On Watch

by InfinityHeart

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Other, Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2985

Is Princess Luna really good? A cult, believing she is better off dead, says otherwise.

Even though Princess Luna has been purged of the dark entity, Nightmare Moon, many still believe her to be evil. When a cult is attempting to assassinate her, she needs a guardian.

Published 2013-07-01 01:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-01 15:33:17 UTC

Prologue

Prologue

"NO! Stop! Princess!"

It was too late, the expel of magic knocked the wind out of the unicorn. It was blinding, the castle foundations shook, the now lifeless orbs of The Elements of Harmony fell with a bang.

"I am sorry."

The unicorn slowly rose, tears forming in eyes.

"You can't have..."

"It was the only way. It's hold on her was too great."

"Did, did you...kill-"

"No I could never do that." Celestia cut in.

"Then, what did you do?"

"I...I banished her."

A glint of hope crossed the unicorn's eyes.

"But that means she'll come back!"

The look on the alicorn's face made the small drop of hope fade.

"I'm afraid... The spell went wry. It was meant for ten years, ten years to think but..."

"How long? How long, Celestia?!"

A small sigh escaped the solar princess.

"One thousand."

"..."

"Amicus, I am so sorry."

"I...I never wanted this."

The unicorn named Amicus swallowed before speaking slowly.

"Is there any way for me to, wait for her?"

Celestia looked up, shocked.

"Even if there is a way, could you do it? Survive it?"

"For her? Anything."

Celestia shook her head and started pacing.

"I cannot change death. But that does not mean I cannot alter life. There is a way, one way with a problem."

"A problem?"

"Your spirit if you will, shall be cast forward into time. You would be reborn, but with no memories of this life."

"But... How will I know my goal? To protect her?"

"I can make it your instinct upon seeing her."

"Are you sure? You may... Not be reborn at all. Set in an endless drift."

"Without her, no life of mine is worth living. If what you say is true, then she will be feared, alone, an outcast. I cannot allow that for her, Do it."

The noises of the still raging war echoed into the castle from the Everfree Forest. Neither Amicus or Celestia moved.

"Very well." Celestia finally said.

"Thank you." Amicus whispered.

"Take off your armour."

Without questioning Amicus took of his battle-gear; a black helmet and steel black armour, letting both fall to the marble with a clang.

"I will keep your amulet. When we next meet I will give it to you. If we meet."

Amicus wordlessly deposited the sapphire amulet into Celestia's outstretched hoof, then prepared himself.

"Princess!"

Both heads turned to see a group of seven ponies adorned in Celestial Guard armour whom must have broke away from the battle gallop into the room, all seven pairs of eyes trained on Amicus.

"The Traitor! The Dark Legions general! Kill him!"

Amicus realised without his amulet, he would not be able to take take on all seven, never the less he prepared a sheild spell to protect himself, but Celestia walked in front of him and rose her wings in defence.

"Lay down your arms, Medax."

"Celestia? What has that liar done to you?!" Medax spat at Amicus.

"It is over. Luna... Is gone."

The seven ceased their death glare on amicus and turned, shocked.

"The nightmare? Gone?"

"Luna will return, In a thousand years, but the 'Nightmare' Is gone."

Medax however, frowned.

"The Nightmare will return, and he will help it! We cannot allow it!

Celestia stepped forward, anger clear upon her face.

"You dare defy me Medax?" My own general, turn on me?"

"If I must, Celestia. For the good of Equestria!"

"Princess! Quickly!" Amicus shouted as the guards prepared to attack.

The princess closed her eyes and her horn lit up with her golden aura. Slowly, from the hooves up, Amicus was dissolving; pieces of him fluttering like paper until each one lit up with his own midnight blue aura and faded into the ether.

"No!"

Celestia's concentrated wavered, as she winced when the bolt of magic struck her shoulder.

With one last thought, it went black.

"Luna..."

A Thousand Years Later

I woke up with the full glare of the sun on my eyes. Damn, forgot to close the curtains again. I groan as I get out of bed, I hate it. I'm more of a night pony, but I had to get up sometime. Raising a hoof to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I got ready to start the day.

"Another day in Amicus' life." I mused to myself.

