The soft clinking of metal against metal was the only thing that kept poor Emerald awake.
But that was to be expected, considering that the sun had already risen and he wasn't supposed to even be awake at this time.
Yet here he was, cleaning up the mess the day shift of the Royal Guard had left. Again.
Honestly, couldn't they do their own chores-because these were chores and no amount of screaming the word 'responsibilities' would change his mind-instead of just leaving shit around for the next unlucky fuck-most often him-to come along and be forced to clean it themselves?
But, he supposed, that was what he got for trying to maintain a private training schedule.
Was his training even worth keeping up at this point? According to his therapist-and literally everybody who actually gave a shit about his health-his constant training was nothing more than a source of stress that needed to be cut down to make time for relaxation.
If he had to keep dealing with the idiots on his shift, then he'd actually have to make use of his vacation hours.
He didn't like using his vacation hours.
He sighed, it was times like this that he regretted joining the Royal Guard. Nothing ever fucking happened, which left him with nothing but his own worries and troubles to deal with.
He'd much rather deal with everyone else's problems than his own. Those were often much easier to handle.
Emerald sighed, and placed the spear he'd initially taken off the rack back.
He was tired. So. Fucking. Tired. He couldn't do this anymore. This worthless, disgusting monotony.
He needed to do something, anything. Just standing around, twiddling his hooves while waiting for the next global disaster to happen was not conducive to his temper. The longer he went on, the longer he spent doing nothing, the more likely the possibility of him snapping would become.
That's it, then. Tomorrow was the day he'd resign from this disgusting position, and find work somewhere-anywhere-else.
He growled, and began stomping back towards the barracks.
But, right now, what he needed was sleep. Blissful, glorious sleep.
His sleep was sadly interrupted by the door being violently thrown open by some dumbass.
"Alright everypony, Princess Celestia wants everypony front and center for inspection! Get your lazy flanks up and out, now!"
Emerald growled lowly, sending Captain Shining Armor a withering glare, though it was lost amongst the myriad others being sent at him from his roommates.
Still, an order was an order and, in no time at all, he was out and about, marching along with the others.
Opposite the line of Royal Night Guards were the Royal Day Guards, looking much less grumpy about the summons.
Once they all came to their usual stop, they assumed the proper position and stood, stock still, opposite each other, as Princess Celestia slowly began making her way between the two formed lines.
The sun was still high in the sky, though it was much lower than it had been before he'd managed to get to bed. Still, it meant that his sleep deprived mind had to deal with the bright sunlight filtering into his sensitive eyes, while trying to remain still for however long the Princess would take.
It was... annoying, waiting for the Princess to get a move on, especially considering that he was at the very end of the line. Staring straight ahead into some invisible point in space was much harder to do than one would think, especially when one had to do it for hours on end. Or when tired, in the bright sunlight, whilst being nocturnal by nature.
Not only all that, but the armour he had to wear was just as annoying. The way it brushed against his fur made him uncomfortable, and the feeling often left over when he took it off was just as bad. He hated this fucking armour. At least its enchantments worked on him.
Every set of armour, for most members of the Guard below the Third Rank, had a set of enchantments that hid their coat, eye, and mane colours. The Day Guard received bright white coats, equally bright two-tone blue manes and tails, and, again, equally bright blue eyes. The Night Guards, however, received dark gray coats, very dark two-tone purple manes and tails, and bright yellow eyes. Not only that, but the Night Guards' eyes were also spelled to look similar to a thestral's eye, which was fair, since most of the upper echelons of the Night Guard were thestrals anyways.
Not only that, but their designs were... less than impressive.
The Day Guards had golden armour with bright blue plumes adorning the helm, their breastplate held in place by a bright blue star, while the Night Guards had light purple helmets and greaves, the former of which holding a fin-like protrusion at the top, with a black and purple accented breastplate held together by an eye-shaped clasp.
He didn't know how anyone could tell each other a part, he certainly couldn't. Though, maybe it had to do with his awful sleep schedule?
Speaking of...
As much as he wanted to glare over at the Captain-who looked about as nervous as a bullied schoolfoal at recess-he refrained from doing so, knowing that if he was caught, then he'd be getting even less sleep.
