Sometimes, ponies say to keep friends close, and your enemies closer. But, what if that enemy is an old friend of yours? For Night Shadow, he's about to find out.
Sometimes, ponies say to keep friends close, and your enemies closer.
But, what if that enemy is an old friend of yours? For Night Shadow, he's about to find out.
This is a side-story to The Veins Run Deep, not a sequel, however it does take place in between the events of Deep and Deeper. Familiarization to The Veins Run Deep is not required, but suggested. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
The warm sun gleamed brightly in the sky over the spectacular capital city of Canterlot one late summer morning. Many of its citizens made their way onto the streets to begin their day, some to clean up some of the remnants of the recent Royal Wedding, which at first was going very awry, but ended up working out at the end. The Royal Guard remained on high alert subsequently after the event, and many of its soldiers were even surprised they lost ground that quickly. Even more so, a cluster of the ponies had resigned from the Royal Guard the day after.
At the Canterlot Palace, the day was just beginning for a dark grey pegasus. He rose from his bed, pushing the dark blue Lunar Guard covers off of him and yawning softly. His thick purple mane sat messily on his head from the long night of sleep, easily fixable with a few strokes of a comb.
The pony hopped out of bed, his hooves making faint clops on the polished hardwood floors of his quarters, then stretched his wings until they cracked. He let out a slight groan of pleasure, and stood up tall, folding his wings to his sides and trotting to the wooden door leading out into the castle halls.
Beside the door sat a small black metal mailbox, which also connected to the outside and made for easier checking. He opened the flap, picking up three white envelopes and a red one, which didn't immediately catch his attention.
He opened his wings, floating over to the fine wooden desk he had placed against the same wall as his bed, placed towards the door and below hanging swords underneath a silver shield. The stallion set three of the envelopes down, keeping one in his hoof and neatly opening it.
The pony's eyes were half open, a sign he was still tired and quite frankly overwhelmed by the blazing light of the sun as it pierced through the near ceiling-high windows to his left. Soon, he grew used to the light and opened his bright golden eyes, pulling the folded piece of paper out of the envelope and unfolding it out, then reading it line by line. It was a report given by one of the guards under his command, stating that that pony's shift saw no unusual activity.
He folded the paper again, then stuck it back inside the open envelope and setting it to the side, and picked up another envelope addressed to him. Once again, another report by a different guard with the same results.
When he moved to grab the next letter, it caught his eye that the envelope was red, meaning it was urgent. The pony quickly picked it up, then ripped it open and pulled the letter out.
Dear Captain Night Shadow,
Your presence is required at this afternoon's meeting in the throne room. Come in armor to meet with me, Princess Luna, my sister, Captain Shining Armor, and Captain Fallen Star of both the Royal Guard and the Lunar Guard. The meeting is at noon. All will be explained later.
The letter was finished off with a stamp of her highness' cutie mark, a white crescent moon with black splotches all around it. Night slowly set the letter down, looking up at his desk a little and thinking to himself. He glanced over to the wall to his right, checking the clock he had hanging on it for the time, it read nine past ten in the morning. There was still plenty of time to get ready, although he wanted to finish reading all of his mail. Night picked up the last letter, calmly opening the top flap of the envelope and taking the folded piece of paper out of it. To his surprise, this report was different.
11:35 PM - 5/7 ----- Sounds of hoofsteps but no sign as to where the sound came from.
12:29 AM - 5/8 ----- More hoofsteps, no source.
12:42 AM - 5/8 ----- Blue flashes of light, as well as faint sounds of magic being casted, still no source.
1:03 AM - 5/8 ----- Shadows of a pony occasionally seen, but still no source.
2:00 AM - 5/8 ----- Nothing abnormal to report.
3:00 AM - 5/8 ----- Nothing abnormal to report.
4:00 AM - 5/8 ----- Nothing abnormal to report.
5:00 AM - 5/8 ----- Nothing abnormal to report.
6:00 AM - 5/8 ----- Nothing abnormal to report.
7:00 AM - 5/8 ----- Nothing abnormal to report.
The report had caught Night's attention more than ever, even more knowing there was an urgent letter in his mailbox as well, stating there was to be a meeting in less than two hours. He let out a small sigh and put the reports back in their respective envelopes, then filing them in a small compartment for later documenting in the right slots. Night stood up off of the chair, then trotted over to the bathroom to shower and inside, shutting it behind him.
Following a quick shower, Night made his way out into his quarters and over to a tall wooden dresser with two round-handled doors, with two smaller drawers beneath. He opened the taller doors, reaching inside and pulling out his armor set, piece by piece and slipping everything on, minus his helmet. Knowing it was a meeting, his helmet didn't seem to be required.
As time passed, Night Shadow had gone to the Lunar Guard barracks, questioning some of the ponies there. Knowing the reports he gets are only from Princess Luna's personal guard, he wondered if the other Lunar guards had anything to report. Unlucky for him, neither of the four guards he talked to had anything unusual to state. Once he finished, it was half past eleven, and it was almost time for the meeting. Night left the guard barracks and made his way into the castle, then down the halls and up to the throne room, where he was stopped by guards.
"Keyword?" One of the guards asked.
"The phoenix soars high," Night Shadow replied.
The guard nodded to the other, and the two stepped to the side, the unicorn lighting his horn and opening the doors for the captain. Night saluted the two guards, both returning it, and entered the throne room. In the middle of the room sat a round table, where Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Captain Shining Armor and Fallen Star, and even the captain's wife, Princess Cadence. Night Shadow walked further in, kneeling in respect to everypony.
"Please, have a seat, Captain Shadow," Princess Luna spoke in a calm tone, but with a slight touch of worry in it. The Lunar princess patted a spot beside her, between her and the Lunar Guard captain. Night trotted around the table, seating himself on a red and gold silk pillow.
"Now that all of you are here, I think it is best that we get this over with," Princess Celestia spoke. Night was surprised, realizing that neither of the princesses ever said such a thing. Something was definitely wrong. "Captain Night Shadow, I am sure you are aware of the strange reports flooding in by our guards, correct?"
Night nodded. "Yes your highness, I read the report this morning. Is that not the only one?"
"I am afraid not," Princess Cadence replied. "Guards of all branches are reporting these strange occurrences, especially the Lunar Guard, where most of the reports are coming from. We have reason to believe somepony might be stalking the castle grounds."
"Which only prompts us to increase security even more than before. If ponies are slipping by our guards, especially under such high lockdown from the royal wedding, we may have more reason to believe there are still changelings in the area."
"Changelings? That isn't possible, me and Cadence blasted them all away!" Shining Armor said.
"Anything is possible, Captain Armor," Princess Luna turned to the unicorn, who eased himself back into the pillow he sat on.
"But wait a minute, the report said there were blue flashes of magic being casted. Changelings use green magic auras, it has to be a pony," Fallen Star said.
"The captain's right, changelings don't use blue auras," Night Shadow turned to the princesses.
"Hmm...that is strange. But, it does not change anything. Security will remain high until we figure this out. Until then, we must keep everypony on high alert," Princess Celestia said, looking over everypony with a serious, but also concerned look on her face.
The three captains nodded in response, before Shining Armor spoke up. "Do we know anything else, your highnesses?"
"Unfortunately, no. But, we have a feeling that this activity may pick up if word gets out to the public that security will loosen up, which it will."
"Good enough for me, hopefully it will give us a chance to find out what's going on."
"Yes, we hope as well. That is all, captains. You are dismissed back to your duties."
***
Hoofsteps...blue flashes of magic...shadows of ponies...what could it be? Night thought to himself as he walked out of the castle and onto the streets. Nothing seemed to be adding up, which worried him even more. Once he was outside, his train of thought had screeched to a halt, and he soon realized his stomach was growling loudly. Night hadn't eaten anything yet, only making things worse. Without any other thoughts, he trotted off to find someplace to sit down and have lunch. As Night searched for restaurants, his ear suddenly twitched. He turned his head, staring down an alleyway and seeing faint flashes of light blue.
The flashes! He mentally said, then narrowed his eyes and slowly entered the dark alley. A cold chill went up his spine, ruffling his feathers a little as he scanned over the area. Soon, he came up to a separate alley, where the light seemed to be originating. As he approached the corner, he stopped and peeked around, his irises widening at what he saw. The darkness of the alley obscured the pony, but they appeared to be taller and more muscular. They wore a darker shaded hoodie, but was slightly lit by the aura of magic spells being casted.
"You!" Night shouted.
The pony abruptly stopped the magic, and whipped around to see Night. The pony's face was shaded by the hoodie, but what could barely be seen was a dark grey stallion's muzzle. In the blink of an eye, he teleported onto the rooftop of the building beside them. Night bared his fangs and flew upwards, taking pursuit of the unicorn. "Halt!"
The stallion maintained his gallop, turning his head back to see Night approaching from behind, and running faster. Night was surprised by the pony's speed, but kept a steady pace. He peered up, seeing where the buildings were split off and making way for a street intersection. Instead of stopping, the unicorn galloped faster, then leapt into the air and across to the other rooftop, as if he had invisible wings to help him glide over. Night briefly stopped, watching in awe as the stallion flew over the street, but hissed and flew even faster. He gradually closed the distance, before the unicorn jerked to his right. As he did, a stone chimney appeared out of nowhere, and before he could react, Night Shadow crashed through it with great accidental force, sending him tumbling into the roof.
He laid on the roof, completely stunned and dizzy from the impact, and was close to slipping out of consciousness, but rather shook his head and holding it with a hoof until the world stopped spinning, and he could see properly again without any blur. Night slowly stood, stumbling once or twice, before floating up and flying in the direction he thought the hooded pony had gone.
As he flew, he was suddenly clotheslined by what felt like a giant rock that was thrown and struck him square in the face. Night's head flew back from the hit, and slid back-down across the wooden rooftop. Once again, he was stunned by the hit, but the dizziness quickly wore off. When he moved to get back up, he found himself unable to move. Night peered to his hooves, noticing all four of them were being pinned by small blue auras of magic. He stared straight up, watching the hooded figure block out the sun above him. The pony chuckled, and spoke for the first time.
"You were a fool to follow me," the pony said. Night eyed him closer, suddenly noticing his eyes, which were blazing red, as if it was some demon from Tartarus.
Night groaned, his head still throbbing with an infinite ache. "Who...are you...?"
The stallion chuckled again, then moved a hoof up to the top of his hood, slowly pushing it back and uncovering his face. Night's golden pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and he slowly pinned his ears down as he stared directly up into the pony's eyes.
"Sh...Sharpblade? Is...is it really you?" Night whimpered.
The unicorn raised an eyebrow. "I have never met you in my life?"
Night investigated the pony further. His mane was a silver mohawk, which if was compared to a guard's helmet, would be almost spot on, and his coat color was about the same shade of his own. He slowly looked back at his flank, cursing himself mentally for doing so, and gasping. The unicorn's cutie mark was of a silver blade, seemingly shining under a light, with a black handle. It matched his late friend's cutie mark exactly, but something was different. The cutie mark seemed...mirrored, pointing the opposite direction. He slowly returned his eyes to the pony's staring up at him with surprise and fear.
"What happened to you...?"
Sharp slowly grew a smirk on his face, and leaned closer to Night's muzzle. "Oh, whatever are you talking about? I have always been this way," he raised his hoof, then everything went black.
Night jolted awake in a flash, he sat up on his elbows and panted heavily as he did. He glanced around briefly, then catching his eyes onto a silver pegasus guard under Celestia's branch. The pony stared down at him in concern, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw the captain okay.
"Captain, sir, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, yeah. I'm fine. What happened?" Night looked back up to the guard.
"I was on air patrol, and noticed you down here unconscious on the roof. What happened to you?"
Night stopped to think. His mind was in a fog, making it hard to think straight, and he did not want to sound crazy as he spoke. He stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off of his armor. "Flew into this rooftop by accident."
The guard nodded once. "What made you do so, captain?"
For Luna's Sake... "No idea..."
The guard raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged it off. "Your duties are required back at the palace, captain."
Night nodded. "Of course. Thank you."
"For what, sir?"
"For waking me up."
***
Night Shadow sighed and rubbed his forehead with a hoof as he sat in a local pub famous to royal guards, known as the Spearhead Tavern. He sat on a stool at the bar as he waited for his cider to arrive. Since his strange ordeal earlier that day, he was having trouble computing what had actually happened. Was he hallucinating, or was his late friend back from the dead? It was something he just could not understand, and it was giving Night a headache.
"Evening captain," a voice startled Night out of his train of thought. "I didn't expect to find you here."
Night turned his head to the side, moving his hoof down to the table. He didn't smile like he usually did when a friend walked up. "Oh, evening, Thunder."
The grey pegasus guard, Thunderblast, seated himself beside Night Shadow, setting his golden helmet on the bar counter beside him.
"Make that two ciders," Night said to the bartender, placing some bits on the counter.
Thunder smiled softly. "You don't have to buy me a cider, you know."
"You look like you need it," Night cracked a faint smile and stared forward.
"What makes you say that?" Thunder scrunched his nose and raised an eyebrow.
