Night Guard
It was a night that could describe all other nights.
A crescent moon, just a few nights shy of becoming full, was up in the skies, its splendor unmarred by the presence of clouds. Its silver glow shone down, painting everything in a curious light. Not with the oppressive glare that was provided during the day, but with another smoother variant that revealed hidden, more delicate, beauties.
While the moon brought light to things below, the heavens themselves were no different. Countless stars hung on an impossibly dark firmament, like a display of diamonds inside the cave of the richest dragon, but much, much grander.
The wind blew gently on a forest, the rustle of leaves adding to the serene atmosphere that permeated through everything.
But such tranquility was about to be broken.
Over a certain patch of trees the wind quickly became a gale, as five pegasi quickly flew over the forest on a tight formation. They appeared to fly with both speed and stealth in mind, as none of the five distanced themselves from the sea of treetops over which they darted, and no sound could be heard from them apart from the flap of their wings.
All five of them wore purple and dark-blue armor, metal plates offering protection all the way to their flanks, to the point that not a single cutie mark could be seen.
And that was as much intentional as was the protection of the armor itself. Although everypony’s individuality is something precious and to be cherished, it was something that had to be cast away while they wore that armor. Right now they were a single unit, a single squadron of ponies, brothers and sisters responsible for the protection and safety of each other, even if it meant to risk one’s own.
Proud members of the Night Guard.
Suddenly, the silence of the night was disturbed by an eerie sound. A long piercing howl echoed through the forest, and the skies above it, lasting almost a full ten seconds. It would have been impossible for a normal pony not to hear that sound.
In fact, it would have been impossible for a normal pony not to be frightened by that sound.
But as if on cue, the five pegasi quickly corrected their route, and headed straight to the origin of such a frightening howl.
"We are almost there! Keep it together!"
Shouting at the top of his lungs, the lead pegasus kept flying straight ahead. The other four ponies were right behind him, although any resemblance the formation they were once flying in was no more.
The other four wove random patterns around each other, sometimes flying in zigzags and sometimes swapping positions on the most unpredictable way possible. The only thing keeping them in a straight path being the lead pegasus, who was flying straight as an arrow.
And there was a reason for their erratic behavior. A very deadly reason.
The forest underneath them was now a haze of terrifying noises. The sound of wood being splintered, trees being shoved aside with unnatural strength, and the terrible clamor of jaws snapping followed the five pegasi. Though they couldn’t see them, their pursuers were right beneath them, underneath the sea of treetops.
Keeping pace with fully grown pegasi, even though the beasts ran through a dense forest.
In fact, they sometimes even outpaced the pegasi.
"WATCH OUT!"
With a yelp as much as with a warning, one of the armored pegasus launched herself towards her friend, the two of them nearly spiraling out of control and into the trees below them.
But her reaction, as dangerous as it had been, couldn’t have come any sooner.
A giant figure lunged out of the forest moments later, its grotesque form reaching the place where the two ponies had been moments before with frightening speed. The thing was huge, with a body as long as six ponies one in front of the other, and with a mouth large enough to swallow a grown stallion. Its entire canine body seemed to be made out of wood, with a frightening green light coming out of its eyes.
Timberwolves, the ghastly magical predators of the untamed forests of Equestria.
Its jaws snapped shut in the direction of the two pegasi, who were mere inches out of its reach, before gravity took hold of it once again and it landed on top of a tree.
The lead pegasus’ neck almost snapped as he looked back, quickly counting how many of his squad members were still following him. His wings tensed for a moment as they reflexively prepared to halt his momentum, and even dive into the forest to rescue anypony if needed be.
But with a short sigh of relief, he counted that all four of the pegasi were still following him.
His eyes rested for a moment on the timberwolf who had just tried to catch one of his team members. The beast was perched on top of the tree where it had landed, and seemed to regard him as well for a short moment.
If there was any trace of intellect on the beast’s eyes, he couldn’t see.
