//------------------------------// // War of Shadows - Interlude V // Story: Diary of the Night // by CalebH //------------------------------// Princess Luna did not approve of the resplendent golden plate armor that Celestia’s guard wore for a number of reasons. On most of these I agreed with but they did have something going for them, they were at least comfortable. Not that the dark armor of Luna’s guard was uncomfortable but a guard standing before the throne room fidgeting nervously looked and felt that much less ridiculous in gold. At least I think so. “You may enter,” The white earth pony attendant said between yawns. The two night ponies strained against the massive doors as they slowly creaked open. Normally two unicorns would be manning the doors but there were only a few in Princess Luna’s guard and they were all nearly exhausted from their near constant training. Sitting the throne was Princess Luna, in all her regal beauty, dozing off. I marched to the throne with his noisiest parade march, hoping it would wake the princess. Thankfully by the time he reached the throne she was yawning awake and grumbling about Princess Celestia’s overly plush throne. “Has the dawn come already?” She asked. “No Princess, it is only three hours past midnight. I was actually hoping I could ask you something that was…er…personal,” I finish lamely as I rub the back of my neck with a hoof. Princess Luna raised an eyebrow in surprise before rising to her feet. “Walk with me,” She commanded softly. The soft clip clop of our shod hooves was the only noise between us as we made our way to the castle gardens. The bright, moonlit night illuminated the gardens in a soft glow as we made our way through the hedges and statues. Stopping before the statue of Discord Luna regarded the twisted draconequus coolly. “Er…Princess?” I ventured breaking the silence. “You had a question for me?” “Yes, umm, what exactly is the night guard’s policy on…fraternization?” I ask trying to keep my voice steady. “It’s forbidden while on duty of course but nothing was ever explicitly stated about what we are allowed to…” “…You want to know if it is permissible for you to court Moon Shadow.” “Yes,” I say, embarrassed to have my intentions seen through so easily. “The night ponies, like myself, have been isolated for a thousand years. As unswerving as their loyalty to me has been, so has their loyalty to tradition. I have done what I can to reintegrate myself with this new world but a culture does not change so readily as a single pony. “Courting a night pony is not so simple as obtaining their affections. You must have the approval of her parents and her entire clan.” The Princess had told me what I would have to do but in all that she hadn’t answered my question. “Does that mean I have your approval?” I ask. “Remove your helmet,” she commands. It is uncommon for a guard to be given permission to break uniform in front of a Princess, even less common for them to be commanded to. But if there is one statement to be made about Princess Luna it is that her guard is not Princess Celestia’s guard. It’s not that the day guard was untrained, but compared to the savage pragmatism of the night guard they would serve only as a distraction. It was only the hope that these differences extended from tactics and into policy that brought me to ask. With these thoughts going through my mind I remove my helmet. “A thousand years ago the night ponies led the charge in my rebellion and they paid with their lives. Even in my madness they followed me without question. They are my children and the degree to which I am indebted to them cannot be understated. Should you bring harm to one of my ponies you will face the fury of the night. But you will not do that. I chose you for my guard because you are the best and you will show the fullness of that excellence in the way you treat the child of mine you seek to court. “And with that,” the Princess said abruptly, “Go with my blessing,” I was too shocked at the Princess’s sudden change in tone that I didn’t notice her leaning down to bless my forehead with a kiss. “She is a lucky mare,” The Princess says before walking away. Ugh, this is so boring. Flying was usually so much fun. The feeling of air under your wings, the complete freedom of being able to go wherever you pleased, it was incredible. Formation flying however was without a doubt the single dullest thing in existence. Going to Canterlot hadn’t been nearly so dull. The entire army flew with a nervous energy. We had seen the night overtake the day. Our Princess was back and she needed our help. We flew with a single purpose, battle. We were vigilant, we spotted the pegasus long before he spotted us. Even then we took him down expecting an ambush. The damn fool nearly got himself killed before he let us know he was a messenger. He was lucky command wanted him alive. After that he led us into the capitol and we met her. I had lived my whole life being told legends about the sun hag and our night princess but what I saw brought them all into question. She stood taller than any of us but next to her sister she just looked small and weak. She didn’t move like the seasoned warrior we had been told of. She moved like a filly that had just hit her growth, unused to her body and afraid of breaking everything she touched. The general kept the army at the ready for when she would need them but how we saw her just wasn’t the same. Then the first day of training happened. To get the measure of us she faced the whole guard and put every one of us in the infirmary. Suddenly those legends went from doubtful fantasies to drastic understatements. When unicorns got added to the force she started training with magic. She spent a whole night just holding us down. We spent hours straining against her magic, completely helpless. And then Discord happened. We really were helpless then. He had us so mixed up that we forgot we even were ponies. None of us could stop him when he went for the princess we were sworn to protect. She was everything to us and we let him get to her. If it wasn’t for Morning I-I’m not sure how I would have pulled through that failure. Morning Star, he’s so damn stubborn and infuriating. He wouldn’t even hit me back when we fought; it was a bigger insult than what he called me before. But… he didn’t mean it like that, did he? He wasn’t mean he was just stupid and… handsome. Gah, father would kill me if he caught me saying that! The clan would definitely never go for it, purity of the bloodline and all that. Just, if only… Bleh, We’d be there already if we didn’t have to slow down for the supply train. I guess it gives The Princess enough time to take a detour and visit her friend in Ponyville. What was his name again? “Good afternoon auntie,” Cadence said in a sing-song I-know-something-that-you-don’t voice. Behind her the gilded door swung open and Shining Armor strode in. “Good afternoon Princess Celestia, Cady.” There was a moment of silence as Shining’s cheeks turned beet red. Too late he tried to cover the faux pas with a coughing fit. “Excuse me, Princess Cadenza,” He said clearing his throat. “Good evening Capitan Armor,” I say stifling a giggle, “what do you have to report?” “Princess Luna’s caravan has broken camp and left our borders, they should reach the night ponies before midnight.” “Oh really?” Cadence said in that same tone of voice. She was mature and levelheaded as they came until she found a piece of truly noteworthy gossip. From how she was acting now she must have had something involving Luna’s trip that was monumental. “Yes Princess,” Shining said, still blushing. As bad as Cadence was at keeping her own secret she would keep Luna’s (save some playful needling). Considering that Cadence was made an alicorn as something of a contingency plan for Nighmare Moon’s return and how Luna felt about Equestria’s nobility, the fact that one would seek to tease the other meant their relationship was going better than hoped. “Now if you’ll excuse us I believe the Capitan was about to escort me back to my chambers,” Cadence said as she fluttered her eyebrows at her ‘secret’ coltfriend. Once the door closed behind them I could only sigh ruefully and return to the business of ruling a nation.