The following is a top secret mission from Princess Luna! I'm SO psyched I get to finally talk about it, since I've been holding this in for months! Even if no one will ever get to read this, it feels good to record my exploits!
I came to with my head swimming and my vision blurred. The world was a tilt-a-whirl and I wanted the ride to stop. Ugh. Drugged. I'd been drugged. I've been drugged before, back when I had to spend those months in the hospital...with Doctor Holiday. Gotta say- not a fan.
I hate drugs. And hospitals. They remind me of them. Rosie and Criss Cross. But this isn't a story about them. This is about me, waking up in a strange room on a strange bed that wasn't my own. When you can't taste nothin', every meal is one drop of poison away from your last. I guess I got lucky this time. Heh.
Lucky. Sure.
I take a minute to get my bearings. Stoney room. Nothing on the walls. Off gray white. Boring. Wooden bed frame underneath me, with some sheets and pillows. A holding cell, or some sort of waiting room. Either way, I didn't like it. No windows. No idea what time it is. Single door to the left of the bed. Probably locked. I could break it down with a well placed charge forward. My "Dazzling Dash." Slam forward, head first, let the invulnerability take care of the rest. Problem is that would make a lot of noise. Whoever foal-napped me doesn't know I'm awake yet. That's to my own advantage at the moment, so I need to play this really stea-
The door opens up, and a bright golden stallion with long white hair trots in. He's all sunshine and smiles, looking at me with big blue bright eyes and a bright white too-wide-smile. Terran Pony. Stronger than me. Way stronger. He's decked out in weird looking yellow and white armor, like some backwards brand of the stuff that Princess Celestia's Sun Guard's wear. He's got muscles, too. The type of muscles you get from fighting. The sinewy kind that bleed through your fur. The kind I had. Wonderful. Before I can make a move, he's already trotting over too me. Smile smile smile. All smiles. I hate that smile.
"Hello Sleepy-head! How are you feelin' sweetheart? That was quite a nap you took," He's smiling at me. His voice is condescending as Tartarus. I hate his guts, but I told my tongue, giving a girlish little yawn and rub the back of my hoof against an eye.
"Heeeey..." I squeak. Oh, I'm fully alert, and quite ready to bolt for the door as soon as I get the chance. But Firefly's been training me. She tells me my real strength lies in my ability to convince the world that I'm not a threat. As far as this bozo is concerned, I'm an innocent school filly, not an agent of the dark. I want to crush him.
"Do you know where you are, honey or how you got here?" He asks softly, kneeling down a little, as if looking into my eyes would somehow save him from a furious headbutt. I hold it back, and shake my head. He smiles at me again. That big bright too-wide-smile.
"Well, sweetie, my name is Shimmer-Strike, We found you asleep out on the playground, all by yourself, and thought we should bring you inside. This is...well...you can call this place a very special club house, okay? You see, we've been watching you for a while, and we'd like you to join our club, okay?" More smiles. Luna, how I wanted to bash his teeth in. Fake smiles and empty warmth weren't winning me over. I didn't like this guy or this place. I yawned again and looked around. Playground? I must have passed out while flying. Still don't know when they slipped me the drug, but if they've been watching me, it could have been anytime. I swallow my anger and play it cool.
"Club...house?" I asked sleepily. Shimmer Strike gave a chuckle and nodded his head. Oh, that's right you horse apple. I'm just an innocent little filly. I'm not a threat to you at all. Keep smilin' at me. Watchin me, though? How long have they been watching me? What do they know?
"Yup. Thaaaats right. We're called the Soldiers of Light. We're a...special group that help out the town, and do super important special missions for Princess Celestia. You like Princess Celestia, don't you? You wanna help her out?" He asks. I stare at him and slowly nod my head and swallow my raising panic. Keep it together. You can do this. You've got this.
Soldiers of Light.
I'm in serious trouble. I mean big time trouble. This isn't some random filly-napping for a ransom. This is a rogue splinter group from Celestia's sun guard. Solder's of Light. Fanatics. Religious zealots that believe Celestia is the one true god, and any pony who doesn't follow their specialized brand of mania is a candidate for a brain painting on the wall.
"Yeah! Princess Celestia is my favorite!" I say sweetly. Sweetly as I can. He smiles a little wider.
"Goooood! She's really something special, isn't she? Well sweetie, we noticed you hang around the palace quite a lot, and sometimes seen talking with Princess Luna," He explained. There's an unmistakable hint of warning in his voice. I choose my words carefully.
"Yeah huh! Princess Luna is Princess Celestia's sistah! She's, she's like, she's like, she's like, she's da moon, and Celestia is da sun, and, and I wanna find out all I can about Princess Celestia, but shes really supah dupah busy a lot, so I ask Princess Luna!" I explain, fiddling with my hooves. I don't make eye contact. I act shy and bashful. I stutter my voice to make it sound like I have trouble spitting out my words. I act like the innocent little girl he thinks I am.
"What a smart little girl! Princess Celestia would be very proud to know you wanted to know so much about her! I'd love to tell her for you!" He explains. I hold back a scoff. I've never seen this turd at the castle before. He's lying through his teeth. My eyes grow wide and I give a silent little squeal.
"You'se know Princess CELESTIA?!" I gasp in shock. He chuckles at me, nodding his head, and reaching out to pat my own to try and calm me down.
"Thats right I do. I'm a good friend of hers. In fact, she's the entire reason our little club exist! So wouldja like to join honey? If you do, you might be able to meet her and talk to her!" He explains. I draw my hooves up to my chest and squeal.
"OH! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!"I bark wildly, nearly hopping off the bed. Shimmer Strike gives another laugh and a gentle smile.
