A nightly guardian

Chapter 6

Canterlot Wedding

Lyra sat in a classroom in Princess Celestias school for gifted Unicorns. She had graduated from magic school years ago, but Luna insisted that she took these classes. Sitting amongst the future healers, made her slightly uncomfortable. The oldest of them being almost half her own age....

The topic on the other hoof, was more then interesting. Today they learned about magically induced illnesses and poisons. It seemed that their teacher, a Zebra she knew from Ponyville, was quite knowledgeable on these to say the least. Just a few minutes ago, Ms. Zecora had told them of the different ways a poison could affect a Pony. Lyra had paid special attention to that part, since Luna had told her that she herself had been poisoned once. She had thrown in a question at that point, since she was curious if there was a cure for the particular poison she thought of.

"Ehm.... Ms. Zecora, I have a question concerning magical poisons."

"Go ahead and ask, to teach you is my task.", the Zebra had said in her sing song way.

"You see... I have heard of a poison that could make a mare barren, and abort a pregnancy if one is under way. Do you know anything about that? Is there any cure for it at all?", Lyra had asked hopefully.

For a moment Zecora had tapped her chin with a hoof, as if she was considering if she should reveal information on that matter.

"I am very surprised at you, what do you intent to do? The curse you mean is very bad, it would drive any mare mad. To this day there is no cure, of that I am quite sure. It affects the mind, and is very hard to find. Also barren the mare will be, not fertile like you and me.", she had answered.

Lyra had not completely understood it, but had decided not to ask any further. The look her teacher had thrown her, was more then enough to tell her that the Zebra already thought she had said to much. Obviously it was knowledge that was either forbidden, or considered a dark art....

"Well figures... making a mare barren and....", she thought to herself, when her ears perked up and she slammed a hoof on her desk. Without saying anything more, Lyra ran out of the classroom and into the archives, leaving behind a very surprised Zebra and several laughing classmates....

In the archives Lyra went directly to the potion section, and started to look up the poison she thought about. If she could find anything about such a thing, then it would be here. After handling some of the ancient tomes with less care then they would have deserved, she finally found what she was looking for.

"AHA! There it is! Death root extract! I knew I'd find it here.", she shouted out triumphantly.

Death root Extract:

To make this potion you require at least twenty gram of Death root, a pot of led and a spell-caster. Let it be known at this point that no non-Unicorn can brew this poison.

Lyra read on. The coming articles described how the poison was to be made, and what the effect was. Abortion of pregnancy in very low dosages was only one of them however. The result of making a mare barren, was described to happen in higher dosages. The side-effect on too high doses however, was exactly the one thing Lyra was looking for.

....... In a too high concentration the Death root takes root in the victims magical circuit. It also will affect the victims behavior, and in extreme cases drive them insane. The loss of the ability to give birth is also associated with the extract rooting in the magical circuit. No cure for that is known to this day. The insanity varies from Pony to Pony. The usual outcomes are extreme schizophrenia, headaches, magical surges and ultimately the loss of control over ones magic.

Earth ponies will become very weak, while Pegasi loose their ability to walk on clouds and eventually become unable to fly. Unicorns however are the ones that are afflicted the worst by this poison. If the victim develops schizophrenia, magic can turn that other personality into an actual being.

"Nightmare Moon....", she heard a familiar voice from behind herself. As she looked around, Princess Celestia approached her from the relative darkness between the bookshelf's.

"Princess!", Lyra said, quickly bowing as low as she could.

"Please rise Lyra. Zecora told me about your interest in this poison, and how you stormed out of her class. I was sure I would find you here.", the pure white Alicorn explained.

"Your majesty.... I am very sorry if I was disrespectful. I will apologize to her, the next time I see her."

"I suggest you do so. Even so Zecora does not hold a grudge because of your actions, I think it would be the right course of action. So... ", the Princess said, levitating the book Lyra had been reading over to herself.

".... you have found what you were looking for... In fact, I wanted to destroy this book for what it's contents have done to my sister, but my brother in law would not let me do so.", she said with a sigh.

"You... you mean Zeo, right?"

