Chapter Four
The (old)-newcomers
Luna paced around the royal throne room with a mixture of anger, confusion, worry, and fear. Her moon had only been up less than hour. Celestia had long since gone to sleep, as was custom by the Royal Sisters, though Luna was sure Celestia wasn’t sleeping at all. The fact that both Razgriz and Apocalypto were back was extremely unnerving. But what was gnawing the princess of night even more was the fact that Mike didn’t die in the explosion. If that was the case, then where had he been the past one thousand years? Better yet where was he when she needed him the most?
All these questions, as well as the flurry of emotions, tore the Alicorn Mare apart. Though she kept herself well composed, her conflict was manifesting in her restless and endless pacing around the throne room. She kept mumbling to herself the very questions that were within her heart. However not once did she focus on the more threatening issue, the return of Apocalypto. It was true that Luna still had no clue as to how he survived as well. But her mind figured that if she’d figured out how Mike survived the answer to Apocalypto would present itself.
Despite this fact, no answers could present themselves. In a fit of rage, Luna smashed her hooves on the floor before retreating to the throne. Putting her bum down upon the throne, Luna sat glaring at the door gritting her teeth. She was frustrated, there was no mistaking that. Now she was only hoping that somepony would come in with either a report or a problem. The one knock against this was that it rarely happened.
Though Equestria’s night life had improved tenfold since she was banished, the chances of any pony coming in with an issue were still slim. Most now wanted to come in and socialize with Princess Luna, which she wasn’t complaining about at all. Luna then turned to look out the window. Despite the new window pane’s ink, she could still see the lights of those in Canterlot still working. Most were completely unaware of the ramifications of the day’s events. In fact the events of the past, including the burning city, haunted Luna even during her expulsion to the moon. If both of those participants were back, then history seemed destined to repeat.
Canterlot would burn again. Sure what Apocalypto lacked this time around was the Traitor, but that didn’t stop him from damaging both the Crystal Empire and Ponyville. If history was going to repeat, then what would happen to all that Equestria has gained? What was to stop him from tearing Canterlot to ribbons? Those thoughts alone made Luna stop gritting her teeth. But then those thoughts were interrupted with the throne room doors knocking. Luna snapped back to reality and looked at the doors, “Yes come in.”
The doors opened and one of her night guards walked in, “Forgive me your highness. But we heard a noise from within here.”
Luna waved a hoof, “Not to worry Sargent, I made the banging sound.”
“Well then, begging your pardon milady, but is something wrong?” he asked.
Luna lowered her head for a moment, “Today’s events are weighing heavily on me. It’s been a long time since we’ve faced an enemy like this. It’s just a little unnerving.”
The guard nodded, “The attacks on the Crystal Empire and Ponyville have been very unsettling. However Princess, I’m sure our defenses will protect both parts of Equestria from any more dangerous threats.”
“I hope so,” Princess Luna said, “Has there been any more sightings?”
The Guard shook his head.
“Drat!” Luna cursed, “Who’s in Command over in Ponyville?”
“Lieutenant Flash Sentry mum,” the guard answered.
“But he’s with a contingent of rookies, they’ve only been on the job what seven weeks?” Luna asked.
“Ten, with a short tenure in the Crystal Empire,” He corrected, “Flash has been in command the past Seven weeks. Before then they were under Captain General Shining Armor’s command.”
“You sure he’s up to the task?” Luna answered with a raised eyebrow.
“Captain General Shining Armor trusts him as does Princess Twilight.” The guard answered.
She had only met Flash Sentry once and didn’t really think much of him. The field reviews didn’t place him with high water marks neither, so it was curious that Princess Celestia would put him in command over in Ponyville. Luna did have half a mind to object, but considering The Equestrian Defense force was spread thin there was literally no one more qualified available.
Shining Armor had taken more than a third of his force to help rebuild the Crystal Empire’s security force. Yet despite the Captain General’s best efforts that force was still in a poor state. Then there was Captain General Steelwing, but he was busy with the border of Equestria and Horsca. Asking him to pull back would be near impossible, as Horsca’s currently bad economic and political situation had left them quiet vulnerable. The final Captain General; Secretariat, was stuck with Equestrian colonization in the Desert. The remaining forces were dispersed around Equestria’s main cities. Calling any of them back would be illogical.
