//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Aggravation // Story: Forever Is a Long Time // by Hoosier Brony //------------------------------// Rapid Quill walked over to Twilight’s library with an extra pep to his stride. He was excited because she had let him borrow a book that he needed for his next chapter. He had read through it a couple of times and was ready to begin writing again. Now, he wanted to give the book back and thank her for letting him borrow it in the first place. As he approached her door, he heard the faintest sound of music coming from inside the library. He knocked, trying to determine what the music was for, and was taken aback when Pinkie Pie answered the door. “Rapid Quill!” she said in her normally excited way. “Wait, what are you doing here?” “Hi, Pinkie,” Rapid Quill said. “Is Twilight here? I need to return a book and…” “Yeah! She’s right in here. I mean, HELLO, this is her library. Come on in! We’re having a party.” Rapid Quill followed the bouncing pink pony inside the door and began to look around. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were off preparing for an eating contest, each with five cupcakes in front of them. He waved, and received a quick, distracted wave back before they turned to their cupcakes, counting down. He noticed Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight all dancing to the music playing on the record player. “What’s the occasion?” Rapid Quill asked. “Well, nothing really,” Pinkie said with a laugh. “We’re just hanging out. But it’s always a good time to have a party, so I thought why not?” He couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Only Pinkie would find the time to throw an intimate party just because,’ he thought. When the music stopped, he waved over at the dancing trio, and received a wave back from the group. “Did my book help you?” Twilight asked, coming over as the next song started. Pinkie ran over to watch the cupcake eating contest, laughing as the two ponies stuffed the cupcakes into their mouths too quickly. “Oh yes,” exclaimed Rapid Quill. “It helped clarify a lot of my questions. I’m actually ready to begin writing the next portion of my story, thanks to your help.” “Well, why don’t you stay and write it?” Rarity said, walking over. “I know I’d like to hear some more!” “Yeah, that would great!” Pinkie said, running over from the now complete cupcake eating contest. As Rainbow Dash and Applejack argued over which of them won (‘I finished mah plate first, sugar cube!’ ‘No, way!’), the other mares decided that they would listen to Rapid Quill as he wrote the next chapter of his story. “Ok,” Rapid Quill said, surprised as he wasn’t expecting to write the chapter this soon. “Get comfortable, this is going to be a long one.” Beaming Justice woke up, enjoying the midday sun and the warmth it provided as he sat up in bed. He couldn’t help but yawn while stretching his muscles. Looking over, a smile came across his face. He’d smile this way every time he awoke and saw the beautiful mare next to him, sleeping peacefully. Not once would he ever take for granted the love in his life. Princess Luna was… “Whoa there, partner,” Applejack sternly said, cutting Rapid Quill off in mid-sentence. ”Are you sayin’ that those two are fiddlin’ around with each other?” A deep blush came across Rapid Quill’s face, only distorted by the few trails of sweat that began to flow from his mane. His eyes darted left and right, constantly calculating the correct choice of words. “Of course not, Applejack,” Rarity said, jumping to rescue the obviously embarrassed pony. “They are in a relationship, but it has to be one built on a deep love. No relationship is just “fiddlin’ around”.” She said the final words with a roll of the eyes. When her eyes settled, they ended up looking at Rapid Quill, whose face showed the gratitude of getting him out of the tough spot. “Now, do go on, darling, this is wonderful.” “Thanks, I think I’ll continue now,” Rapid Quill said, turning from the ponies and composing himself with a deep breath: Princess Luna was just stunning; her beauty impossible to describe. He never felt tired of watching her chest gently rise and fall with every breath or listening to the very soft ninny that parted her sweet lips. As he sat there, watching her sleep and wondering how he could not wake her when getting off the bed, Princess Luna’s eyes fluttered open. She gazed around for a second, settling on Justice. A warm smile spread across her face, and a blush began to show. “What are you looking at?” she asked, already knowing the answer. This wake-up had become like a routine to the couple. She smiled at the confident and still tender way his response came out: “I’m looking at the most beautiful, wonderful creature under the heavens.” Rapid Quill couldn’t help but smile as he heard the chorus of gasps, sighs, and giggles behind him. Any embarrassment over Applejack’s question had left his mind. If he could please this bunch, he must be doing something right. “This is nice and all,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to cover up the fact that she was one of the giggling ponies. “But what about Justice’s suspension? Whatever came of the arming of towns and punishing nighttime for the hydra’s movements?” Rapid Quill turned, winking at the