//------------------------------// // Just a Typical Night // Story: The Star Guard // by Car Cloth //------------------------------// Chapter 9 Just a Typical Night Scootaloo jumped away from the monster composed completely of squirming, stitched-together pony bodies. “Hang on!” she breathlessly shouted back to Onyx. “We’ll get out of this! Don’t worry!” Scootaloo wasn’t entirely sure if she was talking to herself or Onyx, but she didn’t have the energy to think about it now. Running along the ever-cracking fields, Scootaloo knew it was only a matter of time before she failed. This was only a delaying tactic. What was she waiting for? Did the others even know she was in danger? She had to come up with a plan that would end this monster and save Onyx! “Dad… where are you?” Onyx sobbed. Suddenly, the barrier of light that encased the dream briefly flashed. Scootaloo craned her head and immediately smiled. Pip! He came! Much to her surprise, she spotted the bat pony, Phantom Shade, as well. Scootaloo couldn’t stop running, lest she be caught by the monster, but she did start a wide arc in an attempt to reach the other two. “What is this?” Phantom Shade gasped in horror. “It’s a nightmare,” Pip breathed, taken aback. “Of course it’s a nightmare, fool!” Phantom Shade hissed. “How did it get this powerful?!” Scootaloo jumped a chasm and began dashing toward Pip. “Guys! Look out! There’s an alicorn here! It’s a nightmare too!” A dark laugh echoed over the twisted landscape. “Do my eyes deceive me? Is the little dream stalker here as well? How fortunate.” The bat alicorn flew over Pip and Phantom Shade, smiling down at them like a hungry vulture. The monstrosity following Scootaloo turned ever so slightly, going for Pip instead of her. Scootaloo jumped to the side and, sure enough, the monster continued forward. “Get out of the way!” Scootaloo shouted. Pip jumped out of the way and Phantom Shade took to the air. The weapons sticking out of the mass of pony bodies drew Phantom Shade’s attention. He dove and snatched a bow along with a single arrow, tearing them away from the flesh despite the cries and moans of protest from the undead ponies. Taking aim at the giant worm of bodies, Phantom Shade drew back the string of the bow and whipped around, letting the arrow loose and striking the alicorn. The arrow popped out of the wound and fell to the ground. “Heh,” the alicorn snorted. “You’re nothing compared to me.” “Pip!” Scootaloo shouted as she ran to him. Pip was busy trying to evade the monster, but he was far slower than Scootaloo. “What’re we going to do?” “I don’t know whose dream this is,” Pip replied, jumping over snakes on the ground and nearly tripping. One of the snakes suddenly sprang from the ground and bit Scootaloo on the leg. The pain… it felt so real! She ripped the reptile off with her mouth and continued to push forward. Why could she feel it? What was happening? “Talk to the colt!” Scootaloo told him, motioning to Onyx. “It’s his dream!” “I don’t know what’s going on, Scootaloo! You need to talk to him! Calm him down!” Pip veered away from her, taking the monster with him. Scootaloo watched him go, and knew the monster was slightly faster than the earth pony. He would be caught for sure, given enough time. What would happen if he died here? He was their captain… what would happen if they lost their captain? Scootaloo skidded to a halt and gently placed Onyx on the ground. Stomping on the snakes, Scootaloo squished as many as she could. They popped like bloated ticks, a bizarre phenomenon she hadn’t been expecting. Disgusted, she backed up toward Onyx. “Are you calm yet, kid?” she asked, uncertain of what to say. “Where’s my dad?!” was all he managed to choke out between sobs. Oh, great. Perfect. Are you sure you’re even cut out for this, Scootaloo?! You’re not helping! She turned to him and forced a smile. “Oh, c-come on! I thought you wanted an adventure!” “T-this isn’t an adventure!” “Sure it is!” she cheerfully replied. “Look at all this, er, adventure we’re having!” Scootaloo jumped on another group of snakes, their small bodies exploding similarly to the watermelon she had summoned when first in the dreamscape. Her hooves now covered in crimson and fleshy lumps, she turned her attention upward. The unblinking eyeballs were just as unsettling. Think, Scootaloo! You can’t let them all down! What would Rainbow Dash do?! Scootaloo turned her attention toward the giant monster chasing Pip. She would probably try and fight it… Scootaloo shook her head. That’s a terrible plan, Rainbow Dash! I need a real plan! “Wait!” Scootaloo gasped as an idea came to her. “Didn’t you say you wanted to be the