Fictionationality - Equestria

by Spirit Guide

Time off to Teach and Tour

Using the princess’s letter as identification, Spirit and Fang passed through the gates and into the castle courtyard. Their presence was made known to Celestia before they set foot in the castle, if the princess and Raven’s emerging from the throne room was anything to judge by.

“Good morning, Spirit Guide. Good morning, Fang,” Celestia greeted as the towering doors closed behind her.

Fang scratched his head. “Bit late to call it that, no?”

Raven giggled, then quickly regained her composure. “I take it that you got her Highness’s message?” she asked.

“Yes, we did,” Spirit replied, holding up the letter. “Though the method of arrival has become something of an enigma to us.

“An Enigma we want to harvest before it becomes more firmly rooted in the boiling soil of disapproval,” Fang added with a hint of attitude.

Princess Celestia eyed the dragon quietly. “You’ll get your answers soon, Fang. I’ve cancelled all other meetings today, so you have me for as long as you need.”

Fang’s jaw slipped sideways so he pushed it back into place. “I just need an answer to this scroll-breathing business. Then you and Spirit can go spill otherworldly magic beans for each other, for the greater good."

Spirit and Celestia smiled good-naturedly, while Raven looked on, aghast. “Very well, then,” Princess Celestia said. “Raven, you’re dismissed. Why don’t you go get a drink from the kitchen?”

“I-I-I, um…” The white unicorn looked down, blushing. “Th-thank you, Your Highness.” Raven gave a quick nod to Spirit and Fang, then bustled down the hallway.

“She’s a very good secretary,” Celestia told the boys as she led them the other way. “Although she gets a little caught up in her work sometimes.”

“A loyalty of another kind,” Spirit gathered. “To the throne.”

“How do you sit on that thing anyway?” Fang asked the princess as they climbed the stairs to Celestia’s chamber.

“Comfortably.”

Celestia, Spirit and Fang entered the princess’s room and took up their positions as they did yesterday, the only difference being Luna’s absence, which a certain dragon found he needed to point out.

“Where’s Luna?”

“Last night, my sister had experienced a night like no other; at least, that’s what she told me as I came out to raise the sun. Because of whatever that happened, Luna explained she was going to rest so she would be bright and vigilant for the day.”

“And this is behavior Luna doesn’t normally exhibit?” Spirit inquired, believing he knew what experience was being touched on.

“I can’t say I recall anything like it,” Celestia replied thoughtfully. “Luna was always a bit reserved in the past. This excitement she's showing for the day is more than just a mood switch.”

“And it’s not because she’s the princess of the night and would have certain feelings toward daytime,” Fang put in.

Celestia gave a gentle smile. “No, it was never that. The aversion to day was her feelings of jealousy, and certainly not something that would lead to her wanting to be up after her night hours.”

“Maybe I could talk to her when she’s up,” Spirit offered. “I bet I could determine what’s gotten her so cheerful.”

Fang gave a fake cough. “I bet you’re the cause of it.”

“Be as that may.” Spirit turned to Celestia. “So what will it be, Princess? You’ve requested we come and come we have. What shall we do now that we’re together?”

“I’d originally planned to instruct you in magic,” Celestia said, “as I did for Twilight Sparkle. But perhaps there’s something else you would like to learn?”

Spirit shook his head, the sidelocks of his mane swinging. “No, I believe extra tutelage in the magic I now possess would be ideal.”

“Very well, then-“

“Oy, oy. Wait, wait wait wait wait wait.”

“Yes, Fang?”

Instead of a reply, a column of fire erupted in between Spirit and the princess, accompanied by a loud belch. “I would like an explanation for this morning’s letter and yesterday’s,” Fang insisted, his voice level but hard, “and I want it now, please.”

Celestia looked amusedly at Spirit, who made a simple gesture back to Fang. “If you wish it. Though I must ask, Fang, what do you mean by ‘yesterday’s letter’?”

Fang and Spirit exchanged looks. “We didn’t tell her,” the prophet said quietly. “All that talk yesterday about the Republic and our travels, and we didn’t tell the princesses about that letter.”

“Knuckleheads, the both of us.” Fang faced the princess. “That letter you sent to Twilight yesterday? It came through me.”

Celestia looked surprised at this. “This makes everything all the more interesting and clears up quite a bit,” she said.

“Yes, though we already knew we were knuckleheads. But as you were saying, Princess.”