"You look stressed."
"You look worse."
Night turned to Thunder, his smile immediately fading. "I do?"
Thunderblast nodded. "I've never seen you in so much stress, not even when we took on your colony."
Night quickly thought of how to respond, which took longer than he hoped. "Busy day reassigning guards. Princess Celestia has called for an increase in security."
"So I've heard. What for exactly?"
"They think there might be changelings back in the city. You should read the reports."
"I will when I get the chance," Thunder stared forward. "That doesn't seem like that's it though."
"What?"
"There's something else on your mind, isn't there?" Thunder turned to Night, staring him in the eye.
Night's ears drooped a little, he looked down towards his hooves on the counter, and then back to Thunder. "What would you do if you found out someone you loved, or someone you loved as a friend who was dead, came back?"
Thunder stopped for a moment, then faced forward again. "I don't know. Depending on the circumstances, if they remember me, I'd hug 'em first. Then I'd catch up with them on all that's happened since they...left. Unless, they already knew," he stopped. "If they didn't remember me, I'd leave."
Night's ears were still hanging down. "I see..."
"Why do you ask?" Thunder looked back at Night.
Night gulped quietly. "Just asking."
Thunder wanted to question further, but didn't and simply nodded.
***
Shortly after his rare trip to the bar, Night sat as his desk in his quarters beside his bed. He was more than stressed, and even his eyes were on the verge of closing without his permission. But, he couldn't sleep yet. While he was out, a large pile of reports had built up on the floor outside his room from his mailbox being too full to fit any more. Each report he went through, he seemed to re-read most of the lines over and over again before finally finishing them, and even that took about twenty minutes to get into his mind.
His head was too overloaded with a billion thoughts racing through at too high speeds. Night finally threw down the report he had just finished reading with a frustrated sigh, he moved both hooves to his forehead and rested it on them and yawned.
"I need to sleep..." He groaned, his eyes moving to the pile of unread reports on the floor beside his desk.
Exhausted, he blew out the candle on his desk and slowly stripped himself of his armor and put it neatly back into the tower dresser on the other side of his bed, then crawled under the sheets. Night let out another yawn, a much bigger one as he settled into his soft bed and nodding off moments after.
***
*CRASH*
Night jolted awake, his golden eyes opened wide. He quickly looked around the dark room, scanning for what broke. When he saw nothing, he slowly crawled out of his bed and gradually walked around the apartment, into the kitchen where he found nothing again. Finally, he entered the living room and peered around it slowly. His eyes then caught the site of a small pane from the window was broken, and a brick with something tied to it sitting on the floor. He gulped and moved closer to it, picking the brick up in a hoof and removing the rubber band, and then taking the note in his hoof and unfolding it.
I'm watching you...
On the bottom, it was signed with a gold square. He didn't quite understand, but the note had really caught his attention. It was bad enough that his dead friend isn't dead anymore and is possibly an assassin now, but now he had to worry about being stalked by somepony. Night sighed, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a broom to clean up the glass shards sitting on the carpet of his living room, and finally back to bed.
The next morning came too soon for Night Shadow, who hadn't fallen back asleep since a mysterious note was thrown into his quarters. His eyes sat widen open throughout sunrise and eventually became bloodshot. He was then jolted out of his long trance of thought when the clock he had set to wake him up on his night stand began ringing. Night sat up and reached a hoof to the clock and tapping the small button on top to silence it. He yawned and rubbed one eye, then looked to the window and saw the pinkish-yellow sky.
"Today's going to be a long day..."
***
Night walked sluggishly to the chow hall by the guard barracks where he decided to have breakfast rather than cooking. He yawned many times on the way and was almost too exhausted to walk. Unaware of where he was, Night went face first into the door of the chow hall and immediately fell asleep on the spot. When he did, the door swung open and he fell flat on the floor, snoring quietly. Guards stopped and stared at him, some snickering, others concerned and went to wake him up. By doing so, one pony dropped ice water on him.
Night shrieked and stood up straight, mane and coat soaked and he was shivering as bits of ice slid down his armor. He then turned to the pony holding the cooler and glared coldly. He growled, then punched his hooves together, signifying that if he didn't leave, he was going to drop him. The guard gasped and ran off to hide, while others stared at Night. He glanced around the room, his cheeks now burning red when he knew they were watching the whole time. He finally glared around.
"What, never seen another guard fall asleep unintentionally on the job before?"
Everyone in the room went back to what they were doing. Night nodded once and got in the short line waiting for breakfast. When he went to find a seat, somepony whistling for his attention made his ear perk and swivel. He turned and looked in the direction it was coming from, spotting a lighter grey pegasus waving to him. He smiled slightly and trotted to the pony.
"Long night I assume?"
"Very long. I don't know where to start," Night set his tray down hard, enough to make a noise. He grumbled and sat down just as hard.
"You don't have to tell me, I had a long one myself," Thunderblast put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
"Probably not as bad as mine, but let's hear it."
"One of the new recruits was caught sneaking into the locked spell archives after knocking the guard out with chloroform and then tied him up. The alarm was triggered and I brought some others along to take him down. Of course, it was the lieutenant's recruit. So, this guy had skill. And I mean skill with a capitol S. It took about thirty minutes before he ran out of steam and we cuffed him. But, the lieutenant insists we give him another chance."
"Definitely not, anypony caught stealing from there gets at least five years in the dungeons," Night took a sip of milk.
Thunder nodded. "And if he is let out of jail and let back into the guard, I'm going to go ballistic."
"Well, you won't see me stopping you," Night chuckled tiredly.
Thunder chuckled. "So, what happened to you?"
Night lifted his spoon out of his warm oatmeal and stopped for a moment. "Couldn't sleep," he then ate it.
"Just that? Couldn't sleep?"
Night nodded, then shrugged. "Sort of," he looked around, then reached into his armor and pulled out a piece of folded paper. "Read this in your head."
Thunder took the piece of paper and unfolded it, he started to read the note, his eyes gradually widened, then he looked over it to Night Shadow.
"We need to report this to the captain," Night said quietly.
"Now, hang on, are you sure this isn't some sort of prank Princess Luna set up? You know how much of a jokester she can be from time to time."
"Why would she break my window?"
"She's the princess, she can get away with anything."
Night rolled his eyes. "If you say so. I won't let my guard down, but I'll take it as a joke. I'll talk to her about it, and if she knows nothing, then I will assume this is a threat towards me and the rest of the guard, or even Luna herself."
"If I were you, I'd let it slide. If something else happens, then it would be a good idea to let someone higher than you know what's up."
"Thunder, is that what you like to do with problems? You just brush it off, and when something does happen, you act surprised?
Thunder stopped, then snorted. "Excuse you, but I didn't actually think one mentally unstable pony could bring Equestria to it's knees."
"But you still let things happen. You know what, if something eventful does go on in the next week or two, you're the last pony I will come to for help if I need it," Night glared, standing up and taking his tray to another table.
"A captain shouldn't need to run to somepony, a true captain should know how to fend for himself," Thunder shouted as Night walked away.
***
Night huffed as he walked through the halls of the palace, the whole way talking to himself. "Idiot...a true captain knows how to handle a situation," he snorted. "Whoever says Solar guards are superior is full of—"
Before he could finish, a loud crash came from the hallway in front of him, followed by the yelps and grunts of a pony seemingly fighting off another. Night ran to the end of the hallway and slid to a stop. Directly in the middle of the hall laid an earth pony guard, his spear knocked away and his arms pinned by a much larger and extremely well built earth pony who's forehooves were protected by giant steel gauntlets that were polished well enough to reflect like a mirror.
The tan earth pony turned and stared right at the grey pegasus before letting out a huff of steam through his nostrils. He put severe pressure onto the guard's hooves which made his victim grunt more in pain, then noticed his attacker looking in one direction and also looked that way.
"Captain, I need help!" The guard squeaked out and winced.
Night narrowed his eyes onto the muscular pony holding the guard down, then clenched his teeth angrily. "Why don't you pick on somepony your own size?"
The pony let out a deep chuckle. "Beat it, squirt. Why don't you go fetch Shining Armor while you're at it? I've been looking for him for so long."
"Closest you'll ever get to him is me. Now, get off of him or you'll regret it."
The pony chuckled again. "You and what army?"
"I don't need an army to kick flank."
"Your arrogance will get the better of you, punk," the pony hopped off of the guard and slammed down just feet from Night. His pure weight and momentum damaged the wooden floor beneath him and shook the entire hallway from top to bottom.
"Go, get out of here!" Night shouted to the guard, who nodded and weakly left.
The two stared each other down for almost a minute, before the tan pony huffed and charged towards Night with thunderous claps of his heavy gauntlets smashing into the floor. Night waited carefully before he opened his wings, and in one large flap of them, he threw himself airborne.
The earth pony leaped upwards, extending his neck just enough to attempt to grab Night's hind leg in his maw but just barely missed. He stomped his hooves into the floor upon landing, Night landing on all fours a few feet behind. The earth pony turned his head around and stared coldly at Night prior to letting out a massive, deafening clamor and turning around to gallop at the lone Lunar guard again.
"You may be faster to move than me, guard, but to me, you're just another fly in the world that needs to be swatted out of the picture!" The earth pony narrowed his green eyes onto Night and stomped his gauntlets into the floor once again, preparing for his next move.
Night bared the fangs in his mouth and hissed. In an instant, he galloped towards the pony and lunged into the air. The earth pony grinned sinisterly, then jerked one of his forehooves upwards and slammed it directly into Night's jaw with a devastating crack that sent him flying up into one of the skylights and shattering the entire thing, then instantly falling back down with a loud thump as glass and bits of golden metal rained around him.
The earth pony chuckled as Night remained down on the floor. "You are weak, you have much to learn if you are supposed to be Luna's second in command," he suddenly turned his head when he heard the approaching shouts and hoofsteps of guards. "I will finish you later, Night Shadow."
The pony galloped out of the hallway and through a large window on one of the exterior walls, smashing it instantly and landing outside with a loud thump and an earth-shaking roar of anger.
The guards, being late to catch the gauntlet-wielding pony immediately noticed Night on the ground and ran to his aid. Upon closer inspection by one of the unicorns in the group, his jaw was cracked and severely bloodied and was rushed to the palace's medical wing for treatment.
By the time they arrived, Night was just barely conscious and was still fairly stunned by the overall impact the gauntlet had on him. At the medical wing, he was given a sedation potion that allowed him to sleep peacefully while medics worked to realign his jaw. It was a careful but quick process, and some time later, he woke up.
Unexpectedly sitting next to his bed was Princess Luna, who was keeping a close eye on Night. She then smiled when she realized he was awake.
"O-oh my... Princess Luna!" Night sat up too quickly, then put a hoof to his forehead. "Ow... head rush."
Princess Luna gently pushed Night back into his bed. "Thou must rest, Captain. Thine has taken quite a hit."
"What happened...?" He groaned.
Princess Luna sighed. "I am afraid we have had yet another security breach, this time of much bigger proportions. It could have been much worse had thou not intervened, and the guard thou saved alerted others whom found thou on the floor."
"Did... did they get him?" Night laid back against the pillow.
Princess Luna shook her head a couple of times. "He got away before we could catch him, the guards say."
Night sat up just a bit again. "W-well, we need to be out there looking for him! He was a big pony, he can't hide that easily!"
"Please, captain. We would like for thou to have a good night's rest to allow thou's jaw to fully heal."
"Princess, you don't understand. This stallion is dangerous, I-I need to brief our men and—"
Princess Luna held her hoof up and put it over Night's lips to silence him.
"Captain, we will do that ourselves. Thou needs rest, and we will see to it that that is what will happen! Is that understood?"
Night relaxed into his bed and sighed. "Yes, your highness."
Night laid in his bed, tucked under his Lunar Guard sheets, nice and snug. He stared up at the ceiling with wide-opened eyes and was completely zoned out. The moon was bright and full that night and brought much light into his room, leaving window-shaped moonlight on the floor extending up to the other side of his quarters, near the door.
It had been three days since the gauntlet pony attacked, and the thought kept the poor pegasus up with two little naps in between. His golden eyes had turned pink and were severely bloodshot. Night let out an exhausted yawn, then quickly shut his mouth as his jaw was still bruised and in pain. He glanced over to the window and out at the city of Canterlot which was fully lit in the evening. Even more so, it was packed because of the weekend.
Security in and around the palace was still stricter than usual and more guards were seen in Canterlot as a result of the breach that miraculously didn't make it out into the public.
Night was startled slightly out of his trance when the door to his quarters opened. He jumped up and stared towards it and tensed up.
"Easy, captain. It is just me," Princess Luna stepped into the room slowly and shut the door behind her with a blue aura of magic.
Night eased his muscles when he saw the dark blue alicorn mare approaching, he sat up against the back of his bed and sighed. "What brings you here?"
"We wanted to know the condition of our captain today," she stopped. "And I wanted to see how my friend was doing."
Night smiled a bit. "You know that's basically the same thing you said twice, right?"