Eventually, finally, Princess Celestia appeared in his vision, meaning that this would be over soon.
Even so, he had to admit. The Princess was truly quite stunning, in her own way. An elegant white coat, a colourful mane and tail, and pretty eyes. It was clear why she was as popular as she was with the general populace.
Despite this, Emerald held nothing but contempt for the mare, as she was the reason why he'd been woken up not long ago.
If only he'd decided to go through with challenging the Champion. He doubted he'd have to do this shit. Bastard probably got to sleep more often too.
But, alas, he'd decided against it. And why wouldn't he? He'd spent several years working for S.M.I.L.E. and, apparently, he'd been working too hard. He lost count of how many of those odd 'intervention' things the others had had regarding him.
But, eventually, they managed to get it through his thick skull that the way he had been living hadn't been healthy, and they'd set him on the path to a proper recovery.
But then S.M.I.L.E. was disbanded, and he was left half-healed.
At first, he wanted nothing more than to get back to work, hard work, and had joined the Guard when the Princess had mentioned it. Then he'd heard about this 'Champion' guy, and trained his flank off to challenge and take the fool's Title.
But... then he got thinking. Was this what they had been talking about?
All that work, all that effort, for what? More work?
That thought had ended up killing his drive. He'd resigned from the Elite Guards and vanished into the lowest caste.
The Royal Guard.
Princess Celestia came fully into view, and Emerald had to fight the reflex to look her in the eye, instead keeping his gaze fixed on some random hair on her chest.
Then she stopped right in front of him, and faced him.
Dammit.
What the fuck was she even looking for? Of all creatures to stop and inspect, he was the least likely to have any discrepancy in his stance or positioning.
So why was she singling him out?
"Captain Armor," Celestia suddenly intoned, finally stepping away from him. Emerald nearly sighed and relaxed, but didn't, lest he get his ass kicked for it.
The Champion probably didn't have to deal with all this stupid stoicism either.
Why didn't he just suck it up and take the Title, again?
Oh yeah. He was an idiot.
"Yes, Your Highness?" Armor saluted, his hooves clanking together as he stiffened,
"I would like you to form a small group from the guards here, five from each shift, and send them into the throne room. Be sure to pick those best at working with the general population and who are able to keep a secret," she ordered mysteriously.
Emerald heard the clinking of the armor belonging to the guards around him. He wasn't the only one confused by this.
"Of course, Princess. It will be done immediately," Armor responded without issue. The Princess nodded at him, and calmly walked away.
Armor immediately began patrolling the space between the lines and, after a few trips, began selecting the poor sods being sent to the throne room.
"Sentinel Hall. Bright Room. Stock Still. Flash Sentry. Spun Gear. Iron Fence. Emerald Skies-"-fuck-"-Firm Grip. Hazy Day. Lone Soldier, to the throne room. Now."
He withheld a groan and marched along with the other nine sacr-vict-guards. In less than five minutes they had entered the throne room, before immediately getting into line, now standing at attention in front of the Princess.
"Thank you for your haste," Celestia began, frowning slightly, and turned in his general direction, "I must also apologize for forcing the five of you and your fellow guards awake at such an... abnormal time," she said, "I recently receiving a letter from my student. I presume some of you remember Miss Twilight Sparkle from her time here in the castle?"
The Princess paused, as if allowing them time to recall the mare in question.
Emerald had to fight to keep from twitching. He did, in fact, remember the mare. He'd been the the one most often stationed by her side whenever she decided to do some late night studying in the Royal Archives.
Which was often.
At least five times a week.
Seven whenever she had a test coming up.
"The letter in question-" the Princess began abruptly, "-involves a dragon that recently took residence near the town. Now, my student and her friends were able to convince it to relocate on my order. The reason behind the order in question, and why none of you or your fellows were made aware of this, was because I feared that sending a contingent of Royal Guards would have been seen as an act of aggression on our part," she looked down, as if ashamed, "For this, I also apologize. It is my duty as a Princess of Equestria to protect my subjects, but, because of my own cowardice-" Celestia's hoof clenched against the ground, a foul look crossing her face, "-I failed and was forced to allow my citizens to put themselves in unnecessary danger," she looked back up at them, "For this reason, I am sending the ten of you to act as guardians in the town of Ponyville," she finally revealed.