“All right then. To comply with your request, Fang, I really can’t say how the spell I constructed is linked to your fire breath. I only ever used it to make a link between myself and Twilight through Spike’s fire. Unless you somehow possess the knowledge to reverse-engineer a spell, I’m afraid I won’t be able to satisfy you enough.”

Fang nodded respectfully all throughout Celestia’s explanation, listening for anything he could work with. “It must have been Spike’s ember,” Fang concluded at last, snapping his fingers. “Along with draconic life essence, it must have granted me the spell affixed to him.”

“Some of it may also be attributed to our previous actions in the crater,” Spirit added. “A copy of Spike’s essence, including the scroll sending spell, may have been transferred to you, along with the atomic blueprints for an Equestrian dragon.”

“Your observations are astonishing,” Celestia noted. “Whichever it may be, it seems the spell didn’t completely surface until recently. Somehow, Luna knew of its existence within Fang before I did, and I only revealed the nature of the spell to her the day we got your letter, Spirit.”

“Perhaps Luna took a gamble and, with the information garnered from what you told her, hypothesized that Fang would receive the letter, or she could have thought we would be with Spike and receive it anyway.”

Fang’s mouth slid to form a grim line. “Jolly gamble. Who knows what could have happened?”

“The Almighty,” Spirit replied at once.

“Rhetorical.”

“Either way. But Princess,” Spirit continued, addressing Celestia, “what does all this have to do with this morning’s letter?”

The white alicorn gestured to the door. “Luna informed me of her attempt at the spell last night, after I’d returned from seeing you to the tower. She gave me her opinions on the possibilities, just like you have now, and we came to the conclusion that whatever happened, the scroll sending spell within Fang was incomplete.”

“How incomplete are we talking here?” Fang asked.

“Judging by the vague, slightly torn note we got on our way here, most likely half,” Spirit guessed. “But it can’t be incomplete anymore, Princess; you sent the scroll this morning and it got through just fine. More so, we were able to answer back. If you got it, that is.”

“I did.” Princess Celestia activated her magic and retrieved a letter that Spirit recognized as the one he wrote earlier. “It is true that, prior to today, the spell was in an unfinished state when it was never even supposed to exist, and the letter I sent you today even exercised it enough to allow a reply. But something came up, also late yesterday, which helped support Luna’s opinion and clear things up.”

The princess pulled a thin-looking scroll out of the chest of drawers in her room. “Twilight sent this as I was returning to the castle. It was wrapped inside another letter, her own, expressing confusion towards a strange occurrence. It would seem that this letter here, of which there is only half, appeared before her and your friends just as you were leaving Ponyville.”

Spirit took the letter in his own levitation aura and opened it up. It was torn cleanly at the top end, and in the bottom right corner nestled an inked quarter moon. Spirit knew at once that this was the second half of the letter they’d received upon their departure from Ponyville.

Fang leaned over Spirit’s shoulder and looked at the half-letter. “I’ll hazard a guess and say that that moon is Luna’s signature.”

“Is it truly that obvious?”

“No point asking that question after a few thousand years of use, Princess.”

Celestia nodded. “Luna admitted that she had tried to send a message to you, Spirit, since we had already agreed on inviting you here. It was her attempt at a welcome, though it seems to have been only partly accepted.”

“And now it’s complete.” Spirit brought out the half of the letter they’d received on the ride to Canterlot. Holding both scraps of parchment, he slowly pushed them together and, using his magic, stuck them together into a seamless whole.

Fang rested his chin on a fist. “So now we know that it was Luna who was awaiting us. Twilight’s letter from last night confirms that mine and Spike’s firebreaths are somewhat connected which is what led to Luna’s letter getting torn apart. Since I had received all of your Highness’s invitation yesterday, you and Luna guessed—and correctly, too—that I would receive today’s letter in its entirety.” The green dragon took a deep breath.

“NOW WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT?”

This last question was bellowed loudly, Fang flapping to Celestia’s eye level and belting it out. The princess’s multicolored floating sparkling mane was swept up behind her head as the dragon’s voice blew the magic-imbued strands back. Celestia herself remained unmoving, watching Fang with her same, soft expression.

“Is that all?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Fang landed back on the floor and crossed his legs. “Now, the answer.”

Celestia levitated a cup from a tea cart to the side and took a sip. “That is really up to you, Fang. If you want, I could remove the spell from you and you will unlikely receive letters in that manner. But if you wish, I could reinforce the strengthening traces of the spell within you and we will then be able to send messages back and forth at will.”

