"We are betrayed. Make ready. Wake up." Princess Luna's voice slammed into Moonlight's senses. Her office shattered, and a jolt of adrenaline ensured she was wide awake. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Her tufted ears flicked this way and that. All around, there were the sounds of frantic motion. Wood dragged on stone, hooves pounded the ground to the rhythm of full gallop and leather wings beat the air.
When she was in the Solar Guard, such a thing was common during shift changes. But here, now in the deepest sanctuary of the Nightguard, a place that was constantly almost completely silent, meant whatever this was, it was bad.
Without a heartbeat's more hesitation, she rolled out of bed and lit her horn. Armour, weapons, and her go-bag were strapped into place. As no pony had kicked in her door yet, her aura graded another bag and started to pack things in order of usefulness.
'We are betrayed.' It said so much even as it said so little. That paired with the make-ready command. "Not good…" She murmured as she methodically packed. Her mind brought every intelligence report she could remember to mind. Who betrayed us? The new alliances with the changelings? The griffons? A noble family?
There was one name she knew she was deliberately not considering, but as the seconds ticked by, it made more and more sense. Seven words, Seven little words, were all the information her Sovereign had given her. Luna liked to talk. She enjoyed her showmareship and was usually far more personal in interactions with her Chosen. For the message to be so brief and to have been given to all of them by the sounds of it. Don't be Celestia, Don't be Celestia. She repeated like a mantra.
A few shrinking spells got everything to fit in short order, so she headed out of her room. Her shadow flowed up her hooves, and as she moved up to a silent canter, she pulled it up and painted it over her whole form.
Now prepared, she followed her ears to the center of the organised chaos. She rushed through the pitch black thoroughfares, ignoring the enthralling play of the umbral colours.
"Moonlight, get your horn here now," Final Mercy called from a side passage.
"What do you need?" Moonlight asked, trotting over.
"Lift that."
For a moment, she wanted to blanche. It was a large statue of Luna. Everything in her memories of being a unicorn said it was far too heavy. Instead, she just nodded. She was one of Luna's Chosen, and she would not be defeated by a mere bit of stone.
She narrowed her eyes and lit her horn. Her aura enveloped it, and nothing happened, so she pushed more magic into it. That delightful chill in her chest flowed further up her spine and into her horn. Umbral colours griped the statue. Then, with a simple flick of her horn, the statue lifted as if it weighed nothing. She almost bit her lip with her crooked, fanged smile. "Where do you want it?"
"Over there will be fine." Mercy Said, nodding to where the statue was, a tunnel led down into the depths.
"Secret vault or way out?"
"Both."
"Need me to do anything else?"
"Just wait till last. Your horn will make it much easier to put it back once we're out of here."
"Do you know what happened?"
"You don't?"
"The sovereign just said we were betrayed and to make ready."
"Celestia turned on Twilight."
"What, why?" Moonlight shouted.
Mercy's ears flattened as she recoiled. "No clue, but we are not staying here to be purged a second time…"
Moonlight gulped. Sovereign, what have you gotten me into?
The first to hurry by were the old and the young, each as heavily laden as they could manage. The fear in the little one's eyes held Moonlight's gaze as the solemn discipline for the normal sarcastic and boisterous Nightguards illuminated just how dire the situation truly was.
"I can shrink items." Moonlight said, and it was less than a minute before all sorts were piled up before her. "Left to right, critical to nice to have."
Mercy trotted over and started sorting what had already been dumped as the new deliveries followed the new order.
On any other day, she would have laughed at how many things being deposited in front of her should have been in the RGIS vaults.