//------------------------------// // A Big Disappearance // Story: One to Die For // by lunablue17 //------------------------------// I am Night Runner. I am a pegasus pony that lives in the royal palace with the princesses. I am a retired Night Guard for Princess Luna. I used to be the personal bodyguard of the princess, as I had been for a few years. I had orders to follow her everywhere she went, except in her room. To us, their rooms were considered automatic expulsion from the royal guardian order. I was brought to the Night Guard order by the princess herself. She found me abandoned near the entrance to the royal castle. Princess Luna and her sister took very good care of me, however, I always had, and still have, this serious tone in my voice. Everyone took my word very seriously. Another reason was I would not talk unless I was asked to or given permission to talk. I was like this since I was a little filly. That was, till Princess Luna was asked to go on an “adventure” that our dear advisor has set up for the princess himself. She liked having fun and was usually seen walking around the palace at night, with me of course. As I walked around with her, she would put a spell on some objects in different rooms. I knew that she was just pulling more pranks. I never stopped her, why would have I stop her? She brought to where I was. Back to the “adventure”, her advisor one day comes up to us and tells the princess about some trouble in the Everfree forest. Princess Luna’s sister, Princess Celestia was not probably with that one purple unicorn that showed up every once in a while. They usually are together talking about something. Well, the advisor warned her that it might be dangerous. He then pulled me off to the side. He told me specifically what was happening. He mentioned a zebra or some type of horse and how everyone who went to see her would vanish before even getting to her house. The first thing that came to mind, was that she had been kidnapping by those ponies and lied about ever having seen them. When he finished, he bowed to the princess, as customary, and left the throne room. I turned to Princess Luna and asked her, “Are you going to go to the Everfree Forest to investigate the disappearances?” She sat in her seat pondering the thought. “I guess I should since this problem has been brought to the royal court.” She got off of her seat and landed on her hooves. “Come Night, you and the captain will accompany me to investigate this disturbance.” The two of us walked out of the court and headed for the captain’s room. My captain was a unicorn and was taught by both of the princesses themselves. He choose to become a Night Guard and rose up the ranks in no time at all. The princess proceeded to knock on his door. He opened the door saying “Night I know it’s you. What is it that you have to interrupt me now?” He was surprised to find the princess standing in front of him. I expected that he thought it was probably a new report on the princess. “Princess Luna! I am sorry for anything I have said. What is it that you need for me to?” As customary, when he talked to the princess, he kept his pose bowing in front of the princess. However, Princess Luna stated herself that I did not have to bow to greet the princess. I always felt like I was being treated as the most liked guard out of all. The thing was that my facial expression was always so serious that no one even mentioned anything about it. The princess stepped back and motioned for me to tell him what we had heard, “Captain, there has been a disturbance discovered in the Everfree Forest. The head advisor told us that about a zebra horse that lives there and that anypony who went to visit her had mysteriously disappeared.” I stopped there because the advisor asked for me not to say something else that he had whispered to me. I continued after pushing off the thought, “The princess has asked for just us two to accompany her to the forest to investigate the disappearances ourselves.” He tilted his head, “Why just us, why not send the investigation team? Isn’t that what they were trained for?” “I will have to tell you about that in private, as asked by the head advisor. However, we should leave as soon as possible.” I was about to continue… …but Princess Luna joined in, “I agree; captain, please get suited in your armor. I shall have a chariot waiting for you and me while Night flies next to the chariot. We will stop at Ponyville to ask around about the disappearances.” She was very stern when she said this, very unlike her normal self. “Yes princess, I will meet you at the chariot when I am suited up.” The unicorn turned into his room and closed the door leaving me and Princess Luna right outside. We both had already started walking away from the captain’s room. We headed for the entrance to the palace. Princess Luna had said nothing at all the whole time we were walking. That was, until we arrived at the entrance. She put her hoof around my neck and pulled my head closer to her mouth, which was about level with my ear. “Listen, I know something doesn’t seem right that the head advisor would come to us himself and tell me about this. I think there is some scheme within the palace. I would like to ask you to do me a favor and if I tell you to, please just fly away. It doesn’t matter if they kidnap me or anything; I just