The Knights of Night

Moonlight spread throughout the Evergreen Forest, the nocturnal creatures, predatory and prey alike coming from the shadows of the garish day did so with a slight caution to their steps. it wasn't their place to try and rule, but her's, the one with the ember wings stained with her enemies' blood.

Slowly but surely, the plants, reddening to take their place, distinguished in the night. A young Alicorn filly of a pewter coat, jumped and danced happily as her sister, straight-faced as ever, watched around even more cautiously than the creatures she ruled over in the forest, as though a young child in the aftermath of a massacre.

"Ahaha! 'Reaper, I did it," the younger mare with sapphire-tipped wings yelled happily," the plants have been raised!!! And without the sun, too. Do I have my Cutie Mark, yet?"

Night Reaper tossed her black and white mane out of her eyes' view, observing Nightshaede's small flank - still blank - and sadly shook her head. The shock from the answer caused Nightshaede's lips to tremble in sadness, her eyes filling with overly large tears as she looked at her blue-flecked flank, empty as air.

"B... But -- I did my best, 'Reaper! It should be here!!" the younger filly whinnied loudly, alarming Night Reaper to her side. Covering her mouth, the older sister shook her head at the crude display of emotion. Quickly, Nightshaede caught on, shutting her  mouth and whimpering quietly as her older sister's horn glowed a bright silver, and a small, bright and sweet-looking stalk of star-shaped flowers landed on Nightshaede's left hoof.

"Will you tell me again why we can't make too much noise, 'Reaper?" the bright cornflower eyes of the young filly caused Night Reapers crimson eyes to fill with sadness, but no tears.

"Day ponies," she began with a quiet low voice that was underused," they find us, and we get caught as though we are prey, but they kill us in order to get rid of us like we are a plague. Especially the boys of our clan. Though those ponies of the day never usually come out here, deep in the forest, we must still take precautions."

Night Reaper flicked her ears down in displeasure at the imminence of their potentially gradual doom, her right ear showing where a Day Pony had caught her in a net, then cut the tip off to prove just how easy it would be to harm her. The pain wasn't excruciating, but then again, Reaper had been born a Hunter Scout, so the fact another pony had hurt her had been the main source of her fright.

"How long has it been since the Bounty Keeper had hurt you, 'Reaper?"

She felt a dizzy stun spell hit her," At least fifteen hundred years, 'Shaede. You were only just born when everything went crazy."

A loud munching resounded from Nightshaede as she began eating the indigo blossom," Hyssop again?"

Night Reaper rolled her eyes playfully," It's better than the stinging nettle. Besides, hyssop helps you to stay healthy, 'Shaede. now go home and tell Mother about your success today-"

"I can go home, but today's when Mamma has her new baby, remember, 'Reaper? So I'll go help Cobalt Winter with harvesting instead! That colt couldn't tell the difference between grass and thorns without me!! See ya'!" and with a flick of her blue, white, and black mane, Nightshaede ran through the darkness of the forest, wilder than the tiger vines that surrounded Night Reaper.

Night Reaper ruffled her feathers and flicked her ears in disappointment at forgetting about the new arrival. She would've normally remembered that their Mother was having her new child today, but duties of their declining clan had begun to weigh on her already burdened mind: if the new foal was a colt, the clan would have to be further driven into the Evergreen Forest, back past the ruins of the Ancient Equestrian Palace. It had been twelve hundred years, however, since anyone had seen a Day Pony anywhere near where they lived.

A small twig crackled slightly to her left, in a bush of waxy dark green leaves; quickly tensing for a fight, Night Reaper held her head low, a glare of blood ruby scanning the area where the noise had been heard, a faint breeze of New Equestria following another twigs crack.

"Show yourself, intruder!!!" Night Reaper lowered her voice's pitch to that of a colt's. She didn't like the idea of pretending to be a guy, bit it worked most of the time if it did happen to be an intruder.

"Intruder?" a male voice resounded in amusement where the twig snapped, " the Evergreen Forest is owned by somepony now??? That's a surprise."

"Leave, pampered pony, or your remains will be sent to Canterlot in a small flowerpot." Night Reaper growled, feeling all of her hate for Day Ponies brew inside of the remark.

