CH 81 Night Watch
Luna’s moon shone her silver light down from the heavens. From that vaunted vantage point, the world was a distant and fragile thing.
No Blighted crawled or scurried over the burnt wastelands below. If Night could be believed, then their tactics would be simple to predict. Some would have fled as soon as the conflict had turned against them, and others would have taken to the deepest, darkest place to wait for vigilance to fade. They would bide their time until they could restart this tragedy.
Will our folly haunt this world forever? Many events played through the Night Princess’s mind. So many things happened during her banishment that could have been her doing and many from before it.
A name floated to the surfaces of her thoughts. Moonlit Scroll, the pony responsible for the death of the destined element of magic, the single pony that evaded her every effort at detection, Are his actions my fault?.
His mark would have left him open to her magic, and his place in Celestia’s school had him perfectly placed to poison so many young minds.
Two more names perched in her mind, their metaphysical wings spread, ready for attention. The more she let the thought play around, the more it made sense. In the grand game of Alicorns, they were just simple moves. In reality, they were the original Twilight Sparkle’s death and Sunset Shimmer’s turn against Celestia.
If they are mine... what were our designs? Her heavenly vision searched the world below, but still, as she knew he would, her prey eluded her.
With only a flick of a mental wing, her view narrowed as she focused on the deck of her Stormship. Most would find it odd to view oneself from an external viewpoint, and she was not most. Her wings flexed and moved slowly, going through the motions of painting.
A blink and her vision turned inside out. No longer was she gazing down from on high. Instead, she now looked up into the beauty of her night sky in all its umbral glory. Her thestrals flew on quiet wings and kept the night safe for the revellers in the keep below.
For countless time, she wondered if a simple spell to let others see the Night as she did would have been all that was needed to have gained her everything she had craved.
Luna turned her mind to the painting she would never paint. It was a beautiful image, the sort of thing she had painted so very, many years ago. The toned lines of muscles under a lavender coat, the pattern of blood, the hunter’s focus in those magenta eyes, oh, how she wished she had been there instead of merely experiencing it from the dreams of others.
Her mind drifted back to her daughter’s dream. Unlike most ponies’ Little Star’s dream self matched her true self perfectly. Those clear magenta eyes still shone with innocence. How could thou remain untroubled after what you saw, daughter?
Her dream actor was still there teaching her, instructing her how to craft with hydra bone. It was a touching moment, a bonding moment. If she could make fragments, she could be there. A part of her could be giving her full attention to her daughter and not some simple programmed spell. Once more, that cold rage tried to stir in Luna’s heart, and this time she let it flow through her. She had no choice. Any resistance, any internal strife and another fragment would pay, would burn in solar fire all because of what her sister had done.
Her magic wrapped around her and held the air still. It was the only thing that kept the sound from shattering the mountain as she screamed. She screamed, cried, raged and promised in the oldest of tongues to the dark of the night that things would be made right.
Breath came in, breath went out, each one colder than the last. Inside her little bubble of control was a winter blizzard far more frigid than anything the frozen north could ever claim.
Long minutes passed and turned into an hour before Luna felt calm enough to drop her magic. When she released, the trapped, frozen air fog rolled away from her, spilling from the deck of the stormship like a slow-motion waterfall. It was yet another moment that would make a beautiful painting. “Too much to do,” she sighed.
She let her senses slip into her daughter’s dream again and felt the smile on her muzzle. Little Star carved into the hydra bone with a narrow black beam, shaping it into something for her owl golem.
Applebloom ran around Sweet Apple Acres, fending off blighted while rushing to finish her everyday choirs. Luna reached for her power, ready to end the nightmare. Another blighted erupted from the ground, only to be defeated with a single buck. Then Applebloom just sighed with boredom before trotting back to her tasks.No.. this is no nightmare.
Sweetie Belle’s dream opened into a ballroom of crystal. There, she half-danced and half-fenced with Little Star, each singing a song with no words. They both swirled around each other. Wooden owls played implausible string instruments as the crystal chandeliers vibrated, and their melody rang like glass bells around a familiar four-beat pattern.
