Chapters The night is the most peaceful time of day in the city of Canterlot. Compared to the bustling action of the daylight hours, nightfall is a time that is nearly completely serene. Perfect for a nice, romantic evening by a lake. Or for a family dinner, or sitting by a fire telling stories and laughing at jokes. Or for a nice, relaxing walk through the forest. But most of all, it is a perfect time for sleep. Of course, things are not always what they seem. Beneath the façade of serenity, many horrible things happen. The Lunar Guards have their hooves full keeping all the would-be crime lords in check.
Then you have those crime lords who are authentic. Like Al Capony. His syndicate was eventually taken down a few years ago, but most crime lords strive to become as famous and dangerous as he was. In fact, the Lunar Guards are dealing with a problem right now. The relatively famous Equestrian Mafia. Their crimes are beyond the belief of anypony, thus, their fame is in the form of a simple myth, to scare young foals to bed. If only they were aware of what was coming, if only they weren’t so reassured. If only they were ready.
But this story isn’t about the Mafia. It’s about a single, high-ranking Lunar Guard who just happens to have worked on such a case. But we’ll save his story for later, for this tale does not begin with him. Anyways, most Lunar Guards are willing to protect the Princess who brings the night at a moments notice. While waiting for something to cause them to act, however, the Lunar Guards share the duties of the Solar Guards. The Lunar Guards patrol the streets at night, while the Solar Guards patrol during the daylight hours.
The Solar Guards have got it easy, for crime usually doesn’t strike until the small hours of the morning, when it’s near pitch-black outside, lit only by the stars and the streetlamps spaced periodically throughout the city. The Lunar Guards have to be quick-thinking, strong, and agile just to make it through their shift. Yet they persevere. The only issue with the Lunar Guards is that they don’t like help. If a task is given to one of them, they would either take it on alone or enlist the help of a single friend. They don’t always understand the fact that sometimes, it takes more than one pony to handle a given situation. In the situation to come, it would take many more than a pony would think. Little did they know that the events to come were triggered in the past.
----------------------------------------------------- 6 Years Ago
It was a fateful night; the moon had just barely risen halfway past the horizon. A lone figure stood cloaked in darkness just out of sight to the untrained spotter. The figure shifted, and the minimal light reflected off of the gleaming steel of a sword. The metal was immediately covered again, however, so the flash of light produced would have been unnoticeable to one not looking for it. A similar flash of light came from the position of another cloaked figure, this one carrying wingblades and hoofclaws. A Lunar Guard walking past the second cloaked figure noticed this flash of light and nodded.
“All clear, Steel. You can send the signal to Flamebrand and Helix.”
The cloaked figure nodded back. “Thanks, Spearhead,” he said, before moving further back into the deeper shadows. Spearhead watched him until he was out of sight completely, before continuing with the plan. Keeping his spear at the ready, he moved further down the street, until he was standing just outside a specific door. He waited until he saw three figures, all clad in black cloaks, moving towards him, before knocking on the door.
“Lunar Guard, open up!” He called to anyone inside the building. No answer. He tried the door, but it was barred. Sighing, he called out, “You have five seconds to open this door before I do it for you! One! Two! Three!” He paused slightly after three, waiting to see if he could hear anything. By this time, the three cloaked figures had made their way to him. He nodded to them before continuing his count, “Four! Five! That’s it! Your time is up! Stand clear!”
All four of them kicked the door at the same time. It was so powerful that a massive shudder rippled through the door. A split second later, the door literally flew off it’s hinges. The three cloaked figures ran into the room and threw off their cloaks.
At the front was a well-built stallion. His leathery wings had slightly modified wingblades attached to them. On his hooves were standard-issue hoofclaws. His coat was a dark gray in color, matching Spearhead’s own coat, yet they were not related. His eyes were golden yellow in color, and they darted around the room, taking in every detail in seconds. He wore dark leather armor. His mane and tail were both black and grey. His name is Steel Shadow.
Next to him, on his left, was an earth pony mare. She had a sword held horizontally in her teeth and wore the same leather armor as Steel Shadow. Her coat was a dark red. Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue, matching Spearhead’s eyes, yet they were not related either. Her mane and tail were both brown and gold. Her mane was worn in a loose ponytail and her tail was worn in a loose braid. Her name is Flamebrand.
On Steel Shadow’s right was Spearhead. He held his spear horizontally, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. He wore standard-issue Lunar Guard armor, including the helmet, which was made of steel plates. His coat matched Steel’s, as was stated previously. His eyes were the same color as Flamebrand’s. His mane and tail were both blue and light blue.
Finally, bringing up the rear, we have a unicorn stallion. He held a bow aloft with his magic, and had a quiver strapped to his back. He wore the same leather armor as Flamebrand and Steel Shadow. His coat was a deep, navy blue. His eyes were emerald green, and were searching the room frantically for a target. His mane and tail matched Flamebrand’s in color, for they were brother and sister. His mane and tail were worn loose yet kept short. His name is Helix.
