Keepers of the Night: A Written History of Thestrals

by Sleep Sonata

1: Creation and Exile

Equestria, if nothing else, is a land of consistency. The Pegasi, with their ability to fly, have always ensured that the weather never becomes out of hand. The Unicorns, with magic, have always cycled day and night at regular intervals. The Earth ponies have always taken advantage of this stability in order to provide the rest of Ponykind with a steady food supply. So it has been since before written history.

Another thing that is consistent is Equestria's regular schedule of massive societal upheavals. The first example that may come to mind is the banishment of Nightmare moon over one thousand years ago, and much more recently the return of the Crystal Empire. However, long before either of these events transpired, a series of much more dramatic changes took place, and in a relatively quick succession.

In order to fully comprehend what the effect these events had on our history, one must first have a basic understanding of Equestria's societal structure prior to them. That is the purpose of this text.

It may not be entirely clear to the average pony who exactly the Thestrals are. In recent times, every member of their race is a member of the Nightguard, responsible directly to Princess Luna. Their responsibilities consist of any and all events that take place during the night. This usually consists of simple peacekeeping, but occasionally, they may perform dreamwalks into ponies who have nightmares, in order to put their minds at ease.

Aside from these, Thestrals have very little direct contact with the rest of the pony world. Few in number, they reside in Princess Luna's Night Castles during the day, when they get their rest. Their quarters are restricted; even pony nobility are forbidden from entering their domain. Princess Celestia has begun to push for more access to the Thestrals, although those talks between the two princesses are still pending at this time.

Although they are general kept from direct Contact, ponies are permitted to know the names and positions of the Nightguard. The total Thestral population is very small, totaling 250 at the Canterlot Garrison, with a further 3000 spread across other Equestrian Castles. The Nightguard is divided into 5 divisions, based on location; North, South, East, West, and Capital. Each division is divided into Dream, Creature, and Watch Battalions. A detailed chart of the ponies that hold these positions can be found at the end of this chapter.

However, this organization is a very recent creation, only being instated with the return of Princess Luna roughly 3 years ago. Before then very little is know about them other than their own oral traditions and a limited number of written texts. However, through the efforts of Princess Twilight Sparkle and this author, much of the information has been gathered here, enough so that we now have a clear picture of the history of this unique race of ponies.

Beginnings in Equestria

Little is known about the origin of the Thestrals. The prevailing myth, and accepted theory, is that roughly 4000 years ago they were created by Starswirl the Bearded, as a way to protect the ponies from creatures who might harm them during the night. It isn’t known exactly how he created them, although their numbers increased rapidly in short amount of time. In 300 years, their population exploded from 500 to over 5000.

Their function then was as it is now; to protect the sleeping ponies from whatever might try to harm them at night, although their organization, the Thestral Watch, was much more informal than it is today. In those times, dream walking had not yet been discovered, so their duties were simply peacekeeping and creature control. Since at this time, most of Equestria was still wild, there were many places where such unrest might have occurred.

Initially, there was little objection to their official function. In the populated cities, such as Maresailles and San Franciscolt, they were praised for their skills as detectives, being watchful at night for burglars and other night time crimes. It was often said that one couldn’t litter without the Thestral Watch knowing about it. Such sayings were just that, as the Watch was focused on preventing major disturbances, though they show the confidence the pony populace had in their abilities.

The majority of the Thestral Watch’s effort were focused in the countryside. In those times, dangerous creatures, such as Timberwolves and Cockatrices, were not confined to the Everfree forrest, since most of the land was not yet settled. They wandered freely, attacking any pony unlucky enough to cross their path.

At night, the Watch allocated a vast amount of resources to corralling these creatures in controlled areas. Squads were at constant readiness should one of the creatures escape into the populace. The Everfree Forrest today is the product of the largest of these reserves, and still serves that purpose under the Nightguard. The farmers and pioneers were immensely pleased with their performance, noting in town documents that “The efforts of the Thestral Watch have made possible the safe and effective use of these lands, where our families can grow free of fear.”

However, because of the nature of their duties, the Thestrals were never fully integrated into regular society. Their appearance, being closer to bats than normal ponies, often terrified ponies of the day. While this made them effective enforcers of the law, it hampered their ability to operate in regular life.

The same duties that altered their social traits also altered them physically. On average, Thestrals stood half a hand taller than Pegasi, and a whole hand higher than Unicorns. They were also extremely physical, outperforming the Royal Guard in every Equestria Games since their inception.

