The first rays of dawn pierced the great sea of dark across Equestria as the moon steadily lowered. The stars faded from sight, easily outshone by the coming day. The silhouettes of the hills on Canterlot’s horizon took on a faint golden outline as the sun furtively peeked from them, like an actor unsure if it was his turn on stage.
Another perfect transition for Onyx Wing. He looked on until the dawn started to sting his light-sensitive eyes. He raised his wings briefly, the Night Guard’s standard salute to the changing of the guard before turning his attention back to the balcony before him and its current occupant.
Princess Luna, the Bringer of Night and Guardian of Dreams, turned away from the slowly brightening horizon behind her, lips straight and tight, eyes focused and humorless. A few more bags under her eyes this night, a growing concern among the Night Guard. Her duties had always been tiresome, but they never weathered her this way. Something ate away at the Princess, as Onyx observed. She had the faint hint of a glare on her face these days, whenever she looked out towards Equestria and when she turned her gaze towards her sister’s room.
Onyx Wing knelt on one knee, as a captain of the Night Guard ought, averting his eyes as Princess Luna moved closer. Behind him, his fellow Royal Shadows did the same. “Another perfect transition, Your Highness,” he offered. No response. No surprise for Onyx. The pace from the Princess was certainly a change, however. Princess Luna’s hoof steps came closer and closer, then moved past him in a purposeful hurry. Before he could rise and follow, her voice suddenly held him still.
“Captain Onyx Wing, tell me. Who do you serve?”
Onyx looked up and toward her. “You of course, Your Highness!” he replied instantly, though still too slowly to his liking. He glanced at the others and was pleased to find them also looking up and nodding.
Princess Luna simply walked on, not even gracing them with a quick glance back. For the rest of their walk from the balcony to Princess Luna’s room they were silent. Onyx Wing saluted as Princess Luna slowly shut the door.
“Captain Onyx,” Princess Luna said. The door remained open by just the smallest of cracks, past it she looked at him intensely.
“Yes, Your Highness?” Onyx asked.
“Would you fight my enemies?”
“Of course, Your Highness, to my dying breath if need be.”
“No matter who they are?”
“Without fail, Your Highness. I speak for all the Night Guard.”
The door finally closed, right after a mumbled “Good day”.
Though the day now reigned and the Day Guard had taken over, the Night Guard had not quite retired. Most of the troops had returned to their homes deep within the caverns of Mount Nocturnal, the ancestral home of the thestrals by the borders of Equestria and Griffonia. A few, mostly the young bachelors, couldn’t be bothered to make the journey each and every time and stayed in homes within Canterlot. As for the captains of the Guard, they remained in their meeting tower within the Royal Palace. At least, for now.
Three divisions comprised the Night Guard of Princess Luna, each tasked with their own duty which they performed faithfully and guarded jealously from each other, lest their duty be given over to another division.
The Dream Watch held posts among the sleeping citizens of Equestria. They garbed in cloths of a calming light blue, eschewing barding like the other guards as to not frighten their charges for they walked among the citizenry even at the dead of night. They held affinity for the dreamscape, looking into the realm without quite entering it, and extending the reach of Princess Luna. They acted as her extra eyes and ears to keep watch over the dreams of the citizenry.
The Night Sentinels patrolled near some of the Dream Watch’s posts and along the roads, tasked with the more mundane but just as necessary job of watching for physical threats such as thieves and invaders.
Lastly, there were the Royal Shadows, the smallest of the three. They were tasked with escorting Princess Luna at all times, as faithful as her own shadow itself.
Within the meeting room of the Night Guard, Onyx Wing squinted at the now-rising sun before closing the blinds. Behind him were the captains of the other divisions within the Night Guard: Swift Glide of the Dream Watch and Star Sight of the Night Sentinels.
“Lately, Her Highness has said some troubling things,” Onyx began. “She has always been silent and introspective, but her moods have been darker and she has gone so far as to question our loyalty.”
Star Sight frowned as he leaned on the meeting table. “Are you sure that it’s not a failing on the Shadows’ part?” he asked. “She could just be casting doubts on your recent performance and you are blaming her for strange behavior instead.”
“We have not faltered in any way,” Onyx growled.
“I have noticed it too,” Swift Glide interjected. “All of the Dream Watch has. The dreamscape reflects Her Highness’s thoughts as surely as her actions.”
Onyx studied Swift Glide for a moment. His fellow captain had an odd glow around the eyes, and an unusual aura about him. The Dream Watch guardsponies has always been a strange bunch, always seemingly adrift between the waking and dreamworld as a consequence of their duties. They were not magical as unicorns were, but they were in tune with otherworldly forces. Swift Glide always looked like he was seeing things that his fellow captains couldn’t, staring off into space or studying something that wasn’t there. Right now, he was more intense...and more haggard. The dreamscape should normally be peaceful. What had the Dream Watch been doing lately?
“We shall be part of a reckoning soon,” Swift Glide said. “Her Highness is unsure of her allies for this occasion. She must be counting on her Shadows most of all, Captain Onyx. Of us three, you are the only one whom she actually spoke to. Surely, you must have responded as loyally as you could.”
“Of course I did!” was Onyx’s swift reply. He just as swiftly cast his gaze down, though. A reckoning? What battle was brewing? He knew of no hostilities coming from anywhere. “Should we alert the Day Guard as well?” he asked.
“If Her Highness wished to involve her sister, she would speak to her sister,” Swift Glide said. “This is her fight and the Night Guard should wean itself of the a Day Guard’s aid as Her Highness has weaned herself of her sister’s.”
“What is even this threat?” Star Sight asked. “Stop speaking in riddles, Swift Glide!”
“I don’t know myself,” Swift Glide said. “She hasn’t spoken to me. I and the rest of the Watch merely sense it, but the fight is coming soon. When it does, the loyalty of the Night Guard shall be put to the test.”
