The Rise of the Night Guard

by Gladi Writes

First Centurion I

Author's Note:

First thing published in.. half a year? Expect it to be rough and change from feedback. I was gonna push this back but really- I just gotta get publishing again.

A week had passed since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had begun their foray out of the relative security of the Everfree, and it had not passed quickly. It was a week filled with anxiety as Celestia and Luna discussed what would be done to prevent the tragedy that had happened on that night. The guards were anxious and on alert constantly, and none had much sleep in that week. On the day that the mayors were due to arrive, Princess Luna had all the guards that had been on duty that night assembled in the Everfree Fortress. Fifty of them in all, looking exhausted with sunken eyes and ruffled fur. Their punishment in the interim had been simple- knowing they had failed.

Princess Celestia sat behind Luna, with her ethereal mane swirling ever so slightly. Her height meant she was able to see over her scowling sister over her towards the line of soldiers standing before them. Celestia had been silent, allowing her sister leeway in her realm- martial affairs. Despite her silence, she couldn't help but cringe now and then. She dearly wished she hadn't had to be here- but it was important that she bare witness, and back her sister as she could.

"You all have failed," Luna sneered, pivoting at the middle and staring down the group. She wore no armour right now, just her regal breastplate and a stare that could wither a forest.

"A week ago today, one of your own and several guests were killed. They were killed on /your/ watch," she continued, her voice hissing with anger. "Those ponies came here seeking refuge and protection- and instead," she fumed, her chest heaving to draw air for her booming declarations, "they found their own death! How are we supposed to unite Equestria under our guidance if our own soldiers cannot keep a simple group of refugees safe? How?! How am I supposed to convince others to follow us if we can't even protect them!"

Luna left her accusations in the air for several tense, awkward, seconds. None dared to reply, and they all stared up at her, measuring their breaths and blinks to avoid even the tiniest probability of calling attention to themselves. Celestia watched them, keeping a firm glare on her face even though what she wanted to do- more than anything- was just give them each a hug. She knew she couldn't however, their soldiers had indeed failed them- badly.

"This bloody failure is why I have brought you here today, and it is why you have been marching for the entire last seven days. I have chosen to give you a chance to redeem your lost souls. Your failure will drive you, and I will remind you of it daily until you reclaim your honor. You will drill with me, day in, and day out. You will practice, you will train. You will be the first century of a new system," she proclaimed, and her eyes glimmered for a moment as she grinned widely.

"A system under me. You will serve us both, but I will give your orders, and you will report to me directly. You will be as my sword, and I will use you just as readily- and cast you aside if you prove to be dull just as easily. Now leave us, and collect only your uniforms. You are to march to the old bandit camp, and I will meet you there."

Luna pivoted, giving them her back, and they all quickly saluted before departing- rather hastily. Celestia kept her pokerface on until the group had left, and then exhaled a breath as she relaxed into a slouch.

"Did you..." she gasped, and wished she had paid more attention to her abdominals "... have to be so hard on them?"

Luna nodded. "I require nothing less than to crush their souls into dust, so that I might make a stronger whole. These will cease to be ponies, sister- they will be soldiers. We have coddled our armed forces for too long, we need true warriors now if we are to unite Equestria again."

Celestia herself frowned, and looked down at her sister disconcertingly. "I... I understand, Luna- it just seems so... dark. I thought we were above this sort of thing, but..."

An image shot through her mind, of the horrible scene from a few weeks previous. Those... innocent ponies, dead...

Luna was quick with her thrust. "Remember those that died, Celestia- under our care. This is the only way to prevent it from happening again,"

Celestia was beaten, and sighed. "Very well, but what of Excavo?" she asked.

It had been Excavo's father that had departed that night- and while he had been on watch as well- he had been seperate from punishment for obvious reasons.

"I leave him to you, sister. He is more broken than it is within my strength to repair," Luna replied, and pivoted again, glancing back as she strode off.

"I believe Starswirl will know where he is. For now, I have business to attend to," Luna stated, and then flapped into the air, setting off for parts unknown.

Celestia found herself alone in the room now, and the dark shadow Luna had cast over the tall windows etched into the stone walls of it slowly dissipated, letting in the natural sunlight of an early-afternoon. It did nothing for her mood though, and she frowned when the doors closed.

Silence.

Celestia stood, and slowly glanced around the room. Tapestries hung from the wall behind her and along the walls, displaying both her and her sisters cutie marks. This was her new throne room, complete with throne itself... and yet it seemed so hollow at the moment. Ponies had died and they had only been trying to rebuild Equestria for less than a month- how much more blood would it take? She had expected the world to greet her with open arms, and instead an evil force thrust daggers at her.