But what he could see was instinct. Hunger and aggressiveness being the greatest among them.
The creature let out a long and frightening howl, which no doubt carried itself across the whole forest and far beyond it, and dived back to the earth to continue its pursuit.
The howl was echoed by the other timberwolves who were still in pursuit, right underneath the pegasus.
The lead pegasus swallowed hard as he realized just how many of those things were right on their heels. But he couldn’t let fear get to him, not now.
"Keep flying and stay sharp! We’re almost there!", he shouted once again, trying to encourage his squad. Because although he knew their wings were burning as much as his, he also knew that they had to complete their mission.
On the edge of the forest, a large group of ponies was gathered. Every last one of them wore a purple and dark-blue armor, with bat-like and lunar motifs adorning its sides and their helmets.
A full company’s worth of Night Guard ponies was waiting in ambush on the edge of the forest. Earth ponies stood with shields and spears ready forming a large semi-circle, their weapons pointed inwards. Unicorns stood right behind them in support, their spells ready to fire the moment their prey was lured into the waiting trap.
A reserve group composed entirely of pegasi was waiting nearby, their role would be to support the earth pony line in case it broke anywhere, or to attack from above should the opportunity present itself.
Flying above the waiting ambush was a single pegasus. And if one didn’t immediately notice him thanks to his isolated position, relatively far away from the rest of the rest of the Night Guard, there was a host of other characteristics that would surely make him stand out.
For instance, the armor he wore seemed slightly more elaborate, the front of his helmet resembling a beak of sorts. He was also slightly larger than the other ponies, although he seemed more slender than a normal pegasus.
But the most telling of his characteristics would surely be his wings… they were unmistakably the wings of a bat.
Captain Nightgale regarded the ponies below him with a critical eye, nodding to himself after realizing he couldn’t find any fatal flaws. He took a moment to look at the formation itself, noticing how it did resemble the lunar phase of its chosen name, the “Waning Crescent”.
Now, if that moon was truly going to hold its form, and not collapse before the enemy, he would see…
The hairs on his ears began to prickle, driving him out of his thoughts. Despite his particular sub-race being composed entirely of fliers, since neither unicorns with their shining horns or earth ponies with their need to settle and farm could survive in the dark caves of his home, they did have their own advantages.
Hearing being one of them. The “extra fluff”, as other ponies called it, he had in his ears was in fact an array of delicate auditory sensors.
And moments later the other ponies caught up to what he had noticed.
A long howl echoed through the air, followed by another, then another, until what could only be described as a phantasmagorical choir could be heard coming from within the forest.
This seemed to put them all on edge, although they surely did their best not to show.
So they have a bit of steel on those marshmallow hooves, he though with a chuckle, good.
"Steady yourselves, mares and stallions. The Night Guard exists to face these terrors, let us not be found wanting.", he said to the ponies below him.
He didn’t even notice that once he said that, shields were raised a bit taller, and magical horns seemed to glow a bit brighter. His eyes were fully concentrated on the horizon.
And on the five figures he had been looking for this whole time.
"Shields up and hooves strong Night Guard, the bait is coming in with our prey!"
With a strong shout, captain Nightgale heard as the ambush underneath him prepared itself in its earnest.
Magical traps were set out in the middle of the formation, their need for constant consumption of magical energy from the spellcasters resulting in the choice of them being laid out in the last minute. Ballistae and heavy rock throwers were armed and readied. And the pegasus reserves took flight and formed up behind Nightgale.
The captain himself took out a magical cylinder from his armor and broke it, the magical device starting to emit a soft light.
He raised the device over his head and kept it still, signaling the five distant pegasi exactly where they had to head to.
And suddenly, the five distant pegasi weren’t so distant anymore.
"Night Guard, prepare for combat!", he ordered loudly, and felt the tension in the atmosphere around him rise.
"Ten seconds!", the rattling of shields and weapons completely stopped, everypony holding their equipment in a death grip.