want you to get away as fast as possible.” I stood there frozen as a statue. Princess Luna was already walking toward the chariot to wait for the captain. I was standing like that for a few moments until one of the other guards asked me what I was doing. I snapped out of it and told him that it was nothing. Similar thoughts kept running through my head about what the princess had told me. She asked me to abandon her when she told me to. Something about her seemed different. She was…acting differently, to me specifically. How in the world of Equestria could she ask me to abandon her? Just the thought of that made me shutter a little. Lost in my train of thought, I accidentally walked into the carriage. I could hear Princess Luna giggle to herself. I did not pay attention still. I just sat there looking at the ground. Thoughts and images of me flying away from the princess filled my mind. The clarity that I always had, even in the worst of situations, was gone just like that. Although the princess may have taken my frozen stature as an agreement, I was that she knew I couldn’t abandon her. I had made the oath to protect her till death and I planned to keep that oath. That was my determination that kicked in. I was determined to uphold the oath. The only problem with that was it also dictated that all guards must obey the princess even in times of utter disaster. This was my most changing life decision ever. “Do I abandon the princess on her orders or do I stick with her till the end? What do I do…?” Those thoughts sped through my mind every second. Even though I sat there, the captain was calling my name, “Night…Night!” I snapped out of my confusion. “Sorry captain, I was lost in thought,” I said to him as I stood up. He was already sitting in the carriage with Princess Luna. We both took a good long look at each other, the princess and I. Finally, she gave me a small, unnoticeable nod and then I knew what she meant. She wanted me to choose. She was testing to see my loyalty to her or the Royal Guard Order. The same question was still engraved into my mind, “Do I abandon or stay with the princess?” I brushed it off for only a short time. All of us took off and we headed for Ponyville where we would ask around for any information on the disappearances. My orders were to question a yellow pegasus who lives near the edge of the forest and an orange earth pony who owns an apple orchard which is near the forest as well. On the way to the town, Princess Luna was probably using her magic to talk to me. I could hear her words in my head. “Night, I know what you are thinking. About the thing I said back at the palace. Do not dwell on the choice for now.” “How can I not think about it? My oath dictates…” “Please Night, for this specific question can only be answered by one thing. You will find out after you talk to the yellow and orange ponies. They will have answers for you.” I asked her about this, but she had already ended the contact between us. “So these two ponies have answers for me? Then I must know, I must ask them about their answer for the question…” A few moments after the conversation with the princess, we arrived at Ponyville. As we landed on the ground, all the ponies around us bowed towards the princess, as customary. The only difference, were two ponies in the crowd. One was the purple pony that I saw in the palace with Celestia often. She stepped forward to greet Princess Luna herself. “Princess Luna, why are you here in Ponyville? You haven’t come down since that one Nightmare Night.” “This is a matter of utmost importance, Miss Twilight Sparkle. It was brought before me to in the royal court by our advisors that some ponies have been disappearing after heading into the Everfree Forest.” As soon as she said that out loud, the ponies around us began to murmur about it. I could faintly hear one conversation to my right. I even saw a white unicorn fleeing from the area as well. “Is she talking about those few ponies that went to go see that zebra?” “Probably, I always knew something was different about that horse. I always thought she was trouble from the beginning.” Of course now, that zebra most likely kidnapped those missing ponies. I had to be ready to meet with this zebra in case if she tries to do something to the princess. I looked around again and turned to Princess Luna. Instead of seeing the princess however, there was this pink pony standing right in front of me. I stared at her with wide eyes while she stood there just staring back with a large smile on her face. “Hi there, I know I have already said hello to Luna and the other guard pony, but you seem a bit different than those two. So I came to say hi to you myself!” The pink pony started bouncing up and down on her hooves which seemed a bit odd. “Excuse me miss, but…” “Please, call me Pinkie Pie. It’s always great to meet a new pony, even if she is only here for a little while. Oh, you come and meet my friends. This is Twilight; she is one of my special best friends in Ponyville. Come with me and I will take you to my other best friends.” The pink pony named Pinkie Pie took my hoof and dragged me along the ground. I managed to hold back a little to get a quick glance at the princess. She nodded towards me and I nodded back knowing what she meant. I turned around and the pink pony was giving me this stern look. “You