Of course there was her guard force. But Luna needed them to guard Canterlot at night. And since their forces were only three years old with a very week recruiting base, they were grossly undermanned to even attempt to protect and secure Ponyville. Not that Flash’s unit was any bigger, but they were big enough to get Ponyville covered.
Luna was sure that no one was available to sure up defenses in Ponyville, which had become a very critical location in the past three years. As much as she wanted to dismiss him, Flash Sentry and his team of recruits were the best they had. Still that didn’t leave her with much satisfaction. Apocalypto’s forces were extremely deadly and sufficient in their attacks. If he decided to launch a full scale invasion now, Equestria would most likely fall. Maybe Razgriz’s return was more beneficial than initially realized.
“What about Razgriz?” she asked, “Has he been spotted.”
The Guard seemed puzzled, “Before I answer that your majesty, may I ask a question.”
Luna nodded.
“I was aware that he was only a legend, a tale us Pegasi were told as a rallying story. How could he be real?” the guard asked.
“He was real Sargent...a long time ago. Before…my transformation to…” Luna started.
“I see your highness.” The guard nodded, “Then having him around is a benefit right?”
Luna nodded, if only unsurely.
However her guard did pick up her unsureness. “I see, well then no your majesty he also hasn’t been located. To the best of my knowledge he has disappeared into the night.” He answered.
“Thank you guard,” she nodded.
The guard bowed, “Is there anything else mileage?”
Luna looked out the window. Now she was more concerned about the weather, and to her enjoyment, it looked like a perfect night for a flight. “Inform the watch I will be going on a midnight flight.” She ordered.
“Yes your majesty.” The guard said before leaving.
Luna watched him go with a kind smile. But that smile vanished and a look of anticipation caught her face as she headed over to the window. It had been a few days she had taken one of her night flights. Before her transformation to Nightmare Moon, in fact during Mike’s stay in Equestria, she had taken to night flights so often that it almost became routine. In fact, it was on one of these flights that she first met Razgriz…
…Princess Luna gritted her teeth in rage and frustration unmatched by anypony in Equestria. For the millionth night, no pony except her was enjoying her glorious night. They had all gone to sleep in their homes, shunning the beauty that was her night. Worse still, anypony that could be awake had absolutely no problems to bring to the Lunar court. And so she sat in the throne room, glaring at the door, praying to any deity that would listen to send someone through them.
But alas, as the minutes clicked by, no one was coming. It struck the Alicorn deeply. If she wasn’t so well refined, she’d be sobbing right now. In fact she was sobbing last night. However her tears had been interrupted by the newcomer. How she loathed him. Despite not knowing a thing about this new creature who called himself Mike, she hated him for two very good reasons. First, he had caught her in a moment of weakness that nopony should ever see their regal princess in. Second, and most damming of all, he had grown instantly close to Celestia.
This was enraging to the Lunar Alicorn, he’s not even here twenty minutes and already he and Celestia are very close. Make no mistake, Luna loved her sister dearly. Since their parent’s died, Celestia was all that Luna had. Without her sister, Luna would be alone and Luna would do anything to make sure that never happened. Though that love didn’t mean she didn’t have to unconditionally love Celestia. There was a sound level of jealousy within Luna. Celestia was the first born of course; Mother and Father always treated her a bit better. But so too did the ponies of Equestria. As previously stated they all reveled and played in Celestia’s day while they shunned Luna’s beautiful night.
It seemed the Alicorn couldn’t catch a break. And now this…human creature…was in the picture. A strange being if anything, walking on two legs, no fur except on the forehead, an omnivorous apatite from what she gathered at dinner, and being an absolute foreign concept to Luna. But not to Celestia it seemed.
No while Luna slept to rest her weary body from a hard nights work, Celestia spent half the day with this creature showing him the wonders of Canterlot Castle and even the interior of Equestria Mountain. Better yet, she was absolutely fascinated with this creature, his likes, his dislikes, even his home planet he affectionately called Earth. It disgusted Luna. Well that wasn’t a fair assumption. True she was just as curious of this creature as Celestia was more so even since Luna had a far deeper understanding of Cryptozoology and Astronomy than Celestia would ever know. What disgusted her was that Mike was very friendly to Celestia and gave Luna the cold shoulder.