The alicorn trotted to her throne, and ran her hooves along it. It was larger than most would suspect, and that was mostly due to how large Celestia herself was. Beside it was Luna's, a smaller throne- but given an equal position in the room itself. Celestia took her seat, feeling oddly small as she sat in that enlarged seat. She felt as if all the eyes of the world- even if she was alone- were peering at her, judging her for even the smallest of actions.

Today too was supposed to be a good day- the meeting of the mayors had finally arrived, and they were expected shortly before sundown. Instead the bolstered guard and security measures were a constant reminder that somepony was out to get them, and it was not a feeling that put her at ease.

Celestia took a deep breath, and forced herself to smile. She decided to take it one day at a time, and for now- she had an important meeting to plan for. The doors at the far end of the hall opened magically, and a guard peeked his head in.

"Find Starswirl, bring him here."

______

It did not take Princess Luna long to arrive at the abandoned camp that the bandits had used. Captain Hurricane had been converting it into an outpost for further scouting north, but recent events had put that project on hold. So for now it was abandoned, and only a few crates left over from the workers were any evidence of life here. Indeed, there was still blood on the ground in places.

It was a hellish place, with crumpled and half-burned buildings, tents, and a fair amount of corpses. Surrounded by withered and burned trees long since dead, it almost reminded her of Discord's time. The corpses that littered the place Luna would be putting to good use- and she became very thankful that her sister would not be watching. Her warriors would be able to train like none others had before...

For now she set up her own tent, her horn glowing brightly as she unfurled the sack she had brought with her. It was a large tent, with dark purple cloth that seemed to absorb the sunlight, and left the insides as dark as midnight even in the middle of the day. Which was perfect, since she would be taking a short nap until the troop arrived.

Luna set a few basic alarm spells around the tent, and then stepped back, smirking slightly. This was perhaps exactly what those who feared her thought of her- here she was, surrounded by the dead, and so unfazed by it she was going to take a nap.

Indeed, she sparked her horn and shot two bandit corpses within sight with bolts of blue magic, watching with a dark glee as they stumbled to their hooves, blessed with purity of mind and a will not of their own. They marched to the entrance of her tent, and stood at attention there.

Luna passed by them and entered, leaving her 'guard' to their duty. She then hung her armour up on the rack, and flopped upon her bed. Her tent was surprisingly large inside, and as a matter of fact contained an exact replica of her room in the Everfree, magically contained. Starswirl had explained it with some long diatribe involving dimensions.

Luna hadn't cared, and had fallen asleep without a single thought towards how this was- only that it was, and that it was warm and comfortable.

______

Celestia's decree, as easy as it may have sounded, required considerable effort on behalf of that guard to undertake. He was busy with some "breathrough" and it was only through the guards repeated insistance that refusal was treason- and that treason meant arrest, and that arrest meant no more books- did he come. He came grumpily, and frowned at Celestia as he was more or less pushed into the throne room.

"Your Highness!" he declared, bowing absurdly low to the grounnd. "What do I owe this... magnificently well timed interruption to?"

Celestia blinked, and for a moment she fumed. Starswirl was no fool however, and realised he was playing with fire- partially thanks to the wisp of flame that fluttered off Celestia's mane as she scowled at him from her high throne.

"I... er..." he stammered, trying to backpeddle without actually apologizing. "I... have made a breathrough!" he exclaimed, and looked up at her hopefully.

Celestia tilted a brow. "Is that why it took a full hour for you to walk the short distance here? What under my sun could be so important?"

Starswirl blinked this time, her wording was not lost on him. "I... have, ah... discovered the secret to friendship."

"Friendship?"

"Yes, exactly!" Starswirl repeated, and his voice slid into the almost-manic ranting of an academic with a thesis. "I believe it's the key to... well, almost everything. There's a magic to it when ponies, err... are friendly. That is what Discord broke."

"Discord broke the world, Starswirl- he did a lot more than make a few ponies sour with eachother."

"But that's where your wrong! It didn't matter until they were... 'soured', as you put it. it was repairable, any terror was defeatable with the three tribes together! He knew that, which is why he ignored the unicorns for so long- leaving the other tribes to envy their peace. Apart we were broken, and the world follows."

Celestia was silent, and he continued. "Together we are... powerful? That doesn't seem the right word... regardless, I need more research!"

He then blinked, and pointed at Celestia. "You! You're the key, you and Luna!"

Celestia couldn't peak her brow more if she tried.

"Alicorns! They are... you are... all three races. If... if we could all be alicorns..."

Celestia glared at him. "This was an honor bestowed on us- and /only/ us- for a reason, Starswirl. I don't know the reason, but you had best not meddle in magicks beyond your power."

Starswirl nodded- but Celestia could see he was beyond stopping now. She sighed, "Two things, before I let you leave." she said, and lifted him up in a golden field.