know, if you wanted to say something to the princess you could have told me.” “It’s ok; I’ll be fine walking on my own too.” “Okie dokie loki, let’s go meet my favorite best friend ever. Her name is Rainbow Dash and she lives up in a cloud house.” A pegasus? I remember that I was supposed to meet a pegasus. “Can we see a yellow pony? She lives near the Everfree forest and…” “Are you talking about Fluttershy? She was going to be our last stop. I guess we can see her after I let you meet Dashie.” Dashie, that’s an interesting nickname for the pegasus. The pink pony was still bouncing up and down as she moved. Was she hyper or something, I didn’t know. “Excuse me, Pinkie Pie, why are you bouncing so much? Don’t your hooves hurt?” She kept bouncing but, she turned around bouncing backwards, “Of course not silly! I am just really happy I get to introduce a new friend to my best friends!” Soon enough however, we arrived underneath a house made out of clouds. I stood still staring at how big the house was. It was the half the size of an actual manor in Canterlot. I heard the pink pony call for the pegasus, “Daaaashie! Rainbow Daaaaaaaaash! Come down here and meet a new pony!” We waited a few moments of silence. It was broken by a yell coming from a cloud next to the house. “Pinkie Pie, what did I tell you about…” She stopped there. I was guessing that the pegasus saw me next to Pinkie Pie. “Who is your new friend?” “Oh well, I didn’t exactly get her name yet, but she felt like she could be a great friend!” Pinkie never seemed to change her attitude on anything apparently. She was this happy, pink pony who was very energetic. She finally stopped bouncing and turned to me, “By the way, what is your name?” “My name is Night Runner. I am the personal bodyguard of Princess Luna.” “Hey, guard pony, since you stick with Princess Luna a lot, have you seen the Wonderbolts at all?!” I wondered why she would ask about the Wonderbolts. “Well, we have been going to their performances since two years ago. Sometimes, Princess Celestia would schedule a performance for just the royal family in Canterlot. I am required to go because I am the bodyguard of Princess Luna. We would even talk to them after their shows to congratulate them on another spectacular performance.” “So you do know the Wonderbolts?” “Yes, I do.” The blue pony flew down in an instant. I finally got a clear view of her. She was a blue pegasus with a…rainbow colored mane? The only pony I have ever seen with a multi-colored mane was Princess Celestia. “Oh my gosh, you have to take me to one of the shows. I have wanted to try out for the Wonderbolts for so long now.” “So why haven’t you yet, Dashie?” The pink pony seemed to get under her coat when she said that. “It’s because…because…my stunts weren’t ready for them yet. I um…still need to practice more.” I could tell she was uneasy. She doesn’t want to try out for the Wonderbolts because she doubted herself. “Listen Miss Rainbow Dash, if you want to I can ask the Princess to setup a session for them to meet with you. It’s the best I can come up with.” “No, don’t do that! I am sure that um…that I would make it, but I want to perfect my moves before I start showing off.” “If you say so, excuse um miss pink pony? Can we go to see the yellow pegasus now?” “Sure thing and after that, I’ll take you to meet Rarity!” “Pinkie, you do remember that Rarity isn’t in town, right? She left for some special arrangement with some fancy pony up in Canterlot.” So that made the “tour”, as I called it, shorter which was better for me. All that I needed to do was to meet with the yellow pegasus called Fluttershy and the orange earth pony. While I was still thinking about this however, the two of them were staring at me while I stared down at the floor. “Hey, are you feeling alright? You don’t seem too uptight as I expected from the royal guards.” “No, it’s nothing to worry about. I need to talk to the one you call Fluttershy and an orange earth pony who owns a farm. I understood from Princess Luna that you were going to take me to them.” I hoped that they would understand and take me to them, but the pink one seemed to act differently now. She started to walk off in the direction of a small house I could see near the forest. “Wow, let’s not end the introduction now. Let’s get you caught up with the other two that are still in town. Fluttershy and Applejack are the most trustworthy ponies I have ever met, next to Dashie here of course. Bye Rainbow Dash, I’ll see you later!” “Pinkie, don’t wake me up unless a disaster happens or something, got it?” “Sure thing Dashie! Well, how did you like meeting my favorite of my best friends?” “She seemed uneasy about the whole Wonderbolt conversation. Does she really want to try out for the Wonderbolts?” Pinkie seemed to think about this for a second. “She always been going on and on about wanting to join the Wonderbolts. One of her reasons she doesn’t actually do it was that one that you just heard. Another is when she says “Oh you guys might get into trouble without me so I would rather stay here.”” “She said that? I can see now why she is your best friend.” “Well, onto Fluttershy’s place. Ooo, I have an idea, let’s race there. Ready, set…” “Miss Pinkie Pie, I don’t think it is a good idea to…” “Go!” And with that last word, she sped off at a fast rate. I was surprised