Seething with rage, Luna wanted to tilt her head back and roar with furious anger. But that was uncouth, and Luna knew better. So she opted to do the next best thing, go for a relaxing flight. Thank Lord Solaris there wasn’t a decency law against that. All she had to do was inform the night guard she was going out. The Alicorn got up from the throne and walked over to the door.
“Guard,” she said, “We are to take our night flight, we shall return shortly.”
A disgruntled groan was all she got in response.
“And for Solaris sake present yourself Knight, thou are in the service to the Princess and we expect thee to be decent.” She said before turning around and heading over to a window. Luna didn’t give the guard a moment to respond before she opened up the window with her hooves, spread her wings and took to the air. It was cool that night; a gentle breeze blew from the southwest. The air was crisp and not harsh. A few stray clouds from the Cloudsdale settlement had strayed over into Canterlot, but Luna didn’t mind. They added to the view very nicely as she soared.
Luna wasn’t sure what the deal was with Cloudsdale, she had always respected the Pegasi greatly. But they had always taken offense to her Uncle Archduke Stallion and his ways. Luna always did try to ask Celestia about it, but when she did Celestia would always respond with “Trust me this isn’t something you want to get yourself involved in.” That was probably the only political advice Celestia gave that Luna didn’t outright question. The whole ordeal seemed like a hassle and she was glad not to be involved, though she would make a point of talking to the Archduke when he came during the winter.
The only thing that mattered right now to the princess was her flight. After circling Canterlot for almost twenty minutes, Luna came to rest on one of the clouds. It was a very fluffy cloud that provided her with a lot of comfort. Furthermore there was a coolness to it that was pleasurable to the Alicorn mare. She rested her head on the cloud and looked at the castle. The majesty of it couldn’t be ignored at all. It was too bad that it was a house divided.
Just then, Luna saw something off. From the north side of the castle, an inky black vapor slinked its way out one of the windows. The vapor slithered its way down the castle wall until it reached the floor. Then the vapor coalesced into a figure, one resembling a large raven. Luna stared at the event with sheer awe. Once the coalescing stopped, the…being began to move quickly. The being stood tall with a form similar to Mike, at least his bipedal stature, and had a long stride as it ran. Flowing behind it was a cape that almost looked like wings had Luna not been so observant. On its…head…was a crown with two wings. Other than that no features were discernable as the being was totally black.
It made its way through the court yard at a fast pace. It leapt over railings, glided down stairs, and brushed through the bushes. All the while it made its way towards the edge of the castle, which hung over Canterlot. The drop was a good eighty feet. Any pony, griffin, or other being attempting to jump off it without wings or magic would face certain injury at the bottom.
All the while, Luna couldn’t bring herself to move. This spectacle was simply amazing to watch. The being moved with extreme skill and silence, not even her well-tuned hearing could pick up the creatures hoof falls. Just then it leapt onto a railing and launched itself into the air. This made the Alicron jump to her hoofs, wings ready to flap in flight. She was ready to race over and intercept the creature. But before she could even flinch, a ball of light appeared out of the creatures back, shot away from it, and took the form of a large Dragon.
The dragon flapped its wings as it swung around and flew underneath the black being. Luna watched in complete awe as the being landed on the creature’s back and began to ride it! The Dragon soared over several buildings of Canterlot before rolling inverted and allowing the Black being to land on the roofs. The Dragon then shrunk in size and landed on the black creatures shoulder as it ran on the roof.
Luna’s mouth lay agape as she looked at this. The creature ran from rooftop to rooftop before it came to a halt near the towns square. It leapt onto the ground and slowly began to make its way through the town. Luna guessed it was looking for something. Obviously she didn’t know what it could be. So she guessed it was time to investigate. The Princess of the night leapt off the cloud and soared down upon the town. The creature moved from street to street, slowly gazing at the houses and huts. Luna didn’t dare land, for fear of alerting this potential enemy to her presence.