blue (and now slightly red) pony. “I’m getting there, but this is important too. Just wait, you’ll see.” Beaming Justice leaned over, kissing Luna, and then slowly got out of bed. He walked to the window, taking in the beautiful Canterlot skyline. The view from the princess’ own tower was much nicer than that in even the highest of the officer’s chambers. “Looks great out today,” he remarked. “There’s hardly a cloud in the beautiful blue sky. The wind feels great. I think we should go flying today, just you and me.” When he turned, he saw the Princess’ head down, as if she was looking at something on the bed, yet her eyes seemed to be staring off into a void. He walked over and gently took her chin in his hoof. As he raised her head to meet his gaze, he noticed that those wonderful blue eyes seemed different, slightly off somehow. As he was thinking this, they suddenly returned to their normal glow, and she said, “I’d love to fly with you.” As the two walked out of the tower, Justice made sure to avoid the royal guards on duty. During the first day of his ordered suspension, he had made the mistake of offering one of the guard ponies outside of Luna’s tower the chance to grab a bite to eat, saying that he would watch after her. When Shining Light received word of this offer, he ran over and chastised Beaming Justice about interrupting the guard’s duty. Justice was so upset about that definition of “royal duties” and began yelling at Shining Light about his demeanor in front of his own subordinates. Princess Celestia had seen fit to extend his suspension an extra month due to disregarding her orders to “not interfere with any Royal Guard duties,” as well as losing his composure in front of low-ranking guards. This occasion was only the second time that Beaming Justice saw Princess Luna’s temper spike. She couldn’t believe the unfair treatment that was being bestowed upon Justice, but he accepted the decision again. Ever since then, he just chose to ignore the guards as he passed by. His suspension would end the next day, so he was on his best behavior. After enjoying a quick visit to a local restaurant for lunch, the two ponies headed towards a small park within Canterlot. There were many ponies out enjoying the beautiful weather by flying kites, playing with small toy boats in a stream, tossing a ball around, or even enjoying a picnic. When they saw Princess Luna walk by, they bowed their heads respectfully and went back to their activities. Justice looked over at Luna and said, “You ready? No holding back today!” The determined look on his face wavered as he tried not to laugh. She laughed that small laugh that melted his heart and, a smirk appearing across her face, said, “Just try to beat me!” She began flying, softly flapping her wings and slowly lifting off the ground. With enough force to blow some nearby leaves across the ground, Justice took to the sky, soaring past the princess. He loved flying, especially when the wind flowed through his mane, tickled his feathers, and blew his tail straight back. “I hear that,” Rainbow Dash said, getting up and flying in circles around the library interior. “That’s when you know you are really going fast. The only thing better is punching through the sound barrier and getting that extra speed while the Sonic Rainboom ring extends out…YAA!” “Sit down,” Twilight said, her magic stopping the pegasus in mid-flight by the end of her tail. “We all want to see how the story goes and you’re just interrupting him.” As Rainbow Dash sat, crossing her hooves in a pouty manner, Rapid Quill continued: Justice looked below him, seeing the Princess still lazily flying around while watching all the ponies playing on the ground. He flew down towards her and asked if she wanted to race. When she declined, he asked if anything was wrong. “No, of course not,” she said. The smile on her face was undermined by the slight furrow of her forehead. Justice knew that something was wrong, but he wouldn’t press the issue. “I just want to fly a little with you. Do you think we could visit Fillydelphia? It’s not too far is it?” “That sounds great,” Justice said, enjoying the beautiful day with his beautiful special somepony. They flew slowly, chatting about the declarations about to the small bands of guards that would be stationed in every town. Justice, though he was not allowed to interfere with Royal Guard duty, was able to express his ideas with Princess Luna, who then took them in front of Princess Celestia and Shining Light. Princess Luna often came away upset at the results of the meetings. Justice couldn’t believe her claims that Princess Celestia and Shining Light were ganging up on her in his absence, but the results painted a different picture. It was determined that the division of guards lean towards those chosen and trained by Princess Celestia’s royal guards, as more ponies were active in the daytime. Luna had explained that the night offered an increase in potential danger, but the decision was that for every nighttime guard stationed to a town, two daytime guards would be stationed as well. Shining Light used this 2:1 ratio to his advantage on a second issue, training. His argument was that since there were more day guards to train, he would need more trainers, leaving no trainers to Beaming Justice and the night guards. Luna, though aggravated at the further injustice being displayed, let this decision pass, knowing that Justice could train the best guards in all of Equestria. Justice did see that Shining Light was abusing the power that he felt with Justice out of the picture. That would change tomorrow with his return. He knew he had to start training these night guards immediately. The improvements of having even a few trained ponies to fight off the terrors of the night would make a huge difference to the safety of Equestria. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy the flight with Luna. As they flew towards Fillydelphia, Luna turned to Justice, a playful grin on her face, and asked, “Do you want me to bring the moon out? Wouldn’t that be nice, flying at dusk?” Justice shot her a confused look. “But it isn’t time yet. There’s still an hour of sunlight left. Can you just choose when the night can come? What would Princess Celestia do?” “Forget my sister!” Luna spat, her face twisting into one of disgust. “I can make the night come at any time, just as she can bring the day. If you don’t want to fly with me at night, then just forget it.” She turned, flying slightly away from the shocked pegasus. What just happened? Where did that anger come from? Justice thought. He flew over towards Luna, taking her hooves into his. Looking her in her suddenly sad eyes, he thought, she must be upset about how she acted. He decided to put her mind at ease. “I was just thinking that it would be beautiful to see the sunset and moon rise over the skyline of Fillydelphia. We can make it there in an hour, but we’ll have to speed up a little.” Luna nodded and began to pick up her pace, flying past Justice with a little smile. He sighed, happy to see her smile, but couldn’t shake that memory of the anger when he had inadvertently upset her with his questioning. He sped up, catching up to her easily, and the two laughed as they turned and saw her two guards suddenly realize they were being left behind, and struggle to catch up. As they approached the town of Fillydelphia, Luna slowed and landed in a nearby field. She lowered her head, her horn glowing a light blue for anypony capable of seeing the magic beginning, and began to raise her head. As her hooves reached above her head, she flapped her wings slowly, powerfully. As she began to lift off the ground, the sun began setting in the west, the bright blue sky turning yellow on the western horizon, and a darker blue in the east. Her wings began to flap faster as she gained more altitude. The sun continued sinking and the sky began to turn more orange in the west, the dark blue becoming even deeper, darker in the east. Suddenly the moon, large and bright, began to rise out of the dark blue sky. As Princess Luna finished the powerful spell required to bring the night, the sun fully set and the sky turned from orange to a dark red to completely black. The moon rose up in the night sky and numerous stars appeared. Luna, tired from the experience, flew back to the ground and stood, admiring the wonderful scene in front of her. “Good job on the details,” Twilight said, breaking Rapid Quills’ concentration. “Have you ever seen one of the Princesses changing the sky?” “Oh, well, I saw Princess Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration once,” Rapid Quill said. “It was an amazing sight.” “I’m gonna go get a drink. Do y’all want anything while I’m up?” Applejack said, standing up and moving towards the drink table. Because most of the ponies decided they were thirsty, Fluttershy flew over to help Applejack carry the punch. Pinkie Pie took this time to rush over to the table and grab some cupcakes, bouncing back to her spot. When they returned and everypony had a drink in front of them, and Pinkie had already begun messily eating her cupcakes (drawing some bemused looks), Rapid Quill continued: Beaming Justice, though he had seen this ritual many times, was in awe. Never could he see the changing of day to night and feel unimpressed. He flew down to his princess, his love, and just began to rub necks with her. Admiring the newborn night, the two just sat there, in each other’s loving embrace, for a couple of minutes. “Come on, I want to finish our flight into Fillydelphia,” Princess Luna said, pulling away from Justice. As they flew into the town, Justice turned his gaze from the night sky to the town below. Across the large town, ponies were entering their houses, light pouring out of each window. Many street lamps were lit, illuminating the streets below. “Look at how beautiful they are, all the lights in Fillydelphia,” Justice said, the awe in his voice coming through. He heard Luna huff and turn away, mumbling something about ponies going inside instead of enjoying the night she provided. Remembering her anger from an hour ago, and not wanting to spoil this moment, Justice suggested that they start back towards Canterlot. He wanted to get some good sleep in before the afternoon’s meetings, his first in over a month. The flight back to Canterlot was quiet and a little awkward. Justice kept trying to talk about the beauty of the night sky, but Luna only gave him small, curt answers. When they reached Canterlot, Princess Luna suggested that Beaming Justice stay at his quarters, now that he was in a subordinate position