A week had passed since that odd incident; a week of tense silence between Princess Luna and her Royal Shadows, a week of nervous waiting for something to happen as Swift Glide suggested. The Royal Shadows studied their princess intensely, noting down the slightest action and trying to interpret them. The Night Sentinels searched high and low for anything remotely resembling a threat.
Onyx, however, found it more interesting and worrisome to study the Dream Watch as well. Whatever this source of tension was, it seemed to rage within the dreamscape more. The Dream Watch were tight-lipped about the happenings within the dreamscape, yet they didn’t need to speak. A strange miasma clung to them at the end of each night, like a haze of purple that seemed to exist between dream and reality. Most of the Dream Watch did not seem aware of this, but they had grown increasingly...belligerent as of late, not towards their fellow Night Guard, but towards the Day Guard. A degree of occasional rivalry naturally existed between the two, but this growing aggression was too spiteful to be healthy. This was, however, but a reflection of Princess Luna’s own darkening mood as of late and her own growing belligerence towards her sister. Normally, Princess Luna would greet Princess Celestia during the transitory stages of day and night. Princess Luna has dispensed with that as of late.
It was another beautiful night despite tensions. The moon had been full and bright, the dark was serene and comforting. With the dawn, the sun began to rise and the moon had to make way. The transitioning was normally smooth, but Princess Luna seemed reluctant to give way. Only after a minute of both sun and moon clashing in the sky did Princess Luna finally relent.
“Onyx Wing...”
Onyx was swift to salute. “Your Highness,” he said, quickly pushing out his own worries thoughts as Princess Luna faced him.
“I am going to speak with my sister,” Princess Luna said in a tone that brooked no questioning. That she hissed the word sister was not lost on Onyx. “Take the rest of the Shadows and the Night Sentinels and occupy the walls and guardhouses of the Royal Palace.
The order perplexed Onyx. This sounded like defensive measures. Were they about to be under attack? “Yes, Your Highness,” was all he could say.
The Royal Shadows were loathe to leave their positions by Princess Luna’s side. Still, they would not disobey a direct order from her.
They marched out to the courtyard. The Night Sentinels and the Dream Watch must have received similar orders from somewhere as they gathered along the walls and towers, perching in formation as they waited. Onyx Wing, at the head of the Royal Shadows, squinted as more and more of the sun’s rays stung his eyes. The day was no time for a thestral to be out.
As he feared, a gold-armored stallion strode towards him, eyes hard and suspicious, pace urgent and aggressive. “What are you still doing here, Night Guard?” Captain Corona Glare shouted as he closed the distance. “Your guardsponies are jamming up my patrol routes! Are you so blind that you can’t see our glorious sun in the sky? Take your ponies home!”
“We have our orders,” Onyx replied. He did not miss the Day Guard already taking up positions where they could. Corona Glare led the Bright Rays, the pegasus Day Guard division responsible for keeping the citizenry safe. They should be moving out to the cities at this point, but they had gathered here. Unsurprisingly, the Day Guard were swift to hold suspicions and the slightest oddity from their night counterparts. Without a doubt, the unicorns of the Thousand Suns were close by, always ready to provide magical support.
Before Corona Glare could say anything else, a collective gasp escaped the ponies within the Royal Palace. The steadily brightening sky suddenly plunged into fresh darkness. Onyx looked up on instinct to see the moon rise up to block the sun, covering Equestria in shadow.
“What is the meaning of this?” Corona Glare asked. Spears lowered from both sides.
Onyx kept his lips tight, knowing that his troops looked to him for the next move. It was Swift Glide, however, now aglow with purplish light, who came flying past the walls and yelling. “This is the sign!” he shouted. “The night has taken over Equestria! Princess Luna has made her move!”
As if to echo the sentiment, an armored pegasus came flying from the throne room’s direction followed by several more. Unicorn guardsponies also came running from the same place. Onyx gripped his spear tightly. The Sons of Light, Princess Celestia’s personal Guard, were here. “Day Guard!” the pegasus shouted. “Princess Luna has attacked our princess! This is a coup!”
Corona Glare pointed his spear at Onyx, eyes practically bulging. “You—!”
Onyx lowered his spear so the point aimed at Corona Glare’s neck. Nearby, Swift Glide and the rest of the Dream Watch crashed into the still shocked Bright Rays. The Night Sentinels followed suit, leaving the Royal Shadows as caught in the confusion as most of the Day Guard. It was the raging snarl from Corona that finally pushed Onyx into shouting.
“For Princess Luna!”
The rest of the Royal Shadows picked up the hue and cry, pointing their weapons at the Day Guard and charging in. The courtyard and walls rang out with the clash of metal and the pained cries of guardsponies.
The darkness favored the Night Guard, the surprise attack gave them further edge. Even with magical support, the Bright Rays were forced back to the outer walls, allowing the Night Sentinels to hold the defensive positions. With archer slots to their advantage, the Night Sentinels brought out their crossbows and fired down on the still withdrawing Day Guard.
The Thousand Suns raised protective barriers and fired back with magical bolts, but the strange, purplish light from the Dream Watch seeped out towards them, disrupting their spells and attacking their minds from the way they winced in pain and clutched their heads.
Onyx smacked away an overaggressive spear stab from Corona, jabbing his own spear between the barding that protected Corona’s neck and shoulders. He withdrew the weapon with blood dripping from the tip before smashing his shoulder into Corona. The Bright Rays’ Captain hurtled off the walls, but managed to get himself barely aloft at the last moment, crashing into his fellow Day Guard.
“Drive them away so we can focus on aiding Princess Luna!” Onyx shouted. The rest of the Night Guard roared their assent, renewing their attack with twice the fervor. Above them, Onyx noticed a streak of white light crash into the Royal Palace’s treasure vault with a streak of dark purple in hot pursuit.