A few moments after entering, it occurred to the four of them that the building was empty. Their faces all adopted looks of surprise until Helix noticed something.
“Guys, look! The window!” He gestured to the window in question, which appeared to have been thrown open in a hurry.
“Celestia be damned. They got away. AGAIN,” Flamebrand replied incredulously.
“It would appear that way,” Steel Shadow confirmed, “but not everything is as it appears.”
“What are we all still standing around here for? We need to get out there and pursue them!” Spearhead called as he galloped out the front door.
“Spearhead’s right! Let’s go get those thieves!”
They all charged out after Spearhead, before sliding to a stop when they saw the Solar Diarch standing over them. They immediately bowed, before standing back up again as Celestia addressed them.
“Mind telling me what’s going on, Captain Steel Shadow?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at him.
“No, Your Highness. We are in pursuit of the documents that were stolen from the Canterlot Castle Architect’s room. The plans stolen mapped what little of the Caves we had explored so far. Based on the architect’s description, the thief is a male Gryphon. He appears to be making a beeline to the north. We had locked down his location to the building we just left, but he must have heard us coming and made a run for it.”
Just at that moment, Spearhead came running back around the building, curious as to why the others were taking so long. He slid to a stop, much as the others did, and immediately went into a bow when he saw Celestia. “Your Highness,” he said slowly, “we were not expecting you.”
“Ah, you must be Captain Spearhead. Steel Shadow was just filling me in on all the details of your little, self-undertaken mission.”
“Actually, Princess, that’s all the information we have.”
“Oh. Well in that case, I suppose I should leave you to your investigation. Proceed as you were.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Steel Shadow replied. They all bowed again. Celestia flew away and the four ponies rose. Turning to his companions, Steel Shadow suggested, “LEt’s get a move on. We don’t want that trail getting cold.” The others all nodded in agreement before galloping around the back of the house.
They rounded the corner and were met with a surprise. Eight gryphons, appearing to have come down from the Northern Kingdoms, stood before the four ponies, crossbows leveled and ready to launch their quarrels at a moment’s notice. Another gryphon, this one taller than the others, stepped forward.
“So, these are the foolish ponies that have been following us these past few days? I suppose we’ll have to teach them to stay out of our business. Relieve them of their weapons.” He turned to walk away.
“Hold it!” Helix called out to him. The tall gryphon paused. He turned back to the four ponies, his gaze settling menacingly on Helix.
“Take this one first,” He said to his followers. He turned to leave once more, before being stopped by a second voice.
“Sir!” One of the gryphons called to him. “They’re gone!”
“What!?” The tall gryphon asked incredulously before screaming orders at his troops. “Fan out! Find them! We can’t let them escape with word of us!”
“You don’t have to search too hard,” Steel Shadow called from the roof of the building. Four crossbows immediately trained their sights on him, the others following suit. The tall gryphon raised an eyebrow.
“You’re planning something, pony. I don’t know what, but there’s no way you’d give yourself up so easily.”
Steel scoffed, “Who said I’m giving myself up?”
Again, the gryphon raised an eyebrow. “I’ve got eight crossbows aimed at you-”
“And not a single one will hit,” Steel interrupted.
“What makes you say that?”
“This.” As he spoke that one word, four of the gryphons dropped to the ground, arrows protruding from their chests. As the other four gryphons reflexively tensed up and released the quarrels, Firebrand and Spearhead stood next to Steel, and he was right. Not a single quarrel hit it’s mark. The gryphons looked on in amazement until they noticed that their was a shield of magic protecting the three ponies on the rooftop.
“Drop your shield, and fight like brave warriors!” The gryphon leader called out to them.
“Okay,” Steel replied. The shield came down, and they immediately jumped down and launched themselves into the gryphons. Helix walked unseen along the rooftop, taking careful aim and firing into the fray. Spearhead was face to face with two enemies, keeping them at bay with the shaft of his spear. The tip had been cut off by one of the gryphon’s swords.
Firebrand and Steel Shadow only had it slightly better. They were each circling a single enemy. The only problem being that said enemies appeared to be slightly more capable than the others. While they were distracted, the gryphons’ leader had picked up a crossbow and was taking aim at Helix. His target shifted just as he shot, and the quarrel went rocketing passed. Helix dropped and laid flat on the roof, acting as if it had been a hit. The gryphons’ leader kept his eyes trained on Helix until he had reloaded. He then turned his aim back on Spearhead. Steel noticed this and disengaged from the enemy before him, running to intercept the shot.