"Five seconds!", Nightgale assumed that even the other ponies could hear it now, the dry barks of the timberwolves as they ran and the sound of their monstrous footsteps as they pursued the bait squad.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
Nightgale saw the white in the eyes of the lead pegasus as moments later he passed right beside him, his wings spanning their full length to begin slowing down from what had been a flight for their lives.
But he had other concerns on his mind.
"HOLD!", he bellowed, as the monstrous creatures burst out of the woods on the next instant.
The forest seemed to have come to life, and with murderous intent, as the enormous wood-wrought monsters emerged out of the tree line at full speed, their feet leaving out small craters on the soil thanks to their massive weight.
The first four creatures probably never registered the circle of ponies before them, as they quickly stepped into the magical traps laid before them. The savage creatures turned into a shower of twigs as the magical explosions destroyed their bodies.
The following timberwolves seemed undeterred by the demise of their kin, and continued charging at full speed. Without any need of orders, they were attacked by everything the ponies had. Magical spells were launched, blasts of pure energy tearing off thick chunks of wood from the beasts, metal bolts were shot from the ballistae and heavy rocks fell from the skies.
Nightgale remembered being against the use of those machines, because of the risk of hitting their own troops. But now he had finally been convinced otherwise, after witnessing a well placed metal bolt hit a timberwolf’s head, completely neutralizing it.
Yet still the timberwolves kept coming.
They finally hit the shield wall, the line of earth ponies mustering all their strength to keep the much larger creatures away. Magical barriers cast by the unicorn they were defending quickly found their mark, and once the earth ponies realized they had held the timberwolves in check, they began striking back with their spears.
More timberwolves came out of the forest, and fanned out to meet the full Crescent formation.
And everywhere he looked, it seemed like the formation was holding.
"Alright, no need for us to stay back then!", reaching down with his mouth, Nightgale quickly grabbed a whistle he had tied to his neck and blew it.
One long blow, and as the ponies below him heard it they understood the signal. Offensive spells stopped being fired, and the ranged weapons reloaded, but didn’t shoot.
Shortly after he blew a short blow, and the pegasi dived into the fray.
Fighting a timberwolf head on was a bad idea. In fact, fighting any magical creature was a bad idea, but the Night Guard had to find a way around it. After all, they couldn’t allow monsters like these to pop up in a city and hope that the Royal Guard did anything, could they?
So they did what ponies did best, they worked together.
The pegasi flew straight down in groups of threes, each group aiming at a different timberwolf. They went for the largest (and most defenseless) part of the creatures, the top of their thoraxes, where the spine of a normal creature would be.
Diving down at full speed, the trio of ponies would turn around at the last possible second, and kick with the full strength of their momentum.
Sure, the thorax of a timberwolf was also the place where its wood-skin was thickest, to the point that a single pegasus wouldn’t be able to do much with that sort of attack.
But three armored pegasi? That was a whole different deal.
Allowing his wings to propel him downwards, Nightgale advanced with two other ponies towards one of the timberwolves, gravity aiding as he went. Moments before what would have been a painful collision he somersaulted forwards, and slammed down with his hooves.
The pleasing sound of a crack followed, his strike almost perfectly in synch with the other two pegasi, causing the creature’s legs to fail underneath it, falling squarely on the ground.
With his hooves still planted on the creature, he jumped upwards and prepared to repeat the process.
One, two, three times. Several timberwolves fell all around him. They had come in surprising numbers at first, more than any other pack he had ever seen, but their numbers had a limit.
And they had probably hit that limit, the timberwolves were retreating.
With no other cue than perhaps some animal instincts, the few remaining timberwolves turned tail and started running back into the forest. Their attack ending as abruptly as it had begun.
Nightgale stood on top of a felled timberwolf and surveyed the scene.
His mind worked furiously as he looked around him, searching for anypony who appeared to be wounded, limping, or anything like that. The moment after the battle, while adrenaline was still high and ponies still had their brave acts on, was the ideal moment to spot any such thing.
