feeling exhausted, and it was barely midmorning. She finished talking with the new council of nobles, a group that sprang up before they had even returned from the battlefield of Rainbow Factory, but were necessary none the less. This group, at least, was proving to be more cooperative and helpful than the last council. It helped that some, such as Sir Fancy Dress and Lady Lacy Lingerie, were business ponies that had earned their wealth rather than inherited it. The common ponies loved them as the two have gone to great lengths to aid their fellow ponies at any opportunity.

That being said, they were the main funders behind the EUP, a group of ponies wanting to pelage their lives to her. Their justification for making such a group was, of course, the Yellowblood incident when Sixes burned down the former noble’s home and his family inside. As she had warned Luna such things would come back to haunt them, Celestia just didn’t think it would happen so quickly. None the less, she has rejected the EUP’s offer to be her personal army. She could not imagine the rift that would form between her and her sister if she ever dared to accept the EUP’s offer.

Luna didn’t think she knew that the night patrollers’ option of her was shifting. Of course, Celestia knew. She was a warrior herself once and knew how warriors thought. Unfortunately, there was nothing the Princess could do besides fight in a war again, and Celestia wasn’t eager to do that again. While she appreciated Luna’s efforts to show she was still powerful through their sparring, it only confirmed her own theory. It wasn’t that Celestia didn’t want to get stronger, it was that Celestia couldn’t. She reached her peak. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she lifted, meditated, or studied. Celestia could not get any stronger mentally, physically, or magically.

Meanwhile, Luna’s power continued to grow and all without her noticing. Celestia would find it funny if not for how powerful her sister could truly become. Someday the Princess of the Night would eclipse the sun, and Celestia wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She was the older of the two, and for the last several hundred years, she enjoyed being the stronger of the two. Not in a mocking way, it was just the way older siblings were. They were for pushing their younger siblings to be better, yet always remaining ahead of the curve.

Which was probably the reason she hasn’t told the Luna the truth, pride, she was too proud to admit her little sister was growing up and surpassing her. It was a hard thing for any sibling to realize, but what could be the harm in waiting just a little longer?

“Why do you still deny our offer, Princess Celestia?” From below, a voice called out, catching Celestia off guard. She thought the room had been cleared of all guests, and yet lady Lacy stood at the base of her throne, looking rather distraught. “You know the danger your sister’s army of monsters possess, and now she’s trying to recruit the bat ponies again! Why do you insist on not doing the same? We are willing and able to stand by your side, so let us!”

Celestia groaned, rubbing her temple. She did not want to deal with this right now! “Lady Lacy, the morning court is over, and I am tired, please leave.”

Lacy is taken aback by Celestia’s frustrated tone. The white, pink unicorn pranced in place uneasily as she fought the urge to obey her Princess’s command. Celestia’s eye narrowed and bore down at her, the Princess’s tired frown turned to frustration and perhaps irritation.

“Lacy, leave or be forced to. I will hear your concerns latter at the next council meeting, but I have other matters to attend to.”

Not wanting to press her luck, Lacy bowed and took her leave, her head hung low. (Why will the Princess not hear us out? Did she genuinely trust those monsters so much more than us?) The Noble Mare pondered.

A guard opened the door and let her out of the courtroom and straight into Princess Luna’s path. Lacy’s entire body froze, and her fur stood on end as her face was buried into the Princess of the night’s blue coat. Everything seemed to stop as all the guard's eyes fell upon her. Any moment now, she would probably be at the bottom of a pony dog pile.

“Are you ok?” Princess Luna asked her as the Princess held her at a leg’s length away. Lacy stood there, dumbfounded. Despite being on the council for almost an entire year, this would her first face to face encounter with Princess Luna. They’ve seen each other at meetings for such. Still, they never exchanged words, as Luna tended to skip the majority of meetings and the ones she did show up for, she simply observed and never really spoke up.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine, just a bit tired. You know how it is with these court meetings and all.” Lacy laughed off, still expecting that body slam at any moment. “I’m just surprised to see you, Princess Luna; I thought you would be gone for at least two more days, if not more.”

Luna nodded, offering a warm, reassuring smile as she pulled Lacy to her side and walked a little way down the hall to a nearby bench. “Indeed, I was, but we managed to wrap up the trade deal with the griffons faster than expected and decided to come straight here to tell Celestia all the details in myself. I assume today’s court was very extensive? What were you talking about that has tired you out so Lady Lacy?”