to her, and turned towards her tower. Justice just sat there, feeling his heart breaking. What happened? What did I do to upset her? After returning to his cold bed, aggravated, and fighting some troubled dreams, primarily centering on the couple of very angry moments from that night, Justice awoke, feeling pride that he was, once again, the Chief Lieutenant of one of the Princesses. He dressed in his finest day wear. Opening the door, he was greeted by Aurora Shine, Steel Hoof, and Swift Breeze, all three with big smiles on their faces. “Hey boss!” Swift said, flying over Justice’s head and into his room. “Man did we miss you,” Steel said, walking past Justice, who had recovered from the shock of seeing his friends at his door. Aurora, standing in the doorway, gave a little cough. “Come on in guys,” Justice said, rolling his eyes and laughing. “How is everypony?” Justice asked, as his three friends settled down at his table. He noticed that Swift had grabbed some drinks and passed them around. “Oh man, are we glad you’re back,” Steel said between sipping the drink Swift presented him with. “Yeah, Shining Light is kind of an idiot,” Swift said, landing at the empty spot around the table. “He strutted around like he was the most important pony in the world, but every time he opened his mouth, he stuck a hoof in it.” “Even I have to admit that he was pretty bad,” Aurora said. “He tried to undue most of the regulations you’d put in place and even demanded that we all get up and train with him and his guards in the morning. Do you know how hard it is to change a sleep schedule on a dime?” “Luckily, his training sessions are such jokes that we had no problem, even half asleep,” Steel said, laughing at the memory of the day guards bewildered faces at the abilities of the three ponies with bags under their eyes. “Yeah, those guys had nothing on us,” Swift said, reaching over for a hoof-bump with Steel. Aurora rolled her eyes, saying, “Even the unicorns they had were unenthusiastic about learning. They would learn a simple, childish spell, and call it a day. I can’t believe they laughed when I asked where the Star Swirl the Bearded section was located. They acted like anypony trying to train in there was telling a joke!” Justice just smiled at all of his friends. The hardest part of being suspended was that he was not allowed to talk with them, as that would be seen as interfering with Royal Guard duties. He had missed his friends, and was happy to hear that they missed him, even if it was more for his training abilities. Turning to Aurora, he asked “Did you learn anything interesting?” “I figured out how to confuse all four heads of a hydra at a time. You know, just in case,” she said, smiling at her own joke. After a second, the whole room burst into laughter. As the laughter died down, Justice let his friends know that training that day would be canceled, and that they should let all of their subordinates try to get their sleep schedules adjusted again. Beginning tomorrow, they would be back training for real, and with new recruits. After his friends left, Justice hurried over to the Grand Hall, determined to not be late on his first day off of suspension. Walking in just as the two princesses and Shining Light appeared, he returned Princess Celestia’s warm greeting. The four ponies settled around the large table, and the meeting began. “I want to thank Shining Light for the lessons he taught all of my subordinates during my absence,” Justice said, smiling inwardly at his own joke. “They informed me that you taught them very valuable things.” “Thank you, Beaming Justice,” Shining Light said, feeling actual pride that his accomplishments were recognized. “And welcome back from your suspension. Shall we go over what has been discussed over the past month in our meetings?” “Do not worry,” Princess Luna said. “I’ve told him about all the decisions that have been made. He is prepared to begin training his night guards immediately.” Looks like she is feeling better, Justice thought. I need to remember to apologize for last night. Princess Celestia gave Princess Luna an annoyed look. She admired that her sister was in love, but spreading what goes on in the privacy of the royal meetings to anypony who was not present was a shameful thing. She would need to have a talk with her after the meeting, sister to sister and Princess to Princess. “Should Beaming Justice have been informed of…?” Shining Light began, stopping when he saw Princess Celestia’s slight head shake. “Ok, well, if he is ready to begin his training, then let’s move on to the next item of business, the Summer Sun Celebration. I know it is a month away, but you can never be too prepared.” “What needs to be discussed?” Justice asked. “Well, it was decided that the night guards in each town would be in charge during the night and the day guards during the day. If ever an emergency situation occurs and both groups of guards are needed, the leadership would be determined by the time of day. Being an event where the day rises from the night, we need to figure out a process for changing the guards over smoothly.” “Is it not as simple as just assuming responsibility as soon as the sun has risen?” Justice asked, amused that this was even in question. “This is a rather big event,” Shining Light said