“Never thought I’d be offered the chance to be a magical, fire-breathing telegram machine,” Fang commented. “Sounds like it could be useful. Spirit?”

The prophet had been observing silently, letting chastising of Fang’s behavior before the princess slide. “We would benefit highly from such a communications system, wouldn’t we Fang? With it, we could contact Princess Celestia should something come up and we need to tell her about it.”

“Twilight uses it to inform me of her discoveries on the magic of friendship,” Celestia said. “You could do the same, so to speak, as well as report to us any attacks by manifestations so that we might keep track of them.”

“It all sounds good and helpful,” Fang concluded. “Two things I like being.”

“Then you both agree on your choice?”

“Yes.”

“Mhm.”

“Then it’s settled.” Princess Celestia stood up. “Fang, later this day, I shall summon you so that the homing-teleportation spell can be properly imbued on you. From then on, any letter I direct at you will come out on your fire breath, and any message you wish to send back, you need simply to set it aflame and I will receive it.”

Fang inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. “Well, I got what I came for. Now what?”

“We’re going to undergo a deeper study of Equestrian magic,” Spirit reminded him. “I have all this power and a limited knowledge of it; I need to know.”

“Mmph, I hear ya. So, Highness, what can you tell us?”

“Perhaps it would be best if I started with a question.” Celestia indicated to a chalkboard beside the tea cart and Fang went to get it. “Do you know any magic at all?”

“You mean other than what Twilight taught me while in Ponyville?” Spirit inquired. “Fang and I are practiced in otherworldly magical arts.”

Princess Celestia stood on the left side of the chalkboard; Spirit and Fang took the right side. “Otherworldly magic?” the princess repeated curiously. “How many kinds of magic have you learned?”

“Well, if you say ‘magic’ as in energy that exists within any number of individuals, energy that can be controlled, we’re talking dozens.” Fang took up a piece of chalk and began to scribble on the board. “We’ve drawn upon inner strengths, tapped into inherited gifts and built with technological forces. We’ve combated against mythological powers, demonic and infernal energies, ancient superpowerful artifacts and reality-warping beings.

“Of them all, I estimate about half a dozen ‘pure’ types of magic; energy and power that are actually called ‘magic’. They all originate within different universes that we’ve traveled to and, as such, we’ve learned to use and fight against them all.

“Among those magicks, I’ve sorted them into two categories: incantation and willpower.

“It’s straightforward enough: incantation magic works by uttering preordained words that activate inner or surrounding magic to do your bidding; and willpower magic requires the wielder’s thoughts to weave the spell. Although many users of incantation magic can cast spells without saying anything, they remain separate in my mind.”

By now, the chalkboard was completely covered in statements and symbols, many of which made little sense to Princess Celestia but were completely understood by the two dimension jumpers. Spirit also noticed that Fang looked a little smug about Celestia’s ignorance on the subject. He felt that this was going to become a thing between his friend and the Sun Princess.

“So you’re wondering whether Equestrian magic is incantation or willpower,” Celestia said after a short examination of the board.

“I was going to get to that,” Fang admitted, flipping the chalk end over end and catching it hypnotically, “but I’m a fan of getting ahead.”

Celestia wrapped the chalkboard in her golden magic aura. All the facts and figures slid and collapsed to the right side of the board, leaving the left side blank. “To answer your question, Equestrian magic falls into your willpower category.” She drew three symbols on the board: a star, a bolt of lightning and a horseshoe. “All kinds of ponies are born with magic and channel it in different ways: unicorns use their horns to cast spells, pegasi have natural weather control and the magic of earth ponies flows through their bodies as strength and endurance.”

“What about the bat ponies?” Spirit asked. “Do they have magic?”

“Even they.” Celestia drew an eye with a slit pupil. “Bat pony magic grants them keen night vision and echolocation, which serves them well at night when they tend to operate.”

“I dig that. Night is a great time for doing things.”

“That’s pretty much the basics of Equestria magic,” Celestia finished. “Does that answer your question?”

“More than a bit.” Spirit looked up at his horn. “All in all, it’s incredibly similar to my old power source: an energy that I can call upon in accordance with my thoughts.”