At the same instance, Helix rose from his prone position and took aim at the lead gryphon. Then he realized that Firebrand was holding back the two larger gryphons, and all she had was her sword. She was holding her own in this fight, but she appeared to be tiring rapidly. He turned his aim around and released the arrow. Helix watched in satisfaction as the arrow arced down and hit the gryphon square in the chest. The second gryphon reeled back in surprise as his comrade dropped next to him. Firebrand pushed her assault, slowly backing the gryphon before her towards Spearhead and Steel Shadow.
Spearhead had managed to dispatch one of the gryphons, and was pushing the other one back quickly. He noticed Steel leaping for the leader and decided to finish this fight. Pressing his advantage, Spearhead’s blows connected over and over as he beat the gryphon into a pulp.
“I can kill you without a spearpoint,” he said, spitting on the corpse before running to Firebrand’s aid.
Steel was locked in a one on one battle with the gryphons’ leader. He knocked his weapon away, and chanced a look behind himself. He saw that there was only one gryphon left besides the leader. He turned back around and pressed the assault harder than before. The gryphon leader had just recovered his weapon, and he was not expecting such a sudden assault, so he quickly gave ground. Steel slowly worked his way around, so that the gryphon was backing up towards the others.
Firebrand and Spearhead had just dispatched the last gryphon before noticing that Steel was backing the leader towards them. They readied themselves to strike from behind, but Helix acted before they could. They heard a faint hiss as the arrow sliced through the air before they watched it bury itself into the gryphon’s back. He screeched in agony and went limp, unable to stand any longer.
Steel, Helix, Firebrand, and Spearhead watched in satisfaction as the gryphon quickly died. Steel noticed that the gryphon was smiling. He leaped forward, searching all of the gryphons thoroughly. He sighed in frustration as he realized what had happened. Meanwhile, across the street, a tenth gryphon laughed quietly to himself before taking off and flying full-speed for the border.
--------------------------------------------- 6 Years Later; 1048 AB
Galloping hoofsteps could be heard ringing through the castle halls as the Royal Guards’ armor came into repeated contact with the smooth flagstones of the courtyard. These past few years had been hectic, what with the possible threat from North Griffonia. Guards rushed to their posts, which were far more numerous than before. Guards were in such high demand, in fact, that they had to recruit less… fortunate ponies.
One of these ponies was a familiar blonde-maned, grey-coated pegasus mare. Her eyes were a piercing gold in color, and she had applied for the Solar Guard as soon as she heard that they were looking for recruits. She was actually far more intelligent than most ponies thought she was, she just had a… different sense of humor and was slightly clumsier, due to her lazy eye.
Today though, she could tell she was going to prove to everypony that she could do anything as well as they could, if not better. Her mouth set in a thin line of determination, she trotted into the large room where all the Royal Guards were gathering. She took a place near the front of the gathering. Just as the last few guards trotted into the room, it grew quiet. Both Princesses stood on a balcony at the front of the room.
First, Princess Celestia stepped up to the podium to speak. “Solar and Lunar guards! I’m almost certain you’re curious as to why we had you gather here!” Celestia called out over the gathering of guards. A slight buzz of conversation soon followed, every guard in the room having their own speculations as to what this could be about, though most had something to do with the stolen map.
Princess Luna stepped forward to continue from where her sister left off. The Lunar Guards silenced themselves as soon as she became visible. The Solar Guards continued talking for a few more moments, before finally realising that they were holding up this meeting’s progress. They quieted down and turned their attention to the Princess before them.
“Indeed, your curiosity is well-founded. I’m sure you all remember what happened six years ago?” She paused and her silence was greeted with a murmur of mutual assent. She continued, “It is for a reason related to the incident six years ago that we have called you here.” She stepped back and motioned for Celestia to address the Guards once more.
She cleared her throat quietly before speaking. “We have found more evidence leading us to the conclusion that the Northern Griffons are indeed preparing for war. Spies sent into the heart of Griffon territory managed to report in before they were discovered. I’m afraid we have not seen hide nor hair of them since.” This sent yet another buzz of excited conversation around the room, before it was silenced by Celestia raising a hoof.
“I understand how you may jump to conclusions as to what this means, but I will tell you now. We are not going to war. We are going to fortify our borders, just in case they attack, but we will not launch an assault ourselves.” Another short buzz of conversation. This time the Princesses allowed it to die out on it’s own.
The Princess of the night stepped forward, using a tone just above the Royal Canterlot voice,"I propose we gather more troops, and strengthen our army, but we shall do so secretly, because if the Griffonians attack, we would like them to be underprepared, so that we may catch them off guard!" This, sent ripples of agreement through the crowd of Lunar guards, but was greeted with murmurs of disapproval in the crowd of Solar guards, who all seemed to have their minds located around the area of brutal force.
"No! That would be foolish! They too have spies!" Shouted one brave Solar warrior from that crowd, for denying a Princess was an act worthy of punishment, "We shall let them know that we are preparing for battle, and scare them so that they fight with no faith that they will win!" At this, the Solar guards cheered, vowing to avenge their own kin and yelling cries of hate to the Griffonians. The Lunar guards however, growled silently about all of the flaws in the plan of this Solar warrior.
