//------------------------------// // Sunlight Triumphant // Story: The Vigil // by Visiden Visidane //------------------------------// The first rays of dawn pierced the great sea of dark across Equestria as the moon steadily lowered. The stars faded from sight, easily outshone by the coming day. The silhouettes of the hills on Canterlot’s horizon took on a faint golden outline as the sun furtively peeked from them, like an actor unsure if it was his turn on stage. Another perfect transition for Onyx Wing. He looked on until the dawn started to sting his light-sensitive eyes. He raised his wings briefly, the Night Guard’s standard salute to the changing of the guard before turning his attention back to the balcony before him and its current occupant. Princess Luna, the Bringer of Night and Guardian of Dreams, turned away from the slowly brightening horizon behind her, lips straight and tight, eyes focused and humorless. A few more bags under her eyes this night, a growing concern among the Night Guard. Her duties had always been tiresome, but they never weathered her this way. Something ate away at the Princess, as Onyx observed. She had the faint hint of a glare on her face these days, whenever she looked out towards Equestria and when she turned her gaze towards her sister’s room. Onyx Wing knelt on one knee, as a captain of the Night Guard ought, averting his eyes as Princess Luna moved closer. Behind him, his fellow Royal Shadows did the same. “Another perfect transition, Your Highness,” he offered. No response. No surprise for Onyx. The pace from the Princess was certainly a change, however. Princess Luna’s hoof steps came closer and closer, then moved past him in a purposeful hurry. Before he could rise and follow, her voice suddenly held him still. “Captain Onyx Wing, tell me. Who do you serve?” Onyx looked up and toward her. “You of course, Your Highness!” he replied instantly, though still too slowly to his liking. He glanced at the others and was pleased to find them also looking up and nodding. Princess Luna simply walked on, not even gracing them with a quick glance back. For the rest of their walk from the balcony to Princess Luna’s room they were silent. Onyx Wing saluted as Princess Luna slowly shut the door. “Captain Onyx,” Princess Luna said. The door remained open by just the smallest of cracks, past it she looked at him intensely. “Yes, Your Highness?” Onyx asked. “Would you fight my enemies?” “Of course, Your Highness, to my dying breath if need be.” “No matter who they are?” “Without fail, Your Highness. I speak for all the Night Guard.” The door finally closed, right after a mumbled “Good day”. Though the day now reigned and the Day Guard had taken over, the Night Guard had not quite retired. Most of the troops had returned to their homes deep within the caverns of Mount Nocturnal, the ancestral home of the thestrals by the borders of Equestria and Griffonia. A few, mostly the young bachelors, couldn’t be bothered to make the journey each and every time and stayed in homes within Canterlot. As for the captains of the Guard, they remained in their meeting tower within the Royal Palace. At least, for now. Three divisions comprised the Night Guard of Princess Luna, each tasked with their own duty which they performed faithfully and guarded jealously from each other, lest their duty be given over to another division. The Dream Watch held posts among the sleeping citizens of Equestria. They garbed in cloths of a calming light blue, eschewing barding like the other guards as to not frighten their charges for they walked among the citizenry even at the dead of night. They held affinity for the dreamscape, looking into the realm without quite entering it, and extending the reach of Princess Luna. They acted as her extra eyes and ears to keep watch over the dreams of the citizenry. The Night Sentinels patrolled near some of the Dream Watch’s posts and along the roads, tasked with the more mundane but just as necessary job of watching for physical threats such as thieves and invaders. Lastly, there were the Royal Shadows, the smallest of the three. They were tasked with escorting Princess Luna at all times, as faithful as her own shadow itself. Within the meeting room of the Night Guard, Onyx Wing squinted at the now-rising sun before closing the blinds. Behind him were the captains of the other divisions within the Night Guard: Swift Glide of the Dream Watch and Star Sight of the Night Sentinels. “Lately, Her Highness has said some troubling things,” Onyx began. “She has always been silent and introspective, but her moods have been darker and she has gone so far as to question our loyalty.” Star Sight frowned as he leaned on the meeting table. “Are you sure that it’s not a failing on the Shadows’ part?” he asked. “She could just be casting doubts on your recent performance and you are blaming her for strange behavior instead.” “We have not faltered in any way,” Onyx growled. “I have noticed it too,” Swift Glide interjected. “All of the Dream Watch has. The dreamscape reflects Her Highness’s thoughts as surely as her actions.” Onyx studied Swift Glide for a moment. His fellow