With a smile, Luna moved on to Scootaloo’s dream. With a blur of motion and wings, Scootaloo fought Metor Crash through a sky that rained cookies. The minds of the young...
Meteor Crash’s dream was ordered darkness and a moonlit Canterlot skyline, and his dream form still clung to his former stature. He turned and bowed low. “My Sovereign.”
Luna stepped into the dream, “My chosen, thine alertness pleases us.”
He rose with pride in his eyes. “How may I serve you?”
She walked closer and lowered her head to be at his eye level. “Tell me of mine daughter and thine new companions. How do they fair?”
“Militarily, your daughter has equipped and trained them to a standard I would have called you a liar if you said ponies so young could match. From ambush, with a plan, they could even land a blow on you.”
Luna paused. Meteor Crash was known for his rash actions and collateral damage but not for Striker’s boasting. She nodded. “High praise indeed.”
“They have spirit, I had to console them occasionally, but they are tough fillies.” His muzzle scrunched slightly, and his ears flicked. “A week ago, I would have been asking for you to tend to Scootaloos dreams... but now.”
“These young ones seem supremely unbothered by what they have endured,” Luna said with a leading tone.
“Yeah... I noticed that too. It’s Little Star... I think she is spiking the cookies she gives us.”
“Hmm.” My Little Star is still an untarnished soul. What is she up to? “Would you acquire a sample for us?”
He nodded. “Your will be done.”
“Remember, my chosen, your first duty is to my daughter, and your second is to us.”
“Then, if it does not conflict, you shall have your sample.”
A warm smile and an embrace were his rewards. “I look forward to when you become family.”
“What?”
Luna kept her laughter to herself as she departed his dream. They were going to make a fairy tale herd. She sighed and let the warm smile fade from her. There were less pleasant things to be done.
From a quick browse through the rest of the dream realm, nothing lept out as an emergency, so she turned her attention to her endless responsibilities.
She closed her eyes, and her perceptions shifted. Sweetgrass and night-blooming flowers supplanted the lingering scent of ash. The Moonlight’s enchanted glade was still a vision of the true beauty of the Night.
“My Sovereign.” The shadow said before it resolved into Moonlight herself. The remade mare bowed, but it was shallow and brief. The slit eyes that looked into Luna’s own did a valiant job of hiding the fear that caused Moonlight’s heart to race, and her leg twitched as no doubt her hoof sought to reach for her throat.
“Be at peace, my Chosen,” Luna commanded. Moonlight’s tense muscles settled, and her eyes softened from iron determination to a warm welcome. It was heartening, and it was good that was all it took to help her recover from her liberation. “How do your investigations proceed?”
Moonlight flicked her horn towards the central map table. Past a stack of empty plates and coffee cups, the depiction of the continent was covered with little flags, pins, strings and small glowing orbs. “There’s a stack of reports to read if you want.” She nodded to a literal mountain of scrolls. Moonlight trotted up to the table and stomped a hoof, and the dream construct rippled. All the mess and clutter vanished from the table. “Here and here, we have some looting. There is at least one armed group that is not playing nice and is taking advantage of the situation to loot abandoned and lost settlements.”
“Their goals?”
“Gather wealth for when things settle down. They are efficient and don’t think they leave witnesses.”
“Any advantage in allowing them to continue?”
“None I can see, they don’t seem to have any cultist links, nor are they taking anything odd.”
“Your recommendation?”
Moonlight hesitated for two heartbeats. “My training tells me they should be arrested.”
“Is that your recommendation?”
“Only if they can be restrained in a way that takes no resources. We have limited food and don’t have the spare pony power to keep such a dangerous group contained.”
Luna nodded, “Then issue the needed orders.”
Moonlight nodded back and reached for a scroll. With a few quick motions with a quill, it was done. She pushed the order under the table when a shadowy tendril claimed it.
“Is there anything else to be aware of?”
“Two issues. The first is that Princess Celestia is... doing something to convert convicts into loyal guards and ordering them to outlying posts.”
“I am aware, the second?”
“We have cases where confirmed dead ponies are being seen again.”
“Would that be around the villages under changeling control?”
“Yes.”