Princess Luna let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, we know," she walked up to Night's bed. "Does thou mind if I sit beside you?"
"Not at all," Night scooted to the side.
Princess Luna climbed onto the bed politely and seated herself next to Night Shadow, then she levitated a mane brush and began to move it through the top of his mane. Night's cheeks heated a bit, but he didn't mind the princess' occasional habit of tidying him up. "How are you feeling?"
Night shrugged a little. "Alright, I guess," his jaw ached.
"The palace nurses said thou's injuries should be fully healed by tomorrow, or Sunday."
Night nodded. "Can't come soon enough."
Princess Luna chuckled again. "However long it takes, I want you to be fully well before your duties call again."
He nodded again. "Thank you, your highness. But," he sighed quietly. "With all that is going on, I would very much prefer to be by your side until we know all is clear."
"I appreciate your concerns for me, Night Shadow, but captain Angel Beats is familiar with handling my guard on her own. She did for a while before you were promoted to my second in command. And besides, captain Fallen Star is taking on some of your duties as well. Nothing is different, but my guard still anticipates you to be back on your shifts," Princess Luna continued to brush Night's mane until no more strands stuck out.
Night nodded once more. "How is that one guard doing?"
"Which guard? The one that was pinned down three days ago?" Night nodded. "He is doing well. He suffered a broken arm but he is recovering in the hospital and should be back on duty by next week."
Night let out a soft sigh of relief. "At least he is okay."
Princess Luna nodded. "He said he would like to treat you to a hooficure or dinner to show his gratitude for saving him."
"Protecting ponies is my job, your highness," Night smiled up at her. "Whether they be fellow guards or civilians."
"Please, enough of the 'your highness' gibberish. We are friends, are we not?" Princess Luna smiled and poked Night's nose.
Night scrunched his muzzle a little. "I am too used to being formal around important ponies."
"We went through this at the Fall Gala, captain," she smiled more.
"Hey, don't be so formal," Night smirked a little and puffed his chest out.
Princess Luna rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Very well, you got me, Night Shadow."
Night's smirk turned into a warm smile. "You know, its great to be able to talk to such an important pony like yourself."
"And it is great to mingle with other ponies. After my sister's pupil and her friends returned me to my normal self, I had trouble...communicating...with anypony except for my sister of course. Even some of my own guard when my House Guard was established."
"House guard?" Night tilted his head.
Princess Luna nodded. "Just like the squad you take command of, my personal guard has two groups. As do my sister's guard. I have the Zodiacs and the House Guard, my sister has the Goldencloaks and her House Guard."
"Why not just have them all in one? You know, the Zodiacs and the House Guard?"
"Because...well," Princess Luna stopped and tapped her hoof on her chin. "That does make some sense, but the Zodiacs have been around far longer than my House Guard. It would not make much sense to combine them."
Night shrugged a bit. "If you say so. Who leads your House Guard?"
"A pony named Silent Knight. Just like you, he is my good friend."
"Your coltfriend?" Night smirked a little.
"Not exactly," Princess Luna smiled. "He is taken."
Night chuckled. "But you do share a good relationship with him, correct?"
Princess Luna nodded. "Me and him exchange conversations frequently. Personal things and other types related to our jobs, half and half really. He seems to like when I do this to him," she kept brushing Night's purple mane.
Night moved his head away. "Why do you do it?" He smiled.
"It makes me feel like a filly again, when I used to play with my dolls. I do it to each of my guards at a time. Most of them don't seem to mind, then again, they all stay quiet when I style their manes. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to get to know each and every one of the palace guards on my side, and occasionally on my sister's side too. It might also be a habit with trying to make everypony feel better after the terror I caused three years ago."
"Well, it is nice to have somepony like yourself to relax and talk to. Showing your soft side to others you care about but not in a lovey-dovey way makes a good first impression."
Princess Luna blushed a little. "I suppose you are right, Night Shadow," she then set the brush down and played with Night's ears. "Besides, it is fun to open up to ponies I am close to," she then looked out the window at the city. "Oh dear, I must have gotten too carried away with your mane. I must go as I am expected to have a spot of tea with a large business owner from San Prancisco. I hope you don't mind how much I have brushed your mane."
Night looked up at his mane, which was styled like a popular violinist in Canterlot's hair. "I'll survive," he smiled.
Princess Luna smiled and hopped off of Night's bed. "I want you to get some more rest, you look like you've been slacking off on...slacking off. Shall I return tomorrow and we could say, hit the town to do some window shopping?"
"Whatever you'd like, Princess Luna," Night smiled.
"Huzzah! I shall see you tomorrow at noon then. Sleep well, Night Shadow."
Night nodded once. "You have a great night, Princess," he smiled and watched the princess leave. He yawned, then tucked himself back into his bed.
***
The next morning, Night woke up to blinding sunlight that initially hurt his eyes. He covered them with his hoof and waited a few seconds for them to finally adjust, before he set his hoof back down and sat up against the back of his bed. With a yawn that bared his fangs, he stretched his wings and climbed out of his Lunar guard bed sheets and standing on all fours. He rubbed an eye with one hoof and looked towards the door leading to the hallway outside his quarters where he found no mail had come to his relief.
Remembering his plans with Princess Luna that day, his next thought was to shower and get himself ready. Night trotted into the one bathroom his home in the palace had and stepped into the shower.
Just a few minutes later, Night stepped out and dried himself off with a night-blue towel that had Princess Luna's cutie mark stitched into it. His coat puffed a bit when he finished and he chuckled to himself in the mirror, then took a hair brush and tidied his mane and tail.
Unsure of what to wear after he walked out of the bathroom, Night decided it was best to wear his armor. Technically, he was back on duty that day, but Princess Luna was considering it to be a 'friends day out' for the both of them. He wanted others to be sure that she wasn't going out on her own and putting herself in harms way, especially with the suspicion of an impending attack due to the increase in security.
As Night finished slipping on his armor, a gentle knock came to his door.
"Come in!" He said as he adjusted his helmet on his head.
The door swung open, trotting inside was Princess Luna in her usual monarchy clothing and the unusual grin. She noticed Night was busy adjusting his helmet and quietly sneaked up on him. When he least suspected it, Luna pounced.
"Boo!" She shouted in her Royal Canterlot voice.
Night leaped into the air and fell back down on his bed, he flailed his hooves and ended up getting caught in his bed sheets briefly before he kicked them off. He panted and stared forward with shrunk irises. He then blushed in embarrassment. "Princess!"
Princess Luna burst out into a laughing fit. "I would have thought my silent entrance would have sparked suspicion, captain."
"I...guess I was too focused on getting ready," Night stood up off of his bed and blushed still.
"You did not have to wear your armor uniform today, Night Shadow. But, since you are already dressed, I will not say anything else," Princess Luna smiled warmly.
Night Shadow smiled back. "Well, you do need a guard by your side, no matter what."
"If you say so. How was your night of rest?"
"It was pretty good, didn't wake up once which was a relief."
Princess Luna smiled more. "Very good. Now, let us hit the town and make this the best window-shopping day ever!"
***
Out on the streets and walking happily, Princess Luna smiled to the ponies of Canterlot and waved to them, some stopped to take pictures with her. Night was used to the princess having paparazzi from both newsponies and others excited to see her outside letting off steam. To his surprise, the ponies even took pictures with him and/or shook his hoof. With all of the stress he had been going through the last week, he was feeling his best.
"Come, Night Shadow. I would like to find a home goods shop to restock on some ink," Princess Luna said with determination.
Night nodded once. "Anything for you, your highness," he trotted by her side and began searching for the nearest home goods store. "What ever do you do with all of your ink, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I do some writing in my spare time. I am not always as busy as I may seem. Occasionally I draw portraits of ponies I know well or scenery of imaginary places as well," Princess Luna smiled to Night.
"Sounds interesting, your highness," Night smiled back. "But, do you ever wonder if those places are real, and you've seen them in your dreams?"
Princess Luna stared forward, her smile fading a bit. "As the alicorn of the night, I do not dream. I watch over dreams of other ponies of Equestria, and I give those with troubled dreams guidance to ridding themselves of bad vibes. Mainly young colts and fillies, but very rarely ponies your age."
"You don't dream...why?"
Princess Luna stopped for a moment. "I guess since my duty is to watch over the dreams of ponies, to guide them to good ones, I can't dream."
"Then...what is it like when you-"
"Captain, I do not wish to discuss this any further."
Night froze and pinned his ears back. "Yes your highness. My apologies. I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable."
Princess Luna sighed, then looked to Night. "You were just curious. In the future, once I know that I can completely trust you, I will talk with you in private."
Night looked forward, then back to the night-blue alicorn beside him. He nodded a couple of times. "Yes your highness."
Princess Luna then stopped in front of the glass door of a shop. "Here we are, after you, captain!" She pulled the door open with a smile.
Night walked up and took the door in his hoof. "No, I insist, after you."
Princess Luna let out a quiet 'harrumph'. "Very well," then walked inside.
Night chuckled and followed the moon princess inside. The store owner was surprised by their visit and moved quickly to them, bowing to both. Afterwards, the owner showed them to where the ink was kept. The princess purchased five bottles of ink for ten bits and left levitating a bag in her magical aura.
"Where to next, my captain?"
"Wherever pleases you, your highness," Night smiled to her. "I do not have favored shops like mares do."
"Night Shadow, be honest with me. I've seen you once dreaming about a souvenir shop in downtown. Me and my sister have been to the exact shop, and due to the amount of realism in the dream, I would say you go there frequently."
Night stopped and tilted his head. "How long have you been watching my dreams?"
Princess Luna froze, her cheeks burning red knowing she had put herself out. "I've...only done it a couple of times. On nights where my help was not needed elsewhere."
"Uh huh," Night grinned.
"Please, keep it a secret," Princess Luna squeaked in embarrassment.
"Your secret will be well kept."
Princess Luna let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
***
"Today was very fun, captain," Princess Luna smiled as her and Night Shadow landed on her room's balcony and he opened the door for her.
"It was," he smiled warmly. "We will have to do this again some time, but we should bring someone else along. A friend of either one of us, or both."
"That is a great idea, we shall do that on our next outing!" Princess Luna trotted into her room through the door with Night following. She lit a few brighter candles with a match stick and set her shopping bags down beside her bed. "Is there anything I could get you?"
"No, thank you, your highness."
Princess Luna turned and gave a playful glare. "Call me Luna."
"Yes, your--Luna."
Princess Luna smiled. "I shall let thou return to your quarters. You are still quite behind on sleep."
Night yawned quietly. "What makes you say that?" Princess Luna cocked an eyebrow, then Night chuckled. "I won't be up too late. There's still some paperwork I need to go over."
"No paperwork, just sleep," Princess Luna poked Night's nose with a hoof and laughed.
Night rolled his eyes and smiled. "Fine, fine. Sleep before work. I will see you later."
"Likewise," Princess Luna walked Night to the door, then waved as he left.
***
Walking through the halls towards his quarters on the other side of the palace, Night Shadow nodded to guards as he walked past them, and eventually into the hallways where the lights were off for the night. He yawned and paced casually as he approached his quarters near the end of the corridor.
Unexpectedly, he stopped and perked his ears to a scuffle coming from behind him. He turned his head around and scanned over the corridor behind him. He grew suspicious, but kept walking.
Just then, another much closer sound caught his attention. He peered at all of his surroundings, then spoke up.
"Show yourself already, I know you are there!" Night called out.
"Quit hiding and face me like a stallion!" Night Shadow growled as he turned his head to look all around the dark hallway he stood in. The noises that caught his attention twice had stopped, that was until a low chuckle came from behind.
"Oh, Night Shadow. You really do think you're some big tough guy, don't you?"
Night whipped around to face the stalking pony. His bright golden irises shrunk to pinpricks when he realized who it was.
A taller and more muscular dark grey unicorn stepped out of the shadows with a widened, sinister grin, his horn was lit in a light blue magical aura that gave him light to see the pegasus opposite of him.
"Boo," the unicorn smirked.
"Why do you continue to follow me? You're dead, you belong where the dead belong."
"And where would that be, hm?" The unicorn took a step closer. Night froze for a bit. "You do not believe in ghosts. I can assure you, I am no ghost," his bright red eyes narrowed onto Night Shadow.
"What happened to you, Sharp?! I killed you!" Night bared his fangs and did his best to hide his inside emotions.
"It appears you've never heard of a revival potion. The ingredients to make it are very ... rare, so to speak. I am very lucky that my master chose me," Sharpblade smirked more and stood where he was.
"Your master? Tell me who he is!" Night growled.
"And why for the love of Celestia would I do that? So you could do what you did to me all of that time ago?" Sharp raised his voice and glared. "You are a poor excuse of a guard, Night Shadow. Why Luna chose you to be her prized second-in-command is beyond me and most likely forever will be. But, I am pleased to say that won't be the case for much longer."
"Just what do you plan to do?" Night narrowed his eyes onto the unicorn and growled more.
"For one, I plan to get rid of you," Sharp chuckled, just as a sword made of pure blue magical energy popped up in a flash levitating beside him. "With you gone, the guard won't know what to do. They won't see us coming."