She wondered what if anything it could be looking for. But nothing came to her mind. Just then the creature came to a dead halt. Panicking over the fact that it might’ve caught on to her trail, Luna quickly dove onto a rooftop to hide. She only peeked when she was sure it wasn’t looking. She turned out to be dead wrong. The creature hadn’t moved, in fact it was looking around. Slowly, Luna began to pant. The breathing was hard enough for the creature to hear. It suddenly spun around and looked up at the roof, in Luna’s general direction. What Luna saw next horrified her to her core, a pair of red eyes glared up at her.
They weren’t like any normal eyes, as a Red iris was common among some Earth Ponies born near the mountain range. These eyes were burning red and unblinking. They weren’t looking at her, they were looking through her. A piercing glare so deadly, it scared even her. Luna couldn’t tear herself away from looking at this sight. There was even an almost Evil presence to it. Any other creature that gave off this foreboding an intimidating feel would’ve been an easy challenge to the Alicorn, even without Celestia. But those eyes…They were completely unnerving.
Luna couldn’t blink; she felt icy sweat pour from her mane. It had found her, and only Solaris knew what it would do next. Thankfully it wouldn’t do anything dangerous. In fact it wouldn’t do anything to her at all; a scream in the night would change everything. It was a scream of terror that alerted both Luna and the creature. That made Luna snap back into reality. But before she could do anything, the creature acted first, darting towards the scream’s origin faster than anything Luna had ever seen.
The Alicorn shook her head in stunned surprise before charging after. “Wait!” She shouted as she chased after, “What are thou doing?”
It didn’t answer. It only continued to run down back alleys and roads. As she galloped after the creature, Luna was actually surprised at how unkempt the roads were. But she couldn’t dwell on it because the creature called for her immediate presence. And then it came upon the location of the Scream. A mare lay on the ground crying as another pony, a colt, ran off with a sack full of supplies. They had just come upon a robbery.
Theft in Canterlot was nothing new, and while the Royal Guard did their best it was just another facet of life on Equestria. However the most prominent thing about theft was it always happened at night. Surprisingly this wasn’t a source of anger for Luna, quite the opposite actually as it told her that some Ponies enjoyed her night. What was concerning her was that this apparently dark creature was so interested in this theft. A woman was bawling near the front entrance of her home, her valuables taken by the thief who was bolting down the muddy and unkempt road at break neck speed.
The dark creature surveyed most of the crime scene before turning towards the fleeing thief. Luna stood behind him, her body covered in shadow. Just then she saw the creature motion towards the thief. “Not so fast.” It said its voice deep and raspy. The closet thing Luna could relate to was the voice of Sombra, but much more demonic.
Just then it raised its hand which suddenly became engulfed in fire. In a flash, the creature channeled that flame into a ball and sent it hurtling towards the thief. It hit with such precision that it knocked the thief off his hooves and sent him tumbling, while the stolen goods hit the ground harmlessly.
“Gidrah,” the creature said to his dragon, “Go retrieve the stolen property.”
“Yes milord,” the dragon responded. Then the burgundy dragon lifted off the creatures shoulders and flew towards the stolen property. Meanwhile, the dark creature waved his left arm and sent a string of flame towards the incapacitated thief. The string wrapped around the pony's right hind leg before transforming into a chain of steel. The dark creature then pulled hard on the chain, which went taught and dragged the thief towards it. All the while the thief begged and pleaded for his release and innocence.
“No please! I didn’t mean to, I’m just so desperate for bits! I can’t survive any more on these bucking taxes!” he pleaded as he drew closer.
When he reached the creature, it kept pulling until the thief hung upside down from him. The creature held left his arm up high so that the upside down pony can look the creature into his eyes.
“Oh by Celestia…” he started.
“Quiet!” the creature hissed, “Do you admit to stealing those valuables?”
Now scared out of his mind the pony nodded furiously.
“Why,” the creature asked.
“Because I needed the money,” He answered.
“Yeah I figured as much,” the creature answered.
“No please you don’t understand! The taxes here are to crippling!” the thief screamed.
Luna shook her head, no pony had ever complained about the taxes before. Why was this one doing so now?