seriously, frustrated that Justice just didn’t understand. He’s been away too long and has gotten too close to Princess Luna; he forgets just how important this role is, he thought. “Everypony stays up to celebrate the rising of the sun on the longest day of the year. Don’t you think that…?” “Why is this even a holiday?!?” Luna interjected angrily. “We all celebrate the rising of the sun on the longest day of the year, but why? Because it is the shortest night? Why do we not celebrate the rising of the moon on the longest night of the year? It just doesn’t seem fair.” She stomped at the last statement, her voice getting louder and more heated as the questioning went on. “Princess Luna!” Princess Celestia snapped, turning on her sister. “We celebrate the longest day of the year because it provides the most time for worker ponies to work, farmer ponies to farm, and school fillies to learn!” “And all ponies just sleep through my night, ignoring the beauty of the night sky!” Luna shouted. Justice noticed a slight look over to him. He saw that anger in her eyes again. Is she still mad about last night? All I did was say that the lights of the town were as beautiful as the sky. What’s the matter? Princess Celestia, after calming herself, said in a voice heavy with disappointment and barely above a whisper, “I think you need to excuse yourself from this meeting, Princess Luna. When we are done, I would like to have a word with you.” Princess Luna scowled at her sister. She turned her back from the table and walked out of the room, slamming the two large doors behind her. Princess Celestia turned back to the table. Shining Light and Beaming Justice were shocked. Never had they seen the two sisters argue in such a manner. After a long silent pause, Princess Celestia spoke: “I believe we are done here today. We can meet again next week, after I have had a talk with Princess Luna.” With that, she turned from the table and began walking out, Shining Light near her side. Justice rushed up to the group and said, “Princess Celestia, I need to talk to you.” Shining Light stood between Justice and Celestia, sternly reminding Justice that he could talk to the princess for him, if needed. Justice just tried to shove Shining Light out the way, receiving a hard shove in return. “Enough, Shining Light,” Princess Celestia said, aggravated not only with Princess Luna’s outburst before, but now with the two top guard ponies fight in front of her. “Please be brief, I need to see to my sister.” “I am worried about Princess Luna,” Justice said. “I know it isn’t my place to say such a thing about the princess, but I believe something is wrong with her. She has been showing signs of being upset. No, more than that, downright angry. Last night, I saw her so angry, it frightened me.” “You are right,” Princess Celestia said, a frown on her face. “It is not your place to judge a princess.” Noticing the worried look on Justice’s face, she added, “I too am worried about my sister. She has not been herself recently, and I fear that something deeper is happening.” “What can we do?” Justice said. His worry was more widespread than just a pony worried about his princess. He was worried for the love in his life. “Do not worry, I will have a talk with her,” Princess Celestia said. “Beaming Justice, you just worry about training your guards to the best of your abilities.” With that, she turned and walked out of the room, Shining Light following behind and giving Justice a nasty look. “What’s wrong with the Princess?” Fluttershy asked. “Yeah, why was she such a meany-pants?” Pinkie added. “Oh, come on,” Twilight groaned, the other ponies looking her way in confusion. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s becoming…” Rapid Quill jumped up, shouting, “Twilight! Don’t say it. I want it to be a surprise.” “Becoming, becoming,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, thinking hard. “Don’t leave us in the dark,” Applejack demanded. “What’s going on?” Rapid Quill noticed that Twilight was looking his way. “I’m getting there, you’ll see. Just be patient.” Justice was thankful that he had canceled any training for that evening, instead wanting to just stay at home too worried about Luna to function. What is happening? Why is she getting so mad? He understood that she was upset about how ponies slept during her night while enjoying the daytime. But he didn’t think it deserved the emotions she was giving. When he finally fell asleep, all he saw were terrifying dreams of Princess Luna doing horrible things. He awoke many times, shaking in a sweat, constantly needing to remind himself that the Princess would never do the things he imagined. Probably just some left over stress from the fights I’ve fought. When he awoke the next afternoon, he gathered his troops and began to train all the new recruits. He hadn’t conducted any training for the inexperienced since he had become the Chief Lieutenant for Luna and had ideas for how to better prepare these ponies, knowing that they would be guards during nighttime. He would make sure to train them to use all senses, not just sight. “At night, the darkness will make your sight useless at times. During these times, you must be able to use your hearing, feeling, and even smell if needed. I will train you not only to be stronger, faster, and