"Yes... He always hoped to find a cure for my dear sister, but as far as I know he never found one. I must ask you though, not to spread this knowledge. It is true what is written there, and the doses Luna absorbed was strong enough to drive her to insanity. I did not notice for a long time, until it was too late. Nightmare Moon had been born from the feelings of rejection Luna was experiencing, and from the hate she felt for me at the time. My days were loved, while she felt that her nights were ignored. The Pony nobles wanted me to reign alone, while they wanted her gone.... I know she didn't really hate me, but I became the symbol for all her suffering....", Celestia said, laying down next to Lyra.

"But... Nightmare Moon was driven out of Luna by the Elements of Harmony, wasn't she?", Lyra asked hopefully.

"She...", Celestia began, but was interrupted by a strand of shadow that wrapped around her muzzle.

Stepping out of the shadows, as if she was a part of them, came Princess Luna. The usual gentle expression on her face replaced by one of utter rage.

"It is not your place to tell my student of my past Celestia! I will tell her when the time is right.", she shouted at her older sister, who was obviously dumbstruck by her sudden appearance. Even so Lyra was sure Celestia would have been able to dispel the shadow around her muzzle with ease, she decided not to do so. Instead she got up, nuzzled her sisters neck and walked away into the darkness. When she was gone, Luna addressed Lyra, her expression back to her gentle self.

"I am very sorry you had to witness this Lyra. You are early by the way."

"I... ehm... I kinda skipped class since I wanted to research something on my own."

"Oh? From what I overheard, you must have looked into that wretched poison that affects me to this day.... But you know... you could have asked me. Be assured that i have read all of the texts that are about Death root extract.", Luna said with a smile.

Lyra was unsure if she should bring her suspicions to her mentors attention, but she trusted the midnight blue Alicorn.

"Luna... The spells you had me learn.... The medical knowledge you let others teach me.... Especially the lessons about magical poisons and illnesses... You said you wanted me to help you with something, before I could be the healer you want me to be. After reading all this.... Do you maybe think that... well... that I can heal you with Zeos spells? Is that what this is all about? You think I can restore your ability to give birth?", Lyra asked, her tone barely above a whisper.

Lunas eyes widened in response and she sighed.

"You know... you are more intelligent then I gave you credit for... Lyra, close your eyes and take a good look at my magical circuit. Tell me what you see.", she instructed her student.

Lyra did as she was told and before her stood a being of pure energy. Lunas magical presence was so strong, that it made it hard for her to see her circuit lines, but then she saw what the Princess had meant.....

"Luna.... I am so sorry! I didn't know it was THAT bad...."

"Describe what you see."

"I see.... Your lower body.... the circuit lines.... Almost all of them are ripped apart! And....", Lyra shifted her inner gaze at Lunas horn.

"... your horn... it has a crack on it. The lines running from it to your brain look quite new in comparison to the rest of you. I can only assume this is not the horn you got when you ascended."

"That is true, and well observed. This horn has grown magically. My original one was broken off.... The blackness you see in my lower body, does not indicate that my circuit is ripped however. It's the last remnants of that damn poison. As long as it stays there, I will be unable to conceive a foal.", Luna said, as tears formed in her eyes.

"So... you really do want me to heal you? I don't think I can... Maybe with some of Zeos other spells, but..."

Luna shook her head.

"I don't want YOU to heal me Lyra. You will have a part in it though.", the Luna Princess said.

"What do you mean?"

"Not yet Lyra. Everything has it's time. For today I promised you a story about my wedding. Do you still wanna hear it?"

"Of course!"

Lyra and Luna went, to one of the other rooms once again. This time however, Lyra did not recognize the room Luna led her to. As she walked inside, it was shrouded in complete darkness, until she heard a gentle click. Suddenly hundreds of bright lights erupted from the ceiling, and she had to put a hoof in front of her face to shield her eyes. After they had adjusted to the invading light, she spotted a grinning Luna, standing in a vast room that was several stories high. There was a brown fluffy carpet on the floor, while there were hundreds of picture frames on the walls. As Lyra stepped closer, she saw that all of them held newspapers.

"Disaster at the royal wedding"

"Will the Princess of the night be alright?"

"Former high ranking Pegasus gone rogue!"

These were only some of the headlines she could make out on the enchanted paper. Turning to her mentor, Lyra noticed that Luna had not stopped grinning, even so this wedding seemed to have been far from perfect.