But all he saw around him were the tense faces of his subordinates. Most of them were still fierce from the life and death situation they were in moments ago, a scant few seemed shell-shocked (he mentally wrote down which ponies were like that), but all of them were… recovering.
He had seen it before, and he was looking at it right now. The face of the ponies around him slowly turned from attention into relief. And surely enough.
"We… we did it?"
"They ran away! We did it!"
"We drove them off! I can’t believe it!"
"Three hoorays for us! For the Night Guard!"
Captain Nightgale rolled his eyes to the side as the ponies around him erupted into near euphoria. “Surface ponies…” he thought with a bit of sarcasm. But he would allow it, victory tended to raise morale, and it usually skyrocketed when it came to combat greenhorns.
And sure enough, even he felt relieved over how successful that whole ordeal had been. After all, that company was comprised of nothing but greenhorns.
In fact, what satisfied him the most was the fact that he didn’t spot any “heroes” during that whole ordeal.
Or perhaps, he had spoken too soon…
"What are you doing cheering? We have to chase them! Come on Night Guard, with me!"
As if he had come straight out of a heroic fairy tale, a pegasus stood on top of one of the piles of timber that had accumulated during the ambush, quickly roused his fellow ponies, and flew into the forest.
Alone.
Most of the ponies didn’t even seem to have heard them, thanks to their own cheers. And the few ponies who did hear him, and did see him fly daringly into the forest, seemed to have frozen out of shock.
Good, at least every other pony noticed that it was absolutely stupid to charge into a dark forest in the middle of the night, no matter how great their victory had been.
"NIGHT GUARD, FORM RANKS AND STAY PUT!", shouting up towards the rest of his subordinates, making sure to use his specialized vocal cords (usually reserved for echolocation) to be properly heard, Nightgale flew towards the forest.
He felt his chest tighten a bit as he realized what he was doing himself.
After all, the only thing worse than a dead stupid hero was two dead stupid heroes.
But that pegasus was a Night Guard just like him, and by the Moon he wouldn’t allow that pegasus to become a dead stupid hero.
He would become a very punished private once they returned to Canterlot, an expert latrine cleaner perhaps, but that would come later.
Nightgale maneuvered through the forest, the fresh trail opened up by dozens of advancing timberwolves, and reinforced by the few who retreated, making his flight just a bit easier. He strained his ears to the limit to try and locate exactly where that rookie was.
“Come on… prove you’re a proud bat-pony…!”
Moments later he caught the sound he needed to hear. And that he honestly wish he hadn’t.
A loud “thud”, followed by a short yelp, and the unmistakable sound of a pegasus hitting the ground and painfully rolling on the dirt.
With the tapping noise of timberwolf claws slowly approaching their prey.
Nightgale forced his already tired wings into overdrive, the burning sensation on his wing muscles reminding him he had just been in combat. But he shoved the pain to a corner of his mind and kept going.
And thankfully, he arrived at his objective shortly after.
"Back off, beasts!"
He assessed the situation almost instantly. A trio of timberwolves was closing in on the pegasus. The large dent on the side of his armor suggested he had been hit by one of the creatures while at full speed, but the terrified expression he wore suggested he was still alive and conscious.
"I said BACK OFF!"
Closing in from the side of the timberwolves, he hit the closest one squarely on the head and kicked off towards the pegasus, landing next to him.
"C-captain?! I-… You, I was-!"
"Shut up private!", he commanded. The pegasus looked terrified enough to be incapable of speech, and he didn’t have time to sugarcoat his words. "Can you fly?!"
He kept his eyes straight on the timberwolves. The creatures had retreated slightly after he caught them by surprise, perhaps fearing more ponies were on the way, and Nightgale was trying to make it look like that was the case for as long as possible.
His heightened ears picked up the pegasus moving his head, and shortly after mutter something that was definitely a “no”.
Great, he thought, frantically analyzing his options.
