Graveyard Shift
By TDR
Run. Rabbit Run.
[Canterlot]
Celestia was dying.
Of that she was certain.
The how, why, and when of that fact however was something she had no clue about.
It had taken her lifetimes to notice, but she was clearly weakening. At the time that she and her sister fought Discord there was little to nothing she couldn't do. She was every mortal's perfect image of a god. Supremely powerful, neigh unkillable, wounds that would have killed a mortal three times over were shrugged off and healed without a scratch in a matter of seconds, her sister was the same way.
After Discord there had been Tirek, Sombra, and countless other creatures of darkness and chaos that had seemed to swarm up out of the wood work against the pair of them. And every one of them they beat down with hardly an effort.
Celestia had noticed however, every time they used the Elements of Harmony, every time they defeated a foe, she grew weaker. She was less spry, less powerful. Her wounds began to tell, and last longer.
Then her sister had turned on her, and it was only by use of the Elements that she was able to defeat Nightmare Moon at all.
She tested herself in the remaining thousand years of peace, and she was growing weaker still. She kept the information from her subjects, sued for peace rather than conflict, fearful that she might be killed somehow and the sun would be gone forever, dooming Equss.
The Griffon conflict was the last she had participated in and it had taken her days to recover from the use of her power that ended the war.
There was still a scar on her neck as well from the assassin who sought to claim her life.
She was still far more powerful than any other living thing, and her grasp on the sun had neither wavered nor weakened. But she was far from what she once was.
Then Nightmare came back.
Celestia didn't think their fight even winded the demon that held her sister.
All her plans, plots, and cunning and she was defeated like a foal against a trained solider.
Her student was the one who saved everyone, and because Celestia had needed to manipulate her, to get her to go a certain way in order for the Elements to unlock, her student hated her. That bridge had been burned.
Not the first time either.
Celestia had expected to be gone for years, to come back to a nation just freed from the rule of a tyrant. That her student would have had the time to figure out out the Elements of Harmony in a relatively safe place, a small town Nightmare would have overlooked after finding nothing there of interest.
That her student had found them and used them so swiftly was beyond her wildest plans.
Well.
Maybe not the wildest.
She did have that back up plan where Nightmare Moon would be defeated by Horsetus Fruit Pies.
She had even brought an apple one with her into battle just in case.
But even so. When all was said and done, she had used her student for her own ends. She was rather glad it had been Twilight who did this. That only ended with her getting a sore jaw and a few loose teeth.
Had it been Sunset, she likely would have still been on fire, along with a good portion of Canterlot.
Despite the fact her former student, and indeed most of Ponyville did not like her, Celestia was already setting things up to begin the next phase of her students training. To prepare her and her friends for the conflicts she knew were to come.
Then Luna threw a wrench in the works.
This 'Night Guard' she had planned were going to do the same thing Celestia was planning for the Element Bearers. A force to take on and beat the powerful threats to Equestria and the world itself.
Luna held a great reverence for the six who had saved her, and despite, or perhaps because of, what she had done to them as Nightmare Moon, Luna was going out of her way to find a way to prevent them further hardship.
Luna too was aware of her waning power. By her own admittance she should have recovered by now, but everything she used to be able to do or cast came with a strain, save her control over the moon and her dream walking.
Luna believed the cause of the drain was the constant use of the Elements.
Celestia thought it something else, but she had no proof either way.
It was for this reason that Celestia had allowed the formation of the prototype of what Luna's Guard could be. She had assigned Guard Captain Jer'rahd, and Prince Blue Blood to over see everything and assist Luna in what they could.
Now the seven founding members that Luna had personally gathered were together, and Luna was going to introduce them to her.
Celestia actually hoped this would work out. She didn't want to keep using her former student and her friends. But to protect Equestria she would sacrifice them if it was the last resort.
Luna would let Equestria burn before she allowed any more harm to come to her saviors.
Celestia was looking to the greater good.
Luna was looking to the individuals well being.
Neither view was wrong, and compromise for both is what led to the formation of this unit.
Celestia truly wondered what sort of individuals would have come to her sisters call to arms.
Celestia slowly blinked as she looked over the occupants of the room, a small twitch developing in her left ear.
There were two ponies. And ONLY two ponies.
One Luna introduced as a Everfree Ranger.
The other had introduced himself as a 'consultant.'
Celestia knew what it meant when some one made that reference and she planned to keep an eye on this stallion.
The Naga was probably the least worrying. They were a peaceful race that lived along the southern borders, while many ponies would have issue with her, Celestia had had encounters with them in the past and they were usually pleasant, if brief. Luna's explanation that she was a Medic was rather interesting.
The Centaur was worrying at best, catastrophic at worst. The last time she had seen any of that race it had been Tirek. That this one was a female did nothing to stop the images racing through Celestia's mind of what that monster had done last time. Luna's explanation about her being an aspiring mage had cranked her feelings from worrying to concerned.
Then there was the Kitsune.
And it had to be THAT stars damned Kitsune.