"It'll take more than that to extinguish my fire," Night whipped out his knife, it being the only weapon he had on him. "I've killed you before, I'll kill you again!"
"Steel Locks was right, you are arrogant. And besides, you had the venom removed months ago. Don't think we haven't been watching you all of this time."
"I don't need the damned venom to put you down," Night hissed and lunged towards the unicorn, who grinned bigger and in an instant, he was over five feet from where he was standing.
Night buried his hooves into the red wool carpet with a muffled clop, he turned to face the laughing unicorn with even more anger in his soul.
"I forgot to mention. My master did some tinkering, now I am faster than the fastest flyer in Equestria. You will be lucky to catch me."
"I'm fast too," Night growled and prepared to tackle again.
Sharp chuckled again, then grinned towards Night. "Then bring it. Two of us go at it, one of us comes out."
"So be it," Night waited a moment, then galloped towards Sharp and slid down, slashing the unicorn's hoof with his knife.
Sharp yelped a bit and stomped his hoof down, catching Night's tail underneath it and swinging the sword towards the pegasus. Night flipped onto his back and managed to block the sword with his small knife. He reached a hoof down and yanked his tail free from under Sharp's hoof and stood up straight where he prepared for another attack, but was quickly knocked back down with a hard punch to the chest.
Night wheezed and fell back with a thump, his knife sliding out of his hoof. He coughed once and reached to grab it, before Sharp forced Night onto his back and stomped on both of his wings with a terrifying crack. He yelped loudly and squirmed under his opponents weight and was unable to get free.
Sharp let out a soft, quiet but sinister laugh as he lowered the sword's tip to Night's neck. He breathed heavily and watched the magically forged sword move closer, and in a last attempt to get away, Night kicked his hind hoof up as quickly and as hard as he could between Sharp's hinds.
Sharp's eyes opened wide when his groin was kicked and jumped back, holding his hooves between his legs and winced in pain. The sword dispersed into bits of energy and faded away in a faint flash. Night got on all fours and cracked his wings back into place and folded them to his side. He growled and stood just behind the downed unicorn who still held his hooves over where Night kicked.
Night picked his knife up off of the floor and stepped up to Sharp, his wings throbbed with pain after they were stomped on. He panted as his heart raced and held the knife up, preparing to end the unicorn's misery for good.
Staring down at Sharp groan in pain, he froze and his glare faded. He repeatedly told himself mentally that Sharp was his enemy, but in his heart, he knew he was his friend and was in trouble. Hesitantly, Night dropped the knife and instead raised his hoof and after a moment slammed it down onto his head, managing to knock the downed unicorn unconscious.
Night stared down, his forehead hot and sweating from what had just happened. With a sigh, he leaned down and picked Sharp's heavier than expected body up and began carrying him back to his quarters further down the hallway.
He pulled out his room key and unlocked the door, trotting inside and laying Sharp on his bed. Instantly after, he ran to his armor dresser and went to one of the bottom drawers. Night pulled out a piece of rope and began tying Sharp's forehooves behind his back. When he finished, he wasted no time picking him back up before running back out of his quarters.
***
Sitting in her room sipping a cup of tea and levitating an inked quill and writing on a piece of paper, Princess Luna put careful thought into her writing that was addressed to the leader of another recently discovered bat pony colony in the northeastern parts of Equestria, closer to the Crystal Empire.
For a moment, everything seemed just peaceful, until a loud knock that was more like banging startled her and provoked the Princess to slide her quill to the right and left a long black line that started from the last word she was writing. Startled, she stood up and angrily stared towards the door. She then raised her voice.
"WHO DARES STARTLE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT IN HER BUSIEST TIME?!"
Coming from outside the door following her Royal Canterlot voice came loud panting, then a familiar voice.
"Princess Luna, its me, Night Shadow! Please, open up!"
Embarrassed that she used the Royal Canterlot voice on Night, she opened the door with her magic and stood where she was in the middle of her room, beside a dark blue cushion and a stand designed for writing anywhere other than a desk with a candle stick beside it for lighting.
"Captain, what is the matter?" Princess Luna came closer.
Night panted with widened eyes. "Its...him..."
"...Who?"
Night quickly trotted up to the Princess' bed and dropped an unconscious Sharpblade onto it. With a gasp, Princess Luna turned to Night Shadow with a shocked expression.
"What happened to him?"
"I knocked him unconscious," Night stopped to catch his breath. "Princess, its Sharp."
Princess Luna stared with more shock, then cocked an eyebrow. "Impossible, he has been dead for months!"
Night shook his head. "Princess, he followed me to my quarters and attacked me. He said that ... his master revived him."
"A revival potion?" Princess Luna gasped softly. "That's...even more impossible. How?"
"I don't know...I don't know. But, he isn't in his right mind. Princess Luna, please, you have to help me get him back."
Stuttering a bit, Princess Luna looked between the two. "I...can try. But, forgive me if it goes wrong. Please, stand back."
Night nodded and took a few steps back. Princess Luna lit her horn in a light blue aura and began to envelop the unconscious unicorn with it. The Princess squeaked out a grunt as she put careful thought and strength into her magic, then after a moment, the aura dropped and she dropped to her haunches. Night quickly moved to her side.
"Are you okay?"
Princess Luna nodded and panted weakly. "S-such a spell drains me...but I think I have done it," she turned to Sharp who was beginning to wake up.
Watching with anticipation, Night Shadow stayed by the Princess' side and gulped. Sharpblade suddenly coughed and gasped for air, then his eyes shot open with shrunk pupils, his eyes a darker shade of gold. He sat up and glanced around.
"W-where..." He stopped and realized his hooves were bonded. He struggled against the rope holding his hooves together behind his back, then stopped and panted. He turned to Princess Luna and Night Shadow. "Princess Luna...Night Shadow...?" His eyes widened.
"Sharp...?" Night stared at him with hopeful eyes.
"Its...its you," Sharp sat up against the rear of the Princess' bed.
Night stared as his eyes begun to turn glassy, he turned to Princess Luna and nodded once to her. "Take the rope off."
Princess Luna lit her horn and enveloped the rope, snapping it off of Sharp's hooves. He sat up and rubbed his fetlock where the fur was rubbed down from the tightness of the bonds, he stood up off of the bed with a clop of his hooves on the wooden floor. He then smiled to the both of them.
In a spark of joy, Night jumped up and grabbed the unicorn in a tight hug. Sharp's eyes widened in surprise, he moved his eyes down to Night and smiled warmly. He then wrapped his own hooves around the pegasus.
"Y-you're back..." Night choked up and shed a tear. "I-I'm so sorry...I'm...so...sorry..."
"Hey...hey, don't you get watery-eyed over me," Sharp chuckled softly and patted Night's armored back. "I forgive you."
"Second in command of Princess Luna's personal guard?" Sharpblade smiled, taking a sip of water from a glass as him and Night Shadow sat outside of a restaurant. "Wow, good for you, Night. That's pretty impressive."
Night's cheeks heated a bit. "Thanks, Sharp. It was quite unexpected, but I guess after all that happened just before that, I had it coming."
"I guess so. I mean, reuniting the bat ponies with Equestrians? That's pretty big of a promotion. I'm honestly dumbfounded you weren't made an arbitrator for Equestria instead," Sharp chuckled.
"An arbitrator?" Night tilted his head.
"Yeah, an arbitrator. You know, the ponies that make peace?"
"Ooh, right. My bad," Night blushed again.
Sharp chuckled. "Such an achievement can get you a nice spot in the record books, Night. I hope you know that."
Night frowned a little. "I...don't want to be famous."
"But, you do want to be recognized for your actions, don't you?" Sharp's smile dropped.
"Well..." Night paused. "I only want to be recognized by friends and family, no one else. I don't want to be swarmed by paparazzi ponies day in and day out because I ended a dispute between races."
Sharp tilted his head. "But you do want to be recognized. You have to be. To teach the next generations to come to be respectful of all races. This happened when Equestria was founded, Night. We all may be physically different, but deep inside, we're all the same. That is the message you showed the ponies of Equestria and the ponies of your colony. And, it may not have been for that reason, but that is still the message you were trying to get to everypony. Do you understand?"
Night stopped to think for a moment, then nodded. "I'm sorry. Its just," he paused again and sighed softly, looking down. "I really don't want to be noticed by friends, and by Luna's guard as their second in command."
"I understand," Sharp said with a nod. "I'm just making sure you understand what I'm saying."
"And I do," Night smiled weakly.
"Plus, it makes me happy to see you're not one of those ponies who craves attention by the public," Sharp then stopped and peered around Night, his smile fading. "Like that stallion."
Night turned around, eyes widening a little when he saw Prince Blueblood marching down the street, passing bystanders and stopping to wave his groomed blonde mane at them. Sharp rolled his eyes and groaned.
"I don't know about you, Night, but I really hate him."
Night turned back to Sharp with a snicker. "At least I don't get stuck guarding him."
"Oh, ha ha," Sharp rolled his eyes again, he levitated the glass of water to his mouth and took another sip.
"Speaking of which, what are you going to do?"
"About what?" Sharp set the glass down with a quiet clink.
"You're going to go back to the guard, aren't you?"
Sharp's eyes moved away, he looked down at the ground beside him. "Probably not. They know who I am, they just haven't caught me yet."
"Sharp, to them, you're dead. Its only going to be that way until you go back to them. We can go to Shining Armor's office after lunch if—"
Sharp slammed his hoof on the table, shaking it. "No!" His eyes widened when he realized he startled Night. "Shoot...I'm sorry. I-I just can't go back..."
Night sat up again and stared at his friend with concern. "Yes you can. You're a strong stallion, stronger than me. You took on all of those changelings back at the wedding. I'm certain you can face the captain in these circumstances."
Sharp stared at the table, then after a minute up at Night. He shook his head slowly. "I can't. Simple as that. I can't."
Night's ears lowered. "I...understand."
Sharp rubbed his forehead with a hoof, then one of his eyes shot open, his golden pupils shrinking to pinpricks. Night noticed this and perked up a bit.
"What is it?"
"M-my boss...he's going to kill me! He's...going to kill you."
"Who? Who is your boss?!" Night's eyes opened wide.
Sharp stared Night in the eye and pinned his ears back. "Scarwings. You've heard of the Pony Mafia right?"
Night nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"He outranks their leader. Times one hundred. He is the commander-in-chief of the East-Prancisco Militia. The most wanted gang in Equestria, and quite possibly in a few other places too."
"How come I've never heard of him?"
Sharp shook his head. "Don't ask me, ask your commanding officer."
"That would be Fallen Star."
"Well, I hate to say it, but you're about to find out who he really is. But, you need to follow my lead," Sharp stood up, placing bits on the table for the bill. "I'll come by your place around ten, will you be up still?"
Night nodded. "I should be."
"Good, because I'll need you."
***
Later on that evening, Night Shadow sat in his quarters going over newly arrived paperwork with papers spread across the wooden desk. For the moment, he wasn't thinking about Sharp coming to pick him up and was too focused on the reports to realize it was almost ten o'clock.
There was a knock loud enough to catch his attention in the slightest way, Night stood up and trotted to the door and opened it. Standing in front of him was Sharpblade who wore the same black hooded shirt from that day weeks ago. Night looked over him, surprised, then remembered.
"Are you ready to go?" Sharp asked, from what Night could tell in his voice, he was nervous.
"I guess, but what am I going to do?" Night replied with a nod.
"Stay in the shadows, watch from a distance. If you get caught, run," Sharp turned and walked down the hallway towards the staircase leading to the ground level of the palace. "Don't think about fighting, you don't know who these ponies are or what they're capable of."
Night walked beside Sharp and gulped a little. "Got it."
The two made their way downstairs and out of the palace, onto the quiet and near-empty streets of Canterlot. The air outside was cool and a gentle breeze flowed down the street grid of the city. The moon shone bright and was nearly full in the star-filled sky, which itself was a postcard photo. Lights flicked off in buildings as ponies went to sleep, or shops closing up for the night with their owners trotting out the front or back doors.
Night's skin crawled on his back as him and a hooded Sharpblade made their way into some of the shadier parts of town, where they stopped outside a large three story brick building, it's windows boarded up completely and the only light coming from it was from the angled skylight on the roof.
"Is this it?" Night asked quietly.
Sharp nodded. "See if you can see anything from the roof. Do anything to stay a distance, just don't get caught. I'll give you a signal once I'm done."
Night nodded, his wings unfolded from his sides and with one flap, he took off into the air and up to the roof where he landed just beside the skylight. He moved up to it and looked down into the building, which on the inside was just one floor with steel walkways hanging by thick steel wire from the ceiling.
Down on the ground, he saw numerous large crates and wrapped pallets of unknown content sitting against the walls. In center stood a chair, and in it sat a white unicorn guard, hooves zip-tied to the back of the chair and horn disabled by a horn ring. The guard was missing his helmet and was gagged by a cloth that was tied in his mouth.