The battle redoubled its ferocity, spilling guardspony blood all across the courtyard and walls. Even half-blinded, the Day Guard held staunchly on, holding their ground and trying to regain the palace’s defensive position. They leaped over the corpses of their fellows, even stacking the bodies up to use as cover.
The Night Guard were hard-pressed despite their initial advantage. They were outnumbered as the Day Guard had a far wider pool for recruiting unlike the thestral-exclusive Night Guard. They had already spent the night on duty and were fighting well into the day despite the darkness. The courtyard did not lack for the dead bodies of thestrals.
Suddenly, a pillar of bright colors erupted from the newly-made hole of the treasure vault. Princess Luna’s anguished cry filled the air followed by a streak of light flying towards the moon. Another explosion later and an odd formation of dark spots had formed on the moon’s surface, vaguely resembling a mare’s side profile.
Onyx stumbled as his chest suddenly grew cold. Around him, the rest of the Night Guard must be feeling it too. He felt empty inside, empty and lonely, as if a great source of comfort and strength had suddenly been cut off. His legs trembled as the fatigue caught up in a fury. The purplish light surrounding the Dream Watch faded.
Worse still, the moon fled before the sun, sinking into the horizon in a matter of moments. The harsh glare of the dawn burned into Onyx’s eyes, forcing him to cover them with a hoof. From outside the walls, the Day Guard were shouting excitedly. Gold-barded ponies flooded the courtyard like an avalanche of maddened soldiers, cutting, stabbing, and burning with such rage that the stunned and weakened Night Guard fell before them like dried leaves.
“The Day Guard rises with the sun!” Corona Glare roared. He limped forward, but still had the strength and skill to cut down two of the Dream Watch. His furious glare found Onyx, and his lips split into a vicious grin.
Mount Nocturnal: home of the thestrals for as long as thestrals existed, the cool, comforting dark embrace that nearly every thestral fled to before the sun’s harsh radiance. Its cavern complexes held many a thestral home, built of a combination of fine crystal and solid stonework and often suspended on the ceiling. Thestral architecture favored the acoustic over the visual. The ceilings of these caverns were carefully worked into gracefully curving arches and reflective walls to ensure good reflection and clear sounds.
This did not mean that thestrals ignored the visual. Well-placed mirrors and vents dug into the mountain. Built so they could be adjusted to reflect moonlight into the caverns, allowing for soft illumination. Thestral homes mixed fine crystal with solid stonework, preferring the subtle beauty of a gentle glimmer in the darkness over the glittering spires of Canterlot. Those who visited the depths of Mount Nocturnal would leave bearing stories of sublime sights, of pale, luminous beams bouncing off slender pillars of silver and blue.
Such refined things, unfortunately, were not the sort to survive six months of siege.
The Day Guard proved relentless. Something about the sight of their princess defeating her sister drove them to the heights of zealotry. Their gentle and peaceful Princess Celestia should be reining them in by now, but the stories of her that made it to Mount Nocturne told of her shutting herself away in grief, forced to take up her sister’s duties while dealing with hers. Without her guidance, control of the Day Guard was left to its three captains, all of whom were furious at the Night Guard’s betrayal.
Mount Nocturnal was no easy city to take. It was built into the mountain with great doors of strong oak and metal that could close of the entrance. True, the Thousand Suns and the Bright Rays demolished those doors with a barrage of persistent telekinetic blasts and catapult shots, but past them were the network of tunnels and redoubts ready to hold off invaders for months if need be. The fighting bogged down in narrow passages where it was dark, thus giving an edge to the thestrals.
Not that the visual edge mattered much. The thestrals were utterly demoralized and cut off from the food sources of the surface and trade. The Day Guard could take their time, and indeed they did. Every cavern they took cost time and lives, but they paid both with fierce gladness. It was as if they found a renewed life purpose in exterminating those they once called brothers and sisters.
Six months of fighting passed before the Day Guard finally asked for a meeting with the Night Guard’s surviving leadership. Evening Star, the mayor of Mount Nocturnal would have attended this meeting as well, but she and several of her staff were dead beneath the rubble of the city hall. Not enough thestrals could be spared to dig the bodies out and no time could be set aside to hold elections. Until such a time came, the Night Guard captains led the thestrals.
That would be Onyx Wing, first and foremost. Swift Glide did not even survive the retreat to Mount Nocturnal. A hail of bolts and arrows brought him and his retinue down. Star Sight and a large contingent of the Night Sentinels held the line when the gates first collapsed, buying enough time for most of the defenders to fall back. He and his troops were cut off, unfortunately, and slain. Both fallen captains were replaced by their seconds: Soft Step and Star Mail, respectively. They were young and had not been tested much during their time in Equestria. Soft Step was sleek and narrow-shouldered for a thestral stallion, almost mare-ish in proportion. His attempt at a beard so far was a scraggly, patchy thing. There was nothing effeminate, however, in the way he struck down many a reckless guardspony. Star Mail was a large, brooding presence even before Star Sight was killed. The loss of his father only made him worse, but he had calmed down a bit, at least. He was far from the roaring beast who slaughtered his way past so many to recover his father’s body.
To face them were Flame Soul of the Sons of Light, Corona Glare of the Bright Rays, and Great Scarlet of the Thousand Suns. All three were veterans even before Princess Luna’s rebellion, and certainly more after.
The meeting was held in neutral territory, on the slopes of Mount Nocturnal at twilight hours.
“Princess Celestia has issued her first decree on this matter,” said Flame Soul. “This siege is over. The Day Guard shall withdraw, and the thestrals shall henceforth be allowed rejoin the rest of Equestria, pardoned for their involvement in the Lunar Rebellion.”