Celestia, simply raised herself ever so slightly, and gazed at the whole of the crowd that stood in front of her. This was enough the make the hall in which they were gathered in, fall deathly silent, as all ponies realised the happenings of the past few seconds. In the crowd, singled out, was a blonde-maned pegasus, a light grey in colour, with a patch across her eye. She did not shudder, nor challenge, instead, she stood still, her golden armour gleaming in the sunlight that was pouring in through the windows.
The Sun goddess leaned forward, and looked at the Pegasus straight in the eye, “Private Derpy Hooves, what business do you have insulting my sister by referring to her plan as what one would call, ‘foolish’?” if the Princess was angry, she showed no sign of it, and it was clear that this was not a rhetorical question.
“None, Your Highness, I apologize,” Derpy saluted before trying her best to be as close to the floor as physically possible.
“I’m sure you understand what the standard punishment is for speaking against a Princess?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Well then, you’ll either be thrilled or even more upset when I tell you the alternate punishment that I have devised. But first, I must discuss it with my sister. Wait here, all of you, while we conference in private.” As she finished speaking, she turned around and walked through the double doors just behind the balcony. Minutes seemed to pass like hours for the guards gathered in that hall, and maybe they did.
Finally, the two sisters reemerged from behind the double doors. Luna rose her hoof to show the gathered guards that she was about to speak. She immediately had everypony’s attention. With little to no hesitation, she began.
“I agree with my sister’s alternate punishment, and I have added my own condition to it. I shall let her announce the punishment.” With that, Luna stepped back, making room for Celestia to step forward.
“The punishment for this sort of thing would normally be announced in private, but I feel that it needs to be announced publicly.” She paused, waiting until she was certain everypony in the room was listening intently. “Private Derpy Hooves, your punishment is this: You are to be sent on a reconnaissance mission. My original idea was to send you alone, but my sister is more gracious than I am and has added that herself, as well as four of her guards, are going to accompany you.
“Your companions are sitting in the crowd as we speak. As I speak your names, would you please step forward.” It wasn’t actually a request, she just made it sound like one. “Steel Shadow, Captain in the Hunters and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Lunar Guard.” The dark gray thestral, or batpony, stepped forward and turned to face the gathered guards.
“Spearhead, First Lieutenant in the Lunar Guard and a Sergeant in the Hunters.” The unicorn, also dark gray, stepped up and stood beside Steel Shadow. There was a pause before Celestia called the next two names. The Solar Guards began calling out for the next two names, whereas the Lunar Guards stayed silent, although it was fairly obvious that they were anxious to see if they would get chosen. The adventures that Steel Shadow’s squads went on were legendary, and anyone who was in one of his squads at anytime was respected by the other guards.
“Helix and Firebrand, both Corporals in the Hunters. Those are the four that will be joining you.”As the four soldiers whose names she had callen gathered below, they began their familiar ritual, as they were a squad together six years ago, and they also make up the leadership body of the Hunters, a small group of bounty hunters who take on jobs that the normal everyday Guard wouldn’t.
Seeing how familiar with each other the four who were chosen were being caused some of the Solar Guards to wear masks of jealousy. Most of the guards, however, surged forward to congratulate the four on being chosen to be part of such a prestigious mission. Shortly after, the congratulations were finished, and the guards noticed that Luna was raising a hoof for silence.
As soon as she had everypony’s attention, as well as nearly total silence, she began speaking, “Congratulations to the four of you for being chosen to go on this mission with myself and Private Derpy Hooves. With so many superior officers to keep her in line, the mission should go smoothly,” She paused to glare discreetly at Derpy before continuing, “Our mission will begin the day after tomorrow. I would appreciate it if all five of you would take a double shift tonight. Except Firebrand and Helix. They are exempt from taking shifts at all, due to the fact that they’re not officially part of the guard. They are free to keep watch with the others, though.”
Celestia stepped forward as soon as Luna finished speaking and stepped back. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we still have other business to attend to.” The meeting progressed slowly from there. Tactics were discussed, as well as changes to the rotation schedule. Increased and intensified training was also discussed, but ultimately got discarded.
Finally, the meeting was nearing it’s end. It had taken many hours, and the guards were anxious to get back to work, but almost every topic had been fully covered. The only one that hadn’t been covered was the guard circumstances for the most recently coronated Princess. Discussions were currently under way.
“She’s your student, and I respect that, but she is capable of protecting herself!” That was Luna. The two sisters had been going back and forth over this topic for some minutes.
“I understand that, but like you said, she’s my student, and I am her mentor! It is the mentor’s duty to protect their students.” Celestia retorted calmly.
“That may be so, but Twilight is a Princess in her own right now! There’s not much point in trying to protect somepony who’s more powerful than our best guards.”