an earth pony could run that fast. I just flew over to the house that I saw her run towards. “You are such a slow poke. Anyway, give me a second to get her out here. Fluttershy, it’s me and a new friend! Come on out and meet her, she is such a friendly person!” There was a bit of silence just like last time with the rainbow colored pony. From inside the house however, I could hear some talking. It was really soft, very hard to pick up. Then we heard the pegasus call from inside, “Give me a moment to help Angel with his medicine. Once he takes it, which I hope he does, I will open the door for you.” I barely even heard her. The way she spoke seemed calming though. It was a soft, and gentle type of voice, one that is very rare to find compared to my life time. While dwelling on the past, the door opened and there stood a yellow pegasus with a long, pink curled mane and tail. I saw her staring at me with this frightened look. I pulled up my hoof and said hello to her. The reaction I got was a door slamming in my face and a bit of really loud screaming. “Pinkie, why would you bring one of the knights of Nightmare Moon here?! You know that she is the evil princess that tried to cover Equestria in darkness?” “Oh come on now, the pony here isn’t like that at all. I could tell from the first time I met her. What was your name again?” “It is…” “Night something, I don’t remember, Princess Luna told me your name, but I forgot it already.” “My name is Night Runner, personal guard to the princess herself.” “Are you sure she won’t do anything?” At that point, I thought she was overly cautious. I didn’t pay attention to how softly she was talking. “Twilight already explained everything to us remember? Don’t you worry Flutters, she’s perfectly fine.” I turned to see the pink pony doing some weird chant or something. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” What in Equestria did I just see or hear? What kind of a pony says something like that? Either way, I had to push on with my investigation. “Excuse me, Miss Fluttershy, I was actually sent here by orders of the princess to speak with you. I just need to ask you a few things at that’s all.” Trying to sounds as calmly as possible, I have to convince her to let me speak in private. “Miss Pinkie Pie…” “Please just call me Pinkie!” She started singing a little with that last sentence. I could have sworn something was wrong with this pony. She doesn’t act like I expected the ponies here in Ponyville to act like. I needed a way to dismiss her from here, in a nice way though. So how to put it nicely, “Do you mind if me and Fluttershy talk in private? This is a matter of an investigation that is going on.” “Sure thing, if you want to continue meeting the rest of my friends, just head to Sugarcube Corner! I will be there waiting for you to show up and I can’t wait!” Like usual now, she turned around bouncing off towards the town. She was definitely one of the creepiest ponies I have ever met. It made me wonder if the other friends that she mentioned were like that. I shivered when I thought how the questioning would go with that orange earth pony. “Are you going to come in? You said that we needed to talk in private about something.” “Yes, thank you.” I still had that thought of what the second pony would act like. I shook my head slightly and walked inside. Looking around, I saw multiple animals in there. Birds were perched on their small houses on the walls, mice were moving about here and there, and there was one animal that caught my eye, it was a pure white rabbit who was laying on the couch with a blanket over it. I felt nervous around here, like all the animals were watching me. I hadn’t noticed it yet, but a bird was already perched on top of my head. “I think she likes you.” The yellow pony was pointing on top of my head where the bird was. I didn’t mind it sitting there, but just had to focus on the interrogation. “Listen, Miss Fluttershy, I wanted to ask you about the disappearances inside the Everfree Forest. I was told that you and another would be able to answer my questions.” “If you mean those few ponies that went to go see Zecora and didn’t come back, I’ll answer to the best of my abilities.” “I just need to know a few things. When was the last time you saw the ponies that headed in?” She placed her hoof on her chin. “I think the last I saw them was when they stopped by here to ask where Zecora was. After that, I have never seen them since.” “Can you describe them for please?” “Um, I think one was a hot pink colored pony with a yellow mane. The second was colored a darker yellow than my coat and she had an odd colored mane. It was three colors; green, blue, and turquoise. I couldn’t tell what the last one looked like. That pony was wearing a robe and covered her face with the hood. I only saw her mouth and I think her coat color was white. I could tell she was a unicorn though. She used magic to open and close the door when they entered and left.” “Thank you, but I still have one last question now, which came up when you mentioned a white unicorn. I remember seeing one fleeing the arrival of the princess. Could you tell me who that could be?” “I am sorry, but the only unicorn I know that has a white coat is my friend Rarity. She left for Canterlot however. She said something about making a delivery to a customer.” “Do you