Onyx glanced at his fellow captains for a while, to reaffirm a decision made during the brutal grind of the last few months. “Will Princess Luna return from where she was banished as well?” he asked.
“Princess Luna has been banished to the moon for an indefinite amount of time,” Flame Soul replied.
“Until the stars aid her escape,” Corona Glare added mockingly. He had and eyepatch now, the mark of a well-placed thestral arrow. “It only makes sense that she can’t even free herself.”
“Hold your tongue, Day Guard,” Soft Step growled.
Corona grinned and raised his chin, naturally making him look down on them. “Do something about it, whelp. I’m right here.”
Onyx lifted a foreleg to block Soft Step’s move. “The thestrals will not return without our princess,” he said. “We shall remain here in Mount Nocturnal and wait for her to return.”
“Arrogant rat,” Corona snarled. “How dare you spit on the mercy of Princess Celestia? How dare you!”
“Her mercy took its time,” Star Mail said. “Six long months before that compassion showed up.”
“That you are shown any is more than you deserve, traitor Guard,” Corona said with a sneer. “The only swiftness you deserve is the swift point of a spear. Did you know that Princess Celestia has taken over Princess Luna’s duties? As it turns out, Princess Luna was redundant and her sole purpose was just to lighten her sister’s load.”
Star Mail scowled and started to move forward as well. “I’ll show you—!”
“Enough.”
Every pony looked to Flame Soul, who kept his stern gaze on Onyx. It was easy for him to command attention. He was the biggest pony among them. Indeed, he was the biggest and strongest among the Sons of Light, which was made up of the biggest and strongest of the unicorns and pegasi to join the Day Guard. More than just size made him stand out. He was surrounded by some sort of radiant aura, like a faint nimbus of sunlight that wreathed his presence at all times. Like the rest of the Day Guard pegasi, his coat was a pristine white. Unlike the rest of the Day Guard pegasi, his long, flowing beard resembled soft gold, as did his mane. His amber eyes were hard when he briefly glanced at Corona Glare. “You are speaking out of line, Glare. We will not engage the thestrals in further hostilities, no matter how much you want more of this slaughter.”
Corona Glare snorted, but he stood down.
“I must add, however, that if the thestrals will not reintegrate with Equestria, they shall henceforth be treated as a separate, foreign nation that has recently engaged in hostilities with us,” Great Scarlet added. She stared impassively at Onyx with an analytical gaze. Mares were extremely rare in any of the Guard divisions. If they were to be found anywhere at all, it would be in the Thousand Suns.
Flame Soul nodded curtly at this. “This is a thorny path your kind has chosen, Onyx,” he said. “For what it’s worth, I wish you luck.”
Onyx nodded as well. Yes, luck. They were bereft of Princess Luna’s presence and their unity with Equestria. Luck will have to do.
Independence. Such a lofty, idealistic term. The thestrals had never considered it in the past. They had always seen themselves as part of Equestria, its vibrant night scene and the servants of Princess Luna. They were subservient true, perhaps more so than the rest of Equestria, for they associated themselves so strongly with the night. Once in a while, a thought or two might cross the mind of some thestral as they surveyed the splendor of Mount Nocturnal. What would it be like to be a separate kingdom of night? A land of dark and serenity. What a fanciful thought.
The reality of it proved far less so. The thestrals did gain their independence, though one would argue that it was foisted upon them by a suspicious and hostile Equestria and their own sense of loyalty. There was no time to spare for lofty sentiments. First, there was the slow rebuilding after the siege. What had taken less than a year to destroy took many to restore, especially without Equestrian aid. Thestrals were not without skill in building and repairing, but their finest works were built with earth pony stone working and unicorn gem shaping. Without either, it was slow and taxing labor that replaced the rubble with less than ideal craftsponyship.
Equestrian aid hardly proved forthcoming. As Solar Flare had said, the thestrals were now an independent and suspect nation with which other nations, not just Equestria, were reluctant to trade with. The flow of resources turned into a trickle. The thestrals were reluctant to mine Mount Nocturnal for building stone without earth pony rock-farming techniques nor could they easily turn to the forests that grew on the slopes for lumber without earth pony rapid tree growing techniques. They were forced to rely on nature taking its course, a very slow process indeed.
Food was also a problem. Most thestrals supplemented their insectivorous diet with fruits and vegetables. Mount Nocturnal had limited sources of both. The grub farms were stretched to the limit soon enough. Too much time was spent scrounging up the next meal rather than rebuilding. House roaches, once seen as coarse fare, were now open game. The fish that swam in Mount Nocturnal’s underground streams were nearly hunted to extinction.
Many among the thestrals began to consider that this independence was a slow choking of their race instead. Until new trade deals could be arranged, the thestrals could very well be doomed to starve in the rubble of their own city.
It was not out of the blue, then, when more desperate measures were suggested. If Mount Nocturnal’s neighbors refused to trade from their plenty, the thestrals would have to resort to less than honorable means.
Onyx Wing, long past his retirement but still acting as the leader of this fledgling independent nation, shot down every proposal of banditry, raiding, and other unsavory means to procure additional resources. As the years went by, however, less and less thestrals were inclined to follow him unquestioningly. Even among his sons.
“I’m going, father,” Arc said without so much as looking back. “My friends and I have had some successful pickings. Equestria has plenty of goods. They won’t miss a wagon or two. Look at now we’re treated in the city! We’re heroes!”
Onyx Arc had always been the idealistic one among his brothers. Perhaps, it was because he was the youngest. His older brothers were in the Night Guard already. He wasn’t. He didn’t even try to join, stating that he hated being ordered around.
“You are bandits,” Onyx replied. “It’s true that you have brought some relief to—“
“That’s all that matters, father,” Arc shot back. “We’re helping others while you sit around your office pushing papers!”