“You bring up a good point, sister. I shall think about it. In the meantime, that will be all. Dismissed!” Celestia replied, turning to address the guards when she spoke the two final sentences. The guards all saluted and turned to walk out of the hall. As soon as she was satisfied the guards were indeed returning to their posts, she turned once more and left through the double doors. Luna hesitated, searching for one of the many guards in the room. Finally, she found who she was looking for, and just before he walked out the door, too.
“Lieutenant Colonel Steel Shadow, would you mind waiting for a moment? I have something that I must give you.” Steel Shadow saluted and waited until the last guard filed out before flying up to the balcony.
“What is it, Your Highness?” He asked with a salute.
“Steel, I allow all of my guards to call me Luna, you know that. No formalities necessary.”
“Sorry, Luna, I’m just used to being formal.”
“I understand, Steel. But that’s not the reason I singled you out. Come, walk with me awhile. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
“Yes, Luna. I will follow you. So, what’s so important that it couldn’t have waited?” Steel asked as they began walking down the long corridor on the other side of the double doors.
“I must give you something, as I said before. Here,” Luna replied, turning off the main corridor and walking into a side room. Steel went to follow, but Luna reappeared momentarily. “Here, take these and keep them safe. We don’t know what might happen to them otherwise.”
“Yes, Luna. Your wish is my command, Mistress of the Night.” Steel took the plans he was given, which actually appeared to be the blueprints for a new weapon, and he slid them carefully into the saddlebags he wore at all times.
“Good, now-” Luna was interrupted by a large boom rippling through the castle. “What was that?”
A large boom rippled through the castle, causing both Luna and Steel Shadow to jump out of their skin. Figuratively, of course. Luna turned to Steel and asked, “What was that?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it sounded big ,” Steel replied. “I’ll go check it out. Don’t worry, Princess, these plans are safe with me.”
“Good, now go. Take your team, too,” Luna paused as Steel bowed and turned around, “And for the last time, call me Luna!”
“As you wish, Princess Luna!” He called after his shoulder as he sprinted back down the hallway. Luna sighed, shaking her head. She shrugged as best she could and decided it was best to compromise on matters every now and then, especially one as small as a name. She turned back around, galloping down the hallway towards the castle observatory.
Meanwhile, Steel Shadow was emerging from the castle. The first thing he noticed when he got out into the open was the griffons flying above and periodically swooping down at a guard or two. Nearby, he saw Spearhead fighting off one of the griffons with his, well, spear. As he watched, Spearhead plunged the spear into the griffon’s chest. Steel motioned for Spearhead to join him and waited while he came rushing over, striking at any griffons that were in his way.
“Come on! We’ve got to find the others!” Steel called to Spearhead as he came within earshot. Spearhead nodded his understanding and fell in behind Steel as they weaved around the hostile griffons, searching for Firebrand and Helix. They spotted them fighting off a few griffons of their own. Firebrand was leaping at them one by one, expertly swinging her sword in her teeth. She had gotten even better with her blade than she was last time the four of them were on a mission.
Helix had also gotten better with his weapon of choice, the bow. He loosed arrow after arrow towards the griffons gathered nearby, hitting his mark 85% of the time. Griffon after griffon fell before the highly efficient and deadly duo. Until, suddenly, the griffons turned tail and fled.
“Yeah, that’s right! Get out of here, you disgusting hybrids!” Firebrand yelled after them after sheathing her sword. Helix drew back a final arrow and loosed it after the retreating griffons. He wasn’t aiming to hit them, but apparently the ground is a difficult target to hit. The arrow flew straight, striking true and puncturing one of the griffons’ heart from behind. Not a single soul moved in that moment. The griffons were shocked that one of their comrades had fallen, and while they were retreating , no less.
Firebrand was shocked that Helix had even attempted the shot in the first place. Steel Shadow and Spearhead were honestly surprised that he had hit at all. Helix himself was surprised he had missed that large a target and shot the griffon instead. They all came to the realization that Fate was not on their side at that moment. The remain griffons, enraged that their comrade had fallen without honor, turned around and readied themselves for a final, crushing charge. They rallied any and all griffons nearby, and pretty soon the small squad of ponies were faced with a third of the entire griffon strike force.
“Helix! You’d better be able to get us out of this!” Firebrand called to her brother as she backed up to meet the other three.
“If you can, you’d better do it fast! Those griffons don’t look very happy!” Spearhead added.
“I can see that, Spearhead! Just give me a second to think!” Helix replied angrily.
“Your second is up,” Steel commented quietly as the griffons charged. There was silence from all four of them as they thought of a way, any way, that would allow them to escape from the griffons rushing towards them. After wasting precious seconds racking his brain, Steel Shadow came to a decision.