Spirit closed his eyes and his horn glowed with power; ribbons of light spring free from the built-in implement on his forehead, flying around the room like beautifully plumed birds. The aura grew and surrounded Spirit, lifting him into the air. The magic held him suspended there and an even brighter flash of light emitted from his shoulders, shooting out two single glowing feathers.

In that single moment, all Spirit’s power seemed to wane. He slowly sunk back to the floor, the glowing lights all dimming and dispersing as their power source was cut off. Spirit opened his eyes and smiled contentedly. “Just like I remember.”

“You are far from being a novice, Spirit,” Celestia said, impressed by the display he had shown. “Such magical control in as new an individual as yourself is nothing short of amazing.”

“He had a great teacher,” Fang added, finishing the last line on the star he was drawing on the board.

“It’s true; Twilight taught me much in the little time we shared. I still wish we had more time to study magic together.”

“And I’m sure you will spend many days pouring over magic upon your return,” Celestia promised. “For now, though, you will simply have to make do with my presence in the learning.”

Fang snickered gleefully. “You say that like it’s so horrible.”

The princess gave a polite nod. “Each teacher’s presence feels different to the student; surely Spirit will realize who he feels more comfortable with.”

“As long as I am, in fact, learning, I can give little attention to the differences in my teachers,” Spirit assured. “The very best thing we can do is get right to it.”

“Heh, not me,” Fang declared, throwing the chalk back against the board, now covered in the most obscure of sketches. “You can prattle away about magic all you want; I am going to take a look around this finely-crafted rock block. See if I can find something worthy of my attention.”

Spirit shook his head and Celestia chuckled. “As you wish, Fang; mind you don’t get into any trouble.”

“If trouble finds me, it’ll be getting more than it bargained for.” And with that, Fang strode to the chamber door, tugged it open and disappeared down the hallway.

“He’ll be fine,” Spirit confirmed. Then he added, “As long as there aren’t any oversized creatures wandering the castle unguarded.”

“Why such specifications?” Celestia inquired, beginning to erase the chalk scribbles from the blackboard in preparation of the magic session ahead.

The prophet looked at the princess with a blank yet knowledgeable gaze. ”Reasons, I cannot give you at present, your Highness. Yet one thing I can guarantee is that sometime in the future, you will find out. I don’t know if it will after a few days, weeks or even months but, one way or another, the reasons shall make themselves known.”

Celestia raised her eyebrows at Spirit’s queer speech. “I look forward to that day, be it for good or bad.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Princess,” Spirit warned in a teasing manner. “But enough of these fruitless foresights; let’s learn some stuff.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Celestia said with a smile, using her magic to clear some space in her room as Spirit drew closer to the board. ”What spells has Twilight taught you since your arrival?”

“That’s an easy one; using her book, 'the Magic Instructor’, we went through things like levitation, basic transformation and elemental control. I advanced quickly through these, so fast that Twilight felt ready to teach me harder spells such as teleportation and offensive magical beams…”

*

Thus wore on the morning, the princess and the prophet learning and learning from each other. Two hours came and went but onward they worked and studied, drilling Spirit through more and more advanced magic in an attempt to make up for his lacking Equestrian education. After a brief lunch break, which included Spirit’s afternoon service, they decided to widen their studies to include other branches of Equestrian knowledge that, up until then, were unknown to the prophet.

Despite his otherworldly origins, Spirit worked hard to achieve the education of an average Equestrian citizen, and in some fields he even reached beyond average. Celestia was glad to be once again, personally instructing such a bright pony; Spirit was so much like Twilight, if not more astonishing.

When 3 o’clock in the afternoon passed them by, Celestia declared it to be enough for the day. “You have gained far more than I could have hoped in such a brief span of time,” she told the young prophet. “But stuffing you full of knowledge isn’t a key way to do it. You’re deserving of a break, but I hope we will be able to continue these learning sessions throughout your stay in Canterlot.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Spirit replied, beyond grateful for the attention Celestia was giving him; she must have been so busy yet she was giving so much of her time just for him. “I just hope that I’m not detracting from your services to Equestria.”

“If what you told Luna and I yesterday is true, this may very well be a service to Equestria.”

“Guess that’s checked off.” Spirit sat silently in thought while Celestia wiped the board clean of the many facts and theorems and phrases written on it. “What should I do now?”

“You have the rest of the day for yourself,” Celestia told him. “I’d suggest you rejoin with Fang and find out what he’s been up to.”

“That’s as good a place to start as any. Thank you for your time, Princess.”