Onyx grabbed a hold of Arc’s shoulder and spun him around. “You have no idea what you and your friends are playing with,” he said, his tone that of a stern captain. “Your supplies won’t count for much when you bring down Equestria upon us.”
Arc merely smirked and pulled away. “All right, Old Guard,” he said mockingly before trotting away.
The Night Guard were spread out thinly enough just keeping opportunists from trespassing into Mount Nocturnal. What little he could spare, Onyx sent out to put a stop to the banditry. It was a difficult task even if he did have enough bodies to throw at it. It was true that many thestrals saw Arc and his friends as heroes, including some of the guards. They always managed to slip out unnoticed, only to come back with bags of food and other supplies. Each time, there was always a bit more. Without a doubt, every success emboldened Arc and his gang.
One day, however, no triumphant entry came for Arc and his friends. Instead, it was only Arc, limping and bleeding, with one wing hanging in tatters by his side, who came back to Mount Nocturnal. He had no sacks of loot to share this time, only a tale of horror.
“They ambushed us on our way back from a score!” Arc explained to Onyx and the other captains as a doctor patched him up. “The Day Guard killed the others and I was the only one who escape!”
“These are dire news,” Soft Step said. “We cannot survive an attack from Equestria.”
“Bandits arise in every nation, even Equestria,” Star Mail said. “Surely, we thestrals as a whole should not be punished because a small portion of us committed a crime?”
“We were happy to take their loot,” Soft Step replied. “Even if they do not attack at once, Equestria will demand restitution. Captain Onyx, they might ask for the surviving culprit.”
“I know,” Onyx said. He closed his eyes in deep thought. He had feared this. All he was waiting for now was the arrival of the Day Guard. The weight of this fledgling nation’s fate bore down heavily on his shoulders.
Arc stared at him, eyes wide. “You wouldn’t, would you? I barely escaped with my life!”
“I do not want my son killed,” Onyx replied. “That’s why I begged him several times to not do what he did.”
It only took a day for the Day Guard to arrive. That was to be expected. Unexpected, however, was the division that showed up before Onyx. Flame Soul and a small cadre of the Sons of Light faced off with the gathered Night Guard captains and their escorts. Since the last mayor died, no mayor had been elected. The thestrals agreed among themselves that their new nation shall be led by the three captains.
For fifty years, the Night and Day Guard had not needed to confront each other. Not since the end of Mount Nocturnal’s siege. Onyx took great pride in maintaining that record and his son just shattered it.
“Speak for yourself, Captain Flame Soul,” Onyx replied. “You don’t look a day older than you did fifty years ago.”
It was true. Not a single wrinkle marred Flame Soul’s face and not a single grey strand could be seen in his golden mane and beard. In comparison, five decades of trying to hold this mountain together showed on Onyx’s face with every crack and wrinkle, with the bags under his eyes and the greys all along his mane.
“The sun’s blessing has its benefits,” Flame Soul said. “I must get straight to the point, Captain Onyx Wing. We’ve engaged a band of thestral bandits that has been bedevilling our merchants and other travelers. We captured those who surrendered and obliged the ones who fought to the death. We tracked the one who escaped us here and interrogation of his friends has revealed who he is.”
“This doesn’t seem like something the Sons of Light should be taking care of,” Soft Step spoke up. “A band of thestral bandits couldn’t possibly be a threat to Princess Celestia.”
There was no immediate response. For a quiet, tense moment, Flame Soul looked them over, sizing them up and determining if they were playing games. The Sons of Light were few and surrounded in thestral territory, but they stood tall and proud, all but trumpeting out loud that they would make all of Mount Nocturnal pay dearly for any treachery. Onyx believed it as well.
“It seems that you are genuinely unaware,” Flame Soul said. “These bandits attacked a carriage bearing Princess Celestia’s personal student. They tried to rob her and her escorts, but she panicked and resisted so they got violent. The student survived, but only after witnessing the murder of her escorts and carriage driver. You must understand the sort of damage this will do to a filly.” Flame Soul’s eyes narrowed. “A filly who happens to be like a daughter to Her Highness. The Sons of Light will not overlook this transgression.”
A dark cloud all but descended on the gathered Night Guard captains. Onyx cursed inwardly. He knew it was bad and it was going to be bad, but not to this extent.
“We ask that you turn in Onyx Arc to us,” Flame Soul went on. “As the leader of this band, he must face judgment.”
“The boy is my son, Flame Soul,” Onyx Wing said softly.
“I will do everything in my power to, at least, spare his life,” Flame Soul said. “I am sorry it has to be this way, Onyx.”
Onyx grit his teeth, unable to match gazes with Flame Soul. He had failed as a father for sure, just as he had failed as a husband all those years ago. If he had anything at all now, it would be his duty to Mount Nocturnal. “Bring Onyx Arc here,” he finally ordered. His escorts were quick to respond.
It only took a few minutes for a rush of armored hooves to bring everypony’s attention to the newcomer. Onyx Arc stared at Flame Soul as if he was looking at a waking nightmare. He backed away, only to bump into Onyx Wing’s escorts. “Father,” he said. “What’s going on? Why are they here?”
Flame Soul looked to Onyx Wing. For his part, Onyx tried to give the word, but his throat seized up and his stomach rebelled. He could only give a curt nod.
“Take the colt,” Flame Soul ordered. The two sons of light had Onyx Arc in their hooves in an instant, dragging him away and back to Equestria. No thestral blocked their path. “I am sorry, Onyx,” Flame Soul said, before turning away as well.
“Father!” Onyx Arc screamed from a distance. “How could you do this? How could you give me up so easily? Some father you are!”
Onyx turned away, pushing past the other captains and retreating to his office.