If he were an earth pony, which he was glad not to be, then just perhaps he would have the necessary strength to neutralize a timberwolf with a single kick. Of course, that would require him to hit them precisely at their massive heads, which would also include the risk of him being swallowed whole by their enormous mouths.
He could try to grab the rookie and make a vertical run for it. But timberwolves were notorious for their unnatural speed while inside forests, and he knew just how high those things could jump when propelling themselves from a tree…
But maybe if he screamed at them…? His race’s echolocation was infused with natural magic, and he knew that some creatures could be disoriented by it, so maybe…?
His eyes shot wide open when he noticed the timberwolves crouching down slightly. They were preparing to pounce.
No time to think.
Infusing as much magic as he could in his vocal chords, however that worked since he didn’t know the first thing about magic casting, he released the sharpest scream he could and jumped backwards towards the rookie pegasus.
The ground shook under him, and the trio of timberwolves exploded into a shower of twigs and wood.
Nightgale looked at the spectacle in disbelief, his hooves around the young pegasus and his wings spread out ready to fly upwards.
Incredulity, and the sudden lack of danger, the only things stopping him from doing so.
"C-captain..? That was… That was amazing!", the pegasus, still clearly shocked, spoke out dumbfounded.
"That wasn’t me, private…", he answered, partly speaking to himself while he thought for a bit. "And in fact, I can only think of one explanation for this."
Nightgale looked straight into the darkness of the forest, and moments later he found what he was looking for.
The soft sound of a chuckle, followed by approaching hoofsteps, all but confirmed his suspicions.
"Princess Luna?!", the younger pegasus almost jumped up in surprise, forgetting about his hurt wing for a moment and quickly bowing down.
"My princess.", Nightgale followed suit, bowing low after releasing the pegasus.
They said that to look upon an alicorn was to look upon the image of perfection, the image of what all ponies should be.
Many scoffed at the idea, the princesses themselves being the most vocal about that. There had been a time when the princesses were revered as gods, due to obvious reasons, but that belief had faded with time (and no small amount of effort from the beings themselves).
And yet… Nightgale couldn’t help but to understand why those beliefs formed in the first place.
There was simply something about them that… he couldn’t describe. It wasn’t beauty. Of course, all of the princesses were beautiful, undoubtedly so. But they also had a certain… grace about them.
The way they spoke, the way they walked. Nightgale had already been in the presence of all the four (well, five counting the newborn of the Crystal Empire) princesses, and was well accustomed to the presence of Princess Luna herself thanks to his duties. But every time he was in her presence he felt that same thing.
Perhaps, he thought, it was something on the instinctual level. The same way the timberwolves, or any other creature, recognizes and obeyed the alpha of his pack, perhaps so it was with ponies.
After all, he thought, nowadays it was easy to chalk off that notion as “cultural”, since Celestia had been ruling Equestria for so long. But everypony simply thought the princesses were dependable, almost by instinct. They accepted their rule and flocked around them like children awaiting guidance.
And he didn’t disapprove of that. In fact, in his home town, Princess Luna herself was revered as a protective entity. And that had been the case until the day she returned from banishment, and actually became even more revered as a flesh and bones patron to his people.
Even personally speaking, the greatest pride of his life was to serve her.
But still, he couldn’t help but wonder… how natural it felt to follow her.
"Please, rise up. I’ve said it countless times before, my Night Guard needs never bow before me.", she said to the two pegasi.
"Yes, princess.", the Captain answered, being mimicked shortly after by the pegasus beside him.
It was also natural to follow her when one considered what they were capable of. Even if one were to disconsider the whole “day and night” thing… He knew from experience it took a barrage of spells from able unicorns to take down a single timberwolf, but he just saw Princess Luna obliterate three of them with so much as an afterthought.
"Now, can you walk?", Luna asked, gently addressing the wounded pegasus.
"Y-yes, ma’am! Princess, ma’am!", the pony answered, perhaps over excitedly.