Despite not moving from their places, Emerald felt the air around them relax, and the rising beat of their hearts all began to slow.
He almost huffed.
Was this it?
"However," the Princess suddenly continued as she stood, causing the group to stiffen, "there is an underlying... selfishness to my order," she admitted, looking a tad sheepish as she began to approach them, "You see, I would very much like you all to keep the town safe, but... in truth, I am hoping that your presence will dissuade Twilight and her friends, the Elements of Harmony, from doing anything reckless. I hope that by being there, you will all act as a buffer between them and whatever dangers may come."
The Princess went silent, looking conflicted, before she did something that, frankly, Emerald wouldn't have expected in his lifetime.
She bowed.
"Please," she began again, ignoring the sharp intake of breath from the other guards, "forgive my selfish request, but I ask that you all place yourselves in danger for the sake of my student and her friends," she pleaded, and straightened, "You will all, of course, be compensated for this, quite handsomely indeed. You need not worry about lodgings or money so long as you are in Ponyville. This-" a flash of golden light revealed a letter floating with her magical grip, which soon floated over to him, oddly enough, "-will need to be shown to the town's mayor. She's been asking for guards to be stationed in Ponyville for quite some time. I'm sure she'll be excited," she added, a touch humorously.
Emerald frowned inwardly.
Then why hasn't she gotten any before today?
He didn't announce his thoughts, instead tucking the letter into his chest-piece with a nod, before they were dismissed.
Heh... so much for resigning...
"Oh yeah? I bet I'm way better with a blade than any of you night-owl ninnies!"
"Say that again you bushy-tailed brat!"
Emerald sighed, and rubbed at his temples.
He. Hated. Rivalries.
Specifically the rivalry present between the Royal Day and Royal Night guards. It was fairly common knowledge that the Royal Guard's Day and Night shifts had a terrible rivalry with one another
No one knew why it was there. But everyone knew it was.
Emerald hated it.
The Elite Guard didn't deal with this! But, then again, when you've reached a certain rank, that kind of thing becomes much less acceptable. Were any sort of rivalry to happen in the Elite Guard, it was possible that both parties responsible would get canned.
But in the Royal Guard?
"I'll say it a hundred times you droopy-eyed dolt!"
"That's it, you're going down you early-rising earth worm!"
Rival away, evidently.
He growled to himself in the corner of the room, ignoring the wide-eyed gazes of the innocent little passengers who were, unfortunately, sharing a compartment with them, fervently pretending that he had absolutely zero relation to the groups, despite also wearing armour.
This was why no one ever took them seriously.
This was also one of the many days Emerald wished he hadn't resigned from the Elite Guard, or, at the very least, had settled for being a Hunter, Battlemaster, or Ghost.
Instead, he decided to forgo any of those Titles, and chose to remain a Soldier.
He was such a dumbass.
But Emerald!-his mind started mocking him-The higher the Title, the more work you have to do! Isn't that the kind of thing you wanted to avoid?~
Fuck off, brain.
"Attention passengers, we're coming up on our next stop: Ponyville."
Oh thank fucking Faust!
The sheer amount of relief going through him at the announcement would've been shameful if he wasn't-
"Moron!"
"Idiot!"
-a part of that.
The Mayor of Ponyville, an older pony with a gray mane and a fading amber coat, eagerly looked over the letter he'd just hoofed her, her eyes, a set of blue hidden behind a pair of golden, half-moon glasses, flickering up to him and the others ever now and again.
Though, a faint part of him noted, her mane and tail had a strange... artificial feel to them. Were they dyed?
"This-" she stammered, setting the letter down, a wide grin stretching over her face, "this-this is amazing!" she chirped, staring at them as though they were the last drop of water in the desert, "I've been hoping and praying for the Princesses to send a platoon of guards for months now! And she finally delivered!" she gushed.
One of his fellow Night Guards stepped forward, alongside one of the Day Guards,
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mayor Mare," the Night Guard spoke, "I am Sentinel Hall, and these are my fellow Night Guards, Iron Fence, Firm Grip, Stock Still, and Emerald Skies. We will, of course, be the ones patrolling the town's borders, interiors, and skies at night," he informed, tapping the eye clasp.