What I call 'my life' was difficult, to say the least. In my foalhood I didn't socialise with other ponies my age, preferring to keep to myself. My parents, both unicorns,were not the most loving. They did raise me well, a good education and food on the table, but apparently I'm not what they hoped for. As soon as I was old enough to take care of myself, I left. I couldn't take the constant snide remarks, one thing that disappointed them was my lack of cutie mark. I lacked a 'special talent' so they took it as I'm worthless, lazy and a failure. That was three years ago, at the age of eighteen I left to begin my own life here in Ponyville, it was the closest town to were I had lived with my parents; Canterlot. Another dozen reasons why I left were associated with the city. For a pony with my 'common' tastes, Canterlot ponies aren't the most respecting. They think thery're above everypony else and it's really annoying when they keep turning nose up at you. I sigh at the memories of my time in the city, I go downstairs to make breakfast in my kitchen, it wasn't exactly the best, but it was cosy. Rummaging through the shelves, I realised I was meant to go shopping today. I groan, Since today was The Summer Sun Celebration, most businesses will be off, so shopping is out the window. Well, looks like I'll need to go to Sugarcube Corner to get, can it be called breakfast? I check the the clock and it says it's ten past twelve. Looks like it is brunch, then. I put on my travelling cloak to cover up my 'blank flank' as to not be mocked. The sky was still not cleared and I could use the cloak as an excuse. The cloak is a few years old, I bought it when I left Canterlot, and it was slightly frayed.

First I did a mental checklist of what I had to do today; Get brunch, get cloak repaired, kill some hours and then-

Three frantic knocks on the door interrupted my train of thought. Groaning at the thought of having a visitor, I opened the door, feinting a smile.

"Hello, can I-"

"Help? Yesyesyes you can!"

oh joy, its that pink one, what's her name?

"Anyway, there's somepony new in town, and you know what Pinkie Pie does!"

oh, hell no...

"I need you to come to her par-tay! Its tonight at the library before that Celebration thingy! See you there!"

Just as quickly as she came, she was gone. Great, now some other poor soul is going to have to suffer through what I went through when I arrived. Wait. Did she say a library? Why in the moon would you have a party in a library? Ah well, thanks to her I remembered what I needed to do, return that astronomy book then go to that Summer Sun 'Celebration'. What are we celebrating? The sun? Why is there no celebration for the moon then? Damn, I'm hungry now, best get some food at-

...No. She better not be there. By the moon, I hope its Mrs Cake, and Pinkie will be letting more ponies know about that party. Now with all distractions out of the way,I finally step out into the world. Thankfully, the clouds are blocking some of the sunlight, otherwise from this street it would be blinding. All around everypony is rushing about and getting prepared for Celestia. Why go into such a fuss? Make it nice yeah, but make a fucking song and dance out of it? Celestia probably wouldn't be bothered. Sighing, I ignore the ponies and concentrate on the cobblestone road. Now what should I get? Hmmm, Derpy says their muffins are good, so why not? A large muffin and a dandelion sandwich. Hate daisy. Can't stand it. I can't suppress the grin that comes across me as I remember the first time my parents say me eat a daisy sandwich. They were disgusted to say the least, but not at my table manners though. It was the mere thought of their colt eating a 'commoners' meal as they described it. We aren't royalty, but the seem to think they are, like most ponies in Canterlot.

All the thought of food is getting me hungry, but luckily I'm right at the door. I trot in and the bell above the door rings, signalling my arrival.

"Welcome to Sugarcu- Oh! Hello dearie,what are you having?" Mrs cake greets me fondly behind the counter with a smile. Out of all the ponies in Ponyville, Mrs Cake is probably the one I like best, and I am a usual customer. I return the smile and answer politely.

"Just a large muffin and a dandylieon sandwich please, Mrs Cake."

One thing that my parents drummed into me was manners with ponies, yeah I speak my mind, sometimes not in the best ways, but I do have manners.

"Of course dearie."

From inside my cloak pocket I fetch out the bits for the brunch and pass them over the counter with my magic, collect my food and sit at a nearby table with a window view. After a few bites of the sandwich I start a conversation with the baker

"Are you going to the Summer Sun Celebration Mrs Cake?"

"Hmmm? Of course dearie, the whole town is."

Of course they are, everypony has to, I think.

"Did you hear about the new pony?"

It wasn't a question, merely a statement and she understood.

"Well, with Pinkie lodging you keep up with the gossip, don't know how that mare finds out these things but apparently she's the new librarian."

Oh good, I can return my book and warn the mare of Pinkie.

"Really? Were's she from?"

"She came in a chariot and apparently Princess Celestia herself picked her to oversee the preparations tonight. Oh, to answer your question dearie, Canterlot."

How does Pinkie find out these things? And she's from Canterlot? Great, even with a few strange ponies, this town is better without some posh, stuck up prissy from the big city life. I don't say anything though, and just try to enjoy my meal.

Looking out the window, I see that the sky's been cleared. Oh good, Rainbow Dash met the prissy, I can only laugh to myself at the thought of that encounter.

If she met Dash, then she will have been down by Sweet Apple Acres, due to Dash's well known habit of napping in the tree outside the farm. For Celestia's sake, the mare even has a pillow in that tree! So, anyways, that means she'll have passed the town hall, then the fashion pony, Rarity will be taking her back to- There we go!