Celestia laid a hoof over the stallion’s back. “Thank you, Spirit, for giving me another chance to directly impart my knowledge to another.”

“It’s always a pleasure to learn from a sage.”

After a few more parting words, Spirit departed from Celestia’s personal chambers. He wandered aimlessly through the castle halls, eyeing the décor and noting the differences and similarities the place bore to other castles he had visited. As he reached the bottom of the third right staircase, Spirit encountered Shining Armor and Storm Runner.

“Captain, Lieutenant!” he greeted, remembering to use their ranks as they were likely on duty.

“Hey, Spirit Guide,” Shining Armor replied; Storm Runner waved. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you around the castle.”

“Got a personal invite from Princess Celestia with the interest of tutoring me; it was time well spent.”

“I’ll bet. What are you doing now?”

“Nothing specific, just admiring the palace.”

Storm spoke up. “If you’re looking for your dragon friend, Fang, he’s down in the barracks.”

“Barracks? What's he doing there?”

Shining and Storm exchanged grins. “Why don’t we escort you there so you could see for yourself?”

“I’d be all right with that, as long as I’m not taking you away from any assignments you have.”

“We’re not on anything at the moment,” Storm Runner clarified.

“If that’s the case, gentlecolts, then lead the way.”

The two soldier stallions led Spirit down to the entrance hall, then through the right-side hallway that led to a room with several doors leading in different directions. Shining and Storm took the far right door which opened to a short, wide stairway. The trio took the stairs down to a chamber filled with ponies, both dressed in armor and undressed, all going about their normal routines.

“Welcome to the barracks,” Shining Armor declared.

Upon noticing the captain, many of the ponies greeted him respectfully and then returned to their business. Some gave Spirit odd looks, ones of suspicion that came from lack of understanding. This idea humored the prophet, as it was one he was inclined to wherever he went.

“So where is my companion?” Spirit asked his escorts.

“He’s in the inside training ground, the practice arena,” Storm Runner said, pointing to a pair of heavy wooden double doors further along.

The pegasus and the two unicorns walked to the indicated entrance. As they drew nearer, they began to hear sounds coming from inside the room beyond: heavy footsteps, the clash of steel and shouts the likes of which are only uttered in combat.

“I know what to expect in there,” Spirit informed the captain and the lieutenant, “but I think I’m going to enjoy this all the same.”

To this, Shining and Storm grinned in unison.

Grasping the door handles with his magic, Spirit heaved the doors open and walked into the training ground. It was pretty much like any military practice field he’d seen, with training dummies and targets set up for spear or bow practice. A set of huts with linked piping in their tops stood to one side, the glow within them revealing their use as the armory, which was further shown by the racks of weapons and suits of armor beside them.

But the most interesting sight, and the source of the noise, came from the center of the room. A good 30 by 30 feet of ground was surrounded by a low wall, upon which several ponies were leaning, all cheering for the action going on inside: three royals guards, an earth pony with a mace in his mouth, a pegasus gripping a large shield and a unicorn waving a spear, were getting their flanks whipped by a solitary opponent.

Fang.

The little dragon dominated the center of the arena, wearing simple hard leather armor and bearing two short swords. He chased after his opponents, leaping into the air to cut them off, and slapping them with the flat of his blades each time a target was in reach. The guards tried to gang up on him together, but Fang moved too fast.

Spirit, Shining and Storm joined the crowd against the wall as Fang swung his swords under the earth pony, forcing the guard to jump and carrying him into the wall. The pegasus did a loop and rushed at Fang, but the dragon performed a half-winged cartwheel in evasion, resulting in the pegasus joining her companion groaning against the brick surface.

But it seemed like the unicorn had waited for this moment. Dropping his spear, he reached with his magic and pulled a large broadsword from outside the arena. Spirit wondered briefly why ponies would make swords when most of them couldn’t hold one properly, but changed his thoughts instead to think on this final stretch of the battle.

Fang noticed the unicorn’s change of weapon and charged, smoke issuing from his nostrils as he chuckled. The pony brought his sword down in a clumsy, overhead swing, but Fang locked the blade in place with his own swords in a scissor movement. They stood there for a moment, then Fang heaved upwards and forced the heavy broadsword up and over his foe’s head, knocking the pony off balance as he tried to keep his grip on the blade.