hero?” Onyx rubbed at his eyes, a frown set into his muzzle. “I-I’m not a hero… I’m just some kid… I don’t have any powers or… or… anything! The m-monsters are just going to eat me!” “But you are the hero! Did you hear what that pinto stallion said? You need to be calm because you’re the only one who can defeat the monster!” Scootaloo perked him up and pointed toward Phantom Shade and the alicorn. “If he was the hero, would he be fighting Phantom Shade? You know who Phantom Shade is, right?” “H-he used to be the Captain of the Night Guard,” Onyx stammered, slowly drying his eyes. “Heroes are the ones that fight the monsters! You wanna help me fight the monsters, right? It’s all up to you, kid! If you think they aren’t scary, they won’t have any more powers!” Onyx sniffled. “I can’t…” “You know what I do when I get scared?” Scootaloo asked. “I think of my all-time hero and I ask myself, what would she do? Who is your hero, kid? What would they do?” The ground beneath her was rumbling, but Scootaloo couldn’t stop now. She got closer to him in order to block his view of the nightmare. He was calming down… just a little more… “B-but heroes have awesome p-powers and stuff!” Onyx yelled in frustration. “I don’t know a-anypony like that!” “You gotta let go of that notion, kid! Heroes don’t need powers! Heroes aren’t the most powerful guys around!” Onyx was unconvinced. Scootaloo let out a short sigh of frustration. He’s just a stubborn as I am! “Why did you keep asking about your dad, then? Does he have powers?!” “N-no,” Onyx replied, looking up into her eyes. “Then why him?” “My dad… he would... he would do whatever it takes to protect me.” Understanding dawned upon Onyx. “He’s the best pony,” he whispered to himself. “What would he do? He wouldn’t be afraid.” “That’s the spirit!” BAM! Scootaloo barely knew what was happening. One moment she had been talking to Onyx, and the next she was sliding across the snake-infested battlefield of the nightmare. With lightning fast reflexes, Scootaloo sprang to her hooves. Wobbling, she realized she was cut up and bruised from a hit by the massive body-worm. The jagged bones and weapons had punctured her skin at several locations. She could feel it, but what did that mean? The monster went to crush her, and although Scootaloo was fast, she knew, even as she turned, she wouldn’t make it. “Scoots!” Specter flew in from the side, knocking her clear of the monster attack. They both rolled across the ground, but got back up in record time. “Where did you come from?” Scootaloo asked. She hadn’t seen or heard him enter the dream! “Seriously?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Is this really the time?” “Stand down, fiends!” Scootaloo and Specter both turned their heads to see the bat pony colt, Onyx, standing before the monster. His chest was puffed out and his head high, despite the obvious signs he had just been bawling his eyes out. Before anything else happened, Scootaloo frantically glanced around. Phantom Shade and Pip were both fighting the alicorn. However, the moment Onyx had shouted, the bat alicorn’s attention had also been drawn. Flying away from Pip and Phantom Shade, the alicorn landed close to Onyx with a smile on his face. “You’re done for!” Onyx exclaimed. “I know your tricks now!” “Wait!” Scootaloo shouted, galloping toward them. Not being afraid made the nightmares weaker, but they were still dangerous! How did this kid pull a one-eighty so fast?! The alicorn unexpectedly bucked Scootaloo as she neared. She hit the ground, winded, but Specter was by her side in a heartbeat. “Have you come to the correct conclusion?” the alicorn asked Onyx. “Accept my power and you’ll be remembered as a hero for all time. Sleep, boy. Sleep here in the dreamscape.” Onyx snorted. “Princess Speed-Demon was right! You don’t need superpowers to be a good pony! My dad is awesome and he doesn’t have any powers!” “Your father is insignificant,” the alicorn hissed. “Hey! Don’t call my dad names!” “He’s nothing worthy of-” An arrow whistled through the air and struck the alicorn in the back of its neck, cutting him off mid-sentence. The head of the arrow protruded through the throat, but the creature was merely frustrated. It turned to glare at Phantom Shade, who had somehow retrieved another arrow. While distracted, Pip had galloped up. He struck the alicorn, but it wasn’t enough. Scootaloo saw her chance. She galloped forward, her tiny wings buzzing, and slammed into the alicorn, stabbing it with her own dream alicorn horn. The nightmare was so weak, that it shattered upon the final impact. The dream too, suddenly shifted back into its normal settings, faster than Scootaloo