Ch. 3

I watch as the Canterlot mare walks past in full view of the window, with Rarity droning on about something. Oh, but her face! Priceless! A Canterlot snob with a mane like that must be mortified! Well, that brightened my day, and I finished my meal a few minutes later but stayed seated, just thinking. One thing that made me different from everypony else was my love of the moon. Due to this I preferred night jobs and I did not socialise as much. I remember the first time I realised how much I loved the night sky, it was when I was a colt, roughly eleven. My parents were talking to me sternly about my 'laziness' since about two years ago was the sort of age when a pony gets their cutie mark. I was been chastised for not enjoying the activities my parents were signing me up for. After they were done I had run up to my room and cried. Been told your useless often really can effect your mind. Then I had just stared out of my window at the moon. Not moving, but just watching the silver orb hanging in the sky.

One thing that irritates me is how Celestia does the stars. I read some pretty ancient books on astronomy, and either the books are misleading or Celestia keeps fucking up the constellations. Why does she even raise the moon? Her cutie mark is the sun, surely there's some other pony who's talent is raising the beautiful orb. Now this has got me interested, tonight I'm going to check out some books in the library about it. With a goodbye to Mrs Cake I finally walk out. So, what to do? Getting the cloak repaired would be a good idea. The Canterlot mare has probably left already to check on the other preparations. I follow the path I saw the Canterlot mare and Rarity take. I really need to stop calling her that, and find out her name. That can wait, I can ask at the party tonight. I cant help but find this funny, im going to the party of some mare I've never met nor do I know her name. Wow, it really is a short walk, I'm already here. I walk into the boutique and I'm immediately greeted by the white mare.

"Hello, and welcome to Carousel Boutique. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be about to repair this." I answer, and turn to show her how frayed and ragged it is. My hopes are crushed as her face fell.

"well, I'm sorry but I wouldn't be able able to fix it, however I can offer you one that is almost a replica."

She goes away for a minute and comes back indeed one that looks like mine, pure black but the edges are trimmed in a a soft blue. It is extremely nice but I know that I have not a hope in hell of paying for something like this, but I can't help but ask.

"How much?"

"Twelve bits."

Twelve bits?! By the moon, if I were to try and get this in Canterlot the price would be quadrupled!

"The price is very generous, I will take it."

Oh. Now I have to take this one off and reveal my blank flank. Sighing, I take it off and prepare for the questions and laughter. Nothing. Well, this is unexpected, but i'm not complaining. I levitate my bit bag out of the pocket and count out the payment. Once done I put on my new cloak.

"It suits you very well, goes matches your mane and coat perfectly." Rarity comments.

I give my thanks and walk out happily with my new cloak and dump the old old one in a bin down the road. Time has certainly flown, its already coming sunset. I brake into a gallop, and head for my home. I didn't get any dinner but hey, I'm not to hungry, so just grab that book and head for the library. Once home I take of my cloak, hang it up and rush up to my bedroom. About ten minutes later, and with my room almost torn apart, I have the book in a saddlebag and I'm out into the night.

It must be something I've developed since foalhood, but I can see quite easily during the night, the moon illuminating my path far easier than a blazing sun. as I make my way up to the library I see that the party must be in full swing, due to the loud sounds and lights coming from inside. I walk in and I'm immediately hit with a wall of laughter, talking and other noises. There's barely enough space to get through due to the overcrowded place but I finally make it up to the librarians desk. I wait patiently but after a few minutes nopony greets me. Suddenly a voice coming from at my legs speaks.

"can I um, help you?"

looking down I see a purple and green baby dragon looking at me expectantly.

"Oh, I'm looking for the new librarian, I have to return this book." I finally get out.

"You mean Twilight? She's upstairs, I'll do it for you."

Twilight, finally. It sounds better than 'Canterlot mare'. I fetch out the book and give it to the dragon, whom presumably goes to put it away and tick it off. Now I can look for a book on a moon pon- hey? What's the new librarian been reading? I notice on her desk is an open book, with a brown leathery cover. I know I shouldn't but I can't help myself. I trot around and read the page its open to. The Mare In The Moon, what's this? Some legend about a moon... Pony. Huh. Fate has a sense of humour. I read through the extract rapidly, trying to read it fully before that dragon comes back.

Once upon a time... Aw, not that regal sisters... Wait? Celestia had a sister?... But shunned and slept through her beautiful night... became a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. So there was a pony who controlled the moon!... Eternal Night... Elements of Harmony, and banished her into the moon. So that's not just some weird shape on the moon? Took on responsibility for both sun and moon. So Celestia had a sister who turned evil? Huh. What are are the Elements of Harmony? Oh wait, she's got another book here. Oh, there it is, picture of the moon... and on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid her escape. Wait. That's today. Oh Shit.