“It’s no use fighting…” The others looked at him curiously. Spearhead was about to ask what he meant by that when Steel continued. “At least not up front. Spearhead, can you distract them for me? Just get them to chase you,” he began, before going on to outline his plan. They were about to put their plan into action when another guard jumped down and stood in a battle stance beside Spearhead.
“I’ll go with Spearhead as the distraction,” she said, drawing her sword. She was a grey pegasus with amber eyes. Or rather, an amber eye. The other one was covered with an eyepatch. She wore the armor of a solar guard, and was equipped with standard-issue weapons. She lowered her helmet’s visor and waited for Steel’s and Spearhead’s signal.
“Alright, Private Hooves, you’re with me then,” Spearhead replied. He turned to wish the others good luck but they were already gone. “Let’s go!” Spearhead led the way as they ran for where the majority of the city guards were. They were incapable of helping, however, as they were preoccupied with standing their ground against the rest of the griffons.
All was going according to plan. The griffons thought it was either Private Hooves or Spearhead who had shot down their comrade, and the majority of them were chasing the two guards. The sunlight glinted off of their armor, the dark indigo of the Lunar Guards providing a deep contrast for the bright gold of the Solar Guards, although they both shone equally bright. There was no way the griffons could miss them, even more so when Spearhead cast a quick spell to make their armor shine even brighter, almost blindingly so. The leading griffon gave a cry of pain and swerved off to the side, collapsing from the searing pain that had just been inflicted upon his eyes. He quickly shook his head and rose, charging after the two guards, even more enraged than before.
“Are you sure… this was a good idea?” Private Hooves asked, panting slightly. The griffons had been incited into a berserk frenzy by their leader’s anger.
“It wasn’t a good idea, but it was our only idea,” Spearhead replied calmly, continuing his run. He turned slowly so that he was leading the griffons back towards the others, or at least, where they should be. “Besides,” he continued, “you didn’t have to help.”
“Except that I did,” she replied, “If I hadn’t, I would have missed out on the first part of our quest. I really don’t want to get in trouble with the Princesses again. I’m sure you understand.”
“Indeed I do,” Spearhead replied, nodding his head and chuckling slightly. His smile quickly turns into a frown. Private Hooves notices this.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. He motions ahead of them and she sees what had troubled him. A large ring of griffons had surrounded the others.
“I think this puts a bit of a knot in the rope of our plans,” Spearhead said, dispelling the enchantment on their armor and slowing down beside the circle. Private Hooves nodded in agreement, slowing to a stop beside him.
“What took you guys so long?” Steel asked, his voice humorless in tone.
“Ah, shut up, Steel,” Spearhead replied as he dropped his spear and walked into the circle to join the others. Private Hooves dropped her sword and followed him into the circle.
“Well… now what?” Firebrand asked helplessly. The others could see that she’d rather be on the outside of the circle. Of course, she wasn’t the only one, but they were trapped and disarmed. Even Steel’s wingblades had been pulled off. His wings had been injured in the process, and he couldn’t fly. The griffons began closing the circle, weapons bared and gleaming like deadly teeth. The five ponies were helpless to stop the griffons from running them through and leaving them bleeding on the flagstones.
“Hold steady!” a cry came from outside the circle. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. Suddenly, a figure in dark indigo armor and wearing a facemask jumped into the circle, holding back the griffons. Despite the fact that her body was hidden, her mane was not.
“Luna!” Steel cried, leaping forward and tackling a griffon, relieving it of both it’s sword and it’s life. He stood up again, watching with satisfaction as the griffon’s lifeblood ran warm out onto the flagstones, hissing as it steamed against the cold stone. The others followed suit, either diving for their own weapons or taking out a griffon and swiping a weapon that way. No matter what, the five of them were now armed and very dangerous. The griffons chuckled, however. One of them stepped forward.
“You really think that you can stop us? There’s only six of you!” He laughed again. The other griffons followed his lead laughing at their attempt at survival. The griffons quickly stopped laughing, for an arrow had appeared from nowhere and embedded itself in the speaker’s chest.
Another griffon stepped forward. “A single arrow isn’t going to do much against the hundreds of us,” he said. The others agreed.
Helix grinned in reply. “A single arrow? No self-respecting archer would carry a single arrow. No, see, I’ve got enough arrows to take out twenty of you.”
Now it was the ponys’ turn to laugh. The face of the griffon who had stepped forward wore a look of disbelief. “You can’t be sincere. I’d like to see you try,” he replied, his smirk returning. “There’s no way you can hit twenty of us! I doubt you could even hit ten.”
The other five ponies frowned, but Helix’s face was set in a look of determination, an infectious smile crossing his face. He spoke to simple words before leaping into action: “Watch me.” True to his word, he leaped into the air, taking aim at twenty five different targets. The arrows arced through the air and all of his targets fell to the ground dead. Except one. The griffon speaker collapsed, crying out in pain. Helix had hit all twenty five targets, but he’d had enough time to make this a nonlethal shot Painful, but nonetheless nonlethal.