The guard struggled relentlessly, but to no avail. He stopped when a steel door slid open in front of him, and out stepped the same tan earth pony with the steel gauntlets still on his hooves. His walking shook the building slightly and stopped when he did off to the side of the guard. Next came many smaller ponies, two earth ponies, three pegasi, and one unicorn, all wearing what appeared to be dark green military-style jackets with their name tags on them, each too distant to read.
Night watched over the ponies and the guard, then turned to the steel door when each and every one of them suddenly stood at attention. Finally, a tall, muscular brown pegasus walked into the room, wearing a much similar green jacket and a pair of black aviators. He came in with a smirk crossing his muzzle, the guard's eyes widened as the pony approached him. Night took a closer look, spotting a large tan mark stretching across the pony's left wing and over his flank.
"That must be Scarwings," Night mentally said.
The pegasus lifted a hoof up to his shades and pulled them off, sticking them into the collar of his jacket where they hung sideways His left eye also had a faint scar, but both eyes remained in their orange color. Just then, another door opened from behind them. Everypony, except for the guard, looked in the direction of the door. In trotted Sharpblade, still appearing nervous.
"So terribly sorry I am late, I ran into uh...a bit of a problem," Sharp spoke under cover of his hoodie.
"Be glad that you are here, Sharp. We have a present for you, as you can see," Scarwings spoke with a dark chuckle.
Sharpblade approached the guard and walked around him to the front, the guard letting out some quiet muffled noises and shaking in his chair. Sharp inspected the unicorn thoroughly, then up at him.
"What am I supposed to do with him?"
"Take his armor, you will need it for later. Then kill him."
Night gasped quietly from the skylight, his golden pupils shrinking to marbles. Down below, Scarwings handed Sharp a sharpened butcher knife, the unicorn hesitantly taking it in a blue magical aura. He paused, then turned to the guard. The guard was now shaking more than ever and shook his head a couple of times.
"Go on, do it," said the tan earth pony in his usual gruff voice.
Night continued to watch. After a long pause, he began to crack a faint smile. "He's not going to do it."
Sharp stared the white unicorn in the eye, his ears went back slightly and he sighed. "Why can't we just let him go?"
Scarwings' smirk dropped into a slightly angered look. "Why don't you want to kill him, Sharpblade?"
Sharp turned his head back to Scarwings. "He probably has a family at home."
The guard's ears pinned to his head and he nodded slowly, his eyes beginning to fill with tears. He closed his eyes tightly and turned his head to the side, as if he was ready for Sharp to drive the knife into him and end his life. But not before turning back when the steel clatter of a knife dropping onto the concrete floor caught his attention.
Sharp reached a hoof up and pulled his hood back, his whitish-grey mohawk mane sticking straight up. He turned to Scarwings with a faint glare. "I will take his armor, but he will not die. Is that understood?"
Scarwings huffed and stepped closer, he leaned his head down a bit to stare angrily at Sharpblade. "No, you will kill him. Is that understood?"
Sharp's ears pinned back, but he remained stoic as ever. "I refuse to take away an innocent life, especially one that has family waiting for him at home."
"And why would you care? You never had a family that loved you, Sharpblade," Scarwings growled.
Sharp's eyes widened, he teared up. "...None of that is true."
"You know it is, you worthless excuse of a unicorn. Your parents never loved you. They hated you after you told them you were leaving to join the Royal Guard, they hated you because you became a soldier. They hated you because you didn't listen to what they thought was best for you."
"Stop."
"Admit it, Sharp. You're just a sad pony with no personality or life. And that one Lunar guard? That one that thinks he's so special just because he brought the bat pony colonies back to Equestria? He doesn't give two filly-flanks about you. I would have thought you were smart enough to know that after he killed you. If I knew you were this dumb, I would have let you rot in that casket."
Sharpblade's ears were completely pinned back, his eyes shut tightly. He shook with fear and anger mixed into one as the slightly larger pegasus degraded him slowly into tiny bits. After a short moment, a tear fell from his cheek. Above, Night gasped with shock when the tear splashed against the floor.
"Y-you're right," Sharp spoke with weakness in his voice. "I...am worthless."
"Then prove yourself worthy of it, and I will let you stay in our militia. Deal?" Scarwings motioned a hoof out towards Sharp.
"Don't do it..." Night thought to himself.
Sharp opened his eyes slightly and stared at Scarwings' hoof. After pausing, he reached a shaky hoof up and shook it with the brown pegasus'.
"NO!" Night shouted, then quickly covered his mouth in surprise.
Night's shouting caught the attention of the entire room at once, all looking around before Steel Locks spotted the grey pegasus from above. He raised a gauntlet and pointed towards him, clenching his teeth angrily. "Up there!"
Sharpblade immediately looked up at Night, his pupils shrinking. He then shouted. "Night, go!"
Scarwings looked down at Sharp as the other ponies rushed to chase after Night. "You...little...traitor."
Sharp turned to Scarwings. "Uh oh."
Before he could run away, Sharp was tackled to the ground by Scarwings and pinned down by his massive amounts of strength. Sharp grunted and squirmed helplessly underneath the pegasus.
"Sharp!" Night shouted, ears pinning back.
Scarwings turned to the others. "Get him before he escapes!"
"Oh snap," Night pulled back from the skylight. He was stuck between two hard decisions; fight or flight.
Stuck underneath Scarwings, Sharp shouted one final time, "Go, Night! And don't look back!" before being knocked unconscious by Steel Locks.
At this, Night knew it was best to fly away. He unfolded his wings and quickly took off into the sky with tears building. It was then that he rushed back towards the palace.
Landing on the balcony outside his home in the Canterlot Palace, Night Shadow raced through the doors and locked them, then to the front door to lock it as well. Night's ears were pinned to his head and sweat beaded on his body, having flown across town in such a small amount of time. He slid down with his back against the wood of the door and panted heavily, staring forward in shock.
"Sh-Sharp..." He whimpered. The thought of leaving his friend alone put a great weight on his heart and it hurt.
Night wiped his hooves down across his face and looked around slowly in the dark room, desperately trying to think of what to do next. Then, a thought hit him.
"I've got to get Thunder."
***
A loud banging came from the front door of Thunderblast's apartment, jolting him awake. His deep blue eyes shot open in the darkness of the night and immediately adjusted to the moon-lit room. With a soft yawn, the grey pegasus sat up and looked to the digital clock sitting on his nightstand that read half past midnight. He rubbed his eye and pushed the sheets off of his lower half, standing up on the wooden floor and walking out into the living room, and then to the front door where the pony was still banging on it loudly.
He twisted the door's lock, keeping the pin-chain lock in place at chin-level and cracked the door open enough where the other lock allowed. His eyes adjusted to the lights in the hallway outside of his apartment, they suddenly met those of a darker grey pegasus with a purple swept-back styled mane.
"Night?" Thunder spoke quietly.
"Thunder, I'm sorry for this, but I need to come in," Night replied with a little panic in his voice.
Thunder paused a moment, then shut the door and took the chain lock off before opening it all the way and motioning his hoof for Night to come in, which he did. "What's up?" Thunder rubbed his eye.
Night trotted to the couch and took a seat on it. "It's about Sharp."
Thunder's eyes widened. "What about him?"
"They...took him."
"Hang on, hang on," he waved a hoof. "Start from the beginning, what happened? He was dead."
"Was. It turns out Thunder, all of this time, he was working for underground crime."
"But how? He was dead. Are you telling me he isn't a guard, and the pony that was buried was an imposter?"
"No no no," Night paused to catch his breath. "He was dead. His...boss, Scarwings I think was his name, revived him and...did things to him."
"What kind of things?" Thunder took a seat on the smaller couch.
"First of all, he did something to him to alter his mind to think he was somepony else. He...knew me though. He tried attacking me one night and I managed to get him to Luna where she performed a memory spell on him."
"And?"
"It reformed him, I guess you could say. But now they have him..."
"They figured it out that he isn't working for them anymore?"
"Something like that...they captured a guard and wanted Sharp to kill him...and he refused. I caught their attention by accident and they...grabbed him," Night's ears fell and tears built in his eyes. "It's all my fault. First I kill him, now I'm going to get him killed again!"
Thunder's ears fell a bit, watching Night begin to quietly sob into his hooves. "And you came here because you want me to help?"
Night stopped for a moment. "Y-yes..." he sniffled and wiped at his eyes.
"What ever happened to being a good leader?"
Night looked up, ears still pinned down. His look of worry quickly turned into a hard glare. "Are we really going back to this?"
"You said you didn't need help," Thunder said flatly. "And now you're here asking for my help."
"Thunder..."
"No, Night. I refuse to help somepony who thinks they're perfect, and when they realize that they aren't they come crying to others for help. No, I'm sorry, but this is on you."
"Thunder, you don't understand!"
"I understand perfectly. I'm staying out of the fight for once. It isn't mine, it's yours."
"Thunder, Sharp is our friend! He's in trouble!" Night shouted angrily.
"He's your friend, Night," Thunder raised his voice.
Night recoiled back, giving Thunder a strange look. "He's our friend. He's your friend too. And you're my friend. You refuse to help him?"
"I refuse to help you. If you weren't involved, I would go after him, but it is a problem you got yourself into," Thunder stood up and began walking to his bedroom. "And after you acted so snooty the other day, I'm having second thoughts about our friendship."
Night's heart sank. "W-what...?"
"You heard me," Thunder stopped where he was, just before the doorway.
"You...you don't want to be my friend?" Night stared at Thunder with shrunk pupils with new tears sitting in them.
Thunder took a moment to respond. "No."
"I...Thunder...N-no. I-I didn't...want any of this to happen."
"Well guess what? It did. If you want help, go to the ponies you take command of. They'll help you."
"Thunder...please," Night whimpered, staring at him pleadingly.
"If you want me back, you can tell me later," Thunder walked through the doorway leading into his bedroom.
Unsure of what to do next, Night quickly stood on all fours and leapt across the back of the couch and tackling Thunder to the floor, clinging on tightly to his sides. Thunder yelped and kicked his hinds.
"Agh, get off of me!" Thunder squirmed.
"Please, Thunder, I need your help! I haven't asked anything of you for the last few months, but please, I am asking...no, I'm begging you right this minute. Please, we need to get our friend back!" Night sobbed and held onto the grey pegasus tightly.
"Night, get off before I kick you into the ceiling!" Thunder shouted, still squirming around and kicking his hinds hoping to get Night off of his back.
This only made Night cling tighter, squeezing at Thunder's waist and almost making it hard for the other pony to breathe. Thunder wheezed, then gave up struggling and laid still.
"Thunder...I want Sharp back, but I want you back as well. You took me in to the guard...you trained me to become who I am today. I wouldn't want it any better. You took care of me, you talked me out of leaving when I thought I did wrong. B-but this is our friend that's in trouble," Night shook as he held tightly onto Thunder.
Thunder remained silent for a few moments, his glare faded and he sighed. He reached his hooves down to Night and pulled him up to his chest, wrapping his own hooves around Night's neck in a warm hug. Night shook even more, then wrapped his hooves back around Thunder.
"I-I'm sorry..."
"I am too..." Thunder sighed softly, then after a minute the two separated from the hug. "I'm not used to holding other stallions in my hooves in that way for that long, so please do not bring it up," he gave Night a serious look.
Night nodded and smiled a bit, wiping at his eye. "Got it."
The two stood up and looked at each other, Thunder eventually growing a smile.
"So, you got a plan?"
Night's smile faded immediately. "Not...really."
Thunder sighed, lifting a hoof to his face and shaking his head. "You said Sharp was kidnapped by Scarwings, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it just him, or are there more?"
"Oh...no. The group he's with isn't nearly as big as the Legion soldiers we faced months ago, but they're still strong. They've got somepony who has..." Night paused to think. "Steel gauntlets attached to his hooves like prosthetics. A big pony too. I'd say, just a bit smaller than Princess Celestia."
Thunder thought for a moment, then grinned. "Not a problem."
"Huh?" Night tilted his head a bit.
"You remember that sword I got a while back?"
"Yeah?"
"Then this pony isn't a problem."
"If...you say so," Night didn't quite catch on, he shrugged it off. "Other than them, there's just a bunch of regular sized ponies."
"Armed?"
"I'm not completely sure. Probably. It's probably best to assume they are if they are a crime group."
Thunder nodded. "Well, with Sharp in their grasp, it's best if we don't wait to find out what they're planning. For all we know, it could be another revolution."
"Or an organized military-style attack on Canterlot."
Thunder nodded again and sighed. "We'd better go to the Princess."
"Luna?"
"Celestia."
"Why her?" Night furrowed an eyebrow.
"She's technically my boss."
"Why not Luna? She's my boss."
"Can we trust her to be serious about this?"
Night's muzzle wrinkled and he huffed. "I guarantee you we can trust her more than Princess Celestia. How well do you know her?"
"Well...I-I mean..." Thunder stuttered.
"There you go," Night said flatly.
"How well do you know Princess Luna?"
"Better than you do, that's for sure," Night smirked. "Even after all she went through these last few years after she was reformed, she understands situations perfectly and handles them perfectly," he walked towards the balcony door. "Come on, she should still be awake. She usually does her own personal interests about this time of night."