“Oh, umm… nothing too…umm…”

“You were talking about me, weren’t you?” Luna said for her. Lacy bit her lip, uncertain what to say to the Princess of the Night. “It’s ok, you know. I understand ponies are still afraid of me and those I keep company with, but I assure you if you would just get to know us. You’ll see we are not the monsters you think we are. We are the ones that keep the real monsters away.”

“I’ll… I’ll think about it,” Lacy said, shakily stepping off the bench. She trotted down the hall and stopped to look back at Luna and her guards, Sixes, and Nightingale. All three smiled at her, and for a moment, they seemed as kind as the average pony, but the tip of Sixes' fang peeked out beneath his lip, reminding her of what he was and what he did.

She knew what the blood families did, but that shouldn’t excuse Sixes of what he did either. He burned them alive, mares, stallions, even foals. He wiped out the entire Yellowblood family that night. Who was to say they had any idea what was going on? But he killed them anyway because the blue pony beside him told him to. He didn’t hesitate to fulfill her order, not even for a second. Lacy trotted along, more determined than ever to make Princess Celestia see just how dangerous her sister and her night patrol were!

“You were too kind to her,” Sixes spoke up after Lacy turned the corner, “She’s not going to stop with just a few words, you know that right?”

Luna nodded with a sad smile on her lips. “I know, but it was worth a try. Come, let us speak to Celestia.”

The guards opened the door to the throne room Luna, and her entourage trotted in like valiant heroes returning from an epic quest, which was right in a sense. Surely their exploits in the griffon kingdom would make a fantastic tale.

“Dear sister, I have returned with good news!” Luna cheerfully announced as she bounded up to her own throne seated next to Celestia’s. “Just wait till I show you the wonders of soda pop!”

A smile crept on to Celestia’s face as she placed her documents aside, giving her full attention to her sister. “Sounds exciting, I’m sure there must be quiet a story behind your being back to early.”

“Indeed, but before that, I must show you something else!” Luna fished a glass jar out of her saddle pack, inside was a brightly colored little pony like creature with antennas and puffy hair. “This is a Breezie. It’s a sort of pet, I think. King Silverous gave it to me after the negotiations were done. Isn’t he just the cutest little thing?”

“Need he is sister, but are you sure it’s a he? It looks very feminine.”

Luna held up the jar with a puzzled expression, “Hmm, you have a point there, but I’m sure you are eager to hear how the trade deals went? Rest assured, they went extremely well.”

“I believe you,” Celestia chuckled, amused by Luna’s abundant energy. “Come, come, let us get the paperwork going so we can begin trade right away and make all of the border guard aware of the new agreements.”

Luna groaned, “Here I thought I would get to relax after a long trip.”

Celestia rolled her eyes, knowing Luna was just playing; she floated the Breezie between their two thrones and laid a stack of papers between them. Together they began to read and signed documents with high speed and focus. The Princesses were so focused that they didn’t notice their new little friend’s eyes scanning the papers alongside them.

“By the way, sister, why is…” Luna hesitated with the word, not entirely comfortable with calling Crusader her nephew, but not because she didn’t see him as family. It was just awkward, “Crusader at the border?”

“Oh something about a monster attacking some villages along the border, I’m certain he can handle it, but I asked Emerald Cutter to go check on his progress. None the less I’m sure things are going well.”

--break

The entire village was utterly destroyed. There was nothing left standing, but the former smoldering remains of ponies homes. The ponies themselves were thrown apart, torn limb from limb. It was a sickening sight, one almost as bad as the Battle for the Crystal Empire and Rainbow Factory. The only difference was the body count.

Course, there was one more thing about this disturbing event that unnerved Emerald, and it was the dead night patrollers thrown around. Carefully she removed the helmet of the patroller lying before her, she cringed; the ponies head was half caved in like something had stepped on it. Placing the helm next to its owner Emerald trotted to the edge of the village where the forest began. There was a trail of hoof prints in a single file line, the standard night patroller formation.

Following the trail, Emerald found more mutilated bodies; one was cut into three pieces. Whatever had done this, it was big, and it had claws. She paused to inspect the sliced up pony, he was cut clean through, one slash.

Emerald filed through her list of monsters, trying to match up the wound to something she’s hunted before. She came up with nothing. There was nothing she could think of that could do this. At least nothing she’s killed.

So far Emerald has not seen any sign of Crusader, which was good. She feared how his death would affect Princess Celestia and Sixes as well. The black rinin would probably have regrets about his relationship with his son. She wondered if they should have intervention or force bonding father-son bonding meeting or something after this. Things were getting awkward around the castle.