In an instant, his appearance changed. Once possessing a gray coat, purple mane and tail, and a set of bright yellow eyes, he now held a dark brown coat, a cheery red mane and tail, and a pair of steel gray eyes.
"And I'm Flash Sentry, of the Day Guard," the Day Guard spoke, "Alongside me are Spun Gear, Lone Soldier, Hazy Day, and Bright Room. We'll be the ones doing the rounds during the day," Flash Sentry said, giving the Mayor a smile, "Rest assured, we'll try to be as discreet as possible," he added, tapping the star on his chest.
Like sentinel, his appearance changed. Instead of the white coat, blue mane, tail, and eyes he had before, Flash Sentry now sported... mostly the same appearance. In fact, the only visible difference was his bright orange coat and slightly lighter blue eyes.
Still, having powered down the enchantments on their armour, it was clear they were intending to act as the 'leaders' of their respective shifts, despite having no discussion of who would be taking what role prior to this moment.
Judging by the glares both of them were receiving from his fellow Guards, that was not a fact that went unnoticed.
Oh well, as long as it wasn't him.
It had taken another hour of pointless standing around while the two explained all of their duties here in town, before the subject of their living quarters came to mind.
Unfortunately, there was only one house available, the other two having been sold off and demolished two months prior to some 'Filthy Rich'. The house itself wasn't bad. It was moderately sized and fit in with the town's overly colourful theme, with the walls being a bright sky blue, the roof being a cheerful yellow, and the door completely white.
It had three rooms, meaning that there would have to be some bunking between five ponies.
He said five, because there was no way in Tartarus that ten Guards were fitting into one house.
It would, however, be possible for all of them to use the same house if they just traded places when their shifts came, like back in the Barracks.
Unfortunately, it seemed that his fellow Guards were fed up with sharing, if the way Flash and Sentinel began debating which shift would get the house. Period.
It didn't take long for the other seven to get involved, leaving him as the only silent party in the room. Their arguing kept getting worse, and worse, and just as Emerald was about to put it to an end, the door to the office opened up.
An aged mare came waddling into the room. She had a wispy white mane and tail, an apple green coat that was faded, clearly showing signs of wear and tear, however, she possessed a pair of caramel eyes that held a hint of youth that most ponies that age wouldn't normally have.
Combined with the apple-based cutie mark, and homely aura, and Emerald had a feeling he just met one of the matriarchs of the Apple Family.
The appearance of another civilian immediately brought a halt to all arguing, and a small path was formed as the ten of them split, allowing the aged mare to pass.
"Oh, Granny Smith!" Mayor Mare greeted, smiling at the older mare, confused, "What brings you here today?"
"It's 'bout Cider Season, o'course!" the mare, Granny Smith, chirped with a level of excitement not common for ponies her age, "It's commin' up, an' I wanna git all this business out'o the way so we cin start preparin'!" Mayor Mare smiled at Granny Smith,
"There's no need for you to do that, Granny Smith," she said, "Of course the Apple Family has permission to set up shop for the season!" she gushed, pulling out a sheet of paper and quickly scribbling a signature on it, which Granny Smith took once it was finished,
"O'Course yer givin' us permission!" Granny Smith boasted, a bright smile on her wrinkled face, "But ya always gotta ask! Ain't right not ta!" she added, "'Sides, I think this years gonn' be a good'un! We got lots more cider ta go 'round than usual! The barn's all filled up!"
"Really?" Mayor Mare asked, sounding surprised, "Does that mean there's enough for the entire town this year?" she asked hopefully. Granny Smith shrugged,
"No idea!" she chirped, "But the ol' barn's gonna feel mighty empty in a couple'a days!" she added cheerfully.
"'Empty'?" the Mayor repeated, and Emerald nearly sighed, already dreading what might happen, "Say, Granny Smith?"
"Hmm?"