"Yeah...moving the moon across the sky."
"Nope, other than that!" Night slid the glass door open and took to the skies. "Race you there!"
***
Landing just a minute later outside Princess Luna's quarters on her balcony, Night Shadow smirked towards Thunderblast as he glided down next to him just moments later.
"You had a head start," Thunder briefly glared at Night.
"So? You're a faster flyer than me."
"Am not," Thunder rolled his eyes. "Is this her place?"
"Sure is," Night walked up to the glass doors that were curtained and knocked politely.
Inside, quiet shuffling could be heard by the both of them, followed by approaching hoofsteps. The curtains were pulled back by a blue aura of magic, then fell back over the door. Both doors unlocked and swung inwards, and out of the shadows stepped Princess Luna.
"Good evening, Night Shadow. What brings thou here in the dead of night?"
Night bowed his head in respect, followed by Thunder. "We have a bit of an emergency, we can't talk out here. May we come in?"
"Yes, of course," Princess Luna stepped to the side and motioned her hoof for the two to go into her quarters, which they did.
Shutting the doors behind her, Princess Luna lit some candles in her room and showed the two to some royal pillows to sit on.
"Thank you, your highness," Night said, sitting.
"Yes, thank you," Thunder sat down beside Night.
The Princess nodded and sat down on her own pillow in front of them. "So, what is this emergency you speak of?"
"Princess Luna," Night started, his ears fell back as he did. "Sharpblade has been kidnapped."
Princess Luna's eyes went wide. "By who? Does thou know?"
"Well—I—He remembered that he was supposed to meet with his boss in the crime world and I went with him, but watched from the skylight. Sharp went in for the meeting and was asked to kill a guard and steal his armor for...something. When he didn't, he was caught...and so was I almost," Night looked down. "And it's my fault he got caught."
Princess Luna's worried expression quickly turned into a serious one. "Who is his captor?"
"Scarwings, commander-in-chief of the East-Prancisco Militia. They're planning to do something, I just don't know what."
The Princess' eyes went wide again. "The East-Prancisco Militia? Oh dear..."
"What is it?" The two looked at the Princess.
Princess Luna looked down, her mane of stars waving slowly in an infinite, gentle breeze that could not be felt. "They have been responsible for the bigger crimes around Equestria lately, from small train robberies to surplus store hold-ups. What's been stolen might you ask? Uniforms, vests, weapons and ammunition, even a high-powered hoof-held drill."
"A drill?" Thunderblast paused to think before gasping. "They're going to rob the Royal Canterlot Bank!"
Night turned his head to Thunder, "Just a bank? It seems like they're preparing for much more."
"Yeah, the Royal Guard. They know the guard will take pursuit and eventually catch them, they have no easy way of getting away. They're going to fight whoever goes after them, each and every one until they're all dead."
"This idea seems a bit far fetched, but it is possible with all that has been stolen. If they do plan on robbing the bank, we might as well have it on high security," Princess Luna spoke.
"Or, we could have the Royal Guard send the bank's vault money elsewhere where they can't get a hold of any of it."
"That would take too long, Night," Thunder moved his attention to him. "We don't even know when they're planning any of this, and if we did, it would probably be too late to do anything about it."
"But, we haven't even discussed how we're going to rescue Sharp!"
Princess Luna paused, then sighed. She lifted a hoof and rested it on Night's shoulder. "Captain...I am afraid with the circumstances of the situation, there may be no way to rescue your friend. For all we know, they could have executed him by now."
"They wouldn't get rid of a perfectly good pony. All he needs is a good hypnotizing spell, and boom, he's back on their side and we're back to square one. Or, they could use something that he truly cares about to poke at with swords and knives that will make him work for them. If you plan on getting Sharp back, we'll need to take down the Militia first, somehow," Thunder looked between the two of them.
"Taking down the Militia would be a great win for Equestria, as they are the most wanted group of ponies in the country, and a few others," Princess Luna responded.
"Well, we for sure can't do it on our own. Not with Steel Locks on their side. We'll need a squad of guards," Night added.
"Do you know anypony that would be worthy enough to fight off the Militia?"
Night looked at Thunder and nodded once, then back to Princess Luna with a smile. "We know a few ponies."
***
A knock just loud enough to grab the attention of a maroon-coated pegasus caught his ears and startled him awake. His eyes shot open, having being in the middle of a deep slumber just moments before. The pony sat up and yawned, eyes baggy and slightly bloodshot from exhaustion. He peered over to the digital clock sitting on his nightstand and took a few moments for his vision to clear before reading the time.
"Now who would be here at this time of night," he yawned and spoke to himself quietly. The pegasus pushed the sheets off of the lower half of his body and stood on all fours, easing his muscles and trotting out into the hallway and downstairs, into the small living room and up to the door.
The maroon pegasus shut one eye, peeking through the peep hole on his door to see who was there. After seeing two grey pegasi of different shades standing at his doorstep, he unlocked the door and slowly opened it. "Night Shadow... Thunderblast, what are you two doing here?"
"Hey Shuriken, we're sorry to wake you at this time, but it's an emergency," Night said with some worry on his face.
The last word hit the maroon pony and woke him up completely. "What's up?"
"Listen, we're not going to stay for long, but we have reason to believe Scarwings, leader of the East-Prancisco Militia is going to attack Canterlot soon," Thunder replied.
"How soon?" Shuriken asked, eyes widened.
"We don't know. This week kind of soon. We think, that is," Night added.
Shuriken nodded. "What am I supposed to do?"
Night briefly sighed. "You remember Sharpblade?"
Shuriken paused to think. "Yeah, why?" he replied with a nod.
"He's not dead... And they've kidnapped him. We need all the help we can get to rescue him and thwart their plans."
Shuriken nodded more, he was still extremely tired and was starting to believe he was going crazy after Night said what had happened to Sharp. "Yeah?"
"So, are you in?" Thunder furrowed a brow.
Shuriken came to his senses and stood up properly. "Of course."
"Great!" Night smiled.
"Hey, is your roommate Caspian still here?"
Shuriken nodded. "Yeah, why? You need him too?"
"We could use the extra help. We need as much of it as possible. We're talking about a big plan Scarwings conjured up."
"I'll talk to him tomorrow when he wakes up, you know how much he hates being woken up in the middle of the night."
"Of course," Night said, the two nodding.
"But yes, I'll help you guys," Shuriken smiled tiredly.
"Perfect," Night smiled. "You can go back to sleep now. Meet us at lunch tomorrow, alright?"
"Where at?"
"Same place as always," Thunder responded.
Shuriken nodded once more. "Sure thing. See you tomorrow."
***
The light of dawn spilled across the land much similar to a tidal wave during a coastal storm and brought gradually increasing warmth to the mountainside capital city. While the rest of Canterlot got up and ready for the day ahead of them, Night rested quietly in his Lunar Guard bed sheets, tucked in like a mother would have for her foals. His every breath calm and quiet as his body recharged from the adrenaline rush the night before.
Though he was meant to meet up with Thunderblast, Shuriken, and his roommate, Caspian at lunch, he needed a full nights rest after falling asleep around not much past four in the morning, much later than his body was used to.
Each minute ticked by slowly, each minute Night cherished in bed following the long day. With the noon hour growing closer, he eventually woke just forty minutes before and immediately jumped into the shower, preparing for his meeting with his friends.
Fully refreshed from both his time sleeping in and his shower, Night dressed himself in his armor and began towards the guard barracks on the west side of the palace.
Night kept a steady pace, walking casually through the magnificent halls of the Canterlot Palace and not taking time to stop and see the sights, knowing he's already seen most of the building from his time working for Princess Luna's guard.
His five minute walk took him out of the palace and onto the Royal Guard training grounds where not only the running trail and training equipment sat, but the barracks and the offices themselves, as well as the mess hall where Night was set to meet with his friends.
Trotting into the one-room cafeteria, Night looked around for three familiar faces. When he didn't see them, he took a seat at a vacant table and waited patiently. He tapped his hoof on the table slowly, and after the three still didn't show up minutes later, he got up and stood in line to get a tray of food.
Returning to the table, Night sat down and ate one of the small roasted carrots on his tray, shortly before a friendly voice caught his attention.
"Night Shadow!" Called Shuriken from across the room, dressed in his golden Royal Guard armor and standing beside an inch-shorter white earth pony wearing similar armor.
Night quickly gulped down the mush of chewed carrot in his mouth and smiled to them, waving to the two of them. Both ponies made their way to Night's table and took seats, Shuriken beside Night and Caspian across from them.
"Seen Thunder anywhere?" Night asked, looking between the both of them.
"Afraid not," Shuriken replied with a shake of his head.
Night simply shrugged. "He'll be here soon, I'm sure."
"Usually he isn't late. Then again, we're a few minutes early," Shuriken tapped a hoof on the tabletop.
"Hey, you guys, go get some food. I'm not trying to hold you back," Night smiled warmly.
"I guess I will. What about you, Caspy?" Shuriken focused on the white earth pony across from him.
Caspian shrugged. "I'm not really that hungry. I'll get food later."
"If you say so, but you're missing out on some good carrots," Night grinned a little.
Caspian shrugged again, the white earth pony keeping a serious look across his face and glancing around the room slowly while Shuriken got up and into line.
"Hey, it's been a little while," Night tried to start a small conversation with the pony across from him.
The white earth pony simply nodded, his hooves crossed and attention focused elsewhere. Night frowned a little.
"Sooo...see any good movies lately?"
"Not really, I don't like movies much," Caspian moved a hoof up to his longer blonde white-striped mane and pushed a thick strand out of the way of his eye.
"Oh... Er... Okay," Night furrowed a brow, then immediately looked up when he noticed Thunder sneaking into the mess hall and appearing to be trying not to be noticed.
"Hey, Thunder!" Night called for the grey pegasus, who froze dead in his tracks and looked in the direction of his voice. Ears falling back, he slowly navigated tables and sat down beside Caspian. When he did, he kept his head low.
"Everything alright?" Caspian noticed this and raised his eyebrow in suspicion.
"No," Thunder spoke quietly, resting his temple on his hoof and propped it up. "Where's Shuriken?"
"Up getting some food. Why?" Night replied.
"I'll wait until he's here. You'll all want to hear this."
Night nodded, eying the nervous pony in suspicion until Shuriken returned a couple of minutes later.
"Hey, Thunder," Shuriken set the tray down in front of him and sat down. "Sheesh, you look like you didn't sleep well."
"I did, thank you very much," Thunder set his hoof on the table, sitting up straight. "It's... not that."
"Then what is it?"
Thunder stopped to look around the room thoroughly to make sure nopony else was listening in, just before returning his attention to the other three. "I think I was being followed."
Night's eyes widened, as did Shuriken's and Caspian's. "By who?"
"Not sure," Thunder shook his head. "But I had that feeling the whole way here. I think they know that I know what you know, Night."
Caspian just stared at Thunder. "Wha?"
"Night, explain," Thunder rested his hooves on the table and laid his head down into them.
Night cleared his throat following a sip of water. "Sharpblade isn't dead. In fact, he was revived shortly after he did die. All of this crime, all of these anomalies that ponies and guards have been reporting, it's all because of him and his... master. His mind was altered to believe he was working in the world of crime and took after Scarwings, you two already know who he is."
Caspian nodded. "Go on."
"And...just few nights ago, he tried to either kidnap me or kill me on my way back to my quarters and I managed to get him to Princess Luna where she fixed his mind. Self explanatory, he was back to his original self. Then he took me to Scarwings' hideout at an old factory in southeast Canterlot where he went in acting like his bad self while I watched from the roof. He... Scarwings wanted him to kill a guard they managed to kidnap and he wouldn't do it. I got their attention by accident, and... they grabbed him," Night took a deep inhale, then let it out.
"I brought you here today because not only do we need to figure out a plan to get Sharp back, but we need to find out how to stop Scarwings and the rest of the Militia before they strike Canterlot."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. An attack, on Canterlot? By the East-Prancisco Militia?" Caspian stared in some disbelief. "They couldn't if they wanted to. The Royal Guard outnumbers them ten to one."
"Yes, but they've been doing quite the crimes recently. Stealing military gear from stores and even a high powered drill. We have reason to believe they are going to attack the Royal Canterlot Bank."
"The bank? How cliche," Shuriken swallowed some food he was eating. "If they're going to the trouble of getting military gear, I would assume they're after something more than money at the bank."
"What do you think then?" Thunder sat his head up and turned to the maroon pegasus.
"Well," Shuriken leaned against the table. "If I stole all of that military stuff for some kind of crime-related plan, and if I had a well-trained squad to do it with me, I would go for the Princesses, or something in the palace valuable enough to steal and make good money off of. But, that's just my guess."
"You don't... think they're going to try and take out the Princesses, do you?" Caspian looked between the three.
"It's possible," Night said after a brief pause of thinking. He then sat up, straightening his spine and looking between the three with a serious look. "Whether or not the threat of assassination is credible, we should alert them at once."