think that the white unicorn could have been your friend Rarity?” “That was Rarity?! Oh no, why did she go into the Everfree Forest. I always warned my friends about the dangers that lurk in there. The cockatrice, manticores, timber wolves…” “Please Miss Fluttershy, calm down. I am only asking if you thought that might have been your friend, I never said that she was.” “Well, the magic color was very similar. I wouldn’t be able to tell; only other unicorns can tell who others are by their magic.” “Ok then, thank you Miss Fluttershy for letting me talk to you.” I gave a royal bow, like I was taught to, to Fluttershy. She nodded, “Anytime you want to talk again just stop by. I can see that this little on has taken a liking towards you.” She reached up with her hoof and the bird from my head hopped onto it. I was still surprised that it was still there. I think it was sleeping on my head. It was such a small creature at that too. I looked up at the pegasus. “Could I ask you which way to go find an orange pony who runs a farm?” “Do you mean Applejack? She is just over there,” she said pointing out the window towards a barn that I could see next to and whole bunch of apple trees. I walked towards the door after nodding to her. Before I closed it, I looked at her again, “Do take care of that bird. It looks like such a nice little creature.” Upon finishing, I closed the door. I took off into the air heading towards the red barn Fluttershy pointed to. I also saw what was happening in the town square. I could see the mayor giving a big introduction to Princess Luna. That question from before came to mind. Do I follow my oath or do I follow orders? That question was just as hard to answer as it was the first time I thought about it. Brushing off the thought again, I flew directly towards the barn door. Even though it was kind of late at night, this interrogation was very important. Even if she says no, I had to insist that she answer my question really quickly. Upon my arrival, the lights were off. I knocked on the door waiting for a light to turn on. No lights came up, so I had to knock again. Finally one light came on and the window in the room above opened. An orange pony popped her head out of the open window, “Who in tarnation is knockin’ on the door at this time of night?” “I am very sorry for the intrusion, but this is a matter is of royal orders by Princess Luna.” “Oh my, very sorry for the rude introduction, sugarcube…I just needed to get some sleep for tomorrow’s harvest. Be down there faster than a racing jackrabbit.” I could tell just then that she was a sort of, southern type of pony. The light in the main room flipped on and the orange earth pony opened the door. “Whoa, now that I got a good look at ya, you look like one of them royal guards. Except you don’ have the same color armor from what I saw before.” “Again, sorry for the intrusion of your sleep, but I just have a couple of questions to ask you.” “Oh sure thing, come on in and take a seat right over there. You need anything to eat or drink? We here at Sweet Apple Acres have the best apples in all of Equestria.” Did she say “all of Equestria”? That must be pretty big since Equestria is such a big country. “Well, I once had an apple pie that was from here. Princess Celestia had some ordered for a celebration of the guards once. I will say that was an excellent apple pie. Too bad some other pony eat a little more than we expected.” “So that’s why there was such a big order for apple pies then. Well thank ya kindly for the nice comment on the pies.” She left into the kitchen. I was there thinking about this new pony. She seemed somewhat different than the others I have met. A straight-forward type, the type I can get along with. She came back out with two pieces of apple pie. “Her ya are, this is one of the fresh apple pies that we just made.” “It’s ok; you don’t need to bring me anything.” “Nah, don’ worry none about that. It’s on the house for any new pony I meet. You did say that you had some questions for me?” A nice and straight-forward pony, that’s a hard combination to find, especially in Canterlot. I usually see ponies who, to be honest act a little like snobs. “Thank you anyway and yes, I need to ask you about the recent incident involving the disappearance of a few ponies that went into the Everfree Forest.” “Oh, you mean that thing again. Yaa well, a few of you royal guards came here earlier this morning. Them guards are really hard to talk to. Always ‘bout those rules and not sharing a joke or two.” “That’s how we were trained to be. Those guards for Princess Celestia are trained harder than us Night Guards. Princess Luna attends about half of our training sessions.” “Well, I’m just glad to have an actual conversation with one you guard ponies. So whatever you wanted to ask me, ask away.” “Ok, did you get to meet the ponies that went into the Everfree Forest?” “Maybe, I think they stopped by to buy some of our apples. The white one said it was for a long trip that was through that creepy place.” “Did you see what the white pony looked like?” “You bet I did. She had a looked just like my friend Rarity come to think of it. Only difference was her hair style. It was a blown back sort of style, you know like those Wonderbolts have.” “Do you think that maybe that could have been Rarity?” “Nah, she couldn’t be. Trust