captain had an odd glow around the eyes, and an unusual aura about him. The Dream Watch guardsponies has always been a strange bunch, always seemingly adrift between the waking and dreamworld as a consequence of their duties. They were not magical as unicorns were, but they were in tune with otherworldly forces. Swift Glide always looked like he was seeing things that his fellow captains couldn’t, staring off into space or studying something that wasn’t there. Right now, he was more intense...and more haggard. The dreamscape should normally be peaceful. What had the Dream Watch been doing lately? “We shall be part of a reckoning soon,” Swift Glide said. “Her Highness is unsure of her allies for this occasion. She must be counting on her Shadows most of all, Captain Onyx. Of us three, you are the only one whom she actually spoke to. Surely, you must have responded as loyally as you could.” “Of course I did!” was Onyx’s swift reply. He just as swiftly cast his gaze down, though. A reckoning? What battle was brewing? He knew of no hostilities coming from anywhere. “Should we alert the Day Guard as well?” he asked. “If Her Highness wished to involve her sister, she would speak to her sister,” Swift Glide said. “This is her fight and the Night Guard should wean itself of the a Day Guard’s aid as Her Highness has weaned herself of her sister’s.” “What is even this threat?” Star Sight asked. “Stop speaking in riddles, Swift Glide!” “I don’t know myself,” Swift Glide said. “She hasn’t spoken to me. I and the rest of the Watch merely sense it, but the fight is coming soon. When it does, the loyalty of the Night Guard shall be put to the test.” A week had passed since that odd incident; a week of tense silence between Princess Luna and her Royal Shadows, a week of nervous waiting for something to happen as Swift Glide suggested. The Royal Shadows studied their princess intensely, noting down the slightest action and trying to interpret them. The Night Sentinels searched high and low for anything remotely resembling a threat. Onyx, however, found it more interesting and worrisome to study the Dream Watch as well. Whatever this source of tension was, it seemed to rage within the dreamscape more. The Dream Watch were tight-lipped about the happenings within the dreamscape, yet they didn’t need to speak. A strange miasma clung to them at the end of each night, like a haze of purple that seemed to exist between dream and reality. Most of the Dream Watch did not seem aware of this, but they had grown increasingly...belligerent as of late, not towards their fellow Night Guard, but towards the Day Guard. A degree of occasional rivalry naturally existed between the two, but this growing aggression was too spiteful to be healthy. This was, however, but a reflection of Princess Luna’s own darkening mood as of late and her own growing belligerence towards her sister. Normally, Princess Luna would greet Princess Celestia during the transitory stages of day and night. Princess Luna has dispensed with that as of late. It was another beautiful night despite tensions. The moon had been full and bright, the dark was serene and comforting. With the dawn, the sun began to rise and the moon had to make way. The transitioning was normally smooth, but Princess Luna seemed reluctant to give way. Only after a minute of both sun and moon clashing in the sky did Princess Luna finally relent. “Onyx Wing...” Onyx was swift to salute. “Your Highness,” he said, quickly pushing out his own worries thoughts as Princess Luna faced him. “I am going to speak with my sister,” Princess Luna said in a tone that brooked no questioning. That she hissed the word sister was not lost on Onyx. “Take the rest of the Shadows and the Night Sentinels and occupy the walls and guardhouses of the Royal Palace. The order perplexed Onyx. This sounded like defensive measures. Were they about to be under attack? “Yes, Your Highness,” was all he could say. The Royal Shadows were loathe to leave their positions by Princess Luna’s side. Still, they would not disobey a direct order from her. They marched out to the courtyard. The Night Sentinels and the Dream Watch must have received similar orders from somewhere as they gathered along the walls and towers, perching in formation as they waited. Onyx Wing, at the head of the Royal Shadows, squinted as more and more of the sun’s rays stung his eyes. The day was no time for a thestral to be out. As he feared, a gold-armored stallion strode towards him, eyes hard and suspicious, pace urgent and aggressive. “What are you still doing here, Night Guard?” Captain Corona Glare shouted as he closed the distance. “Your guardsponies are jamming up my patrol routes! Are you so blind that you can’t see our glorious sun in the sky? Take your ponies home!” “We have our orders,” Onyx replied. He did not miss the Day Guard already taking up positions where they could. Corona Glare led the Bright Rays, the pegasus Day Guard division responsible for keeping the citizenry safe. They should be moving out to the cities at this point, but they had gathered here. Unsurprisingly, the Day Guard were swift to hold suspicions and the