"What is this place?", she asked.

"This, my dear student, is the place that holds everything concerning my wedding. Look....", the midnight blue Alicorn said, gesturing to the far wall of the room. There, conserved in two glass cylinders, Lyra could see what surely had been Lunas and Zeos attire. Lunas dress was easy to differ from her grooms, since his was clearly made with a bipedal creature in mind. The dress was, as was Lunas coat, midnight blue. The almost transparent fabric was designed to end right under the Alicorns wings. It was longer then anything Lyra had ever seen, so she assumed that her mentor had dragged it behind her. The mannequin that wore the dress now, also wore silver horseshoes and a matching tiara. Zeos tuxedo was much like what she saw on Ponies these days, except that this one had a pair of pants to go with it. What caught Lyras attention however, was that it was in a very bad shape. Parts of it were torn, and the light blue bow-tie was splattered with blood in places. Were they actually attacked during their wedding? What Pony would be so vile to ruin someponies happiest day in life? Turning to Luna with a inquiring look on her face, she pointed at the torn parts of the tuxedo.

"You have a good eye Lyra.", Luna responded, walking up to the cylinder as well, and placing a hoof on it as if remembering something.

"But... if you were attacked during your wedding.... how come you are still smiling? Isn't it a sad memory?"

"It isn't. Indeed you might think so if you were not there, but for me it still was the happiest night of my life. My dress might not show it, but I was also hurt badly. Still... I still think it was a wonderful night...."

Two months after Zeo had asked Luna to marry him, the preparations were on for real. Since Zeo was not Equestrian, Luna had agreed to a wedding that fitted his customs. For that occasion alone, Celestia and some of her best Unicorn mages, had erected a cathedral for the ceremony.  Every detail was as Zeo had described it to her, and Luna could only stare in awe when she first walked down the aisle.

"Zeo.... it's so beautiful... So you say your people have such beauty?", she asked in disbelief.

"No need to be so surprised. I may be a brute in many ways, but yeah... this is a church. But seriously... Celestia shouldn't have replicated the biggest one I ever visited. A small chapel would have done.", Zeo answered a little embarrassed.

"I don't think so my dear Zeo. This is the wedding of my little sister, and to be honest, I am a little jealous. I would have never thought that she would get married before I do.", Celestia interjected, as she walked into the room.

The three talked everything over that afternoon. The big night would come in two nights, and they had invited all of Canterlot. Celestia had tried to convince her sister to hold the ceremony during the day, but Luna had insisted on a nightly wedding.

"I am the Princess of the night after all. The moon shall witness my bonding, and that decision is final!", she had said. Celestia found it harder and harder to deal with her sister since her pregnancy. The mood swings were annoying at least, and outright dangerous at their worst. Just the day before Luna had been aggravated by something minor, and had blasted almost the whole kitchen apart. Zeo had repaired the damage with his magic swiftly, but she was seriously considering to horn lock her sister until the delivery. The both of them had made quite some progress in their magical studies, even so Zeo had stopped attending the lessons. After understanding the basics, he had wanted access to the royal library. Even so she had been hesitant to grant it, she was soon astonished at what he could do. Just one day after she had let him in there, she had woken up to a completely trimmed garden, with statues of herself and Luna on either side of a beautiful fountain. Even so she had to admit that Zeo had paid much more attention to detail on her sisters statue, she had to admit that she was impressed. When she had asked him how he had done it, he had just shrugged.

"You know.... it's like working with your mind. I just pick up a tool for the job and imagine what I want to do. The magic does the rest. I can't explain it exactly, but it's like I use it as an extension of my arms. Even so I might be clumsy with my hands, my magic always seems to do exactly what I want it to do.", he had told her, while scratching his head.

Two nights later

The night was finally there. Princess Luna and her mate Zeo would share the eternal bond. Zeo had instructed Celestia, who would perform the ceremony, on what she had to do. The ceremony was to begin at midnight, but the royal family and some servants had already gathered in the Cathedral at 10 pm to get ready. Zeo was dressed pretty quickly, while Luna took her sweet time.

Zeo stood outside to greet the arriving guests, and thank them for coming. It was already 11pm, but so far he had only welcomed twenty Ponies in formal attire, and a beggar that surely just wanted some free food....  He was just about to go inside and tell Celestia that he did not expect many more guests to arrive, when he heard a rough voice call out to him.