me, if Rarity was going somewhere, she would be wearing one of her fancy capes or dresses and I don’t think she would ever go into the forest, she probably thinks it’s to ugly for her tastes, hehehe.” “By the way, did your friend Rarity tell you where she was heading when she left?” “Said something ‘bout going to Canterlot to deliver some order for clothes. If ya need to know though, she left a couple of days ago. Them other ponies showed up just yesterday.” “Hmm, that story checks out then. Thank you Applejack, it was a pleasure for you to share your hospitality.” “Don’t think none of it. Are you gonna eat that pie I got for ya?” “No thank you, you can eat it yourself. I just came here to ask you some questions and then head back to the princess.” “So the princess is in town? Usually Princess Celestia only comes during the day…” “I came with Princess Luna, not her sister.” “Princess Luna is here? I should head out there and go meet her.” “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she will be fine.” “Well, if you say so. It was great to talk to ya.” After the long conversation, she walked me out. We said our goodbyes and I departed flying for Ponyville to give the princess the information I gathered. While flying through the air, I noticed multiple ponies still gathered in the town square. I didn’t see Princess Luna though. Something was different, where could she be? I flew down to the crowd to get a closer look. I still couldn’t find her anywhere. I did see the Pinkie Pie and Twilight in the front of the crowd. I landed next to them and Pinkie gave me an angry look. “I thought you were going to come back here for me to take you to meet Applejack. How come you went straight there instead of coming back here first?” “Well, I had questions to…” “Doesn’t matter now, you should listen to Mayor Mare. She said she was waiting on somepony to arrive back here for something.” “Thank you for gathering here everypony. We have a big problem and I have no idea how to say it lightly…” She paused for a moment. I wondered what she was thinking. That was when she looked directly at me. “Oh hold on for just a minute, I need to tell somepony something before I continue.” She stepped down from the podium and walked towards me. “Excuse me, are you Night Runner?” “Yes, I came here to find Princess Luna. Do you know where she is?” “Follow me this way for a minute.” The two of us walked away from the crowd behind the building that she was announcing from. She stopped and looked around to make sure that nopony would notice us. “The “problem” that I mentioned before, was that Princess Luna disappeared…” “What do you mean she disappeared?!” “Please, keep your voice down. I know you may not like this, but we have been unable to find her. The few search parties I gathered returned with no information about her whereabouts. The only I found, was this note nailed to my door.” She handed me the note and I took it from her hoof. I quickly read the letter. Miss Mayor Mare, I will not be around Ponyville for much longer. I would like for you to tell my guard, Night Runner, about this as soon as she comes back from her interrogations. I cannot say where I will be going because I know that this letter will end up being read by Night. All I can say is to please not let her chase after me. This is the choice that I made for her after I asked her a question back in Canterlot. I only want you to tell her… “You cannot go looking for the princess, Night.” “No…this can’t be happening now…why does it have to happen now? I have to go get her, I just have to.” “I cannot let you leave this town. Further in the letter, she asked me to lock you in a house if need be, but you cannot leave Ponyville until tomorrow.” “I don’t care what the letter says, I am going to get her this instant! If your search parties could not find her, I will find her even if I have to die trying!” Clouded with emotion, I flew off. I began to cry for the first time in my life. I have been through so many tough times and rarely have I shed a tear. I felt as the watery substance dripped down my cheek. Not knowing where I was going at first, I just flew up to one of the first clouds I saw. I landed on top of it and began to stomp on it with my hooves, yelling at the top of my lungs. “No! Why did you make the choice yourself?! You told me it was for me to decide, not you! Princess Luna!” I could bet that when I yelled her name, anypony in Ponyville or in Canterlot could have heard me, probably even Princess Celestia. I kept beating at the cloud until I finally broke it in half. I fell through not caring what happened. I fell, not saving myself with my wings, I just fell. I was falling head first towards the crowd of ponies. I could hear them yelling as they probably saw me falling from the cloud. I could hear other pegasi taking off to come and save me. I didn’t care what happened, but the last thought in my mind said, 'You have failed your duty to protect the princess. Therefore, you are no longer a guard.' I had my eyes open for a few seconds. A pegasus was so close to grabbing my tail, but before he could, I something hit my head. I didn't feel pain, all I felt, was something touching the back of my head. It was soft at first, then it became something solid and very dense. It all went black, no sound, no light, just nothing. It was like I had died.