***
"The East-Prancisco Militia, hm? And you believe they're the reason for the strange occurrences around the city lately?"
"Yes, your highness," Night replied with a nod of his head as he spoke to Princess Celestia, her sister Princess Luna sitting beside her in her own throne.
"And you're sure they are planning something that may be against us?" Princess Celestia looked down at the Lunar guard with some concern.
"I can't say for sure, but after talking with a few of my friends about it, we all think it's possible."
"Hmm..." Princess Celestia glanced over to the dark blue alicorn mare sitting beside her, Princess Luna looking back at her. "Well, coming from one of my sister's most trusted guards, I would say the threat is credible. But, there isn't much proof supporting such an idea. I'm afraid I cannot raise security until something else pops up."
"But, your highness—"
Princess Celestia raised a hoof up, Night immediately stopped talking.
"Now, Captain, as much as I appreciate your concerns, there simply isn't enough information supporting your claim. I will have my captains add a few guards on patrol, but nothing more. Will that make you comfortable?"
"Yes..." Night replied after a lengthy silence, nodding once.
Princess Celestia nodded her head back, before being gently nudged by Princess Luna.
"Sister, Night Shadow has usually never been wrong about these situations. We should listen to his warnings and up security and be on a lookout for the Militia," Princess Luna spoke.
"Luna, you must understand that to raise security, we must have a proper reason to. Without proof, I'm afraid the threat isn't... a threat."
"Sister, it shouldn't matter! If there is even the idea of a threat, we should take each one seriously!"
"If..." Princess Celestia briefly paused, raising her hoof to stop her sister. "We did that, security would be at an all-time high year round and our nation would change."
"And just how would that happen?" Princess Luna furrowed an eyebrow.
Princess Celestia stared down at Princess Luna, then sighed after a long silence. "Ponies will think something is wrong all the time when they see more guards than usual in and around the palace. Even more so, tours would no longer be allowed with the extra security."
"You're saying you would rather have ponies lingering around our palace instead of protection in case of an attack?"
"Enough!" Princess Celestia shouted in reply, both Princess Luna and Night Shadow recoiling back in utter surprise.
The two stared at the sun princess for a long moment, before she returned her glance back towards them.
"I am sorry you had to hear that, Night Shadow. Even after all of these years, me and my sister still argue."
Night gulped and nodded. "Yes, your highness," was all he could say.
Princess Celestia nodded her head, returning her gaze to her younger sister. "I will have a talk with you later, Princess Luna. For now, you take Night back to his friends."
With a loud sigh, Princess Luna stood up from her throne. "Yes, big sister," she grumbled and walked down the throne towards Night. The dark blue alicorn mare walked beside Night towards the tall doors at the end of the throne room, remaining silent the entire way. Night thought it was probably better if he didn't start talking.
Walking out of the throne room, Princess Luna shut both doors behind her to the surprise of the unicorn guards standing outside, she turned to Night Shadow.
"I do not care what my sister says, I wish thou to speak with Captain Star about increasing security around the palace. I would prefer not to be unprepared in the event of what thine believes might happen," Princess Luna whispered.
Night nodded in reply. "I'll see to it. Is that all?"
Princess Luna shook her head. "If thou can, try and gather your friends and a few other guards to try and track down the Militia."
Night raised his hoof in a salute. "It will be done, your highness."
"Very good. I must go back, my sister has to talk with me," Princess Luna said in a frustrated tone.
"Good luck," Night slipped out, immediately mentally facehoofing himself.
"Thanks, I will need it," the Lunar princess turned around and walked back into the throne room, the guards shutting the doors and locking them behind her.
Instantly after the Princess walked away, Night set his focus on finding his friends wherever they were. Turning to walk in the direction of where he left them, he stopped when he saw Thunderblast galloping towards him with distress all over.
"Whoa, hey, Thunder," Night took a step back, allowing for Thunder to come to a halt.
Thunder wiped at his forehead and panted. "Night, you have to come with me!"
"Wait, hold on, what's up?"
"It's Shuriken and Caspian, they're in trouble! The Militia, they're attacking the palace!"
Night's eyes widened. "They're attacking now?"
"Yes, come on! They need our help!" Thunder grabbed hold of Night's hoof and began galloping in the direction he came from.
Night pulled his hoof away and began running under his own speed just behind his friend. "Where are they at?!"
"South side of the palace, they were ambushed by four Militia members! I tried to fight with them, but they told me to go get you!"
The two galloped through the palace, along with other guards that abandoned their stations to go after the Militia members who had broken in on the south wing. With the guards than ran beside them, the group stopped at a hallway where the windows were completely shattered, glass shards laying across the red carpet floor. Just a few yards down from the broken glass were scuffle marks on the floor, a sign of heavy fighting, but no one was there.
"Shoot, where are they?!" Thunderblast looked all around them.
Just then, a cry of pain caught the five's attention.
"They're down there!" A guard shouted, unsheathing a sword from his armor and galloping down the hallway towards the source of the screaming, the other four following close behind after exchanging looks.
Stopping at a hallway intersection, the guard leading looked both ways, then galloping to the left hallway and to the right, down another one.
Panting, one of the other guards said, "Does he know where he's going?!"
"Only one way to find out!" Night replied, quickly approaching the guard who was preparing to kick in the doors to the ball room.
The grey earth pony moved his weight to his forehooves and lifted his hinds into the air, then springing them back in a hard buck straight into the door, but to no avail.
"I need some help!" The guard shouted, preparing to kick again.
Thunder moved beside the guard in a similar position.
"Ready?"
Thunder nodded and lifted his hind legs into the air, adjacent to the earth guard's and bucked the door. With the combined momentum, the wooden doors cracked and exploded inwards, debris flying into the room while the remains of the doors swung open wide. The two turned around, Night and the other two guards behind him running into the ball room where the four Militia members were holding Shuriken and Caspian captive.
"Night, Thunder!" Shuriken shouted, sitting in the center of the room, tied back-to-back with Caspian and being guarded by one of the ponies dressed in a mercenary combat uniform.
The pony guarding them raised a hoof to his mouth and whistled loudly, moments after, the other three Militia members jumped out of hiding and lunged towards the five.
"Ambush!" Night shouted, jumping just out of the way of an attacking pony. The tan soldier landed on his hooves and instead went for the grey earth pony that led the four there, the two engaging in a knife and sword fight—and surprisingly enough, the one with the knife was winning.
Quickly looking over, Night saw the other two Militia soldiers attacking one of the other guards and Thunder. Turning back to Shuriken and Caspian, he bared his fangs and galloped towards the pony standing guard beside them.
The pony clenched his teeth angrily and whipped out a magic pistol and fired a quick shot of red energy at Night. He quickly flew upwards at the ceiling, glancing down to the floor where he was and seeing a burnt mark that sizzled and let off a small rising trail of smoke. He turned to the others and shouted, "Watch out, they've got magic pistols!"
The pistol quickly recharged and the soldier aimed for Night and fired again. Dodging to the side, Night watched the small shot fly up into the ceiling and smashing a small hole in it, a tiny ray of sunlight beaming inside. He growled and returned his attention to the pony below him, and very quickly began flying down towards him.
The Militia soldier recharged the pistol and fired again and again, Night dodging just to the side before his wing was clipped by the laser. He yelped, and with his momentum, he landed directly on top of the soldier as originally planned, his wing feathers on the end tip burnt from the hit. He quickly patted his wing to douse the small flame that flared up from the laser and turned back to the soldier. He stood up, then threw multiple hard punches into the pony's face without hesitation and stunned him just enough to grab his knife from a side pocket and cut Shuriken and Caspian free, then taking the soldier's weapons.
"We have to deal with these goons and get to the princesses!" Night shouted over the room. Just then, he realized something.
"Take his gun," Night began running for the door, he tossed the laser pistol to Shuriken, who caught it in his hooves.
"Wait, where are you going?" Shuriken called to Night.
"This isn't all of them, it's a diversion!" He flew above the others, who at the time were taking care of the three other Militia soldiers.
Turning to Caspian and exchanging looks with him, then taking pursuit after Night.
"Caspy, climb on!" Shuriken reached a hoof down as he flew just above the galloping white pony.
Caspian reached up and yanked himself up onto the maroon pegasus' back as he flew faster through the halls, following Night as close as he could.
"Where are we going?!" Caspian shouted to Night.
"The throne room, the Princesses are out in the open!" Night flew towards the doors to the throne room, which to their shock was wide open, and the guards were missing. He landed, skidding to a stop just before the doors and staring towards the thrones. His eyes widened. "They're gone!"
Shuriken landed beside Night, Caspian hopping off of his back with a clop of his hooves. The two looked into the throne room and gasped.
"Where in the world are they?!" Caspian looked all around frantically.
Before anything else could happen, their attention was focused to a bright flash of teleportation magic in the center of the throne room. The three shielded their eyes, and when the light faded, they gasped in surprise. Standing in the center of the room was Sharpblade, in a black hoodie with the hood pulled back off of his head.
"Sharp!" Shuriken began running towards him for joy.
Examining the pony closer, Night noticed something was off. His eyes weren't golden and were instead a grass green, and his cutie mark appeared differently, but from a distance he couldn't make anything out. He gasped, watching the unicorn light his horn in a silver aura of magic with a sinister grin.
"That's not Sharp!" Night galloped after Shuriken.
"Goodnight, you three..." The unicorn chuckled and prepared a powerful blast of magic that would kill in one hit.
Shuriken's eyes opened wide, he slid to a stop just before the grey unicorn and unable to get out of the way in time. He quickly shut his eyes and prepared for the beam to tear him apart. As it began to fire, Night tackled Shuriken to the ground, ducking just below the beam as it flew towards Caspian. He shrieked and dove against the wall as it flew past him, shattering a mirror outside the door.
The grey unicorn stomped his hoof, suddenly his coat color changed to white and cutie mark changing from a silver blade shimmering in the light to a type of dagger and lunged towards Night and Shuriken. Night quickly stood on all fours and drove a hard hoof upwards into the pony's jaw, sending him flying upwards and back, landing on his back with a loud grunt.Night helped Shuriken to his hooves and patted his shoulder.
The maroon pegasus turned to Night with wide-eyes. "Whoa, thanks! Are you okay?"
"Only if you are," Night replied and trotted up to the unicorn, who laid on the ground groaning in pain. He picked him up by the collar of his hoodie and held him close, muzzle to muzzle. "Tell me, where are the princesses, and where is my friend Sharp?!" He growled.
The unicorn grunted and squirmed helplessly in Night's grasp. He lit his horn in a bright silver in hopes of teleporting away, but was stopped by a hard punch to the jaw. He yelped and moved his jaw around, it popping back into place.
"The princesses... argh... they escaped, in a bunker somewhere. Heavily guarded," he then grinned and chuckled. "But Sharp, hehehe, the boss has him. And once he's finished with him, he'll move on to you and your friends."
Night clenched his teeth and glared harder at the pony. "Tell me. Where. He is!"
"Or what?" The unicorn grinned, his jaw bruised severely. His eyes widened when he heard the click of a pistol and looked to his side, seeing Shuriken aiming it towards him, ready to be fired. He sighed. "Scar's got him at the warehouse still."
"Good," Night threw the unicorn into the floor, the white pony grunting in pain as he did. "Shuriken, take care of him," he turned around and flew back to Caspian. "Caspian, we're going to go get Sharp back."
"Oh...kay..." Caspian gulped, shaken from the massive blast of magical energy that almost hit him. "That pony said he's at the warehouse right? What warehouse?"
"Don't worry about it, but for now, climb on!" Night pulled the white earth pony onto his back. "And hang on!"
Caspian clung tightly to Night as the grey pegasus took off, carelessly smashing through the skylight above them and upwards. Night flew forwards, straight in the direction of where he was told Sharp was.
"Let's hope the Royal Guard can handle the palace," Caspian looked back towards the palace as it moved away from them.
***
Minutes later, Night landed outside of the three-story brick building from the night before, Caspian hopping off of his back.
"They're keeping Sharp here?" Caspian looked over the building.
Night nodded. "Stay close behind, we don't know how many will be in here," he said, sneaking into the front door with Caspian close behind.
Moving through two small hallways, the two made their way into the main room of the warehouse and hid behind some boxes and crates. Night peeked around the crate, his gold eyes widening when he saw Sharpblade knelt down, tape covering his mouth and hooves tied behind his back, the rope extending back to a stake sticking out of the floor to prevent him from going anywhere, while his horn was disabled by a silver horn ring. Standing around him were three Militia soldiers, standing guard to make sure he couldn't escape on his own.
"Sharp!" He whispered.
"Do you see him?" Caspian said quietly from behind.
"He's right th—"
The two were thrown backwards when the crates blew apart, and out of the dust and debris stepped Steel Locks with a deep chuckle. Night and Caspian coughed, opening their eyes and seeing the larger earth pony standing a short distance in front of them where the crates used to be. Caspian's pupils shrunk to pinpricks and he chuckled nervously.
"I had a feeling you would be coming to find your friend, Night Shadow!" Steel walked closer, his gauntlets shaking the floor at every step.