“Worry not about that. We shall drop by on our way back to Canterlot.”
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Oh... Luna is VERY upset with Celestia. Just waiting for the right moment to pay her back in full.
Little Star giving them Crack Cookies to keep them happy... Seems like something she would do. Too innocent at times. Too world wise at others.
Looters... Can't spare resources to keep them in jail. Kill them instead. Cold equations.
Ah yes, such uncoerced loyalty, truly an inspiration to behold.
New chapter!!
Nice!! Now lets read this a SECOND TIME , this time NOT on the toilet!
11565877
The sad part is that Luna (and all the alicorns, really) feel this is perfectly fine behavior an how it should be. Sigh.
Luna should also be livid that Twilight MADE THEIR FOAL WATCH THAT instead of being horny for a murderscene
11566336
Realistcally EVERYBODY in this Story needs Therapy, NONE of the Princesses are fit to rule over a country !
An unusual property of superconductors is the instant transfer of any temperature change. They need to put one end in a distant ocean trench and the other in Luna's bastion. The result will be months of fish soup and an inconspicuous drain on Celestia's reservoir of magic.
11565787
Very upset, yes, but she still loves her. Hence this is hard for her.
Little Star follows all the rules she has been told. She has even written them down and everything. Clearly, nothing can go wrong here now.
If only Twilight were there, they could be turned into plants or something. That would be kinder, right? Plant them somewhere with light and enough water, and they will be fine, right?
11565877
Luna gave her the option to move on to her afterlife or become her Chosen. With that decision made, she is Luna's to do with as she pleases. Luna does honours and respects all that serve her. In this case Luna was only wanting to help Moonlight be calm.
As far as Luna knows Following one's talent is one of the most satisfying thing a pony can do. Luna is letting Moonlight use her talent and fully supports her only like what happened when she was on the Solar side of things. She trust her enough to put her in charge of intelligence operations with the authority to issue orders to the rest of the Nightguard.
The fact that Moonlight as strong willed as she is only needed a little push of power into Luna's words to calm to Luna means that she is well on the way to getting over everything that happened to her.
11565899
Thank you.
11566336
I thought the Princess of Love was sane, an using it to stop foals being traumatised by something they should not have seen did not seem wrong to me... Thoughts?
11566373
If she was normal yes. Luna was conditioned to not just be ok with bloodshed and death, but to crave it. When the Princess of Love finds out ... Well I don't think she is going to be very happy at all.
11566950
What about Cadance? Is the Princess of love not acceptable? If not, may I ask why not? (also what about Little Star? she would be a good ruler right?)
11567028
That's an epic idea
11567258
Yes, that could be argued as being reasonable (ignoring the point that the ponies in question were watching other ponies beat the hell out of each other for fun/love). However, we really haven't seen much of Cadance through the story, but I'm figuring that when she comes into the story, she'll have her own level of insanity. Especially since her bastion *IS* the entire Crystal Empire. It's hard for me NOT to expect her to do something with that that seems "insane" to me.
11567258
cadance is the best out of alll the princesses , but she still messed with the cmcs memorys....now you can make an argument for why that was fine, but if that is fine, where is the line? how do you define that Line where if you cross it its suddenly NO LONGER fine to mess with somebodys memorys?
everybody believes they are doing the things they are doing for good reasons, nobody sais : yeah lol lets become evil!
Cadance probably IS going to cross some lines in the future!!
for little star....I mean it was in the latest chapter...SHE DRUGS PEOPLE WITH COOKIES.... well intentioned or not thats not something you should do!!
and to your statement : luna was raised this way.....that doesnt mean its OK
11567326
About Little Star: Does she know that is what she is doing? Does she have any reason to think helping others is bad?
About Luna: I know it does not make it ok, but it does mean she thinks it is ok...
11567294
Well the next chapter is from her POV so you will have to let me know then. I will be interested to see what you think then.
11565787
Close to something I believe should happen in real life. Get caught red handed looting(with good evidence not just a witness story that could be bought)... loose a hand. If you had already lost both hands... you loose your life. Three strikes your out.
That was a good chapter.
Please keep up the wonderful work.