"What - ugh.. No introductions?" it was clear the pony was trying to get out of some trap," we haven't even met face-to-face yet. Isn't that considered rude to most people?"

"Not when they want to kill you first." she retorted, walking towards the bush and tree where he'd been caught. Moving the leaves out of the way, Night Reaper was surprised to see a young white Pegasus with a sea-green mane, tail, and hooves, his wings, neck, and legs caught in a complex binding of rope. Many of his flight feathers had fallen out from his struggling.

"Huh, weird," she sniffed the air again," you smell like a Bounty Keeper, but you look like a regular pony and hold no weapons or traps to kill us with."

The Pegasus gave her a confused stare with a hint of surprise built in," What in the name of Celestia are you talking about? Of course I'm a regular pony! So are you!! What is a Bounty Keeper?!"

His answer sent a jolt of even more surprise up her spine," So you're not here to kill off the Night Clan and enslave our young ones?"

He winced from the ropes again, removing a third of his remaining flight feathers, "Wait, you guys still exist? I thought you were just some old mare's tale  my cousin made up to make us behave."

Irritation now racked Night Reaper's body, forcing her to return to its original feminine state," HOW DARE YOU CALL THE NIGHT CLAN AN OLD MARE'S TALE! WHO ARE YOU TO SAY THAT OF US?"

"Oh, so you are a girl," the young stallion gave a much more amiable smile to her now, "the name is Blood Moon. I'm Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's youngest cousin on their father's side."

"You... realize lineage doesn't matter here, right?" she gave a stern glance at the clumsy youth. It was the first time she had a decent conversation with a normal pony without it leading to violence, but the fact it was with royalty irritated her quite a bit. Especially since her words were a bluff: the only time lineage really mattered with lost ponies, though.

Biting on the rope, he freed his left wing and loosened the grip on his other limbs, "So then, let me go back. It shouldn't be that much of an issue since ponies think you don't exist now. Or would you rather more of them Come searching for me?"

Before she could think of stopping herself, Night Reaper gave a kick at his shoulder in anger, grazing it moderately enough to leave a small bruise with no pain. "You tyrant! Your family is the reason we're in hiding! Why do you think there are no other color of Alicorns other than white and deep lavender?"

Blood Mood flinched and paused at her words, seeing her garnet eyes fill with tears. "Were you there when the banishment happened?"

"Of course! I remember everything. The older ones arguing, the cut of your name, the flames Queen Cosmos set to our village in angry spite because our dad wouldn't marry her. We don't hate you, yet you still hunted us! Why? They even had the audacity to bring the young Princesses on the day they began hunting the main line!!!"

"Well, that explains why the search was cut off, then, young...err... what's your name again?"

There was a pause between the charcoal-colored pony and the white Pegasus as she observed him ardently.

"What do you mean 'the search was cut off', Blood Moon?"

"Your name first."

"Tell me, 'Moon!"

He only gave a smirk with his own crimson eyes glowing with mischief of a younger age. "Your name or no info."

"Info or you'll never be able to move again. I decide what lives and dies every night in the forest."

"You're very brave against an unarmed pony." he spat the snide remark out with a glare. She ignored his comment, catching sight of a patch of lamb's ear a few feet away from where Blood Moon had been caught. Luckily, he failed to trample it. He backed away but quickly froze as she gently placed the young leaves over a patch of lost feathers.

"I don't really care for your kind, but the least I can do before I bring you back to Zecora's house is bandage your injuries." Night Reaper felt her face flush a slight pink color, "Sorry for kicking out at you."

"You're taking me back to the edge of the Forest? Just like that?"

"Eeyup," the rest of the lamb's ear she ran over the injury she'd given him, "Problem, Prince?"

"Why are you helping me?" Blood Moon gave a suspicious glance at her, "Don't you not like us?"

"Because you're lost. And we don't need little boys to be lost in our forest. Zecora will know what to do with you as well,: grabbing the rope around his neck, Night Reaper led him gently, "Now, tell me which way you came from. I haven't been out of the forest for quite some time."

"A fool does not always mean that the person is doing something wrong, Night Reaper. This card could stand for new beginnings, and right decision. It is when we abuse the power of the fool that we must regret what we have done." --- Meteor Knight to his oldest daughter, N.R., age 100 yrs.