Nightgale quickly glared at him to quell the humors of the pony, but his glare went completely unnoticed by the nearly prancing youngster.
"But apart from those details, I am proud to inform the whole operation was successful, my princess."
"I see. Thank you, Nightgale, as always. And I would like to discuss a few details later today, but for now let’s just return home."
"As you wish, princess.", he answered curtly.
Luna looked sideways at the captain, trying not to be too unsubtle about it. The bat pony was just a bit shorter than her, which meant he was slightly taller than the regular pony, with a dark grey coat and black mane. He was an exemplary military officer, his leadership rivaling that of the current head of her sister’s Royal Guard, and she could say without a doubt that she wouldn’t have raised the Night Guard nearly as quickly or effectively if it was not for his efforts.
Years ago, not long after her return from banishment, when she went to the badlands in search of the secluded bat ponies, she expected to find the distant relatives of the race she knew so well millennia ago. Distant relatives, but completely unrelated. In fact, she thought it would take her years to build bridges between the equestrian ponies and bat ponies.
She surely had not expected them to welcome her with a week-long celebration, and with scores of them practically begging to directly serve under her.
It took some sorting out, but eventually she managed to work around both their actual needs and their wishes.
She brought a host of their representatives to Canterlot, and slowly integrated them into positions that would facilitate the communication, trade and cultural exchange between the “surface ponies” (as they called them) and the bat ponies.
Because as much as they were infatuated about Luna… they weren’t so much about ponies in general. And that was a problem she had yet to fully solve, and that her sister told her it would in fact take some time to fully settle...
Anyhow, about Nightgale himself, Luna always thought him to be a bit of a mystery. He was unshakably loyal, something that was looked upon with suspicion in the early years, but he could also be overly frank, curt, and sometimes even cold to other ponies.
Perhaps it had something to do with their culture…? Try as she might, she never managed to spend more than two full weeks on their home city, the cavernous complex underneath the badland mountains, and every time she went they invariably held a celebration in her honor so…
She sighted inwardly. Thank the heavens she had Tia to help her through all those troubles.
Finally, moonlight came into their view, signaling they had arrived at the edge of the forest.
Bringing into view something she was not expecting.
"Oh?" ,she laughed a bit, "is my own Night Guard going to ambush me?"
Before her was a veritable phalanx of shields. A wall of shields, three ponies deep, was barring her way, spears held ready. She could unmistakably see the horn of unicorns poking up from behind the formation, and she guessed the pegasi reserves were behind those, ready to fly up at a moment’s notice.
The First Quarter formation, a straight lined all-purpose pattern.
The forward most earth ponies must have finally realized it was her, and they quickly lowered their shields, surprise showing in their eyes.
“Princess Luna?”, “By the night, it’s her!”, “Hey everypony, Princess Luna is he-!”
"Night Guard! Shoulder… ARMS!", with a sudden bellow, which she thought was sprinkled with a tiny bit of anger, captain Nightgale quickly settled down the armored ponies before her.
True to their training, they snapped back into position almost automatically, spears hitting the ground with precision almost worthy of a parade.
Luna wondered just how much Nightgale had been drilling those ponies while they were out of her sight.
"It’s all right captain, I’ll take it from here."
She could hear him breathing in, and habit told her he was preparing to bellow another order, presumably “AT EASE!” in a tone that suggested anything but. So she quickly interrupted him before he even had the chance.
She also suppressed rolling her eyes sideways at the bat pony’s usual bluntness, remembering her sister’s advice to “Always be regal, Lulu, everypony is always watching!”.
Spreading her wings, she quickly took flight, settling at an altitude where she could see everypony properly.
With the slightest touch of magic, a fraction of what she would use to speak in her “Royal Canterlot Voice”, she began addressing her…
She respected her sister’s use of the word “subjects”, but personally she had never been fond of it. Of course, she yielded to its use when addressing the general population.