could blink. Moments afterward, before Scootaloo could say anything else to the colt, the dreamscape shattered, sending them all out in one deafening burst of magic. --- Pip jerked up on his cot, taking deep breaths and rubbing at his mane. The others also sat up quickly. Everypony seemed momentarily stunned into silence, especially Phantom Shade, Scootaloo, and Specter. Marble stretched and yawned but said nothing. “That was awesome,” Specter said, breaking the silence. He threw himself off his cot and smiled. “If we can handle that, we can handle anything! We’re going to take those Nightmare Forces out back and put ’em out of their misery!” Specter began bucking and tossing his cot around like an enemy combatant. Some of the others in the room laughed as they watched him shadowbox. “Who’s up for some drinks?!” Specter suddenly asked, leaving his half-wrecked cot on the floor. “I know I am! We have to celebrate!” Scootaloo frantically checked herself over, rubbing at her wings and feeling her coat. Rumble, on the other hoof, jumped off his cot and nodded. “Yeah! We should celebrate! I totally purged one of the Nightmare Forces, you guys! It was awesome! “You too, Bumble?” Specter teased him. “We’re on a roll! Two ponies saved! Woo! Just another night in the life of the Star Guard!” Marble narrowed her eyes. “I’ve personally helped two ponies already.” “Oh, I just got an idea,” Specter said, flashing everypony in the room a mischievous fanged smile. “We construct a scoreboard! Most ponies saved by the time we leave Hollow Shades is the winner!” Scootaloo stopped checking herself over and laughed. “That’s stupid! We’re supposed to be helping ponies, not making a game out of their lives!” “We need to make sure we get everypony anyway.” Specter shrugged. “We’ll need to keep a check list… Why not have some fun with it? Nopony said this had to be boring!” “Oh, this definitely isn’t boring,” Scootaloo said with a nervous laugh. “What do you say, fearless leader?” Specter asked, turning to Pip. Pip took a deep breath and exhaled. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversation. Equinox was in the corner of the room, woebegone. Scootaloo looked nervous and still flustered from the nightmare. They needed time to relax. “Uh… I’ll think about it,” Pip eventually said, buying himself time. “But we should still keep a list of citizens that we’ve helped,” Specter added. “Sure. That’s a good idea.” Specter smacked his hooves together with a small smile and flew out of the room. The rest of the Star Guard followed behind him, leaving Pip and Phantom Shade alone in the room. Pip turned to the bat pony; fearful he would leave and never come back. “I-” Pip began. “I’ll join,” Phantom Shade snapped. “But it’s not some favor to you.” He rolled off his cot and rubbed at the weird scars across his body. Pip nodded. “Thank you.” “Tsk. Don’t bother thanking me. I had no idea you were going to be fighting the Nightmare Forces as closely as you are. Nothing would make me happier than snuffing them out one at a time.” Phantom Shade’s serious tone and glowering face made Pip nervous. This sounded more like a vendetta than it did somepony honestly trying to do good. But… did it really matter? Phantom Shade was clearly capable of handling himself in the dreamscape, and Pip could use all the help he could get. “Well, uh, now that you’re-” “I’m going to go get a drink,” Phantom Shade interjected, quickly trotting to the door. “I’m glad you joined,” Pip said as the door shut with a loud snap. He stood, alone, in their cramped base of operations. With a sigh, Pip decided he would get Thunder Clash before joining them. I need to get my stuff together. It has taken us too long to help only four ponies. It has to be my leadership at some level. I gotta try harder. --- Pip had figured, after what had happened last time, that he would never be allowed back into the Queen’s Hideaway. However, due to either Marble’s freakish ability to play pirate's dice or Specter’s way with bat ponies, they were now important and expected guests. The owner had even temporarily banned the ponies that had been messing with them… I don’t think I’m ever going to understand bat pony culture. This kind of stuff would never have happened in Ponyville. As Pip scanned the busy establishment, he saw that the only one not here was Equinox. Her constant silence and aversion to the other bat ponies was making him nervous. Mental note: go talk to Equinox at some point. Mist was sitting at the booth she had insisted they sit at before. It looked the same, except the table was now scuffed up from the melee that had ensued. Rumble, Scootaloo, Marble and Specter were