Moon Unit Zappa

by RarityEQM

The Errant

There was a brisk chill in the morning air as Bright Spark marched along the path through White Tail Woods. Next to him, trudging along was Full Plate, who was silent and gruff as always. The older brown stallion paraded stiffly along the small dirt path and kept his eyes locked on the road ahead.

Bright Spark wasn't exactly a fresh face recruit. Oh, no, the honey colored unicorn had a few months of solid guarding work under his belt, but this was the most action he'd seen since he had graduated. A fairly simple mission; retrieve the 'Servant of Shadow' but it was one that had him thrilled to finally see something other than the humdrum walls of the castle. Not to mention an getting to see an actual Servant of Shadow! He'd heard rumors of them; how they'd prowl the castle late at night, doing missions for Luna in relative secrecy. Now he would get to chat up some sort of special operations pony that Celestia wanted to hold an audience with. Why they just didn't send a missive was beyond him, but he relished the exercise and appreciated the trip from Canterlot into town

Full Plate, however, did not seem so thrilled. Since he'd received the assignment from Princess Celestia, he'd been stone-faced and aloof. Normally he was cordial or at least showed more warmth than he did now, but he stoically walked along the path as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

"There," Full Plate grumbled, pointing a hoof towards a lone looking cabin near a grove of trees. The old earth pony stared quietly at the house, while Bright Spark did the same. He gave his bright, sunny bangs a gentle flutter and frowned when Full Plate didn't move.

"What? What is it? You've been acting like you cut your tongue on a salt lick," Bright Spark groaned. Full Plate stiffened and turned his gaze on the inpatient guard peering at him for a moment longer before he shook his head with a harrowing snort.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. Princess Celestia does not send for Servants of Shadow," He explained, slowing his stroll towards the house looming in the distance. Bright Spark frowned in confusion. Something was beginning to prickle under his fur at the way Full Plate had uttered the cryptic remark.

"Then what are we doin' out here? What is this a joke or somethin?" He asked. He gave an annoyed snort at the idea of wasting this time in the morning on a pointless errand. He appreciated the exercise and sunlight, but he was hoping for something more exciting than a playing messenger. Full Plate shook his head grimly in return and sat back on his haunches, gazing at the house.

"No. Princess Celestia does not send for the Night Court. She has the Sun Court to run her affairs. They see to Celestia's needs. To summon the Night Court is..." Full Plate paused and drew in a breath and holding it as if choosing his next words carefully. Bright Spark didn't need to hear the rest of it, though. Already he was beginning to feel a foreboding as they drew closer and closer to the house. Celestia had no need for the Night Court. Why were they being sent to retrieve one of them? Why send an escort? Bright Spark frowned further, feeling the base of his horn beginning to throb with an oncoming headache. He was getting a bad feeling. They were told to bring back the Night Court member, but the reason why was above their pay grade. That didn't sit well and now that the concept clutched at his mind he began to feel nervous. He shot a glance at Full Plate.

Before he could press the matter further, Full Plate had risen from his spot and started towards the house again. Bright Spark followed suit and soon found himself standing in front of a large oak door that seemed to belong to a regular house. This hardly seemed like the place one might find one of the so-called 'Servants of Shadow.' Where was the mystique? Where were the attack dogs or the training equipment? It was just a boring, ordinary house. Full Plate lifted a hoof and rapped four loud knocks that echoed in the still morning air. The noise drew with it a silence that bounced across the forest. Woodland creatures stopped what they were doing and listened as four loud bangs rang out into the air once again. Nothing happened. Bright Spark was about the suggest to Full Plate that no pony was home when the door slowly creaked open and a large, sleepy pair of blue eyes glared up at them.

A small silver colored filly stood behind the partially open door. She'd opened it just a crack as if to keep as much sunlight out as possible. Slowly, Bright Spark noticed the house had its blinds drawn. It hadn't caught his attention before, but it seemed as if every window was shut and every curtain had been drawn as tightly as possible. The little girl peering out at them looked like she was maybe nine or ten, and had a stock of shockingly blue hair bursting from her scalp. She gave a lazy yawn and pressed her face up against the door, eyeing the two guards warily.

"Yeah? Whadda want?" a squeaky and moderately grumpy voice asked from behind the door. Full Plate gestured towards Bright Spark and himself and cleared his throat.

"Princess Celestia requests an immediate audience with the Errant of the Night," He said flatly. The girl stared for a moment. Two moments. The silence had gone well past uncomfortable and Bright Spark glanced over Full Plate. He stood rigid and tense as if the lingering silence hadn't been driving him insane while he waited for the girl's response. She sighed. The door slammed shut and the sound of a bolt-lock echoed through the wooden frame. It swung open a few moments later, revealing a tiny filly with a mean looking disposition. She gave a frustrated little snort and rubbed an eye with the back of her foreleg.

"I need five minutes, and a bowl of cheerios," She mumbled. Bright Spark tossed another glance at the older stallion before peering around the house. A few couches, a fireplace. An upstairs, a kitchen. It didn't seem like the hideout of some sort of special agent shrouded in shadows. Speaking of which, the girl in front of them had scurried off to the kitchen and was preparing an extremely hasty breakfast.

"Soooo...that's her? She's who we're here to get?" Bright Spark asked incredulously. Full Plate didn't move, save for the barest hint of a nod. At that, Bright Spark frowned. There was no way the girl could even be close to meet regulations for a regular castle guard, so how in the wide realm of Equestria did this foal manage to become a Servant of Shadow? She didn't look like much at all. Only a few hints of muscle under a scrappy, wiry frame. What's more, the girl had a coat pattern he'd never seen before. The shocking silver was offset by an inky tone of black that covered her muzzle, ear-tips, wing tips, neck and cannons. At first, he thought it was her natural coloring...but, no, there was something off about it. No matter, the girl was barely out of foal-hood. A joke of some kind, surely, Fullplate was teasing him. This was not the fabled Servant of Shadow he was sent to retrieve. It simply couldn't be!

"Horse apples, there's no way that's who we're here for, she's just a stupid kid," Bright Spark whispered, eyeing the girl in the kitchen as she greedily slurped at a bowl of cereal. She immediately looked up at him and scowled.

"Smarter than you. " She snapped viciously, glaring daggers at Bright Spark who raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"She has extremely good hearing." Full Plate helpfully added, clapping Bright Spark on the shoulder before turning to leave.

Comments

[ilubatar nuctemeron]

Jajajaja xd nice!!!!
And poor Bright Spark.