"Da thought da could get da'self married and wa would net show up, did da?"

As he turned to the stallion that had spoken, he spotted all the Ponies he had come to know so well during his time drinking by the docks. He still sometimes went there, but with Lunas permission this time.

"Red Steel! It's good to see you guys! What did you do to get all of those drunks to come here? I guess you heard about the big cider order I filed.", Zeo laughed, as he embraced the one eyed stallion, who had actually dressed in an old looking suit for the event. Dragging him down with one hoof, Red Steel put his foreleg around Zeos neck, rustling his hair with the other.

"Da know exactly why we arr here.", the elder stallion said with a smile. Zeo had not only been one of his best customers over the last few months, but he also had helped him out of a very bad situation. Not all the booze in the world was going to keep him and his other customers away from this event.

"So were is your lucky mare?", a female voice caught Zeos attention.

"Rosy! Oh damn I'm glad to see you! How's it going? I heard you got into some trouble again.", he laughed, embracing the emerald Unicorn mare with blond hair, actually lifting her off the ground.

Before long, Zeo was encased in an enormous group hug. He knew that these Ponies were considered bad company by most of the higher class, but he didn't care. They were loyal friends to him, and that was all that counted to him. After directing them to their seats, almost two hundred guests were in the Cathedral. Some late comers arrived as well, even so they did not accept his greeting. The room was still mostly empty, but it was at least more crowded then before.

Luna looked into the room from a door in the back, and tears began to roll down her face. Not even one of her so called friends had come. The few nobles in attendance had surely just come as to not miss out on a royal event. They didn't care for her at all. She could not even talk to Zeo about it right now, since it was tradition for his kin that the groom shall not see the bride before the ceremony. She wanted so badly to be held in his arms and to hear his gentle voice tell her, that everything was going to be alright. But she could not. He was trying so hard to do everything just to please her, and to learn Pony customs, so she had to at least honor the traditions of his kin.

"Luna... whatever is the matter? You should be overjoyed! It's your night of honor.", a mare with blond hair spoke up as she approached her from behind.

"Ehm... I'm sorry... do I know you?", Luna inquired a little confused.

"Oh, c'mon now! I'm Rosy! Well my full name is Rose Blossom, but everypony just calls me Rosy. I'm a friend of Zeo, and you are his wife to be, so that means I'm your friend too if you would have me.", Rosy introduced herself.

"Sorry... But I don't think he ever mentioned you."

"That's OK. Well, that aside.... you seem quite sad.... you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know... I barely know you.", Luna hesitated.

"Well, Luna, as I just said: You are the wife to be of one of my best friends. If you have something you want to get off your chest, then I'll listen. I may not be of noble blood, and yes I might have a criminal record as long as your dress, but that does not mean I'm a bad Pony. So you wanna talk?" Rosy said, waving a hoof.

Luna looked her over. Sure she was not a beauty, and she smelled like sweat and cheap wine, but in her eyes there was nothing but sincere concern. Sitting down, Luna began to speak. Halfway through Lunas story, the older mare sat next to her, putting a comforting hoof around her. Even so the smell emanating from her was unpleasant, Luna felt safe with this mare. After she had finished, she looked up into her eyes, only to find that they looked as if they weren't seeing her at all. They looked broken, and strange somehow. The mare opened her mouth, and coughed up blood. No words came however, and Luna pulled back from her immediately. As the lifeless body of Rose Blossom fell to the ground, Luna could see the blade sticking out of the back of her head. A Pegasus stallion with blue coat and gray mane walked up to the corpse, and pulled his throwing knife out as if he was pulling it from a training target. Luna screamed in terror....

Two minutes before

Something was wrong here. Red Steel, former special operations commander, could feel it. The air was not filled with joy and happiness, as he had expected from such an event. Instead he could sense an intense blood-lust lingering in the air. That was when he saw her. A yellow Earth pony mare with an amber mane and tail sat down just one row in front of him. Even without seeing her eyes, he knew that she had cold gray irises.

"You have gotten careless Commander. You used to notice me from a mile away.", she said as if she was talking to herself.