“Listen, I know little if any of the laws and punishments of this land.” The creature said, “So you’ll get a warning from me. But that pony behind me is one of the rulers of the land so I assume she knows a thing or two.”
Luna froze, all the while her fear had told her not to do anything to help or intervene. Now that she had confirmed that the creature was aware of her, more specifically where she was, she nearly wet herself in fear. That fear was justified when the creature looked back at her for a moment before returning his attention to the thief.
“But I do have a message for you and to any of those like you. If you plan on breaking laws again that are just and fair, you’ll have me to deal with. The name is Razgriz, and I am a Demon Lord.” Razgriz said.
Luna stood there, motionless. The primary question that rang in her mind was, ‘What is a Demon Lord?’ This thing had appeared out of nowhere, more terrifying than anything in Tartarus, and was proclaiming itself to be a creature of the law? Luna was about to make a protest when the creature turned around and walked over to her, still holding the terrified thief. She wanted to back up, move away, fly, run, or do something to get away. But nothing came. Her fear before had turned into paralyzing panic. Razgriz’s glowing red eyes burned like a fire no pony could even approach. Worse, he was approaching her.
Luna tried to use a spell, but her horn got only as far as to emit its bright glow. This illuminated the area around her, and gave more light onto Razgriz. To Luna’s complete shock, he was a human! His facial features were similar to Mike’s, but the skin was paler, the hair that was visible from the helmet was black, and his posture was more rigid. The expression was also something Mike hadn’t shown, fierce determination and anger mixed with stoicism. He allowed the chain to go lax in his hand, dropping the pony on the ground right at Luna’s hooves.
“He’s yours to deal with,” Razgriz said. His original demonic voice softening a bit but his dangerous look did not waver.
But it was enough to shatter Luna’s fear, “Umm….why….”
“Its standard procedure, I’m not entrusted with the safety of this realm. So I can’t do anything without the consent of the rulers. Demon Lord Prerogative,” Razgriz answered not breaking face.
“But why must thou…?” Luna asked, still shaking though not as bad.
“Let’s just leave it at; I’m a protector and a friend.” Razgriz said before walking away. The dragon, which throughout all that had returned the stolen property to the very grateful owner, flapped its wings and followed its master.
Luna stood there, aghast of everything that had just happened. “Wait, what!” she shouted spinning around to look down the road that Razgriz had walked. But he wasn’t there. He had left Luna standing there with the groveling thief. Luna pondered for a moment what had just happened, “So it seems Mike wasn’t the only Human to join us.”
Then she turned around, remembering her duties as a Royal Princess of Equestria…
…Princess Luna stood in the windowsill remembering that night. It may have been a brief and terrifying meeting, but one that looking back had to happen. The only question now was what was going to happen this night? The Alicorn took to the skies with a great lurch. Unlike that Night over a thousand years ago, there were no clouds in the night sky. So the Princess soared through the night with a somber smile.
It seemed so simple back then. Now was a completely different story.
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The next morning, Twilight Sparkle woke up earlier than usual. Part of her wanted to see Flash Sentry get a good start to his day, but of course the tannish orange guard pony was up and about long before her. She could never understand how he was able to get out of bed, make himself a nice breakfast, and leave without disturbing the generally light sleeping Twilight.
Flash had initially been very nervous about staying with Twilight. However the Princess had made him promise that nothing funny was going to even remotely happen, plus she was sure both she and Cadence had enough of a grip on Shining to keep him from doing anything rash. Flash had always been a gentleman, even after Twilight re-met, so there was somewhat of an assurance that he was going to behave himself. Plus there were more pressing matters to attend to.
So the purple princess descended the steps towards the library to research all she could about Razgriz. There was no fathomable reason why she, Twilight Sparkle, had no clue that Razgriz was. Furthermore how both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash knew about him while the rest of the gang didn’t. There also was the question of how and what connection Razgriz had with Celestia and Luna, and why they were trying to hide him. And if that wasn’t enough, there was also the threat Apocalypto held.
Groaning over the whole ordeal, Twilight shuffled over to her work desk and began to magically pull over books. One by one, the new Alicorn rummaged through the pages of Equestrian history to find any detailed information regarding Razgriz. But surprisingly none was coming. Sure there was detailed information regarding Discord, King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, and even Nightmare Moon. But Razgriz and Apocalypto were nowhere to be found in her Library’s history books.