“The time for Princess Luna’s return is nigh!” Star Favor cried out. Before him, standing in Mount Nocturnal’s main plaza, was a huge crowd of thestrals, listening to his speech with mixed reactions. Many stood enthralled, following his words closely and nodding at each point. Plenty were dismissive, however, and listened with raised eyebrows and disapproving glowers. “For too long we have passively waited, content with growing fat and lazy now that our nation has raised itself from its ruin! Did the prophecy not state that the stars will aid in Princess Luna’s escape? Behold!” Star Favor turned gestured to his flank, where a cutie mark depicting a starry night lay. “I have received visions from our waiting princess! I am ‘the stars’ prophesied!”
“That’s the biggest cock and bull story I have ever heard!” someone from the crowd shouted back. “You’re just some thestral like the rest of us, putting on airs because of your cutie mark!”
“He makes a good point, though!” someone else said. “It’s been centuries since we thestrals left Equestria to wait for Princess Luna. Maybe we should be actually doing something instead of just waiting!”
Several in the crowd nodded and murmured among themselves. Star Favor stamped a hoof and reared up for effect “Exactly!” he said. “How can we call ourselves her loyal subjects while doing nothing for her? Our so-called leaders sit in their offices and think of nothing besides economics, security, and diplomacy. Indeed, we have been building Mount Nocturnal to even greater heights than we managed in the past. Our nation has been accepted by our neighbors, we are a respected fighting force, and rare is the thestral who is destitute. But what are all these accomplishments in the face of our apathy? Are they not monuments to our selfishness? Not a single thought spared for the plight of our princess! Why? Because so long as she has not returned, the three captains can pretend to rule over us! They don’t want to give up their power so they gave up on Princess Luna instead!”
The murmurs took a louder, more indignant tone. The thestral who had shouted against Star Favor tried to get a word in, but was shouted down and shoved away. He was forced to flee the scene along with several thestrals.
“I say we leave this ‘safe’ and ‘prosperous’ city that has dulled our sense of duty,” Star Favor said. “We will form a commune closer to Equestria, living a rugged life out in the wilderness where we will always be sharp and ready. From there, we will aid in our princess’s return!”
Shouts of agreement from the crowd, particularly the younger ones among them.
“Stop this!”
A cadre of the Night Guard had arrived on the scene. They were led by the captain of the Royal Shadows himself, Cut Onyx. “What you are proposing his foolish and dangerous,” he said. He turned his gaze upon the rest of the crowd. “Return to your homes. It is not for us to rush into deciding the fate of our princess with our hooves! Think of what you’re about to do!”
“Your call to inaction is proof of Mount Nocturnal’s rot!” Star Favor cried out. “The Royal Shadows were supposed to be the most faithful of Princess Luna’s guards, but you have not only failed, you have given up. Rise up, thestrals! Our princess waits for our help!”
More of the Night Guard arrived along with the other two captains. Cut Onyx took a step forward, eyes narrow and threatening. “You will stand down, Star Favor.”
Star Favor merely smirked at this development, turning his attention back to the crowd. “I will not waste precious lives on the indolent Night Guard,” he proclaimed. “They can’t stop those of us who want to leave unless they wish to finally expose the tyrants they have become!”
The crowd did disperse, but Cut Onyx already understood that this was far from over. Star Favor had been at this for a while now. How sincere he was in his belief that he was “the stars” meant to aid Princess Luna was hard to determine. His persistence, seeming conviction, and some measure of insidious charm held many at sway nonetheless. There were many ponies, particularly the next generation, who were growing more dissatisfied with the direction Mount Nocturnal took. They wanted something to hold on to, the sort of faith the old Night Guard had in Princess Luna. They did not understand the blood, sweat and tears it took to bring Mount Nocturnal and the thestrals from the brink. They saw no triumph in finally getting earth pony laborers and farmers to work for Mount Nocturnal at last. As far as they were concerned, a nation with wealth, food, and security was all too mundane without the magic and majesty of Princess Luna.
Cut Onyx wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. True, it was not for the Night Guard to hold them prisoner in this city like tyrants would. They were free to leave and form this commune that Star Favor insisted on. Perhaps, that would be the only way to teach them. The only concern was that Star Favor might lead them in a foolish assault on Equestria. The last thing this growing nation needed was more tension with the realm of the Princess of the Sun.
In the span of a couple of weeks, Cut Onyx did watch as Star Favor led his followers out of Mount Nocturnal to begin their quest to bring back Princess Luna. It was a blow to Mount Nocturnal, of course. Many of these thestrals were young and healthy, idealistic maybe, but clearly enthusiastic and willing to work.
Cut Onyx did what he could do. He and the other captains met with the leaders of the Day Guard, even Princess Celestia herself, explaining the situation as best they could. To their relief, Equestria was understanding at least and promised to keep an eye out with an open mind. The Night Guard had agents keep a close eye on Star Favor’s group at a distance. Nothing too overt lest Star Favor and his followers decide they were being persecuted.
Star Favor’s group built a large camp for themselves by the slopes of Mount Nocturnal, as close to Equestria’s border as possible without provoking the Day Guard. Onyx Cut imagined that such a prospect alone would have weeded out the soft-hearted among them. They would be out in the sun with only the canvas of tents or some makeshift roof to protect them. A thestral needed a solid roof of stone and the coolness of a cave or a building at least. Their eyes were not meant to bear such radiance. They would start to puff up and weep after a while before scarring and blindness set in. Even their skin was not meant to be battered by sunlight for too long. In a matter of hours, they would start to blister and char. A thestral exposed to a full day, from morning to afternoon, without any sort of protection, would burn to death.
A mere week passed before the first defectors from Star Favor’s group shamefacedly returned to Mount Nocturnal. They told of unpaid, back-breaking labor just to keep the camp running, of struggling to find food, of the agony of trying to sleep in their shelters with the sun out, and of having to fight off wandering bears and other unpleasant creatures. Cut Onyx allowed them to reunite with their families without issue, a bit glad that these thestral youth, at least, has a better understanding of what it took for their ancestors to survive the siege of Mount Nocturnal and to slowly build something out of the rubble and separation from Equestria. Maybe now, the mundanity of daily maintenance of the city wouldn’t seem so unappealing, with the presence of Princess Luna or none.