WHAM

The unicorn went flying into the opposite wall from Fang’s body slam, the sword clattering on the ground where he had stood. Fang marched over to fallen guard and planted one clawed foot over the pony’s heaving chest. He looked around at the breath-taken crowd who had been watching the battle and inhaled.

“Victory is a dish best served…. by me.”

The ponies erupted into wild cheers and Fang blew a ball of fire into the air. His opponents got on their hooves, approached him and commended him on his victory before gathering their equipment and leaving the arena. As the crowd dispersed and returned to their tasks, Fang went over to the prophet.

“Hey, Spirit.”

“That was one heck of a fight you put up in there, Fang,” Shining Armor said.

“It was insane!” Storm cheered. “The way you sent them all sprawling like you did.”

“He is one of the Republic’s top warriors,” Spirit remarked. “It’s completely within his abilities.”

“Aw, quit with the compliments, guys. You’ll make me blush puke yellah.”

The stallions just looked on. Fang continued. “So how did your studyXstudy go with the princess, Spirit?”

“Fantastically. We broached much and covered much, but there is still a lot more left to learn as well as teach.”

“I guess we’ll be staying in Canterlot for those few weeks in full. Whenever you go off to hit the books with Celestia, I’ll offer my sword arm to the royal guard members in practice. They’re in need of a challenge and it’s good for me to stay in combat shape.”

“Then our schedule is mostly set.”

“Yeah, but here comes the question.” Fang whipped around to face Shining Armor and Storm Runner. “Where’s Silver Shade?”

The captain tilted his head back toward the barracks main room. “Through the doors back there is the night guard sector of the barracks,” he explained. “The bat ponies of the night guard tend to sleep through the day, to better save their energy for their shift, but some of them are up at this time. Your friend may be, too.”

“Then that’s our next stop.”

They left the arena and headed for the opposing double doors. Storm parted with the group at the stairs, saying he had drilling to do, so Spirit, Fang and Shining proceeded to the doors while the pegasus lieutenant zoomed up the stairs and out of the barracks.

“I don’t know how you’ll feel about the bat ponies when you see them here,” Shining muttered, putting a hoof on the iron handle. “They’re not as warm to the rest of the guards as they are among themselves. Sometimes I think they only listen to me because I’m the captain.”

“We’ve seen some-powerful deities, monsters made out of input, giant extraterrestrials, demons and crossbreeds. Seeing part-bat equines in their natural crib won’t even curl my toes.” At this, Fang leaned back on his heels and curled his foot talons.

“If you say so.” Shining Armor slowly eased the doors open, allowing himself, Fang and Spirit to enter before quietly closing the doors behind them.

The room beyond the doors was like a huge aviary, round and tall with thick logs and planks stretching from wall to wall. From these wooden perched hung shadowy figures, made indistinct by the dimness of the room. Occasionally, a dark-haired head or a leathery wing would pop out from the upside-down figures before rejoining the hanging mass. Spirit and Fang stepped quietly to the middle of the room and looked around in awe.

“It’s like a giant bats’ cave,” Fang whispered, turning around and around while looking up. “With really big bats.”

“Are these all bat ponies?” Spirit asked Shining Armor.

The captain nodded. “This is where most of them spend the day, usually sleeping. Few bat ponies are on duty during daylight hours, except for Princes Luna’s chamber guards and entourage. When night comes and most of the day guards are dismissed, myself included, the bat ponies emerge to take our place during the dark hours. It’s a system with almost no flaws.”

“Almost?” Fang inquired.

“I’m afraid so.” Shining lowered his voice. “There’s a bit of tension going on between the day and night guards. My ponies have been wary of the bat ponies ever since they returned to the castle to resume their duty as the night guard.”

“The bat ponies left the castle originally when Luna—or Nightmare Moon—was banished,” Spirit said, remembering Celestia’s history teachings. “When did they come back?”

“Just as they left. After Twily and her friends changed Luna back and she returned to the castle, the bat ponies appeared the following night inside this very room, silent as a shadow.” Shining gestured around the room. “They’d even dusted the place, leaving every corner spotless, as their absence left no reason to care for the room and a great deal of cobwebs and dust bunnies had roomed in their place.”

“And the guards disapprove of their sudden return?”

“As far as I can tell. While nopony likes to admit it, I've gotten implications of suspicion from the guards; even Storm has some, though that may just be peer pressure. But there’s nothing we can do. The bat ponies are a part of the royal guard and a necessity to our prime objective: keeping the princesses and Canterlot safe.”