smarter, but to be qualified to fight in any terrain, especially the night.” He was finding that spark that made him love training other ponies. He loved seeing their admiration and respect for his position, the look on their faces as they absorbed the teachings, and their improvements over the weeks. Justice found that training the hundreds of ponies was too much, but thankfully he had the best trained officers in all of Equestria. Aurora Shine spent extra time with the unicorns, ensuring that they would not just learn the simple, childish spells, but strive to learn as much as possible. Their magical talents grew immensely. The group even discovered new spells and magic that Equestria had never seen. They received their own wing of the Canterlot libraries, devoted to learning spells to help all ponies everywhere. Swift Breeze worked with the pegasi on speed, agility, and accuracy with their weapons when flying. He trained them to levels that caught the eyes of even the civilians on the ground, who suggested that a public exhibition should be in order. The powerful display was a huge crowd hit, and already there were talks of taking a show on the road, displaying the best of Equestria’s fliers. Steel Hoof worked with the earth ponies to work on their strength. On the first day, he awed the crowd of trainees by crumbling a cement wall three feet thick with only two strong kicks. He explained that they too could be this strong, and then proceeded to talk of times where such strength is required, mentioning the fight with the horrid hydra. He also worked on hoof to hoof combat, as without wings they would be the foot-soldiers of any fight. As they trained, their strength increased in large amounts until they were able to shove a spear through the trunk of a tree in one thrust. Before the specialized training, Beaming Justice would work with all of the ponies on endurance, ensuring that they could weather even the longest of battles. He made sure that the unicorns were still getting some strength training in, never wanting to see a situation like Aurora’s in the hydra fight. Nopony would ever been so tired that they would be in danger in a fight. He worked on strength with the pegasi, seeing flight as an advantage in hoof to hoof combat, not just for long-range attacks. He worked with the earth ponies on reaction times, as they would be the ones entrenched in a fight and would need to be able to react quickly and efficiently. Whenever Justice saw a pony who was shining a little brighter than his or her counterparts, he pulled them aside and gave them extra training on battlefield strategies. These ponies would be his squadron leaders, entrusted with the safety and security of those they gave orders to. They would need to be able to process a situation, determine the best course of action, and execute plans to a T. Beaming Justice reported to the Princesses his progress during their weekly meetings. He couldn’t help but feel pride at Shining Light’s continued aggravation at how well his guards were training. He relished in seeing Princess Luna’s smile again; she must be proud in how well I’m preparing her guards. But he couldn’t help but notice that Princess Celestia was less than enthused. She’s probably just disappointed that Shining Light isn’t training as well as me. Two weeks before the Summer Sun Celebration, Justice even offered to help train some of Shining Light’s guards, seeing as his guards were already done with their training and had taken their places in the many towns of Equestria. Shining Light rudely objected, even though only half of his guards were in place. He pushed the second half of his trainees through extra sessions, exhausting them in the process. But they were determined fit for duty, and sent off to the many towns. Reports had come in over the course of the week on infighting between the two groups of ponies. Day guards verbally attacked night guards in the light of day (sometimes even in front of civilians, which drew a high punishment), and night guards would torment the day guards at night. This became a bigger issue as the Summer Sun Celebration drew closer. Shining Light and Beaming Justice had daily arguments about who was at fault, Justice believing that the day guards were using their extra numbers and social presence with the civilian ponies to their advantage. The night guards were not as well known in the communities, as they were active when most ponies were asleep and asleep while most ponies were active. The idea of a smooth transition between night and day during the Summer Sun Celebration was becoming more and more doubtful. Justice personally went around to all of the towns and chastised the ponies, telling them to obey the orders coming from Canterlot and to stop letting the day guards get to them. “The injustice is well known, so let the day guards look bad,” he pleaded. Sure enough, all of his guards began to straighten up and brush off the attacks from the day guards. They were frustrated, but they never reacted in kind. “Could we stop for a moment? I need to excuse myself to the little filly’s room,” Rarity said, getting up and walking out of the room. “I think I’d like to take a break as well,” Rapid Quill said, shaking a small cramp out of his hoof. “Are you almost done for today?” Fluttershy asked. “I really need to get back to Angel. He needs his supper soon.” “Yeah, I’m one pooped pony,” Pinkie said, standing up and stretching. “I’m almost done,” Rapid Quill said. “You just need to be a little more patient.” “I hope this is worth it,” Rainbow Dash said, a little annoyed. “I mean, I like the story, but I’m ready to go home. I haven’t flown in a LONG time now. I need to stretch my wings.” “It will be, just wait,” Rapid Quill said. He looked over at Twilight, noticing the smile on her face. ‘How could it be that nopony else has figured out what she has?’ he thought. ‘Oh well, I can’t wait to see how they take it.’ When Rarity had returned, and everypony had stretched, they all settled down and looked over to Rapid Quill. ‘Ok, let’s bring this home,’ he thought. After weeks of deliberation, the Summer Sun Celebration was finally here. The streets all across Equestria were abuzz as ponies stayed up all night partying, waiting for the sun to rise. In Canterlot parties were thrown for all types of ponies, including the guard ponies that were either on duty or would be soon. At the castle, a large party was taking place with many dignitaries, both local and foreign, visiting. Next to the Grand Galloping Gala, this was the biggest party of the year. Justice had looked everywhere but could not find Princess Luna. He had wanted to share this night with her, not only because it was the second biggest party of the year, but because he remembered her upset feelings for just this situation. He knew she would be upset on the shortest night of the year, even if everypony was awake to appreciate it, so he wanted to comfort her. He found himself distracted through the entire event, not being able to enjoy himself with the other ponies. As the night went on, Shining Light met up with Beaming Justice and began talking about the ceremony. This being the first year with the night and day guards, he wanted to have a public changing of the guards to involve the two of them, signifying that the day guards were on duty. Justice thought this seemed rather cheesy, but agreed. When the Princess had raised the sun, he would walk across the stage opposite of Shining Light and hand him a ceremonial spear. A picture would be taken, and then he could go on his way for the day. As the time came for the bigger festivities to begin, the party in the grand hall had moved out to the royal gardens. Here a stage had been erected where Princess Celestia would perform her powerful spell to raise the sun and bring on the longest day of the year. On this stage, two high-ranking guard ponies would exchange a spear, signifying that the defense of Equestria would never cease, changing from night to day. The pomp display was ready to begin, and all the fancy ponies had gathered. Princess Celestia lowered her head, her horn glowing a bright gold. Slowly she began to raise her head, but just as her wings were to powerfully start flapping, bringing her off the ground and into the sky as the sun rose behind her, her head wavered. Sweat began appearing on her brow and her neck started shaking. Her eyes popped open, she let out a labored sigh, and the spell was broken. As everypony began looking around, trying to figure out what had happened, a heavy, menacing laugh echoed from the direction of the castle. All of the ponies turned around and took in the dark, black pony before them. Her outfit was that of royal battle armor, sharp and strong. Her breast plate had a crescent moon, glowing a pale blue. Her mane was a sparkling, dazzling blue that shone in spots, almost like stars. But her eyes were what drew their attention. Her eyes were a glowing light blue, with cat-like slit irises and were filled with nothing but pure hatred and anger. “Not this time, Celestia,” she hissed. The crowd pulled back, fearful of this terrifying image in front of them. “Who are you?” demanded Shining Light, taking a brave step forward on the stage. Princess Celestia was still catching her breath behind him, so he felt he would have to talk for her. The strange, evil mare checked slightly. “You can call me, Nightmare Moon.” Rapid Quill stopped. Put his quill in the inkwell, and turned around. He couldn’t help but laugh at the stunned faces on the ponies in front of him, and Fluttershy’s quivering. He had heard their gasps when Princess Celestia could not raise the sun, but he wasn’t expecting this much of a reaction. “Of course!” Applejack said, nodding to herself. “That explains her attitude this whole time.” “Ooohhh,” Pinkie said, laughing. “How could we have missed that? I mean, we met her once. Such a mean pony.” “Thank you Twilight for not spoiling that,” Rapid Quill said, grateful for her silence. “I don’t think the surprise would’ve been as good.” “You’re very welcome,” Twilight said. “I still can’t believe it caught them off guard.” Rapid Quill began to put his supplies in his bag, making sure to return the book he had borrowed from Twilight. As he was doing so, he heard the many complaints from those around him. “Wait,” Rainbow Dash said, flying up to invade his personal space. Nose to nose she demanded, “You aren’t leaving. What about the story?” “Yeah,” Applejack said, standing up a little sternly. “You can’t leave now. What happens next?” Rapid Quill just smiled. “You’ll just have to wait for the next chapter.”