A couple more weeks along with an increasing number of defections brought more troubling news. Star Favor didn’t seem particularly motivated to enact any sort of plan to save Princess Luna. He was more concerned with lording over the new fiefdom that he had just carved out for himself. Perhaps, he himself had underestimated what it took to establish even a small settlement. When the latest group of thestrals begged to go home, it took a while before he consented.
After another week, it was escapees that made their way back to Mount Nocturnal, with horrible stories of Star Favor and his trusted thestrals arming themselves and all but imprisoning those who remained. A visibly unhinged Star Favor ranted and raved almost daily on the forces arrayed before them, and that Princess Luna’s prison lay past the veil between life and death. As such, there was only one way to reach her.
At this, Cut Onyx had heard enough. He had a large group of the Night Guard assembled then headed out to put an end to Star Favor’s ill fated “quest”.
The Night Guard arrived a few hours before midnight, armed to the teeth should worse come to worse. They surrounded the camp and posted sentries to prevent escape before flying in. They met no resistance. The smaller tents and makeshift houses were empty. That left the large wooden building that overlooked the whole camp, likely Star Favor’s home and the gathering place for meetings.
Still, only silence greeted Cut Onyx and his Night Guard; silence and a bitter smell in the air. They made their way to the main gathering hall, where they found Star Favor and the rest of his followers at last.
A few dozen thestrals, the remains of Star Favor’s previously large following, lay unmoving on the floor. Their eyes were closed, as if they were only dreaming, but their chests were motionless. Star Favor himself lay across the podium facing the hall, as lifeless as all the rest. Small cups lay scattered on the floor, some having spilled the remains of some strange, foul-smelling liquid.
Eyes grim and nose wrinkled, Cut Onyx signaled for the rest of the Guard to begin cleaning up.
Onyx Heart crashed through the crystalline windows of her Royal Palace, wincing as several shards embedded themselves in her forelegs and wings. The floor of the audience hall met her without pity. Both her right wing and right foreleg snapped on impact, her ribs cracked, and her breath all but exploded out of lungs. She wheezed and gasped, fighting the pained spasms of her diaphragm just to get a breath in. Pain slithered up and down her limbs while vision blurred and spun. Still, she struggled for consciousness, dragging herself along the floor with her good limbs.
She had lost. Even with the power she amassed, even with the rightness of her cause, she had lost against Princess Celestia. She couldn’t be blamed for it. That accursed day guard, the one called Captain Flame Soul, he had intervened. He had hurled himself at her with reckless abandon, then exploded in such a furious blast of sunlight that he cut through her defenses. That was enough for Princess Celestia to strike her down. Just the recollection of that final blow, of the beam of radiance from Princess Celestia’s horn driving her from the sky, was enough to bring a surge of anger flooding through Onyx’s veins. She grit her teeth and dragged herself even farther across the audience hall, making her way to her throne and the chamber behind it. She wasn’t done. Oh, she was far from done. She could still recover. Princess Celestia must be exhausted as well, and her precious Flame Soul was gone. If Onyx, the mighty Queen Onyx Heart III, Night Queen of the Thestrals and absolute ruler of Mount Nocturnal, could gain her second wind, this fight would be won.
The pain worsened with each inch of progress. Her wing dragged uselessly across the floor, trailing blood along the way. The audience hall was empty. Indeed, the whole palace was. Her army was likely still out there, retreating in shame after her fall. That included even the Night Guard that held the Royal Palace.
It wasn’t fair. This struggle shouldn’t even be. The rightness of her cause was undeniable. The power over the night should not belong to the Princess of the Sun. It should belong to the one who had succeeded Princess Luna. It belonged to the Night Queen of the Thestrals. Yes, it belonged to her, as it should have belonged to her mother, and her grandmother before that.
The prophecy is a lie. It is a comforting story spun by Princess Celestia to keep us complacent and hopeful while she maintains control of the night. Princess Luna is dead. She is never coming back. We thestrals have waited for her for too long. We have witnessed too many charlatans pretending to be her rescuer. It is time we took our destiny as thestrals into our own hooves.
It was with those words that her grandmother, the first Onyx Heart, Last Captain of the Royal Shadows, stirred both the thestral lords and the commoners. She appealed to their growing impatience with both the absence of Princess Luna, who was all but a myth in recent times, and with all the frauds claiming to be the ones to set her free all the way back to Star Favor the Fraud. The vote was cast. The rule of the Three Captains came to an end, and the first Night Queen took her throne.
As it should be. The thestrals of Mount Nocturnal had risen from the rubble of exile and built a glorious nation of beauty worthy of the Princess of the Night. Gone was the network of tunnels and caverns, the symbol of the disjointed rule of the three captains. Instead, they lived in a gigantic, unified cavern. Glittering temples and shrines adorned the city as the finest jewellery might adorn a pony awaiting a lover. They were ready for a princess, even if it wasn’t the princess they had been waiting so vainly for all this time. If Princess Luna would not sit upon such a lovingly crafted throne, then the Night Queen will.
Onyx finally made it to the door behind the throne. She fiddled with the secret latch, which was carefully hidden by both magic and clever construction. Only her touch could even approach the thing without being burned to ashes. All these protections were necessary for the that which allowed the Night Queens to achieve and maintain power lay within. The first Onyx Heart could not have swayed all of Mount Nocturnal with words alone. No, it was power that ultimately moved nations, and it was power that lay within this secret chamber. With it, Onyx Heart I unleashed magical power unlike anything that the thestrals ever saw before. To the gullible masses, it was as if Princess Luna had returned at last, only in a different body.