Spirit stood silently while Fang paced around the room, his gaze directed upwards. “That’s quite a predicament,” the prophet said. “With how things are the way you described, the guard could potentially fall apart at a moment’s notice.”

“I know,” Shining Armor sighed. “It gnaws on me day after day. All I want is for our two units to work together in harmony as a single, super-horsepower pony army.”

“That’ll be a praiseworthy trick,” Fang commented absently from the side. “And speaking of tricks, Spirit, come and look at this.”

Spirit and Shining quietly joined Fang and looked up. Hanging from one of the lower-wedged beams was a dark shape, different from the others. At a glance, the figure looked inconsistent; the edges of its body shifting and poofing back and forth like clouds. As the trio neared, a silver eye appeared on the lower part of the figure, its head, and examined the ponies and the dragon below.

“Hey, guys.”

In a twist of blackness, the figure dropped down beside Spirit and the others. Two swaths of darkness flapped out, revealing Silver Shade. But how different he looked: his ears had grown tufts of fluff-like smoke, and the shape of his wings had a clearer Chiroptera design.

“Good morning to you, Silver,” Spirit greeted.

“Morning?” Silver frowned. “I woke up early.”

“Only if you’re nocturnal,” Fang said. “Your body seems to think so; you look like a bat pony."

“I guess I am a bit of that, since I’m hanging with these guys now.” Silver spread his wings up at the bat ponies. “Though I’m sure I’ll never lose my structural features.”

“You mean not having to eat and sleep to replenish your energy.”

Silver nodded. “Ever since I met you, Spirit, I’ve found myself becoming inclined to needs of the flesh, which include keeping the body in peak condition through consumption and rest. It's strange, having to keep myself in a solid form for long periods of time, but I'm beginning yo feel stronger than ever before.”

Spirit put a hoof around the manifestation’s shoulder “As long as you’re okay, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Spirit. I owe what little I have to you.”

Shining Armor drew near and looked closely at Silver. “Excuse me if this sounds rude, but what kind of pony are you?”

“He’s a manifestation, Shining,” Fang explained. “His kind are born of the sins committed by other creatures. Their only instinct is to cause as much chaos and destruction across the worlds as they can, particularly where Spirit and I get involved.”

“Somehow, Silver managed to ignore his kind’s natural urge to wreck and rage, and has been living with us and Twilight since we found him,” Spirit continued. “When we came to Canterlot, he asked if he could hang with the bat ponies during our stay.”

“And here I am,” Silver finished brightly.

“I have to admit, you did give me a start when I first saw you,” Shining confessed, earning a frown from Silver, “but I’ve managed to learn that looks don’t make a pony what he is. As long as we’re fighting on the same front, we’ll get along just fine.”

Silver grinned. “Thank you, captain.”

“If you don’t mind, would you please take your conversation outside?”

A voice came from above, as they were all expecting it to. The closest hanging figure spread its wings, revealing the upside-down form of dark cornflower-blue bat pony Echo Barrage, captain of the night guard. His hooves were just touching the beam he hung from, with nothing else visibly holding him where he hung.

That must be an extension of bat pony magic: being able to hang using their hooves.

“We get only so much rest during daylight hours,” Echo went on, his voice flat. “The other ponies make an awful lot of noise, and my troops do a lot of complaining in response.”

“I’m sorry about that, Echo,” Shining apologized, trying to be friendly. “Stealth isn’t exactly what we’re trained for.”

“No, I suppose it’s not.” Echo fell from the beam and landed beside the guy group. “Can’t be helped.”

Fang looked back and forth between the two high-ranking ponies. “So the two captains meet face-to-face. What have you got to say for yourselves?”

Shining just looked at the dragon. “There’s nothing between us, Fang,” he said. “Echo and I get along fine. It’s our men who aren’t getting along.”

“The bat ponies keep telling me how the main guard are always giving them suspicious looks, like they’re not trustworthy,” Silver put in. “I’ll bet the other guards say something similar about the bat ponies.”

“You’re dead-on, Silver. There hasn’t been one week where Storm hasn’t brought in at least one complaint or rumor from a soldier.”

Echo looked at Spirit and Fang. “This is why we work in different shifts; not because of the unicorn, earth and pegasus guards being used to day and the bat ponies better suited for the night. The two just don’t get along. Until they get over their dislike for each other, they will never work as a cohesive whole.”