all playing pirate’s dice at a large card table with seven other bat ponies. They had a crowd around them, everypony interested in watching Marble’s winning streak. And then there was Phantom Shade and Thunder Clash; both of whom were seated at the bar, drinking glass after glass of cider. Those two are more similar than they’d like to admit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Mist was staring at him with an anxious expression. She wanted him to sit with her. Pip smiled and waved to her, but motioned to Thunder Clash and Phantom Shade. I’ll be with you in a second, he mouthed as he trotted over to the bar. Mist nodded in acknowledgment. Pip took a seat next to Thunder Clash and sighed. A bat landed at the bar in front of him. In its mouth was a piece of blank paper. “Do you want me to write down my order?” Pip asked the bat. It nodded. “No, thank you.” The bat flew to the bat pony behind the counter. The bartender was busy serving everypony their drinks, and seemed to take orders via the papers brought to him by the bats. Those are some highly trained bats. Shaking his head, Pip focused on Thunder Clash. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about leadership.” “The mark of an excellent leader is when they take more than their share of the blame, and less than their share of the credit,” Thunder Clash said in a slow, bored tone, almost as if he were reciting lines he pulled from a book. Pip blinked a few times and then nervously laughed. “Er, that’s not what I was going to ask about.” “Spit it out, son,” Thunder Clash said, downing the rest of his cider. “So, uh, do you know of any famous leaders that had leadership or relationship problems?” Pip didn’t like the feeling of doubt. It haunted him more than anything else. However, he knew Thunder Clash had some sort of wise anecdote that would pull him out of his funk. “No,” Thunder Clash grunted. Pip awkwardly shifted on the barstool. “Wait, what? Surely some of them had problems. I mean, not all leaders are the same! Maybe one of them-” “Nope. Not a one.” “R-really?” Pip stammered. It’s only me?! “Are you s-sure? Maybe you’re forgetting one… You are kinda old.” Thunder Clash slowly turned to face him with a look of irritation. “You know what defines a true leader? Charisma. Assertiveness. Holding yourself to a higher set of standards than the ponies around you. If you have those qualities, you don’t have leadership and relationship problems. You have real problems. Problems that involve the fates of nations and the lives of ponies.” Well, I definitely have those problems, Pip thought as he touched the fragment hanging around his neck. “So… what you’re saying is, if I was a competent leader I wouldn’t be having those problems?” Thunder Clash snorted and laughed. “You aren’t having problems, son. You’re mistaking lack of experience for incompetence. You just need time.” Pip slowly nodded. “Yeah. I guess. It’s just… I want to make Luna proud. I can’t let my lack of experience stop me. Also…” Pip felt himself flushing. He had never talked to another pony about love matters. “Also, Mist and I… Well, she made it clear, and, er, I don’t know where to start, and she’s like, ya know, and I’m like, er…” Pip lamely drifted off. He silently cursed himself for his complete lack of speech abilities. “You came for my advice?” Thunder Clash asked, glaring at his empty cider glass. “Yes, I would love your advice!” “Don’t get mixed up with your comrades,” he curtly replied. “It’ll… hurt too much if they… go. Especially if you’re their leader.” Thunder Clash took a deep breath and his gaze became unfocused. In a softer voice, almost cracking, he continued with, “You’ll blame yourself, son. Trust me. This isn’t the same kind of wisdom I usually offer you. This is… different. Don’t do it.” “Thunder Clash…” Pip had been waiting for the right moment to try and broach this subject. He scooted closer. “If you ever need to talk, I-” “I don’t need to talk, boy!” Thunder Clash barked, turning his attention back to Pip and losing any sort of trepidation in his mannerisms. “Talking is for gossiping mares! I’m an old stallion! I’ve grown out of things like emotions!” Pip scooted away. That went smoothly. Maybe right now isn't the time. Thunder Clash snorted and slammed his glass on the counter. The bartender flew over and began refilling his cider with a smile. Pip took the opportunity to slip away. That wasn’t the advice he was looking for, but it was something. Moving further down the counter, Pip took a seat on the barstool next to Phantom Shade. With his old captain his team was now up to eight, with Thunder Clash being their mentor and trainer. Phantom