“My bad. I may have taken out twenty four of you,” Helix said, still smiling. The griffon frowned as he stood up, wincing slightly at the pain.
“Okay, so there’s twenty four less of us that can kill you, and you managed to injure me. There’s still hundreds of us still at full combat capacity. You’d need an army to defeat us!”
Now, Luna was the one with the smile. “Luckily, we have one.” As she finished speaking, a combined force of Solar and Lunar guards washed over the circle of griffons. It took seconds for the guards to overrun the griffons. A small entourage of griffons managed to escape the city, but the rest fell, their blood pouring out over the stony streets of Canterlot. Clean up efforts cleared the dead bodies and washed up the blood in minutes, allowing the citizens of Canterlot to get on with their lives. Steel and Spearhead moved into position guarding one of the many entrances into the city, while the others went to have a private conference with Luna. Today was going well.
A young Pegasus dragged her hooves along the dirt. She had been on the path for hours, and still no sign of any inhabited land. Her leather saddlebag was small, yet it carried all of her belongings. A few weeks ago, she had traveled to Canterlot, for she had won a scholarship at a famous school for would-be clowns. ‘Pinkie Pranking’ was its name, and it had been founded by Pinkie Pie, known to be one of the best friends of the Princess Twilight Sparkle. Once she had gotten there, she had been rejected for a student with ‘more potential’’, but still offered a place if she handed over some more bits. She had turned down the offer, for she had no money, not even enough to buy herself a train ticket.
So that was how she had ended up on this path, yearning to return to the humble village of Minicolta. She had flown at first, but when her wings started throbbing, she decided to go by hoof. Her frizzy green mane fell on her eyes, and she brushed it aside with a hoof. Just when she felt that her legs could take her no further, she caught sight of a vast city in the distance. It was on the edge of a cliff, yet it never slipped nor slided down into the abyss. The young Pegasus sulked and glared daggers at the dirt trail. In circles! This whole time, she had been walking in circles.
Angrily, she stomped her hoof and kicked the dirt around her. Ten hours. She had been following that path for ten hours. The Sun goddess had let the sun lazily set behind the distant mountains, and the night was alight with stars. The peaceful, forgiving, night, that only one as gentle as Luna could perfect. Calming herself slowly, she proceeded towards Canterlot, and though her hooves were practically screaming at her, she continued her trekk on hoof. The steep path that led up to Canterlot was very unforgiving, but she persevered through the harsh journey, until she was at the colossal city gates.
A grey batpony with piercing amber eyes stood on the vast wall, looking out for any intruders, beside him, another stallion, similar to the batpony, but with cobalt blue eyes and a different mane and tail colour.
--- View Change ---
“Halt! What is your business here?” the batpony called out to the Crimson Pegasus standing at the entrance of the city. Things around Canterlot were a bit touchy since the theft of the Canterlot Caves maps 6 years ago and the recent attack, and maximum security had been called in. Even the reserve guard were patrolling the city day and night. Things were truly desperate.
The ruby-red Pegasus stared up at him with bright lime-green eyes, and responded, “I left this place earlier today and there weren’t this many guards.”
She had obviously not been in there at the time of attack.
He answered her with a simple question, “When did you leave?”
“Twelve-thirty! Why?”
He puzzled around her answer for a while. The attack had been commenced at One o’ clock on the dot. She might be a source of useful information, but he didn’t know for sure.
“What’s your name, and what is your business here?” he questioned her.
She was quite the Pegasus, with a mass of emerald green hair that didn’t quite seem to obey her, and a seemingly old faded leather saddlebag that had a golden brooch used to keep it closed; the button had probably fallen off.
“My name is Raspberry Delight. All I want to do is find a place to stay for the night.” she was answering all of his questions, maybe he should let her in.
Certainly, she wasn’t named for her personality though, because right now, she wasn’t being very enthusiastic, she was acting more to the simple co-operative side. Well, it was obvious she wasn’t a serial killer that would murder everypony in sight in the blink of an eye, but orders were orders, so he had to be sure.
“Spearhead, reel up the gates, and once she’s through, I’ll fly down and check her bag.” Spearhead had been reasonably quiet throughout the whole of the conversation.
After all, it had been the batpony, not he, who had been given this job.
Spearhead’s reply was prompt and short, “Yes sir, Captain Shadow.”
--- View Change ---
Raspberry cursed herself for the personality change when she was addressing a member of the Royal Guard. She was only like that when she was really embarrassed or amazed, she didn’t understand why, at the time, it had happened. The gates where risen, so that she could pass underneath the wall, and straight after she had gone under, she was met with the dark-coated batpony.