"I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Sentinel Hall," she said, gesturing to the brown stallion, who nodded respectfully, "he, along with his co-workers are guards who will be keeping Ponyville safe for the foreseeable future, however I'm afraid we've run out of room for him and his team," she said. Granny Smith's brow raised,
"Oh? An' ya wanna know iffin I'll let 'em live in mah family's barn?" she asked. Mayor Mare stammered,
"W-well I wouldn't presume-but-well-!"
"Sure!" Granny Smith agreed cheerfully, stunning the group of Night Guards, as well as the Mayor, "Long as they're willin' ta help out now an' again, an' keep things clean, I dun mind!"
And thus, their fate was sealed.
-----
Emerald growled to himself, staring down at the straw-bed he was going to have to deal with. If only this pathetic rivalry didn't exist, then he'd at least have a proper bed to sleep on!
He sighed. No, there was no point in getting angry, not at these idiots.
Speaking of those idiots, the other three were currently laying it onto Sentinel about him putting himself into the leading position of their little troupe. Emerald didn't understand why they were so against it. It meant less work for them, in comparison.
And, if there was anything he'd learned, it was that less work was, apparently, better for everyone.
-
-
Twilight Sparkle...
Had absolutely zero issues with the new Town Guards. She had, after all, lived most of her life in Canterlot, a place where you could look out your home window and stand a good chance of seeing a few at nearly any time of day, every day. Plus, they'd already been here a few months, and that was more than enough time for most to get used to them.
Although... one of them did look extremely familiar. It was one of the Night Guards. The second tallest, spear-wielding one. There was something about him that was distinctly familiar, and not in a passing way. Familiar in a way that suggested she had seen him constantly. It was that niggling feeling in the back of her head that told her that she should have recognized him on sight, and that she would have, if only she'd seen his actual face.
Now, while she was perfectly fine with them, her friends were of a more mixed opinion.
Rarity adored them being here. She had lost count of how many times Rarity had commented on the physique of the stallions or the myriad ways the mares could do this to their manes to make wearing their helmets more comfortable without having to cut them short, or do that to their coats to prevent sweat stains.
Pinkie was disappointed because none of the Night Guards allowed her to throw them 'Welcome to Ponyville!' parties, while the Day Guards had been happy to let her.
Rainbow hated them being here. She, surprisingly, figured out immediately that they were here to keep them safe, and Rainbow 'Pride' Dash obviously didn't like that particular fact.
Applejack was like Pinkie, in that she preferred one of the Guards over the other, though her preference was opposite the party mare's. She, for some reason or another, enjoyed the Night Guard's presence in Ponyville over the Day Guard's. Twilight was pretty sure she'd mentioned something about one of them being nice enough to foalsit Applebloom and her friends every now and again.
Fluttershy, astonishingly, had no opinion on them. As far as she was concerned, they were just more ponies she was too scared to interact with. Even after the incident with the dragon, she was still as shy as ever. It was almost... admirable in how set she was in her ways.
Twilight, while having no issues with either of them, was... confused regarding two of them.
Namely the mysteriously familiar Night Guard, whose name escaped her.
And the overly familiar Day Guard, Flash Sentry.
It wasn't that Flash Sentry was a bad pony, no! In fact, Twilight could confidently say that he was a fine stallion, and would probably make some mare pretty happy one day.
No, the problem was twofold:
One; She wasn't looking for that kind of relationship at the moment.
Two; He was a little... obsessed with her.
It wasn't overt, or even bad, or anything but... after their initial meeting, he seemed to appear around her friends fairly often, and was always asking about where she was, and leaving right after he got an answer. Rarity made jokes about him being in l-love with her, but Twilight was still fairly uncomfortable with his actions, even though they were... mostly innocent.
For those reasons, she wasn't sure how she felt about those two ponies in particular.
"Oh, hey Twilight!"
Speak of the devil...
"Oh, hello Flash," she greeted lamely, watching the armour-clad stallion approach her, that same wide-smile he always had around her on his face, "Um... how are you?" she asked, already glancing around for a way to politely evade this conversation.
"I'm doing great!" he chirped, "Just doing my rounds when I spotted you, of course!"
Yes, you spotted me. You didn't ask any of my friends where I was, you only spotted me...
It was a rude thought, in all honesty, but at least it was a private one.