"First, do not complete any magic before I see it. You may be older, but you are like a filly in a candy store with magic- and I won't have you destroy the world just to see what happens."

Starswirl nodded, his aged face darting up and down like said filly.

"Secondly, where is Excavo?"

That question he didn't expect, and he tilted his head. "He is... uh, in his quarters... probably."

"Probably?"

Starswirl shrugged. "He demanded everything I had on the martial arts, and after I err... tried to explain how he was ehh... a little short..."

"You... you what?"

Celestia squinted at him, and he swallowed. "I didn't want him to get hurt, he's no warrior!"

Celestia's squinting increased in intensity and that little sphere got a little warmer.

"I gave him the books and he left, rambling about how... uhh... "every army needs a general"

Celestia dropped him- from around five feet, with the stallion getting the breath knocked out of him when he landed. He recovered surprisingly quick, and teleported himself straight into the hall. The guard, surprised by this, peaked in. Celestia shook her head, and he sheathed his sword.

"Every army needs a general..." Celestia repeated to herself, musing on what it might mean.

Celestia was quickly distracted from this by Captain Hurricane, who had come into the hall with two soldiers at his side- Horses, in fact.

"The first representative is here, your Highness," Hurricane said, and bowed. The horses did as well, and Celestia noted their respect.

"Thank you, has he been led to the state room?" Celestia asked.

"He has, and he has brought a gift- although he insists he give it to you in person."

Celestia smiled, "Good. I will arrive once the mayor of White Tail has come. Have any others followed our invitation?"

Hurricane nodded. "Two ponies, claiming to represent Damford and Oatsville. They are named.. Speakeasy and Vlaanderen."

Celestia tilted her head slightly as she nodded again. "Good, I had hoped somepony would care to come. You are dismissed, Hurricane."

Hurricane bowed again, and about-faced smartly as he marched off. Celestia couldn't help but eye his rear...

_____

Luna was awoken by the gentle physical proding of her own magic, as her spell outside the tent was breached. She yawned, and found herself quite well rested by her quick nap- for now, anyway- as she reached for her armour and began to dress herself again. The gentle chatter of a few dozen ponies could be heard outside, and as of yet none had been brave enough to stick their heads into the tent.

When she strode out of it, so boldly and so quickly, they drew back almost in fear. She drew her sword and held it out, leveling it at the neck of the soldier nearest to her.

"Did you know this was my tent?" Luna asked.

He swallowed- which caused a small cut on his neck- and then grimaced as he answered. "Y-yes."

"Then why did you not attack these undead outside?"

He blinked. "I... I thought they were yours."

Luna sheathed her sword and laughed. "Thought they were mine? You thought I would require these... necrotic abominations to protect myself?"

His poker face was exceptional, Luna noted, as he stood there stone still. She drew her sword again, and this time pivoted around as she drew it out in a long arc that ended with it buried in the undead bandit to the left of her tent. With the weak magics holding it together pierced, it collapsed like a rag doll.

"Then you are both mistaken of how powerful I am, and to doubting of yourselves," she continued, and flicked the sword around as it slid out of that corpse, burying it in the other and allowing it to lay there for now as she pivoted back to the troop.

"When I am done with you, you will obey me even more than these creatures. My sister and I will be your will, and you will ensure that we may sleep peacefully under your watch."

She pulled her sword back out magically, and cleaned it against the grass.

"Or you will die."

"..you wouldn't," one of them- Luna wasn't sure who, piped up.

"I wouldn't?" Luna fumed, glancing over the group for the source. "You failed us, you have proven yourselves less worthy of my respect than these... things. These things did as I commanded them, they fulfilled their duty! You slept during your shifts, and allowed innocent lives to be ended under your watch. Each and all of your lives are forfeit, but I want more from your bodies than a simple execution. You are dead, all of you- you died two weeks ago!" she continued, and enjoyed the way their faced were downcast, staring towards the dirt. She did not allow this, and her magic gripped them all one by one and forced them to look up into her eyes.

"Yet I give you this chance to redeem yourselves! Follow me, do as I say, and push yourselves. Do not allow the pain of a dead body to slow you, and allow no thoughts of a death that has already come to scare you. Your sole purpose in this world, for as long as I will- is to kill for me."

She then released them, and grinned as their eyes continued to lay upon her.

"Am I clear?"

They opened their mouths as one being, and spoke quietly, a hushed sigh almost. "Yes, Luna," they stated simply.

Luna grinned. This, this was true power. These ponies very beings were putty for her to meld, and she would create an army of unquestionable loyalty. Equestria would be theirs, and any that got in the way... would meet her sword.

Comments

[Dragon of Shadows]

/your/

need to re-do your italics