Back on task, there were five ponies in Crusader’s squad, plus Crusader, for a total of six. She found four dead patrollers so far the only two presumed survivors are Crusader and Bright Rain, the bat pony that joined recently.

Carefully Emerald advanced into the forest. The sun lowered, giving way to the night; the fading light deepened the shadows of the woods. Creating terrifying images in the shadows of the uprooted trees. The trees were marred with claw marks. Some of the trunks were cut cleanly in half, the same way the pony was. A struggle had clearly taken place as depicted in the moody grass of the forest floor. A messy painting of hooves and claws covering the moist earth. Some of the trees bore scorch marks, possibly from Crusader. No more bodies, that was good. However, there was a severed leg in the center of the clearing.

The leg defiantly belonged to a pony, and since the color wasn’t white, it probably belonged to Bright Rain. Hesitantly Emerald Cutter touched the leg; it was still warm, but only barely. She wasn’t far behind.
(Should I risk calling out for them?)

The trail of blood traveled deeper into the forest, with barely any daylight remaining. Unfortunately, Emerald wasn’t much of a night tracker, that job was usually Kira’s. Charging her horn, she fired a magical flare into the air. A bright green explosion filled the twilight sky in the shape of the moon, letting the two know she was nearby.

She waited for a reply signal, nothing imminently happened, but she felt a shiver run up her spine. Something wasn’t right.

Somepony yelled out from the darkness, “LOOK OUT!”

Rather than doing that, Emerald threw up a shield just in time for a large black shadow to slam against it. Giving her a full view of the monster's teeth and oh boy, they were big! Her shield faltered. She poured more power into it as the creature pushed harder, clawing with its massive scythe-like claws. Sparks flew as it scaped against the barrier. The tips penetrating.

A bright glow shot the darkness a beam of fiery magic slammed into the creature. Giving Emerald her first good look of the thing, and it was… nothing she’s ever seen before.

The monster had the body of a lion, the head of a goat, and a snake for a tail.

“What the hell is that?” She yelled as Crusader come flying out of the brush with Bright Rain on his back. He landed beside her with another solar blast charged between his horns, he fired blasting the monster again, but something was strange. The monster fur wasn’t catching fire; it was glowing red hot like metal.

“No idea, just kill it!” Crusader yelled and poured more power into his attack.

Horn glowing bright, Emerald summoned a batch of gems from the ground and launched them at the creature, piercing its skin. The beast roared in pain. The scream was so horrible that it forced all three ponies to flop their ears down to muffle the noise.

“Shut up!” Creating a crystal spear, Emerald chucked it at the beast. The spear pierced the beast’s mouth traveling through its lower jaw and into the ground, pinning it. “Finish it off!”

Crusader shrugged Bright Rain off his back and charged his horns, creating a dozen small suns the size of an acorn. His horns glowing red, the mini stars encircled the beast, and on Crusader’s command, exploded and morphed into beams that pierced the monster's entire body. Skewering it. The beast’s insides exploded in fire, and it wailed before falling over in a burning husk.

They watched the beast burn, the fire glowing in their eyes as they waited. None of them said anything for a long time as they thought of the ponies they lost to the monster.

“It’s my fault their dead,” Crusader spoke up finally, the fire reflecting off the tears threatening to fall. He blinked them back, refusing to cry. “I should have called for backup sooner!”

“Yeah, you should have,” Was Emerald’s response. Crusader’s ears dropped, but she didn’t stop. “I don’t know what you were thinking or care at this point. You should have known the instant you walked into that village that whatever attacked it was clearly not your run of the mill monster! But you didn’t do that! You chose to act like a foolish greenhorn and blundered into death’s embrace. Look at Bright Rain Crusader, he’s the only one left alive, and he lost a leg!”

Crusader opened his mouth to speak, but no words come out. He looked away with shame. “…”

“What was that?” Demanded Emerald grabbing him by the muzzle.

Quietly he said, “I’m sorry…”

Emeralds frowned deepened, “Don’t tell me you sorry, tell their families, tell your mother, and tell you, father. Understand that when you’re in command, ponies entrust you with their lives.”

“I…, I understand.”

“No,” Emerald barked gruffly. Rain falling from the sky, “You don’t understand, not fully, but you will soon enough.” Snorting angrily, she trotted back towards the village, calling for a pickup in her gemcom. She stopped noticing Crusader wasn’t following her.

“Come on, let’s go home.” She commanded coldly.

Comments

[Foxgear]

7222988 Zelda Cucco eggs? I don't remember putting those in the story. Lol.

Thanks for commenting!

[Lab 39]

I am assuming Kira Perfecta is Killing Perfection with a new name right.