Dream Guards

The trip to canter lot was rather boring to the purple unicorn as short as it was. She usually had her friends to accompany her on train rides but she was not going to bring them along only too look like a foal if her intuitions were false. The rails rattled and the train car bounced sporadically but all this was drowned out to Twilight who was lost in her thoughts. How could something like this be happening without her knowledge? Didn't the princess trust her with everything? Who were these dream walkers? Many different reasons bounced around her head. Perhaps this was going on without the knowledge of the royal sisters. Maybe she and her friend would be needed to put a stop to this mysterious evil. Or was any evil even going on? Sure the bat ponies are a fearsome looking breed but she had never taken the time to speak with them. Regardless of what the answer would be she wanted to know.

The train conductor announced the stop and Twilight stepped off the train. She looked beyond the station platform and gazed upon the grandeur Canterlot Castle. This place had been both her home and school growing up but it never ceased to captivate her. Twilight began the long walk to the wing of the castle that housed the chambers of Princess Luna. Why two princesses needed a castle so large and with so many rooms dumbfounded the unicorn but she settled with the fact  that royalty just came with certain perks.

The guards would always let her pass without question anywhere she wanted to go. After all she was well know as both the element of magic and in the guards eyes more importantly the little sister of the captain of the royal guard. No pony would be so foolish to hassle their commanders flesh and blood. As it was daylight it was the celestial guards at the castles posts. She quite preferred them to Luna's guards. The celestial guard would always greet her with a smile and a cheerful good morning. The night watch always seemed so cold and hard. They never smiled and would demand to know where she was going and for what purpose. Perhaps they were just being professional. The celestial guard acted the same as the night watch when confronting strangers. Twilight assumed they may have just treated her special since many had watched her grow up since she was a filly. Luna night watch only began to assume their post once Nightmare Moon had been destroyed and Luna returned to help run the kingdom. They showed the purple unicorn no special treatment.

Twilight finally arrived at the bed champers of the princess of the night. She usually slept during the day but when twilight informed the hoof maiden that she was there to speak to Luna she was informed that Luna was not in her chambers but was was awake and in the Lunar wing of the castle. So, Twilight resumed her hunt for the princess down the corridors of the castle. When she reached the lunar wing she found that the night watch stood guard at the doors. She froze in fright remerging the fearsome encounter of the previous night. Sighing she thought back to what her pink friend had taught her. No she was not going to laugh at them, but she was going to stand tall. She walked up to the doors and was immediately stopped by the guards.

"What is your business in the Lunar Wing?" A gruff lunar stallion asked

"Um... I'm here to speak with the princess" Twilight replied with a voice meek enough to rival her shy pegasus friend.

"There is no meetings scheduled during daylight hours, what is this regarding?" The second guard asked.

"I don't have a meeting scheduled but this pertains to maters of Equestria's national security and I can only discuss this with Luna herself. " Twilight didn't know if she way lying but she wasn't the element oh honesty so she didn't really care either.

"Very well Miss Sparkle. The princess should be in a meeting but if is a matter of national security you may interrupt as long as it is quick. She is in the Office of Nocturnal Affairs in the Operations Wing.

With that the lunar stallions raised their halberds with their moon shaped axe blades un unison. Twilight sighed in relief before walking through the doors. What she found on the other side was surprisingly un glamorous hallway with doors on the right. She had expected as pomp and grandeur throughout the castle. This part of the citadel however seemed to only care about whatever was happening behind the doors. She opened the doors to the operations wing and found it eerily silent. No pony was seen in the hall so she trotted down the passage eyeing the doors on the right. She had never heard of any of these names and knew not what they meant or their purpose. Names like "Skyfall, Foreign Threats, Marines, Intelligence" and a door that seemed to have taken some abuse and suffered from neglect. She could see hoof indentations where is seems like many ponies had bucked at it either to attempt to knock it down or just our of anger. There were carving in the door as well, mostly consisting of the word traitors. This door bore an placard obviously not polished in a while. It read "Union"

Upon reaching a door labeled simply "Dreams" Twilight could hear Luna's voice on the other side. The door was locked but twilight didn't feel like knocking and wanted to try her lock picking magic. Upon quickly achieving her goal she calmly open the door and walked in. Inside she could see three bat ponies, two mares and a stallion talking with the princess who had her back to Twilight. They were so engrossed in whatever they were talking about they did not notice the presence of the purple unicorn until she was standing right next the Luna.

"Would you mind telling me what's going on princess?"

Luna was startled to say the least but and voiced her anger with her royal voice.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS TESSPASSING ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS!"

"Its whatever this official business is that I am here to find out about. I got a feeling that you know exactly what I'm talking about" Twilight said with a smirk. She had grown used to the strength of Luna's voice and was unfazed.

"Ahem, my apologies for the volume Twilight. But whatever are you referring to? I assure you that what goes on in my wing is of no concern of yours."

"I can tell when your lying princess. Your a worse liar than applejack"

"Well then if you think you know so much then would you mind explaining why your here and what it has to do with me"

Twilight recounted the story of last nights nightmare and how the princess could not deny that a multitude of what Luna was calling coincidences could only result in one fact. That the princess was running some sort of operation that entailed her guards infiltrating ponies dreams. Luna listened quietly as Twilight ranted about all her evidence. Upon the purple unicorn panting heavily and her mouth finial ceasing to move the princess responded.

"Its all just a dream Twilight. There is no limit to what can happen in the dream world and how real it can feel. The reason you saw a bat pony you recognized is because aside from nightmares you can only see things in your dreams that you have seen before while awake. I'm sure you have seen Night Shade around the garrison in the past. Can you show me any evidence in world of daylight that my guard has been in your dreams.

Just then the door to the office opened and in walked none other than Night Shade. The stallion had yet to notice twilight and was trotting in with a surprisingly goofy jump in his step.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting on the de-brief. I had to drain the dragon. Get it!! because saying lizard just would not......"

He cut himself off before he finished his tasteless statement as he saw who was standing right in front of him. It was the mare from his last mission. Behind her sat the princess giving him the royal stink eye and the rest of his team in a mix of facehoofs and snickering. He went to give himself a facehoof but cringed in pain and grasped his freshly bandaged shoulder.

"Oh my what happened to your shoulder Night Shade?" Twilight asked sarcastically.

"Oh hello Miss Sparkle. Well you see....I...I'm a very bad cook and had a little mishap and cut myself."

"Minotaur manure!" Twilight yelled as she used her magic to quickly unwrap the bat ponies bandage.

When the bandage flew off twilight could easily see the puncture would that she saw the stallion receive from the changelings bite.

"Oh that's a very odd type of knife you were using then. You must be the worst cook in Equestria if your trying to chop a salad with CHANGLING FANGS!!" She yelled both at the stallion and at the princess

Nightshade looked over at the princess for what to do but the princess shook her head. She knew that she could not hide the truth and lie to Twilight any longer.

"Okay Twilight. Yes there are operations taking place in the dreams of my subjects. But before you go cracking your horn let me explain myself. What do you want to know?"

"Everything" Twilight responded

"I expected as much" Luna grinned. "Well, Let me start with introducing you to the rest of the team"