Shade didn’t even bother turning. He continued sipping his cider, a scowl set in his face. “So,” Pip said, knowing that he needed to learn more about Phantom Shade. “Uh, does your family live here in town?” “You don’t need to know about my family,” Phantom Shade said, sipping his cider. Pip nervously tapped his hooves on the counter. “Okay… Do you like being back here after working in the Night Guard?” “You don’t need to know that either.” “Okay… Is there anything I do need to know?” Phantom Shade turned slightly. “I think it’s insulting that you’re my commanding officer.” “Oh,” Pip stated. Phantom Shade hates my guts and I’m awkwardly trying to engage him in conversation. If that isn’t the shining definition of charisma, I don’t know what is, Pip sarcastically thought. Silence. “Ahem,” Pip cleared his throat, searching for anything to talk about. “It’s great that you can somehow sense the Nightmare Forces in the dreamscape. Luna can do that too! I, uh, need to learn that for myself.” “Hm,” was Phantom Shade’s only reply. The music in the Queen’s Hideaway switched to something upbeat and Pip decided to lighten the mood of the conversation as well. “So, do you have a very special somepony? I bet you’re a hit with all the mares!” Pip forced a laugh. I sound like such a tool. “I’m into stallions.” “A-are you serious?” Phantom Shade narrowed his eyes even further. “You realize I could have said I was into barstools and you would have had the same reaction, right? You’re gullible, trusting, and easy to fool. It isn’t becoming and I find it contemptible.” Pip opened his mouth to say something, but held back. Ever since Pip first met Phantom Shade, he had always been manipulating or lying to get ponies to think one thing when something else was true. Phantom Shade had even lied to Nightmare Moon in order to drink her blood and temporarily gain her alicorn powers! “So you aren’t into stallions?” Pip asked, hoping to glean at least one fact about Phantom Shade from this conversation. So far, he didn’t know much. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I was into barstools.” “You are?” Pip asked in confusion. “You are?” the bartender also asked, flying over. He pointed to the cutie mark on his flank. It was a barstool. “I have a love for barstools as well, my friend!” Phantom Shade face-hoofed in frustration. “Well, Marble has a thing for inanimate objects, so at least you aren’t the weirdest member of the group,” Pip joked. Phantom Shade looked ready to rip his mane out. When he didn’t reply, Pip thought it best to go. “This was a good chat. We should do it again sometime.” “I pray I’m hit by a sky chariot before then,” Phantom Shade muttered under his breath. Slightly disheartened, Pip pushed away from the bar and trotted over to the large game table. Marble was holding a cup with her five dice and shaking it along with all the other participants. They all slammed their cups onto the table and began peeking at the dice underneath. Pip watched the game with only mild interest. Marble spotted him hovering over her shoulder and stared for a moment. Unexpectedly, she turned back to the table and pointed to one of the participants with an angry frown. “Use a coaster!” she demanded. The bat pony had just placed his glass of cider on the table without a coaster underneath it. The bat pony rolled his eyes. “Who cares? This table is a hunk of junk! Literally! It was made from scrap wood nailed together!” Marble slammed her hoof on the table, almost disturbing everypony's dice. “You guys said you would do it my way! Either you use a coaster, or I leave.” It was then that Pip noticed all the participants were sitting properly in their chairs, the surface of the table was clean, and that everypony was the same distance from one another. He knew Marble was somewhat of a neat freak, and had a weird habit of folding the blankets on her cot thirty times before doing anything, but he hadn’t seen her force those weird habits on others before. Then again, Marble didn’t like playing pirate’s dice… Perhaps it was just the price they had to pay for her to join. “Do you need something, Pip?” Marble asked as she glanced at her dice once more. “No… I was just-” “Stalling?” she cut him off. Pip nervously laughed. Marble could read him like a book. “If you aren’t going to play, I have to ask you to back away. I don’t want any of these bat ponies to think I’m cheating.” “You don’t need to cheat to win.” “You’re sweet,” she said in the same tone she said everything. “Now back up.” Pip took a few steps back and sighed. Realizing that she was right about stalling, Pip decided to go take a seat with Mist at the booth. She greeted him with