Celestia had to restrain herself from blasting that smug ass of a fox right then and there. She remembered Mesa. The damn beast was infuriating when she had tried to hunt him to protect her little ponies. How Luna had convinced the blasted beast was beyond her. Celestia had been hoping he had died some where after he vanished. Of course her sister would recruit the damn thing.
Then there was the other one.
She forgot completely about the Kitsune when she saw him.
The colt couldn't have been more than 18 or 19, His face was a royal blue coloration, a rather fine color, but despite all of his fur being that color, only his face and head was of a pony. A kirin horn sprouted from his head flanked by a pair of rabbit ears, his body was longer than it should be, looking somewhat like an otters when counting the thick tail which ended looking more like a crocodiles. He had twin rows of dragon spines down his back. His rear legs were from a minotaur or a bull. His forelegs were little better, ending in paws like a sphynx. His eyes were a mix of brilliant blue green in the left , and amber bright enough to be gold in the right.
Luna forcing him to reveal himself to her clearly upset him, as did some of the surprise that came from the others. Still none of them seemed afraid of the Discordian, which was more than she could say for herself.
It was the seventh member of the group that made Celestia turn and storm out, dragging her sister behind her.
Celestia didn't even need a introduction. As soon as the massive stone griffon dropped down from the rafters above with a impact that shattered a number of intricate tiles on the floor, Celestia knew who he was.
The stone griffon didn't say a word and simply glared at Celestia as she left.
Lulu was going to get a stern talking to.
“Are you out of your moon touched mind!?!?” Celestia swore in a hushed shout.
“Thou are going to need to be more specific.” Luna frowned rubbing her ear with a hoof after the shout rather glad she had raised a bubble of silence.
“You recruited a centaur, two assassins, one of which tried to kill me, that damn fox, and a Discordian!?!?” Celestia ranted. “ The only ones I'm alright with are the naga and one of my rangers!”
“The ranger is infected with lycanthropy. Thine laws usual response to such infected individuals dear sister is to execute them before they disease spreads or they harm any pony else.” Luna stated flatly.
“You think that makes this better?” Celestia snapped.” That only leaves the naga.”
“We have brought together a group that is willing to aid us. A group we were forced to chose simply due to the fact that there were no others willing to aid us. What we have promised them in return is a pittance compared to what they can do for us.” Luna frowned.
“They are a collection of monsters,Luna.” Celestia snapped.
Luna stared at her sister her frown deepening
“Yes dear sister, we have eight monsters now. Eight monsters who have gathered here for the good of all Equestria. Mesa has not been the same creature he was for longer than we were sealed away. He seeks a lost friend We are going to help him find her.”
Luna moved closer to her sister.
“Millstone was treated as an abomination his whole life and simply wishes to either be left alone or cured, and while we cannot do the former we are more than willing to do the latter for him and absolve him of what he did out of self defense.”
Luna glared at her sister.
“Ginger Gold of the Apple Family was cursed while doing her duty to protect others, a duty she has upheld for her entire life and still has done for years despite her curse. Now that it is known due to our own involvement she is to be put to death by thine own laws despite not harming a soul when the opportunity was presented. is this how years of service to the crown is repaid in this era?”
Luna stepped closer.
“Locasta was exiled from her tribe for the crime of saving a life with the power she was born with. She is NOT Tirek, she does not seek the knowledge for the sake of power, she is like your former student in that regard, but the Centaurs have such disdain for what one of their kind did that she may never return to her homeland or she will face death.”
Celestia stepped back as Luna advanced her sisters cool teal eyes blazing.
“Stigma's entire tribe was murdered by someone they trusted. He nearly lost his life to that attack as well and all he wishes is to end the threat she poses to everyone and gain a measure of peace with his loss.”
Celestia's rump bumped into the edge of the silence barrier.
“Naunet wishes to be a doctor, but we both know that is impossible given how your medical community favors unicorns. It borders on tribalist practices, and she is not even the same species. For aiding us was shall ensure that she receives the training she desires so she can continue to help save lives.”
Luna was nose to nose with her sister now.
“Yes Lockheed attempted to kill thee, but so did we. He was sealed away and forgotten gaining neither a trial nor sentencing. His entire race is naught but ner-do-wells, stuck up nobles and a dying flock that cannot even survive without Equestrian aid. Everyone he knew is dead and they died thinking him lost, perhaps even a traitor. He is also stuck as a mobile statue because of the age on the spell that turned him to stone.”
Celestia blinked looking for something to say.” That was seven...”
“Indeed. The eighth monster is one who tried to cast everything into darkness and seeks to redeem herself, but she finds her sister neither trusts nor listens to her even now. Something she should have already realized was what caused her sister to seek the darkness in the first place.” Luna turned, walking back towards the room.
“Luna...” Celestia started to say.
“Do not! You are my sister, and we care for you, but you have made your decision on those we have selected quite clear.It is clear thine does not trust me as thee say thee does. As such unless thou decides to overrule my decisions and inflict thine 'justice' on my group, something which we will contest fully, with force if need be, then stay out of our way.” Luna snapped trotting back into the room, slamming the door in her sisters face.