"That's... great!" she said, unable to spot anything, and instead turned her attention to him "How has... that been going?"
"It's been going good!" he said, "You Ponyvillians don't have anything to worry about thanks to us Day Guards!" he boasted. Twilight nodded absently, but blinked when his words registered,
"Oh? Uh... well, what about the Night Guards?" she asked idly. Flash scoffed, and waved off her question with a hoof,
"Oh please, they don't really do anything," he said, smirking, "Everypony knows that the Day Guard has the most work. After all, we're the ones dealing with ponies on a daily basis. The Night Guard just has to walk around looking intimidating, but they don't actually do anything for anypony," he said simply, like he was stating a fact.
Twilight stared at him, her mind already running through a hundred different arguments.
Of course the Night Guard did something! They were the ones who patrolled every single night without fail! They had to be constantly aware of their surroundings since everything was much darker! Plus, crimes were statistically more likely to happen at night, putting quite a lot more pressure on the Night Guards!
Although, she supposed he had a point. Dealing with ponies took a lot of energy out of her, so it stands to reason that it would be just as draining to others as well.
But still, to just outright dismiss them like that?
"Well, it was nice talking to you, Flash, but, umm... I have to head to Fluttershy's for tea!" she lied poorly. Thankfully Flash seemed to buy it, since he nodded,
"Alright, cool. I gotta get back to work too, see you tomorrow?" he asked, though Twilight knew it wasn't really a question.
She nodded regardless, and turned around to walk away.
-----
By the time night came along, Flash Sentry's words still rung through her head.
She knew that the Night and Day Guards had always had a rivalry like this, but to think they went so far as to outright disregard each other?
That was awful!
She sighed, and gently closed the book she was reading.
This issue was just... too infuriating!
She huffed, nearly blowing out the only lit candle. This was just like Applebucking Season. They were obviously being stubborn, believing that all the work had to be done by them, and that nopony else was responsible for it. It was crazy! Ludicrous!
It was a problem.
Twilight rubbed her face with her hoof. It was also beginning to give her a headache.
She... she needed some fresh air. Maybe then she could think properly.
With that thought in mind, she quickly blew out the candle, grabbed her scarf, and headed out into the night air.
She took a deep breath in, already beginning to feel better, and trotted off.
So, the Guards obviously had a long-standing rivalry between each other. The reason for it was... currently unknown, but she was sure she could ask her brother if she needed to. Regardless of its origins, it was clearly causing issues. She'd heard more than one rumour about a member from each shift loudly arguing and insulting the other for several minutes straight before they were broken up, usually by the same Night Guard, coincidentally the one Twilight was familiar with.
On the subject of that particular Guard, nopony in town had ever seen him without his armour on. Even so, he was easily the most recognizable of the ten, even though the enchantments on his armour were constantly active, and Sentinel and Flash were the 'leaders' of the groups.
It was a combination of his light accent and exotic features that helped him stand out amongst the others. Both of which painted him as native to somewhere outside Equestria, though nopony knew where.
He was also recognized as the most dependable member of the Guard, funnily enough. Despite rarely ever appearing during the day, he was often seen helping somepony when he was. Be it a small task, such as helping somepony lift something, to something marginally bigger, like escorting Granny Smith so she could shop in town when she broke her leg, as the elderly mare had been too stubborn to just hoof him a list.
She shook her head, she was getting off-
She froze suddenly, and sniffed air, only barely holding back the urge to retch.
A foul scent tainted the air around her, a foul scent that she, unfortunately, recognized.
Timberwolves.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the sound of growling filled the air as glowing green eyes full of hunger and malice lit up the darkness to her right.
Twilight spun in place, stuttering back a few steps as the first wolf came into sight.
It was a disgusting thing, made of dark, seemingly rotting, wood. Its body creaked and cracked with every step, its maw, filled with dagger-like teeth, open wide, dripping large drops of sticky, viscous sap-like drool onto the ground below.
Then two more appeared beside it.
Twilight's heart was hammering in her chest.
What was she going to do?!
Running was pointless, and basically suicide. Timberwolves were fast, astonishingly so. In the forest, where trees and bushes blocked their path, there was a chance she could outrun them, but in the open fields where she was now?