But still, even if it was only when she was with her Night Guard, and away from prying eyes, she preferred addressing them in another fashion.
"My dear companions.", Luna began, sincerely meaning every word she said. "Members of the Night Guard. I would firstly like to thank you all for your dedication, and congratulate you for your successes. Not only have you selflessly chosen to serve Equestria, taking risks and facing off many perils, but you also chose to do so away from the eyes of most. But be sure that my promise stands: Your work shall never go unnoticed or without praised!"
Every member of the Night Guard was, obviously, a volunteer. And the very first thing they had to go through during their training was a “reversal” on their biological clocks. Basically, they had to swap night for day. The process didn’t involve any magical or scientific methods, they simply were drilled and trained during the night, and given the day to rest.
And for various reasons, for the longest time this first period was the one with the highest abandonment rate.
This was one of the explanations of why for so many years the Night Guard was predominantly (almost totally) composed by bat ponies. They had nocturnal habits. But as the years passed more and more ponies wished to enlist into the Night Guard, and actually managed to change their habits.
Which finally culminated on this very night.
"And furthermore, I would like to commend everypony for this momentous occasion. For the first time in the history of the Night Guard we are capable of fielding a full company, composed by all of the three pony tribes!"
She made sure to precisely word what she was saying. There was still a lot of tension between bat ponies and, basically, everypony else, so she had to make sure she stated this achievement was not about races.
It was a tactical, logical and military fact that a fighting force composed of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns was far superior to one composed simply by pegasi. And for the first time, the Night Guard had achieved just that.
It was just a coincidence that the whole company didn't have a single bat pony among its ranks, although Nightgale more than made up for that be it in skills or... other traits.
"You have trained and practiced for years, and this very night you have succeeded in your first real and unsupervised operation.", she finished, watching the many ponies raise their heads with pride at her words. "And Equestria is safer thanks to your actions."
As if sensing she had finished her speech, the ponies began to cheer. Some of them even banging weapons against shields, much to the silent ire of their captain.
"Now.", Luna continued, speaking just loud enough for them to understand she wasn’t interrupting their cheering. "Shall we head back to Canterlot? I believe the sun will dawn in just a few hours."
Luna sat on the balcony of her room, overlooking the castle, Canterlot, and a good portion of Equestria from where she was. The scenario before would have been stunningly beautiful to behold, and all the more serene thanks to the calmness of the night itself.
But her worried eyes could see little of said beauty, instead...
She could see dark alleyways on the city itself. She could see distant villages, isolated if not for thin snake-like roads.
She could see vast forests and mountains, no doubt harboring all sorts of magical beasts, despite the calm and serene atmosphere that her moonlight shone upon them with its pale glow.
Luna sighted deeply.
"And what could that sight possibly mean, my dear sister?"
Catching her completely by surprise, Luna turned around and saw her sister approaching. Celestia wasn’t wearing any of her usual regalia, not her shoes or even her crown. Luna didn't feel uncomfortable when her sister was fully attired, in fact it even felt natural, but for some reason seeing her like this made her feel more like… Tia, her dear sister.
Luna tried to smile at her sister’s approach, but found out that she couldn’t, so she simply turned back to the scenario before her.
"How did you manage it, Tia…?", she asked, unsure of exactly how her sister would interpret her voice tone.
Depressed seemed like a possible pick, or at least worried.
"How did I manage what, Luna?", Celestia asked, sitting next to her sister.
"To rule all of Equestria? I mean, you did it for a thousand years while I was… away. And I’ve only been back for just a little while and things feel so…"
She trailed off, unsure of how to continue, and when she turned back to her sister she realized Celestia was looking straight into her eyes.
She had the kindest smile Luna had ever seen on her.
"Luna, the answer is simpler than you think it is. I just didn’t manage.", Celestia answered.
Luna simply shook her head, unsure of what her sister actually meant.