"Allllllllright then! I'm gonna make sure Princess Celestia knows your gonna be one of our brand new, very best helpers! Now, sweetie, Princess Celestia has a very special job she needs your help with. Do you know the story of Nightmare moon?" He asks me. My face goes blank. I shake my head slowly, as if trying to figure out what he's talking about. Of course I know about Nightmare moon. I'm on the Night Crew.
He frowns. "Well, Diamond, long long ago, there was a terrible pony named Nightmare Moon. And she did terrible things, and wanted the sun to go away for ever. Now Nightmare moon was actually Princess Luna in disguise, Princess Celestia's own sister. Since then, Princess Celestia has been worried that Princess Luna might still secretly be Nightmare Moon. And she wants you to help keep an eye on Princess Luna. Can you do that Diamond?" Shimmer Strike asks me. I grit my teeth, but smile. Big smile. A spy. They wanted me to be a spy on my own princess. This was the last straw. The absolute worst. But I couldn't act now. No. Keep it together, Diamond.
"Yes sir!" I squeak, giving him a salute. He laughs and pats me on the head smiling warmly at me. He nods at me and turns towards the door, jerking his head towards me with that smile.
"Wanna have a look around the club house?" He asks. I give another yawn. I really want to look around and get a feel for my surroundings, but I'd feel better if I could report in first. I blink my eyes and sway a little bit on the bed.
"Actually, I'm...I'm sleepy...I wanna...nap..."I explain, and start to curl back up onto the bed. Shimmer Striker coos softly at me, as if I were a baby.
"Awww, okay honey, you just have a nap and I'll come check on you later, okay?" He says with that horrible smile of his. I smile back, and pull myself into the bed. This is bad. Very bad. I'm deep in enemy territory and I have no idea where I am. Yeah, the best course of action is to check in with Princess Luna. I draw in a deep breath, perking my ears to sounds in the room. Shimmer Strike has already left. I hear him walking outside the door and to the left. I'm alone. Good. I take in another deep breath. Hold it. Focus. Concentrate. Keep it together.
I picture Midnight Castle in my mind. Picture the dark, deep black halls, and the shadowy corridors. Just focus on the castle. Breathing slowly. Slower. Slower than that. Slower than that. Slower...relax...breathe deeply...think of the castle...count to ten...
And then I'm there. I've fallen asleep and now I'm in the dream realm, charging towards the castle at full speed. I need to get to the throne room before I wake up, but the guard at the front gates stop me. Bat Pony. Large, male, frowning. I know him. Blood Fang. Vampire type of Bat pony. He's high ranking. Almost as high as I am, which kind of sets us to a rivalry. He thinks just cause I'm a filly I don't deserve a spot on Luna's night court. Ugh. He steps in front of me, peering down with those blood red eyes of his.
"The princess is busy. State your business." He snaps at me. I scowl. I could be woken up any minute by these bastards in SoL. I don't have TIME for his better-than-you-narcissistic-power trip.
...
So I don't stop. I continue forward, increasing my speed until my contrail flickers to life behind me. A glowing white streak of light. Blood Fang isn't prepared for a full frontal assault. I slam into him, head to chest, bowling him over and sending us both tumbling into the castle. I'm going to pay for that one for sure, but for now, I need to reach Luna. No time to explain! I've got to warn her SoL Is moving against her!! Blood Fang doesn't take kindly to my attack. No, he's already ringing the alarm behind me as I charge through the castle. He's summoning bat ponies. Claiming I attacked him, which I did, and that I'm a traitor to the crown. Great. Bat pony guards. They start to swarm the hall, trying to block my passage. Me? I'm small and swift. Also invincible. That helps. I race forward, simply increasing my speed and beating my wings as hard as I can. I stay grounded, running forward and trying to keep the Bat Ponies off balance. They're natural fliers, so them trying to catch me on the ground is awkward. I can out maneuver them down here. Slide! Twist! Leap! Underneath one of them and over top another. There! The Throne Room!!
"PRINCESS LUNA!" I bark as loud as I can, barreling into the Throne room. There she is, peering at documents and looking utterly pissed off at the entire world. And I have bad news. Awesome.
Even better, Blood Fang tackles me out of nowhere. Just side swipes me, tumbling us both onto the floor with him atop me, holding his hooves against my neck. He knows my weakness. Invincible, sure, but I still need to breathe, and he's choking the life out of me.
"Your highness! Diamond Dancer refuses to obey proper protocol and assaulted me outside of the castle! I recommend she be stripped of rank and interrogated!" He snarls. Now I'm furious. I don't have time for this. It's an emergency trance I'm doing, putting myself a sleep, deep in enemy territory, and Blood Fang is complaining about protocol. I want to slap him, but instead I'm too busy trying to squawk out an explanation from underneath his hooves.
"IT'S SOL! IT'S SOL!" I squeal. To my horror, Princess Luna narrows her eyes, standing up with a trembling display of power. Oh, she was in a bad mood before, but hearing about the group that was constantly attempting to oust her of power was the icing of the cake. And I was the one delivering the bad news.
"Leave us." Princess Luna snarls, directing a hoof towards Blood Fang, who stares in shock.
"But...Y-Your highness, she-" He tries to argue. Oh, I've learned quite well not to argue with the princess when she's like this. You nod your head and back away as quietly as possible and pray to whoever's listening that she'll spare you her wraith. Blood Fang has not learned this lesson, and before I can say anything, a black, gulping portal opens behind the two of us. A terrible, dark sphere of all encompassing darkness. I don't know where that portal leads, nor do I want to find out, but Blood Fang is lifted off the ground and turned towards the gaping abyss with Luna's magic.
"YOU. HAVE. A. CHOICE." Is all she needs to say. Blood Fang is released from her grasp, and he immediately tears through the throne room to the exit. Leaving me and Luna alone. Now she's glaring at me, waiting to hear what's so terribly important.
Awesome.