“GAH!” she shouted throwing a book halfway across the room.
“OH MY,” Spike shouted abruptly.
Twilight spun around to see the baby dragon clutching his head in sudden surprise. She hadn’t even heard him coming up the stairs, and because of that she nearly injured her number one assistant again. Twilight blushed with embarrassment, “I’m sorry Spike. I didn’t know you were there.”
“Well I was brining you some breakfast.” Spike lamented, referencing to the tray of food that was on the floor, “But I can see that I’ll go have to cook another round.”
“That’s okay Spike,” Twilight said getting up and walking over to the baby dragon, “I wasn’t really hungry.”
“Are you sure Twilight? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Spike said.
Twilight giggled, “Well, if you put it that way… alright then.”
Spike smiled and headed back to the kitchen to re-prep another breakfast. Meanwhile Twilight quickly cleaned up the mess she made before returning to her dead end. Knowing that her library contained nothing regarding the topics, Twilight still flipped through the books looking for any type of clue. She was hoping for something, anything to pop up that would give her an indication.
So much so that when a knock came from the front door, she raced down it like Pinkie Pie when she hears the word Party. Thankfully to the pony on the other side of the door, Twilight collected herself before opening. “Good morning, welcome to Golden Oaks library. How may I help you?” Twilight said with a warm smile.
“Practice that line much?” a familiar voice giggled.
Twilight looked through the door frame and smile, “Night Shield what brings you here?”
The red eyed, caramel colored, black mane pony had a warm smile on his face as he walked in past Twilight, “A few things actually. I’m interested in acquiring a map.”
“Well you’ve certainly come to the right place. That is if you want a map already finished.” Twilight grimaced closing the door behind him.
“Actually it’s funny you say that, every map maker in Ponyville pointed me to you.” He said to her with a smile before walking into the Library. After giving the place a once over, Night whistled, “Not bad of a collection.”
“Three levels, two of them filled with books,” Twilight said, “My own little sanctuary of knowledge. Well that’s actually not really true, I allow other ponies to rent these books like any normal librarian. But that doesn’t mean I don’t read these books often. I do. But only when…”
Night laughed, “You always get this articulate?”
Twilight blushed, “Not always. So back to business then, what type of map are you looking for?”
Night turned around and faced Twilight with a warm, yet determined smile. “Yes I’m looking for a detailed map of the Everfree Forest.” He explained, “Preferably the most up to date one you have.”
Twilight was shocked by this request. It was certainly out of left field for a pony on vacation. Even more so for a pony that was staying of Ponyville. “Oh really?” she asked.
Night Shield nodded.
“May I ask what for?” Twilight asked.
“Well, when in Rome.” Night answered, “I’m here in Ponyville and I hear that the Everfree forest is one of Ponyville’s landmarks.”
“It’s a pretty huge forest, many towns have settled near it. We’re not the only one.” Twilight replied.
“True but you are the closest. And this place has dealt with the forest more thoroughly than any other place in Equestria.” Night Shield pointed out, “Seems only right that this place would have something along the lines of a map.”
“Well,” Twilight grimaced, “We do. It’s just not up-to-date.”
Now it was Night Shield’s turn to be stunned, “Really?”
Twilight nodded with a bit of sorrow. She always hated disappointing ponies, especially one as engaging as Night Shield.
But Night shocked her; he didn’t seem disappointed at all. He almost seemed to be expecting the answer and even had a response penned. “Oh come on Twilight, you’ve read these books millions of times. I’m sure one of them has a detailed map of Everfree.” He said.
Twilight pondered for a moment before getting an idea. “Well I do have some old friends in the Canterlot archives. I have been meaning to send them a request for new books, I’m sure I could include a request for Everfree’s map.” Twilight said. Now she knew how Rarity felt when she was making more than generous offers.
Night Shield smiled, “And how long will that take? Surely a pony of your stature is pretty busy so I’m guessing at least a week?”