“That sucks,” Fang stated.

“It’s saddening,” Spirit remarked, shaking his head. “Both units are vital to the protection of the castle and the princesses, at all times. If they can’t get along with the other ponies who share the job, they’re not completing their task.”

“Spoken like a true posek.”

“Isn’t there anything you can do to help the troops bond?”

“We’ve tried everything we could think of, Spirit,” Shining affirmed. “We gave speeches, held friendly competitions, even organized missions consisting of members from both guards. Nothing we do is helping the day and night guards like each other.”

“Competitions, I can understand,” Fang said, “but how did speeches fail? Talking always saves the day.”

“Maybe we should just leave,” Echo said quietly, closing his slit-pupil eyes. “We can return to the mountainous regions, protect the nearby settlements as we have during Nightmare Moon’s banishment.”

“No, don’t say things like that,” Shining Armor insisted, putting a hoof against the bat pony’s chest. “You’re here now, as you should have been all those years, and now that Luna’s back you’re going to stay, regardless of what the guard thinks.”

“But what the guard thinks is exactly the issue. It’s detracting from the quality of the troops and I’m not willing to endanger the princesses just for petty sentiment.”

“Blast sentiment! You make up for whatever lack of fight there is in my ponies. Not one of them has the skill or training for night duties as you, not even me!”

Spirit watched the two captains bring their arguments, shooting whacky ideas at each other. “Is it really as bad as they’re treating it?” he whispered to Silver.

“I did some snooping,” the manifestation confessed. “Sorry, old evil habits. But the bat ponies really are considering leaving the castle. It’s causing them too much trouble and thinking of what the main guard thinks of them is distracting for most.”

“We got an inside look at the day guard’s feelings too,” Fang replied. “And with the lieutenant right there with them, too.”

“What we need is a plan,” Spirit stated, his eyes leaping back and forth as he strived for a solution. “Something that would require all the guards to work together and to accept one another. Something like…. Ugh, I was never good at this.”

“Like a manifestation?” Fang offered.

Silver raised a hoof. “Present.”

“You’re both being silly now.”

“No.” Fang grabbed Spirit’s head, turned and pointed. “Man-i-fest-ation.”

Spirit followed the dragon’s finger out the window and into the courtyard. The castle wall had been breached and a solid shadow was spilling through the crack into the courtyard. Armored ponies on the wall shouted and attacked, but it was clear that nothing was working. A siren sounded a moment later, and hundreds of wings spread and flapped as the sleeping bat ponies were aroused from their rest, all of them leaping from the rafters, donning their armor and grabbing their weapons.

Shining and Echo stopped their loud discussion and joined Spirit, Fang and Silver at the window. “What is that?” Echo blurted out, staring wide-eyed at the spreading inky creature.

“Manifestation,” Fang said again.

“It looks nothing like Silver,” was all Shining could say.

“That’s because it is nothing like Silver,” Spirit explained. “That thing down there is a typical manifestation, with no compassion for living creatures or the land they inhabit. If it could, it would tear down the city and detach it from the mountainside.”

“Not-so typical; It’s a lot bigger than normal,” Fang noted, crossing his arms on the windowsill and resting his chin on it. “Must be a conglomeration, like the parasprites.”

“Captain!”

The four ponies and the dragon spun around at the unintentionally unified addressing. Standing before them were an earth and a bat pony, both looking equally surprised at their timing. “Captain,” the bat pony said, mostly to Echo Barrage, “the shadow monster is approaching the castle.”

“What do we do, captain?” the earth pony asked Shining Armor.

Shining and Echo looked over at the interdimensional trio. “We have no experience with fighting manifestations,” he said, self-disappointment evident in his voice. “Only you have the knowledge on how to fight them. Will you lead the ponies of the royal guard into battle?”

Spirit shared a look with Fang and Silver. Silent consent was immediate and they all nodded together. "With our strength, strategy and intel, we shall lead you to victory this day,” the three of them announced.

KEEEEEEEEEEERAAAAAAAAAH

“And that leading business begins now,” Fang said, leaping onto the window. “See you on the field.”

“Come on, this way!” Echo ordered as the dragon tipped himself out. The rest of the guards ran out of the tower and along a new corridor. “This leads right out into the courtyard; it was built by our predecessors for such times.”

“Useful,” Spirit commented as they all galloped along to the battle on the royal doorstep.