The passageway leading to the secret chamber has always been cold, a strange side effect of the thing’s presence. Onyx shivered. It felt as if her life itself was ebbing away, sucked into the thing’s greedy presence. Still, she pushed on. Even if she has guards with her, they would not be able to move past the secret door. This place was reserved only for the Night Queen.
With her goal so clearly in sight, Onyx Heart made for the final push. Her muscles strained and beads of sweat dripped from her face despite the cold. This pain was nothing, nothing compared to the glory of regaining the power over the night from Princess Celestia. At last, she stood inside the secret chamber and before the secret that brought the Night Queens to power.
At the center of the chamber, floating over a stone altar, was a glob of unfathomably deep blackness, a sphere of darkness that was more a hole into the world’s essence than a thing of itself. It was this thing that granted the Night Queens magical power to unite the thestrals beneath them and to challenge even Princess Celestia.
This is the Remnant of Night, the power that your grandmother found in the deepest reaches of Mount Nocturnal. We cannot be sure how it came to be, but your grandmother and I have communed with it enough to know that it is the manifestation of thestral longing for the Princess of the Night.
“But you said the Princess of the Night was dead, mother.”
“No, my dear. Princess Luna is dead, but there will always be one who will rule the night. With this, we can take that power from Princess Celestia one day. The one who will do it will be you.”
“Why me? Can’t you be Princess of the Night?”
“I have bonded with the Remnant much more so than your grandmother, but not enough. With each generation, our family becomes stronger with its power. With you, we can finally challenge the Princess of the Sun, and avenge our humiliation all those centuries ago!”
Onyx believed every word. She had bonded with the Remnant. She had demonstrated magical power to surpass any unicorn and even Princess Celestia. She only made a single slip up. That can be corrected. It was the Night Queen’s destiny to rule over the night! She just needed a little more power...
Trembling, she raised herself up before the Remnant of Night and spread her forelegs apart as best she could, willing the power to suffuse her some more.
The Remnant of Night pulsed, then spasmed, like an uncontrollably panicking heart. Magical power burst forth as pitch black tongues of flame, blazing past Onyx and leaving hoarfrost in their wake. She raised her forelegs, as if she could contain the increasingly violent bursts...
“Wait—“
The Remnant spasmed violently, then all Onyx knew was numbing blackness.
A dark blue light enveloped the mighty gates of Mount Nocturnal, prying them open in a display of magical might not seen among the thestrals for decades. The stone mechanisms, disused for more than a century, juddered and groaned. With one more push, they flew open. The strain proved too much for the right gate. Its hinges cracked, then broke, sending enormous panels of ancient wood to the floor with a thunderous crash. Dust and pulverised wood flew out in thick clouds, diffusing the first rays of sunlight that flooded into the city for centuries.
Princess Luna flew out of the clouds, her face covered by dust and her increasing anxiety. Only silence greeted her entrance to the city after that crash, silence so deafening that she almost regretted coming here at all.
The city of Mount Nocturnal presented a beautiful silhouette to the fresh source of light now pouring in: tall spires of obsidian and crystal gilded by silver, a towering palace at the center with a plaza shaped like a crescent moon in front of it, shrines both great and small, each topped by a moon in a different phase, and a massive temple-like building by the northern side of the cavern. Gone were the days of multiple smaller caves connected by passageways that Luna remembered. This was a glorious nation, built by a stalwart race that was proud of its culture.
At least, it was.
The streets were empty and the buildings were abandoned. A closer look showed the cracks and disrepair, natural symptoms of a lack of care. Princess Luna drew her wings closer to her as she settled for a walk. The air was still and heavy, unnaturally chilly even for a place far from the sun’s light.
“Hello!” Princess Luna called out. “Is anypony here?”
Luna heard and read about the most recent events involving Mount Nocturnal in preparation for her arrival. After the Night Queen’s attack, the Thousand Suns reported a great flash of magic from the mountain. Shortly after, the gates closed. Never to open again until now. Messengers were sent and scouts were deployed. They reported a frightful cold within the mountain and a pervasive darkness, likely the work of the Night Queen. Messengers returned with word from the battered and broken thestrals that Equestria need not fear them anymore. They were wrong for electing for themselves a queen. They had closed their gates and would quietly wait for either their princess or their demise. From then on, the thestrals never again made their presence widely known anywhere. On very rare occasions, one might spy a small group of them out foraging or discreetly trading, always with shame and resignation on their faces.
At this, Luna had rushed to Mount Nocturnal. She had wronged her most loyal followers so terribly and all she could think of was kneeling before what was left of them and begging for forgiveness.
“Anypony!” she called out again. “Anyone at all...”
A faint series of hoof steps and a the flutter of leathery wings answered her desperate call. Elated, Luna looked ahead. A small group of thestrals had gathered before her. Luna’s heart ached at the sight, out of joy for finding even a small group of those who survived her folly, and out of sorrow at the sight of so few.
They could not have been more than four or five families, by the look of them. Barely the population of a miserable hamlet nestled in the ruins of such a mighty nation. They were a precious glowing cinder in the ashes of this bonfire, one that had flared up and died in her absence.
One of them walked forward, a stallion so ancient that he could barely stagger a few steps. “At long last,” he said in a voice so soft that Luna strained to hear. “Our Princess has returned as was promised to us. Your Highness, I am Onyx Guard, last of my line. Blessed are we who stayed vigilant to the end.”
With that he went to his knees and bowed his head until it touched the ground.
“No!” Luna said, startled. “Please rise, it is I who—!”
Luna placed her hooves on the old stallions shoulders, eyes widening as she realized what happened. Onyx Guard stayed where he was, perfectly still as if still in attendance. The rest of the thestrals bowed as their old city echoed with the Princess of the Night’s weeping.