Twilight blushed again, “Not really. If I know my old friend, it’ll be here in a few days. Should be here next Thursday if I send the request today, plan on sticking around?”
“I did have a lot of vacation time accumulated,” Night said, “It won’t be a problem.”
“Great, I’ll get too it soonest.” Twilight smiled.
Night Shield nodded, “Also, since I’m here. Do you mind letting me rummage through your history section?”
“Certainly,” Twilight said.
“Twilight, Breakfast is ready!” Spike shouted.
“Okay Spike, be right there!” Twilight said, “Oh I almost forgot, my assistant Spike made some celerity soup, would you like some?”
“I’d be glad.” Night bowed.
Twilight smiled. Thankfully Spike had heard the whole interaction and had anticipated making a meal for the guest. Soon the duo was enjoying a well-made breakfast while enjoying the history section of the Library. In fact, Night had been extremely interested in the era surrounding Nightmare Moon. It was almost eerie and Twilight would’ve picked up on it had she not been so intrigued over the guest.
Night was smart, inquisitive, and even a little good looking. While he didn’t compare to Flash, he certainly was enough of a well-rounded pony to make Twilight interested. “Well here we go. The Complete History of Equestria Chapter two.” Twilight said levitating the big book over onto the table, “Complete with pictures.”
Night laughed at the joke, “Hope they’re pretty good. You know I’ve always found pictures to make or break a Book.”
“Really” Twilight asked, a little bemused.
“Not really,” Night smiled.
Twilight laughed as she used her magic to flip through the book, “Well let’s see. Ah here we are.” She had flipped to the period before and during Nightmare Moon. Night Shield began to read it with the same eagerness he had had previously. But then his expression slowly began to sower. He began to read and then re-read passages a couple of times before flipping through the pages. “That can’t be right.” He said his voice lousy with worry.
“What, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked with concern in her voice.
“This information all false…” Night said.
“That can’t be, the best historians in Equestria wrote this book, compiling all the information from records at the time.” She explained.
“That’s impossible!” Night exclaimed, “They must’ve done it wrong then.”
Now Twilight was more disturbed than concerned, “How do you know?”
Night looked as if he was about to answer, before better judgment got to him. He took a deep breath and collected himself, “I’m sorry I guess I got my history wrong.”
“I would say so,” Twilight agreed, smiling a bit to defuse the now very tense atmosphere.
Night Shield nodded, “Oh um…tell me….whose Nightmare Moon.”
Twilight leaned back, her eyes wide in shock, “You mean you don’t know?”
Night shook his head, “As you probably already surmised, the history books from where I’m from aren’t entirely accurate.”
“Where are you from again?” she asked.
“Juneau, a town way up in the northern mountains.” He answered.
Twilight nodded, beginning to piece things together. The Northern Mountains always did have a different sort of situation with Equestria. And many of the towns up there were so remote that it was feasible for them to have situations like this. So Twilight flipped to the section detailing Nightmare Moon, “Well Nightmare Moon was once Princess Luna. She, as you know, controlled the moon raising it at the end of day and setting it at the end of night. So in turn, she controlled the night. Princess Luna was always bitter about how ponies slept or shunned her night. So much so that one night she refused to lower the moon.
“In her anger, she declared herself the true ruler of Equestria and declared the night shall last forever.” Twilight continued, “She was defeated by Princess Celestia and banished to the moon for a Thousand years.” Twilight was about to continue, telling Night Shield of her involvement with Nightmare Moon when she saw Night’s face. The same expression he had when he first read the book was back, this time mixed in with a look of sadness. Twilight could even see a tear form in his eye.
“But…” he said softly, “She got over that…”
“Excuse me?” Twilight asked. Night had said his statement so low that she could barely hear him.
Night, realizing Twilight was noticing him, stifled his sadness with a shake of his head. “It’s nothing just something in my eye.” He explained rubbing his eye. Though when he was done, Twilight did catch him mouthing a line. She then noticed his ear twitch, as if someone was speaking directly into it. Then to her complete amazement Night Shield stood up. “Excuse me Princess, I have to be going now. There’s something I need to do.” He said before leaving.
Twilight stood there, dumbstruck at what had just happened. “Well,” she said, “That was…weird.”