Because of these facts, the Thestrals began to see themselves as something apart from normal ponies. This sense of otherness eventually developed into a sense of superiority, and the Watch eventually began demanding an expansion to their rights. At the time, all Thestrals were all inducted into the Watch at birth, and were given no choice in occupation. With their increasing size, they began to demand the right to live amongst the regular ponies, and live alongside them rather than for them.

The Equestrians viewed these demands as aggressive threats, even though the Watch had made no direct threats. The fear was that if the concessions were not met, the Watch would cease watching over the night. However, the majority of ponies did not want the Thestrals living with them, only knowing them as police and brutal creature controllers.

Despite the population boom, the growth of the Watch was outpaced by the growth of developed land. Equestria could not afford to have the Thestrals do anything other than guard the night. Princess Celestia asked the Thestrals if they would continue in their duties if they were allowed to live amongst the ponies, but the Captain of the Watch Captain Gibbon stood fast on their desire for freedom from Watch service.

Events came to a head when Gibbon ordered an end to all operations until the Watch demands were met. His plan was to make the Equestrians realize that they couldn’t function without the Watch to protect them. The night of the strike, reports of deadly creature attacks and disorder increased by 1500%, to the point where Princess Celestia needed to send her Royal Guard out to end it.

The reaction from the Equestrian population was immediate and violent. In at least one instance, a Thestral barracks needed to be abandoned to a mob farm ponies, reportedly with the aid of regular soldiers. Gibbon, furious at the failure of his plan, attempted to storm Canterlot Castle, in order to force Celestia to give in to his demands. However, his assault was turned back, with a majority of the Thestrals captured by Royal soldiers.

With this action, the Princess could no longer trust the Thestrals to coexist with the rest of Equestria. She banished the entire race beyond the Hadrian mountains, a mountain range from which no pony had ever returned. With no other choice, the Thestrals settled into this new land and made it their home.

Organization of the Nightguard
Princess of the Night: Princess Luna
Commandant of the Night: GEN Aurora
Captain of the Guard: COL Midnight Blossom
Sergeant Major of the Guard: SGTMAJ Penumbra
Division North (Manehattan)

Division Commander: LTCOL Speck

Creature Control Officer: MAJ Crescent

Chief of Peace: MAJ Florence

Master of Dreams: MAJ Starcross
Division South (Las Pegasus)

Division Commander: LTCOL Southern Cross

Creature Control Officer: MAJ Eclipse

Chief of Peace: MAJ Crystal Sphere

Master of Dreams: MAJ Star Gazer
Division East (Baltimare)

Division Commander: LTCOL Stella

Creature Control Officer: MAJ Moon Beam

Chief of Peace: MAJ Raven

Master of Dreams: MAJ Solstice
Division West (Vanhoover)

Division Commander: LTCOL Tranquility

Creature Control: MAJ Stormy Night

Chief of Peace: MAJ Nightfall

Master of Dreams: MAJ Borealis
Capital Division (Canterlot)

Division Commander: COL Night Watch

Capital Affairs Officer: MAJ Moonshine

Master of Dreams: MAJ Serenity

Nightguard Positions

Members of the Nightguard, as mentioned above, are divided into 5 divisions within Equestria. Division North is responsible for the areas spanning Galloping Gorge to Manehatten, and is Headquartered in Manehattan. Division South covers the San Palomino Desert to the Badlands, and is headquartered in Las Pegasus. Division East spans Fillydelphia to the Hayseed Swamps, and is based in Baltimare. Division West covers what remains, and is commanded from Vanhoover. Capital Division only covers Canterlot, and is responsible for all events during the night in the capital city.

Within Each of these divisions, there are 4 senior officer positions (excluding Capital Division). The Division Commander is responsible for all actions carried out by the division. All other officers report directly to them. Commanders usually hold the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, although Major and even Captain commanders are not unheard of.

Creature Control Officers are charged with ensuring that ponies are safe from creatures that may wish to do them harm in the night. This usually means maintaining security around designated reserves, the most well known of which is the Everfree Forrest. However, rapid response units exist to capture any creatures that may escape.

Dreamwalkers use unicorn magic to enter the dreams of sleeping ponies, surreptitiously aiding them in overcoming their nightmares. In special cases, Princess Luna may take part in these dreamwalk, although the task usually falls to the Thestral Unicorns.

The Capital Division stands apart from the other divisions. Their area of responsibility lies only within Canterlot, so they do not have Creature Control. Instead, there is a Capital Affairs Officer who handles all matters that concern law and order in the nighttime capital.