She'd be caught within minutes.
Plus, that wasn't to mention that the only place she could hide was in Ponyville, and she'd be crazy to lead them all there!
Wait...
Timberwolves rarely, if ever, came out of the Everfree Forest, which means that either something had chased them this close to the border, or...
They were very hungry, and she was the only unfortunate thing close by.
She gulped heavily, her horn igniting as she prepared to fire the only offensive spell she knew-the Bolt spell-when the first one lunged.
A scream tore from her throat, and her spell fired, completely missing its mark, instead colliding with a tree somewhere to her far left, leaving a small black spot.
But, even so, the timberwolf was knocked off its course. Not by anything she did, no. It had been knocked away by a silver blur impaling the side of its face, and pinning it to the ground not far away.
She stared, horrified, for a moment at the sight of the spear having gored straight through the wolf, not quite registering what its presence entailed, until the roar of the second timberwolf broke her from her thoughts.
Again, it lunged at her, but, now that there was plenty of adrenaline coursing through her, she managed to catch what happened next.
A gray and purple blur slammed into the wolf, causing its head to shatter into a thousand pieces as the familiar Night Guard slowed to a stop in front of her.
There was another, deeper, growl, one that sent strange shudders down her spine.
It took her a moment to realize that they were coming from the guard.
Those shudders only grew worse, by the way.
The wolf he'd punched-because that was what caused its head to explode, her brain informed her-started glowing green, and the pieces that were scattered began to float back towards the body, only for a growl and a flash of blue light-fire-to engulf the wolf's body, causing the glow to fade out.
The guard reached over, almost lazily, and ripped his spear from the other wolf's head, another burst of blue fire incinerating that one where it lay, leaving behind a smoldering husk.
Twilight looked back at the last wolf, whose attention was now focused on the guard, and watched as it lunged forward.
Despite the adrenaline running through her body, and despite being prepared, she was completely unable to catch what happened next.
There was a glint of light, a streak of gray, and the timberwolf's head came rolling off of its shoulders. A flash of blue flame, and it, too, was reduced to ash.
Twilight could only stare forward, the entire sequence of events having taken less than ten seconds total. Because of this, she was still in adrenaline induced shock when the guards addressed her,
"Are you alright, Miss Sparkle?" he asked, the accent placing him immediately as the mysteriously familiar stranger, if she hadn't known already,
"U-uhh..." she mumbled intelligently. The guard's brow rose at her response, which prompted the, now thoroughly embarrassed, mare into speaking properly, "I mean, yes! Yes, I'm fine!"
"That's good," he said, sparing a disinterested glance down at the smoldering remains at his hooves, "if I might ask, what are you doing out here so late?"
Twilight stiffened at the question, feeling strangely... on the spot, despite having a legitimate reason and answer.
"O-oh, well, I was just out for a walk," she explained, waving her hooves around, "Y-you see, I-uh-I was having some trouble working out a problem in my head, and I-well-I wanted to clear my-uh-m-my head!" she stammered.
The guard only quirked his brow at her once again, the small, easily miss-able, action feeling like a weighted blow to her gut.
"I see," he said simply, regarding her with a critical eye, "... I suppose I''ll simply have to escort you back to your home," he subtly ordered. Twilight swallowed stiffly, and nodded,
"O-of course! I-I'd be happy to have the c-company!"
The walk was silent, though if her thoughts were to get any louder, Twilight had no doubt they'd be spewing out her ears.
This was her chance! She could finally talk to the familiar guard and figure out just where she knew him from! Not only that, but she just might be able to go and make a new friend out of all this!
Though, there was a part of her that recognized her desires to befriend the stallion as partially a result of his recent actions. He'd saved her life, after all. Of course she'd want to be friends with whomever was responsible for that!
Thankfully, the majority of her reasoning lie with her desire to get to know this strangely familiar stranger.
"Well, we're where, Miss Sparkle," his voice suddenly cut through her thoughts, "I'd suggest you turn in for the night, but I know you well enough to know otherwise," he said, sounding amused yet... aggravated?