slightest oddity from their night counterparts. Without a doubt, the unicorns of the Thousand Suns were close by, always ready to provide magical support. Before Corona Glare could say anything else, a collective gasp escaped the ponies within the Royal Palace. The steadily brightening sky suddenly plunged into fresh darkness. Onyx looked up on instinct to see the moon rise up to block the sun, covering Equestria in shadow. “What is the meaning of this?” Corona Glare asked. Spears lowered from both sides. Onyx kept his lips tight, knowing that his troops looked to him for the next move. It was Swift Glide, however, now aglow with purplish light, who came flying past the walls and yelling. “This is the sign!” he shouted. “The night has taken over Equestria! Princess Luna has made her move!” As if to echo the sentiment, an armored pegasus came flying from the throne room’s direction followed by several more. Unicorn guardsponies also came running from the same place. Onyx gripped his spear tightly. The Sons of Light, Princess Celestia’s personal Guard, were here. “Day Guard!” the pegasus shouted. “Princess Luna has attacked our princess! This is a coup!” Corona Glare pointed his spear at Onyx, eyes practically bulging. “You—!” Onyx lowered his spear so the point aimed at Corona Glare’s neck. Nearby, Swift Glide and the rest of the Dream Watch crashed into the still shocked Bright Rays. The Night Sentinels followed suit, leaving the Royal Shadows as caught in the confusion as most of the Day Guard. It was the raging snarl from Corona that finally pushed Onyx into shouting. “For Princess Luna!” The rest of the Royal Shadows picked up the hue and cry, pointing their weapons at the Day Guard and charging in. The courtyard and walls rang out with the clash of metal and the pained cries of guardsponies. The darkness favored the Night Guard, the surprise attack gave them further edge. Even with magical support, the Bright Rays were forced back to the outer walls, allowing the Night Sentinels to hold the defensive positions. With archer slots to their advantage, the Night Sentinels brought out their crossbows and fired down on the still withdrawing Day Guard. The Thousand Suns raised protective barriers and fired back with magical bolts, but the strange, purplish light from the Dream Watch seeped out towards them, disrupting their spells and attacking their minds from the way they winced in pain and clutched their heads. Onyx smacked away an overaggressive spear stab from Corona, jabbing his own spear between the barding that protected Corona’s neck and shoulders. He withdrew the weapon with blood dripping from the tip before smashing his shoulder into Corona. The Bright Rays’ Captain hurtled off the walls, but managed to get himself barely aloft at the last moment, crashing into his fellow Day Guard. “Drive them away so we can focus on aiding Princess Luna!” Onyx shouted. The rest of the Night Guard roared their assent, renewing their attack with twice the fervor. Above them, Onyx noticed a streak of white light crash into the Royal Palace’s treasure vault with a streak of dark purple in hot pursuit. The battle redoubled its ferocity, spilling guardspony blood all across the courtyard and walls. Even half-blinded, the Day Guard held staunchly on, holding their ground and trying to regain the palace’s defensive position. They leaped over the corpses of their fellows, even stacking the bodies up to use as cover. The Night Guard were hard-pressed despite their initial advantage. They were outnumbered as the Day Guard had a far wider pool for recruiting unlike the thestral-exclusive Night Guard. They had already spent the night on duty and were fighting well into the day despite the darkness. The courtyard did not lack for the dead bodies of thestrals. Suddenly, a pillar of bright colors erupted from the newly-made hole of the treasure vault. Princess Luna’s anguished cry filled the air followed by a streak of light flying towards the moon. Another explosion later and an odd formation of dark spots had formed on the moon’s surface, vaguely resembling a mare’s side profile. Onyx stumbled as his chest suddenly grew cold. Around him, the rest of the Night Guard must be feeling it too. He felt empty inside, empty and lonely, as if a great source of comfort and strength had suddenly been cut off. His legs trembled as the fatigue caught up in a fury. The purplish light surrounding the Dream Watch faded. Worse still, the moon fled before the sun, sinking into the horizon in a matter of moments. The harsh glare of the dawn burned into Onyx’s eyes, forcing him to cover them with a hoof. From outside the walls, the Day Guard were shouting excitedly. Gold-barded ponies flooded the courtyard like an avalanche of maddened soldiers, cutting, stabbing, and burning with such rage that the stunned and weakened Night Guard fell before them like dried leaves. “The Day Guard rises with the sun!” Corona Glare roared. He limped forward, but still had the strength and skill to cut down two of the Dream Watch. His furious glare found Onyx, and his lips split into a vicious grin. “Don’t just stand there, kill these traitors!”