the same carefree smile she always had, and moved over to allow him more room as she got comfortable. “Quickly!” she whispered to him. “Say something in your accent before another fight breaks loose!” He laughed. Pip was surprised she remembered that. “Gosh,” he said, pulling from his childhood and adding the slight slow and nasally accent that marked him from Trottingham. “To think, I’ve been here twice, never knowing it was a regular hangout for a princess.” Mist gasped in delight and stomped her hooves on the seat. “I love it! But… what princess are you talking? Which princess is here?” She glanced around the bar. “I was talking about the Princess of Bats,” Pip said sheepishly. Pip, that was a completely lame and childish way to compliment her. She’s going to laugh at you. Mist’s eyes went wide as she turned to stare. Before Pip could apologize, she quickly cuddled up to him, nuzzling his chest and neck. “So romantic,” she breathed. Taken aback by his sudden success, Pip realized this had been the mare who had been impressed with half a candle. He slowly wrapped a foreleg around her and rested his muzzle on top of her head. Pip glanced over to the bar and saw that Thunder Clash’s back was to him. It was for the better. He was rejecting his advice, after all. “We are now officially a couple!” Mist shouted to the first bat pony that came walking by, motioning to herself and Pip. The bat pony hustled along, a look of confusion on his face as he glanced back at them. “Mist,” Pip nervously laughed. “What was that about? Maybe you want to keep it down…” He looked back over at Thunder Clash. Still hadn’t turned around. “I had to tell somepony.” She shrugged. “Now that somepony knows, it’s official. That’s the rules.” “You sure this is a good idea right now? We’re on an important mission to stop the Nightmare Forces, not a love boat.” “Are you saying you don’t want to be with me?” she asked in a quiet voice. Pip quickly shook his head. “No, that’s not what I was saying. I just wanted to know your thoughts on the matter.” “Oh!” she gasped in delight, squeezing him close. “I was hoping you would ask me that! Okay, so, my thoughts are… We serve in the Star Guard, save all of Equestria by defeating the Nightmare Forces, share a few romantic nights under the light of the full moon, return home as heroes, get crowned the Princess of Bats, have you crowned Prince of Trottingham, get married, buy a home in Trottingham, have two fillies, become best friends forever with Princess Luna, and live happily ever after!” Mist bit her lip in anticipation of his response, her eyes anxiously alight. Stunned into silence, Pip stared down at her. She had obviously given this a lot of thought. “T-that’s what you were talking about, right?” Mist asked, breaking the silence between them. “Was it too specific? One of our foals could be a colt, if you would rather!” “Er… Let me think about it,” Pip awkwardly responded. He could deduce her preference from her long term plans. “But… we need to be somewhat professional about this. When we’re dream walking we’re strictly helping ponies. I don’t want to compromise this mission. I don’t want to disappoint Luna.” “Pfft,” Mist dismissively waved her hoof and laughed. “I can be professional! Don’t you worry!” Pulling him close again, she began whispering. Pip twitched his good ear, but heard nothing. “What?” Ke ke ke! “Okay, okay,” she said once she was done snickering. “We’ll talk about that later! Oh! I have something else I want to tell you! When we were training in the Night Guard, do you know who I thought would make a good couple? Phantom Shade and Equinox. Can’t you just imagine their cute little foals?” Pip glanced to Phantom Shade, who was still at the bar. Equinox was… distant lately. “Their foals wouldn’t cry. They would file complaints with their local registrar.” Ke ke ke! “Adorable!” The music picked up and began to drown everything else out. Pip didn’t mind. He and Mist watched the massive game of pirate’s dice and relaxed in each other’s presence. --- “I… hate… running…” Rumble huffed. “What?” Scootaloo balked. “Running is awesome!” Rumble continued to breathe heavily as he jumped over a large root. When they had trained near Canterlot, there had been a nice, flat track for them to run on. Training in Hollow Shades was like running along a trap-infested dungeon. There were pitfalls hidden by leaves, roots in odd places they had to get over, and spring loaded nets. Apparently, the citizens of Hollow Shades hunted junglefowl, a feral version of chickens. Specter motioned for Rumble to look ahead. “Look out for that-” Snap! Whoosh! One of Rumble’s legs became caught in a