Wait-
"You know me?" she asked, seizing the opportunity, before immediately backtracking, "W-wait, I mean, well, of course you know me, I'm-well, I'm-uh-"
Her frantic attempts at speaking were interrupted by a deep, almost gravelly, chuckling,
"I see you haven't changed at all, Miss Sparkle," he noted, clearly amused, but nodded, "Yes, I do, in fact, know you. I was, after all, the one who watched over you during those many nights you decided to spend studying in the Royal Archives, instead of at home, sleeping," he said.
Twilight blinked, digesting the information.
Then, all at once, every single memory she had of spending time at the Royal Archives shot through her mind.
Memories of late night study sessions, of falling asleep at the table only to awaken back in her room. Of dying candles replaced with fresh new ones when she wasn't looking, of towering stacks of books carefully replaced whenever she grew too interested in a particular work.
Of warm blankets given to her on cold nights, of fresh tea and scones appearing by her side without her knowing, and of the ever-present understanding that she wasn't alone.
All those memories replayed in her head while she stared at the stallion, now distinctly recalling his face in each and every single one, despite having difficulty before.
"Th-that was you?" she asked, awed. His brow raised once more,
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"No!" she nearly shouted, clearly taking the guard by surprise, given by the way he recoiled at her outburst, "I-I mean... no, of course not!" she amended, "You were-I mean-!" she bit her lip, and glanced away, "You were... always there," she muttered lamely, "I-I... the Archives were the only place I felt like myself, back then," she admitted, "I could just... read and learn all I wanted, and I didn't have to worry about ponies inviting me to parties, or insisting that I go out and make friends. It was..." she trailed off, the words escaping her.
"Your sanctuary," he supplied suddenly, looking at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. She nodded,
"Yeah, my sanctuary," she repeated, licking her lips, "but... you were always there. You never... you never judged me, or made fun of me because I liked learning. You were... nice," she said, "I-... I didn't really show it, but... I was always happy to see you whenever I came by. The-there were times, you know, where I was afraid that there'd be someone else there, instead of you," she admitted, swallowing thickly, "I... I guess, in a way... I always thought of you as a friend," she concluded, fidgeting slightly.
This was... embarrassing. Why was this embarrassing?
She was only telling a pony she'd never properly interacted with, or even knew the name of, that she'd always pictured them as her very first real friend, practically out of nowhere after nearly getting killed by a small pack of timberwolves!
There was nothing embarrassing about that!
"You thought of me as a friend, hmm?" he asked, smirking almost smugly, "Does that mean you don't think that anymore?"
She blinked,
"Wh-whaaaat?!" she screeched, recoiling away from him.
"You said you 'thought' of me as a friend. That implies that you don't anymore," he said, smirking wider, "Did I, perhaps, do something wrong, Miss Sparkle?~" he asked, teasingly.
Unfortunately, his teasing tone went right over her head.
"Wha-no!" she said, vehemently, "Of course not!" His brow raised once again, and a light chuckle escaped him,
"Ah... then I suppose we are friends, then?" he asked. Twilight stilled,
"U-u-uhhh.... S-sure!" she chirped, smiling stiffly, "I-I'd love to be friends!" she added. He nodded at her,
"And I, too," he said, gently kicking her door open, "but we'll have to start being friends tomorrow, Miss Sparkle. Have a nice night," he said, turning away from her, "Oh, by the way, my name is Emerald Skies," he added, before walking off into town. Twilight swallowed,
"Twilight!" she shouted after him, "C-call me Twilight!"
He paused, and looked back at her,
"Hmhm, will do, Twilight," he said, sending her a lazy wave.
Twilight stood in place for a moment, watching as he left until, finally, he disappeared around the corner.
Unbidden, a smile blossomed on her face, and she almost started vibrating in place.
Despite her restraint, she found herself skipping back inside the library, giddily clapping her hooves together.
She had done it! She had, not only, learned exactly where she'd known him, but managed to actually, officially meet her very first friend!
Plus, she learned his name!
Emerald Skies.
For some reason, just the thought of his name made her heart soar.
-----
Emerald blinked, and stifled a yawn.
Had he... had he actually just done that?
Had he actually just gone and made friends with Twilight 'Trouble Magnet' Sparkle?
Damn, he was more tired than he thought.