"Please don’t jest sister. Just look around you, everypony can see that Equestria thrives and is happy under your rule. And besides, the last time I checked, there hasn’t been any major incidents that you couldn’t deal with and… What?"
Celestia simply looked at her with a curious gaze, until Luna finally stopped talking.
She then turned towards the sun, her white horn slowly lighting up with a golden magical aura.
"Perhaps you were too busy catching up to a thousand years’ worth of news, dear sister. But haven’t you noticed that I didn’t really do much regarding the “major incidents” you speak of?", Celestia asked, with a tinge of humor on her voice. "It was mostly the Elements of Harmony themselves that sorted those things out, be it summoning their current bearers, or through various other ways."
With a slow and delicate motion, she gently started to raise the sun to its place. And without even noticing she was doing it herself, Luna also began to lower the moon.
"And during all that time you spoke about, I didn’t really do anything major. I just guided our subjects during their daily lives. Acting as a judge here, passing out a law there, and oftentimes simply being the voice of reason for delicate situations."
When the sun and moon were finally at their places, Celestia turned back to her sister.
She then spoke with a voice that, during their long time together, Luna had almost never heard her speak with. A voice that she could swear was trembling just a bit.
"For a thousand years I didn’t manage anything, because we were always meant to rule together."
And before Luna could be sure of anything, Celestia hugged her.
"Now, before you start worrying about anything. You are doing a great job as a princess, you are making improvements on things that I had never even considered, and you are working harder than I have in over a hundred years. So you don’t have to worry about anything, okay?"
Her dear sister was speaking with so much pride and honesty that… Luna couldn’t do anything but return her hug. And for a short while all her worries did go away. It was just like that when the two of them were together.
"Dear sister, you are vastly underplaying your role…", Luna answered meekly. "I’m sure you were vital for our subjects during all those years."
After a short while, Celestia separated herself from her sister, wearing a smile that was part “big sister” like, and part her usual ruler smile.
"Well, I’ll take your word for it if that’s what you think, Lu. But why don’t you go rest now? I’m sure the next night will demand your full attention, like they always do."
And as if her words had some sort of power over Luna, she did start to feel the full weight (and tiredness) of her own body.
Sleepily agreeing with her sister, Luna made her way back towards her own room.
"Sleep tight, dear sister.", Celestia said, somehow knowing that her sister hadn’t really heard her, so tired that she was.
Which left her at the balcony, alone, looking at the scene Luna herself must have been surveying not long before.
Celestia sighted deeply, completely aware of how she was mimicking her own sister’s actions before she had arrived.
But she couldn’t help it.
Because she knew Luna was totally right.
There was something wrong with Equestria. Something that began to accelerate ever since her sister’s return.
Almost every year a different cataclysm would occur, and be avoided by the smallest of margins.
Discord’s return, the changeling’s attempted coup, King Sombra, Tirek, and many, many other things…
And she knew Equestria itself was reacting. In the thousand years during Luna’s imprisonment she had been the only alicorn in Equestria, but now during a short span of ten years three new ones had appeared.
It was almost as if the land itself was preparing. As if everyone was preparing. Even Luna, though her dear sister might gloss it over as being “of her nature”, was taking actions about it. While Celestia was worried about maintaining the kingdom itself, Luna seemed predominantly worried about bringing other races into the fold. She was even taking the military aspects of the kingdom under her wing, a part that Celestia had to admit she had largely disregarded thanks to the amount of work she already had in her hands.
Celestia looked at the rising sun, and allowed herself a few moments of contemplation before her royal duties required her to be somewhere.
She recalled wishing for a hundred years just for herself, alone with her sister, the first time she laid her eyes upon Luna after the Elements of Harmony purified her. She had so much to tell her about, so much to apologize for, so many things she wanted to do with her…
But lately, she felt as if she wouldn’t even have until the end of the decade’s worth of peace and tranquility.
"Sleep tight, dear sister. I love you.", she spoke to no one.
And walked back into the castle.
After all, the kingdom needed its princess.