"Sharp Blade! Da know dat you arr not welcome here. Ah had thought dat...."

"That I was dead? Lesson number four: If you want to disappear, then fake your own death....", she interrupted him, just to be interrupted by Lunas scream from one of the rooms in the back. Everything after that happened pretty fast. Red Steel grabbed a blade he had hidden in his suit, blocking the dagger that shot at his face from the mare in front of him. All around him, he could see that several other Ponies drew their concealed weapons. Some of them were Ponies he had brought with him. All of them former operatives. Most of the others however, did not belong to his party. Pushing the mares dagger away, with sheer force, he put it into his mouth and jumped after her. He had predicted something like this might happen, but had not wanted to worry his friend. After all, it could have just been him getting paranoid....

Zeo saw the fight breaking out between the guests and he heard Lunas scream, as she emerged from one of the rooms in a full gallop. Through the open door he could see the corpse of Rosy, and a Pegasus stallion following his bride. Without thinking, Zeo threw the jacket he wore away and ran after him. This however proofed to be a major problem. From all sides Ponies attacked him, and he could feel the impacts of several telekinetic blows on his body. Casting a minor shield charm around himself, he pushed on, desperate to reach Luna. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Red Steel fighting a mare, he felt he had seen before....

Celestia saw what was happening and rushed after her sisters attacker, from one of the upper floor balconies, just to be knocked out of the air by several Pegasi. Before she could complete a defensive spell, one of them put a horn lock on her as the group crashed into the wooden benches below. Celestia felt one of her wings break and screamed out in pain.  Soon after the first of the three who had her pinned down, dropped dead, his eyes rolling up the whites, while the two others were thrown off of her by a spell. A red Earth pony stallion with a red coat and short black mane and tail, offered her a hoof to help her up. His body was covered in small cuts and he was breathing hard, but he still bowed to her once she stood upright again.

"Who are you? Are you OK?", she asked him concerned.

"Red Steel former Commander of fifths special operation squad. Earth pony defense force, at your service your highness.", he responded, as he slashed at a charging Pegasus casually, slitting his throat open.

"Your injuries... what is going on here? Where are all the guards?"

"I suspect your guards have been taken out your highness. As for my injuries... I endured worse in my days, so don't worry. You on the other hoof have to get out of here. It is clear that they don't want to kill you, but that doesn't mean no stray spell could injure you...", he groaned as he fell to one knee.

Celestia rushed up to her savior. Unable to use her magic, she pulled him into a room, away from all the fighting.

"What has happened to you? You are clearly straining yourself... please rest."

Red Steel brushed her hooves off himself, as he stood up again.

"One of my former students did a number on me.... I should be proud that she was able to get away from me, but I guess I'm just getting old.", the red Earth pony said, as he practically vanished into the shadows.

Luna was standing with her back to the wall. Where was Zeo? Where was her guard? Where was Celestia? The Pegasus stallion who had chased her here came closer and closer, his still blood dripping blade held firmly in his mouth. She tried to keep him at a distance by throwing things at him with her telekinesis, but he was unimpressed by each of her projectiles. Just as she thought that this was it, a fearsome raw from behind caught her would-be murderers attention. Without slowing down Zeo tackled the stallion into a wall of the small dressing room. The knife he dropped when he hit the wall, was quickly enveloped in light blue magic, and thrust into his belly. The stallion stopped struggling, and dropped to the floor, breathing hard.

"Are you OK Luna?", Zeo shouted over his shoulder.

Luna was stunned for a second. Zeo was covered in small cuts, and his right eye looked like he had just wrestled with a griffin. The gashes that ran from above his right eye to his left cheek were deep, and bleeding badly. Even so he asked HER if SHE was OK.... Running up to him, Luna hugged him tightly, before beginning to lick his wound to clean it. Wincing slightly, Zeo pushed her away.

"Not now Luna. The fight's not over yet. This room is so far off the main battle, that you should be safe here. Keep an eye on that stallion, and I will go back to help the others. Lock the door after me.", he said, but she shook her head.

"I will not let you go out there alone!"

"Luna... think of the child... If you get hurt the foal might get harmed."

That convinced her to stay behind.

"OK... but promise me you will come back.", Luna pleaded.