snare. “-trap,” Specter finished with a snicker. “Oh man, Bumble. You are awful at spotting those!” With a forced laugh, Rumble snapped the snare and shook the rope off his leg. “It’s dark,” he complained. “And it was covered by twigs and leaves!” Now that they had all stopped, Rumble took the moment to catch his breath. Scootaloo smirked. “Hey, I don’t get caught.” “But you trigger the traps all the time! You’re just fast enough to jump out of them before they get you!” “Whoa, whoa,” Specter came between them and pushed them apart. “I hate seeing my two favorite bird ponies fighting. Let’s just all agree that I’m awesome because I never get caught.” “You can see in the dark,” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not even fair.” “Yeah,” Rumble chimed in. “Not even fair!” “Rumble? Is that you?” All three members of the Star Guard turned toward the new voice. Rumble squinted through the darkness. Much to his surprise, Starlight Apogee and two other bat pony mares came trotting up to them. The mares all had saddlebags that were full. “Rumble! It really is you!” Starlight Apogee exclaimed. She galloped over to him and smiled. “I’ve been telling everypony in Hollow Shades all about you and the Star Guard! About how brave and wonderful you are!” The other two mares ran up and smiled at him. Rumble nervously rubbed at his mane. “Shucks, it was nothin’.” The mares began giggling. Starlight Apogee turned her head back to her saddlebag and pulled out a plump piece of fruit. It was bright yellow and spherical. Rumble had never seen a fruit quite like it. “Here! I want you to have this!” Rumble took the piece of fruit and placed it in his own satchel. “Thank you. What is it?” “It’s a Sun Fruit. They’re super rare!” She suddenly embraced Rumble before quickly pulling away. “I have to get back to helping my mom and the others! I’ll keep telling everypony how great you are!” Rumble waved as the group of bat pony mares ran off. “You know, I thought I wasn’t going to like this place… but it’s starting to grow on me.” Specter trotted up next to him and nudged him. “You sly dog. Helping all the mares? I see what you did there. Clever. I should have thought about that.” “What?” Rumble asked, taken aback. “It was nothing like that!” “Seriously, Rumble?” Scootaloo asked, glaring at him. “How old was she? A little young, don’t you think?” “I said it was nothing like that!” “Uh-huh.” “It wasn’t, you guys!” “Whatever you say, Bumble,” Specter said as he resumed his run. Scootaloo ran after him, laughing the entire way. “We’re just playing with you,” she said to Rumble over her shoulder. “C’mon! We should be getting back to base! I’m ready to be done with training!” All three of them ran back to their base, even though Rumble wouldn’t have said no to relaxing. The bat pony halfway house they called home was dingy, but it was more welcoming than their old barracks back in Night Guard training. They rushed through the doors and nearly ran into Pipsqueak, who was busy taping something to the wall. Like Rumble, Pip was slightly larger than most stallions, but that wasn’t a problem. “Scootaloo,” Pip said. “Do you mind running to the willow gates of the city? I have a letter I need delivered.” Scootaloo gave him a cocky half-smile. “Consider it done.” Pip trotted over to a table, picked up the letter with his mouth and brought it back to her. Scootaloo placed it in her bag. “Did you already finish your exercises?” Specter asked Pip, crossing his hooves over his chest as he flew around the room. “How are you back here already?” “I wasn’t goofing off,” Pip replied with a hint of disapproval. Specter snickered. “Goofing off? Whatever are you talking about? We got our exercises done! Even if we took the long way around the fruit trees…” “Who is this letter for?” Scootaloo asked, one hoof out the door. Pip began straightening out the rest of the room. “It’s for Featherweight, in Canterlot.” “That photographer? Why?” “I want him to come take pictures of Hollow Shades for the newspaper. I think, once they see how amazing it is, people will stop thinking bat ponies are nothing but killers.” “I thought our primary focus was to stop the Nightmare Forces?” Pip shrugged, but flinched slightly and rubbed at his still-injured shoulder. Rumble was impressed at how Pip just kept going, despite the many wounds he was accumulating. “Luna asked me to help the bat ponies. Plus, it’s not going to get in the way of our duties.” “All right then.” Rumble watched Scootaloo go. He trotted over to his cot and began stretching. Soon it would be time to go to bed. Then, when they woke, they would go back to dream walking. Just a typical night for the Star Guard.