The two nervously scooted back against the wall until they couldn't go any further, suddenly being grabbed by Steel's cold, heavy hooves and picked up.
"Get over there!" Steel turned and tossed the two into the floor just in front of Sharp.
Night and Caspian hit the cold hard floor with a grunt, Night coughing and pushing his head up slowly to see his captured friend staring back at him with widened eyes.
"Mmrrf!" Sharp said, his voice muffled from the tape.
"Sharp..." Night's ears fell flat.
Steel stomped over to the two and picked them up, standing them up straight and facing the other end of the warehouse. The doors slid open, and out walked the tall brown pegasus who wore the same jacket as the night before. He grinned towards Night and Caspian, walking closer.
"Ah, Night Shadow. So nice of you to join us. Who is your friend, might I ask?"
Night's gaze of worry for Sharp quickly transformed into a hardened glare, he bared his fangs. Scarwings jumped back a bit, he leaned his head down a bit to get a closer look.
"Oh, that's right, you're part bat pony. The only pegasus in existence like yourself," he sighed contently. "It's a shame that won't be the case for much longer. After we find the princesses, we won't have a use for you three anymore."
"And just what do you plan on doing with us?" Caspian asked angrily.
"Oh, you know, things," Scarwings chuckled. "You will see in time."
***
Now tied tightly to chairs beside Sharp, the three were surrounded by Scarwings, Steel Locks and the remaining Militia soldiers.
"Hmm, what to do with them in the mean time?" Scarwings grinned. "Any idea, Steel?"
"I have a few," Steel grinned sinisterly and chuckled deeply.
"We're all ears," Scarwings took a few steps back.
"First I'll squeeze them," Steel grinned more. "Then I'll—"
Steel was interrupted by a loud thump that shook the building. Everypony looked around them in confusion, Scarwings sitting down.
"Okay... go on," Scarwings glanced around before turning back to Steel.
"Then I'll—"
Another thump shook the building.
"Then I will—"
Another thump, this time louder.
"Okay, what in Luna's blue moon is that?!" Scarwings stood up, angered. He turned to the door leading to the hallway, which was boarded up and walked towards it slowly.
Suddenly, the wooden planks were kicked inwards by two royal guards and in charged a large squad of them, armed to the teeth with swords and spears. Following them was Shuriken and Thunderblast.
"Let them go, and no one will get hurt!" Shouted the squad leader, the only one unarmed at the time.
Scarwings chuckled, walking back to his captives. "And why would I do that?"
"Because you're surrounded," Thunder grinned.
Scarwings' eyes opened a little, then the steel doors behind him opened and in charged more guards, surrounding them all. The brown pegasus looked all around him and sighed. "Did it really have to come to this?"
"You bet," Night smirked at Scarwings, who growled back at him. "Just give up, you're far outnumbered."
"I never give up!" Scarwings suddenly flared open his wings, yanking Sharpblade up off of the ground. His rope snapped, but not the ones binding his hooves together. "You're coming with me, no exceptions!" The tape fell off of his mouth as the brown pegasus flew upwards, smashing through the skylight.
Night gasped, watching him fly up. "Sharp!"
"Night!" Sharp kicked his legs, held tightly to Scarwings' chest and unable to escape.
Angered completely, Night struggled his hardest against the ropes holding him to the chair. They snapped and released him, Night took off straight up towards the hole in the skylight, then stopped and looked back down. "Take care of them, Scar is mine!" He said, and without any further wait, he flew off after the brown pegasus.
"Argh, put me down!" Sharp kicked his hinds, squirming around in Scar's grip.
The brown pegasus chuckled darkly. "You're mine, Sharp!"
"No, he's MINE!" Night shouted, diving down and slamming his body into Scar's back with a loud crack.
The force of Night flying downwards was enough to knock Scarwings out of the sky, forcing him down towards the ground. He let go of Sharp, and he too started to fall.
"Night!" Sharp screamed, falling down towards the street below.
Night raced back upwards, catching the grey unicorn in his hooves. "I gotcha buddy..."
Sharp breathed a large sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you, Night."
"Hey, I wasn't going to let him get away with you. Not again," Night smiled back, flying down to the street. "Now, stay still," he opened his mouth.
Sharp's eyes widened, his smile faded and ears pinned back. "W-what are you doing? Night?"
Night lunged forward, biting the ropes and snapping them off of Sharp's hooves. He sighed of relief again and stood up slowly, nodding to Night in thanks. He looked up towards his horn, which still had the ring locked onto it. "I'll get that off later."
A few yards away, Scarwings groaned in pain, having crashed into the cobble of the street and formed a small impact crater around him. Dust and debris coated his fur, rocks slid off as he pushed himself up slowly and weakly with his forehooves. They shook, giving out moments after and forcing him back down.
"Stay here, I'll take care of him," Night said to Sharp, the unicorn nodded and sat back, watching his friend approach the downed pegasus.
Night sighed and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's a shame. But, you're going away for a long time, buddy. No exceptions."
Scarwings let out a last groan of pain, before shutting his eyes as other royal guards ran up with hoofcuffs.
"Take him, boys," Night turned away and walked back to Sharp. "Hey, are you alright?"
Sharp nodded slowly, smiling. "I am now. And you know what?"
"What?"
"I think I'm going to go back to the guard."
Night smiled warmly. "But first, let's get you checked up and home."
One week later, the warm, gleaming sun rose over Canterlot with small clouds dotting the sky here and there. A cool, refreshing breeze blew through the street grid of the mountainside city as the inhabitants of it made their way to work or to enjoy the day in town.
At his quarters in the Canterlot Palace, Night Shadow had been awake for the last couple of hours—and was busy preparing for the day ahead. For him, there was no time for sleeping in. There was work that had to be done that he preferred to have finished before his friend Sharpblade's re-graduation ceremony from the Royal Guard.
After the accident a few months prior, Sharp's record in the Royal Guard was put with the rest of the deceased officers from over time. This was the first time in history that a guard's record had to be pulled back, but of course, it meant he had to be sworn in all over again. It was a long process, but Night was willing to help Princess Celestia and her guard's high ranking officers with the work and had been up since five that morning finishing it up.
By almost eight that morning, Night was just wrapping up when there was a gentle knock on his door. Too focused on the work, he stayed where he was.
"It's open," he said loud enough for whoever was outside to hear.
The door opened slowly, in walked a dark blue alicorn mare with a white crescent moon cutie mark sitting atop black splotches of what was thought to be the night sky. Her mane forever shifting about in an infinite, ethereal wind, the stars sparkling like every calm, cloudless night. The Lunar Princess walked regally up to Night's desk and gently nudged his side politely, hoping not to startle him.
Night jumped in the slightest bit, quickly snapping his head to the side in surprise. He immediately calmed himself when he realized who it was, and smiled warmly.
"Morning your highness, I didn't expect to see you up this early," he turned his chair to face her.
"I didn't expect to see thou up this early either," Princess Luna looked over Night and his desk. "Still working on Sharp's graduation work?"
Night nodded and yawned slightly. "Been working on it since around five."
"And ho-"
"Before you say I should go back to sleep, I went to bed early last night. I got plenty of it," Night smiled more. He was tired, but not enough to make him fall back asleep.
Princess Luna eased herself. "If thou says so. But, that wasn't what I was about to ask. How do you plan on spending the day after his graduation?"
Night shrugged. "I don't know, I was hoping to spend it with Sharp and the rest of my friends. We haven't all been in one spot at once in...sheesh, I don't know how long it's been. But, today is Sharp's special day."
Princess Luna nodded. "We understand, thou has a great bond with sir Sharpblade and Thunderblast."
"And a few others. Hey, you're welcome to hang out with us. You're a friend too."
Princess Luna cracked a warm smile. "I would love to, Night Shadow, but I am afraid I cannot stay around for long after Sharp is sworn in," she said with a sigh.
Night's smile faded into a frown. "Aww, shame."
"I know. But, a princess has her duties. If I wasn't to have a spot of tea with the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia in Manehattan, I would have been more than happy to spend the day with my friend and his," Princess Luna levitated the same mane brush from before and began slightly straightening out Night's mane where small strands stuck out still.
Night's cheeks flushed a pale pink against his dark grey coat. "But, there is always other times, of course."
"Yes, there is," she smiled and kept brushing his two-toned purple swept back mane. After a few more strokes of the brush, she set it down on his nightstand. "I mustn't keep thou for long if thou wishes to have sir Sharpblade's graduation work complete."
Night shrugged. "It's almost done, so it doesn't matter to me if you stay a little bit longer. I would appreciate the longer company."
Princess Luna smiled again. "We will try to hold ourselves back from brushing thou's mane any more than we already have," she walked over to Night's bed and sat down on it.
Night let out a soft chuckle and turned the chair back towards the desk. "You won't have to wait long, I just need to organize the papers and then you can do whatever to my mane. Just remember it won't stay that way when I go to take a shower."
Princess Luna laughed. "Very well. I shall make your mane as beautiful as possible before you bathe!" She said, levitating the brush again.
***
Standing in front of a tower mirror, Night slipped the gold buttons through the small holes of the jacket and made small adjustments to make sure nothing was off after quick examinations of his dark blue uniform. On his left shoulder was Luna's white crescent moon, just below it his rank insignia in a bright white.
Finishing up, Night looked over the uniform, checking for anything off one last time before giving himself a salute in the mirror, followed by a soft, quiet chuckle. He hadn't worn his dress uniform since the Fall Gala, and to his surprise, it still fit perfectly. When he turned to walk away, he quickly turned back to the mirror and looked closer, now frowning.
"Hmm...perhaps silver buttons would look better," he said. After a pause, he shrugged and trotted away from the mirror and headed out into the hallway, out of his personal quarters and to the throne room where ponies, mainly guards, gathered.
On his way there, he passed by a stallion's room and a mare's room, stopping when he heard the quiet voice of Sharpblade—talking to himself. He walked up to the door and put his ear against it, listening closely.
"You can do this again, Sharp. You've...done it before. No, no I can't. Yes, you can. No!"
Night's ears fell back slightly. He stood back and took the handle in his hoof, twisting it and entering the stallion's bathroom where Sharp stood in his black and red-collared, gold-buttoned uniform, talking to himself in a mirror and shaking like a leaf in the wind.
"Sharp."
Sharp snapped his head to the side, eyes widening. "Night!"
"Are you okay?" Night walked up to the grey unicorn, worry crossing his face.
"Yeah, sure. Are you okay?" Sharp asked nervously.
"I'm just fine," Night sighed. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
"I don't do well in front of crowds."
"I don't know many ponies who do. Hey, just think of it as your first graduation, pretend you're the next in line to be sworn in."
"But Night, that's not how it is. This whole gathering is for my graduation, not the next class fresh out of the academy," Sharp shook still.
"Hey, look at me. Sharp, look at me," Night motioned his hoof for Sharp to look him in the eyes, which he gradually did. "It'll be alright. You'll be up there for...five minutes, no more. Then everypony will be on their way. You hear me?"
Sharp took a moment, and after a lengthy pause, he nodded slowly. "I hear you."
"Good," Night smiled and let out a breath. "It's almost time, we'd better get to the throne room."
***
As the final ponies seated themselves, Night had a final word with Sharp and made his way up the aisle, seating himself in the front beside Thunderblast, Shuriken, and Caspian, the three dressed in their red and black uniforms as well.
"Well?" Thunder whispered.
"I talked to him, he's nervous," Night whispered back.
"I don't blame him."
"I told him he would be up there for five minutes and no more."
The two quieted down when Princess Celestia, Shining Armor, and even captain Cloud Skipper walked to the podium where they stood.
Clearing her throat, Princess Celestia spoke, "Thank you everypony for coming on this wondrous occasion. Today, a great stallion will be sworn in to the Royal Guard. Today, for the first time in Equestrian history, we will be pulling a great royal guard officer's records from the deceased file, back to the active file. Sir Sharpblade, if you would please, walk the aisle."
The doors to the room opened slowly, the crowd turned around and watched as the tall grey unicorn walked slowly down the red-carpeted aisle. The crowd clapped their hooves as he did, bringing a slight blush to his cheeks. Sharp walked up to the podium and stopped, kneeling down and bowing to the Sun princess.
Princess Celestia smiled warmly, bowing her head back, then stepping to the side and taking a seat. "Captain Armor and captain Skipper will now do the honors of swearing Sharpblade in."
Shining Armor, dressed in an all-red suit with a blue ribbon stripe crossing, down his chest with a button of his cutie mark aligned perfectly over it walked closer to Sharp, stopping just before him. Sharp stood up, hooves together and head straight. Then followed a white pegasus with a blonde mane, dressed in a similar uniform to Sharp and the rest of the guard in the room, but with a medal rack over his right chest.
"Sharpblade," Shining Armor said, nodding once to the grey unicorn.
"Captain Armor," Sharp nodded once back.
"Sharpblade," Cloud Skipper nodded.
"Captain Skipper," Sharp nodded.
"If you would please repeat after me," Shining Armor cleared his throat, Sharp nodded in response. "Of honor and duty."