He nodded, gave her a deep kiss and took off into the main room of the cathedral again, the assassins knife in his hand. Only when he shut the door behind himself, Luna could see that his white shirt was torn and dyed a deep red, just above the left arm.

The fight dragged on for several more minutes, until Zeos friends finally overpowered the attackers. Many of them had died, and not a single noble had made it out alive. Celestia had been locked in a broom cupboard by Red Steel , and was not too happy about it when Zeo finally freed her. Breathing hard, he leaned on her. The injuries were finally taking their toll on him. But there was one last thing he had to do before he could pass out. Without answering any of Celestias questions, he staggered to the room in which he had left Luna behind. On his way he could hear Celestia barking orders to his friends. She wanted all of the surviving attackers arrested. Who did she think she was? Some of them looked at him, as they heard the order, and he nodded in agreement. Only then did his remaining friends begin to take care of the attackers.

As he opened the door to the small dressing room, a scene that froze his blood in his veins played out before his eyes. An Earth pony mare was standing over the bleeding body of his bride. She had several blade wounds on her body, and was only barely conscious. Rage welled up inside of him, and new strength ran through him. Tumbling towards the two, the mare looked at him disgusted. He knew that look. She obviously thought she could make short work of him, but that was her death warrant. As soon as he was close enough, strands of magic erupted from Zeos left hand and enveloped her. He did not form them into a spell, but instead used them as additional limbs. The mare gave out a loud yelp as the strands became visible to her, but at that time it was already to late. Her knife was ripped from her mouth, while she herself was lifted into the air. Kneeling down next to Luna he coughed up some blood.

"Luna... Luna, please don't leave me!", he pleaded, barely above a whisper. The world was starting to blur in front of his eyes.

"I... I'm OK... Just... need some rest...", she answered, and mustered a small smile.

Looking up at his captive Zeo began his gruesome work. Luna would never forget the screams of that mare. The strands of magic penetrated her body, without hurting her skin, only to break her bones one by one, and tear at her internal organs. The moment the strands took out her heart, the mare was not conscious anymore. The pain had been just too much for her. As her life faded, Celestia walked into the room. Seeing her sister in such a state, she rushed over to her, trying to heal her wounds with her magic. Red Steel had been so kind as to remove the horn lock.

"Marry us.", Zeo said weakly.

"What? Seriously? Now?", Celestia asked shocked.

"Do... it... sister.", Luna confirmed.

Both of them knew that there was a good chance that either one or both of them would not make it. They wanted to be united before that happened. Sighing Celestia asked both of them the questions that would bind them together for all eternity.

"Zeo. Do you want to marry my sister, Princess Luna? Do you want to hold her dear, obey and support her in good as well as in bad times, as long as the two of you might live?"

"I do", Zeo coughed.

"And you Luna. Do you want to marry this human, Zeo? Do you want to hold him dear, obey and support him in good as well as in bad times, as long as the two of you might live?"

"I... do" Luna pressed out.

"Then I declare the both of you Husband and mare. You may now kiss the bride.",Celestia concluded. As they kissed each other, they both fainted and Celestia smiled as a tear ran down her cheek. She was sure that both of them would pull through....

"Wow! I can understand that the newspaper would call that a disaster!", Lyra told her mentor.

Luna chuckled a bit.

"Well... it was quite the carnage. Two nights after that Zeo and I awoke, as if nothing had happened. The only reminder of this, were the scars on his face. The royal physician had not been able to erase them. It was also that night that Zeo asked me to employ his friends. All of them had stayed in the castle anyway, and after a long talk with Celestia, we decided on the title "Night guard", with Zeo directly responsible for their actions."

"But.. I don't understand... Why did you still call it the best night of your life? I mean you nearly died, and many Ponies lost their lives."

"Well Lyra... My husband was fighting for me, and he would not have left my side if he had seen another choice. He honestly thought I was safe, which got me hurt in the end. But the love he fee...felt for me became apparent to me the moment he started to torture the mare that had hurt me. That really showed me that he was not only mad at her, but also at himself. He love...d me so much that he could not bear the thought of me getting hurt because he had left my side."

Lyra thought for a moment. She still did not quite understand it, but it sure was something to consider. Zeo had been willing to get hurt to protect Luna. That much had become clear in other stories her mentor had told her.