“Well m’am, I’m under strict orders to check any and all bags of civilians that go in and out of the city for potential weapons, so if you would hand that saddlebag to me, I can check it. I’ll need your ID too, but I assume it’s in there,” he told her pointing toward the bag.
Raspberry felt a little uneasy about handing over all of her personal belongings, but since the armour he wore showed he was of high ranking in the Royal Guard, she made no fuss.
She handed over her leather saddlebag, giving the warning, “Please be careful with the brooch, it’s made out of gold.”
The batpony looked through her things. There were photos of members of family, old newspapers, and even a book labeled ‘101 Party Pranks’, but nothing that could be used as a weapon. He found her ID card. Her full name, Raspberry Delight, was written on it. A picture of a younger version of the mare that stood in front of him now, looked up at him from the top right hand corner, her cutie mark, three smiling emoticons, was underneath that. She had been born in 1027, and since it was the year 1048, a quick calculation showed that she was around the age of 20, and her home-town was said to be Minicolta.
The guard took a closer look at the brooch and observed, “M’am, I’m sorry to inform you, but this isn’t gold, it’s Pyrite, also known as fool’s gold.”
Raspberry felt shattered. It could have been the only valuable possession that she held, but in the end, it was only Pyrite, nothing of value, nothing worth keeping, just fool’s gold. Then he handed her back the saddlebag, and she advanced toward the centre of Canterlot. Her original plan had been to trade some bits for lending the brooch, since there was going to be a party for the nobles of Canterlot, and then use that money to rent herself a room where she could sleep until she got a job and money for a better place to stay. But nopony would go to a party wearing Pyrite in their mane. She could see herself sleeping on the streets once more.
“Wait!” The batpony guard called after her. She stopped and turned around just in time to face him as he skidded to a halt in front of her. “Do you have anywhere in the city to stay?”
“No…” She was slightly taken aback by his forthrightness.
“Well… I have a spare room at my place. You could stay there while in Canterlot, if you want,” He offered. She was even more taken aback, now.
“Umm… Okay.”
“Great! I’ll show you to the house when my shift’s done. Which will be in half an hour, by the way.”
She planned out what she could do, which was in reality, not much. Without any bits on her, she couldn’t buy anything, and nothing that she had in her saddlebag would be of much use. She didn’t want to hang around at the entrance of the city though.
“Meet you at the entrance to Foal’s Park?”
“Actually, there’s a favorite meeting place of the guards. If you want to meet me at The Shady Trough, that’s fine. Foal’s Park is a little out of my way. Whatever you do, don’t go inside the tavern, though,” He replied, a serious glint in his eyes.
‘The Shady Trough’ didn’t sound any more welcoming as a name than his tone of voice, and she didn’t plan to go in.
“Note to self, The Shady Trough is not to be entered,” she reminded herself, so that it at least had a remote chance of sticking in her mind. She headed off toward the center, planning simply to browse, but not buy. She passed by an alleyway of small shops, the simple ‘table and cloth’ presentation caught her eye. This was the type of place where they’d buy fakes, and sell them off to the rich and noble for the price of a real one.
Though she could get a few bits for the pyrite brooch, she didn’t want to get involved in this dark business, so she let it slip her mind. However, she did notice a figure standing in front of one of the stalls that stood out to her. They seemed to be holding a piece of parchment, but it was too difficult to tell for sure. All that she could see was a silhouette, but she could just about make out the body of a bulky gryphon. He glared at her for a moment. His green eyes flashed with hatred, but he said nothing, and continued on with whatever he was doing previously.
She had come to an area of the city that she hadn’t seen before. There were a few cafes and souvenir shops, nothing much. She scanned the area, she hadn’t seen anything unusual, but after the griffon that she had seen in the alleyway, she had expected something more… exciting. Sure, she was staying at the apartment of a member of the Royal Guard, but really, sticking around in an apartment all day could not be considered ‘fun’ to her, unless it involved something sweet.
She gazed up at the rusty clock that was resting on the wall of one of the nearby buildings. ‘10:55’ was what the pointers told her. She had last seen the batpony at 10:30, he had told her to meet him at ‘The Shady Trough’ in thirty minutes, when his shift ended. To put it plainly, she had five minutes to get there.
Galloping as fast as she could towards the shady areas of Canterlot, Raspberry hunted desperately for the place he had told her about. She wasn’t about to embarrass herself, especially not in front of a member of as high of a ranking as he. She spotted a sign, and sure enough, it said:
The Shady Trough
Thankfully, she couldn’t see the batpony. She was in time. She wasn’t late. Finally! She wanted to jump for joy, but she kept it to herself, knowing this area of the city well. She peaked in through the tavern window, the dirty windows needed some serious spring cleaning. There were a few batponies sat around the tables, along with a mixture of gryphons, and by the look of it, changelings. She could barely notice the sharp fangs that stuck out, but she had been taught how to recognise changelings when some big, secret thing had happened, and the whole of Minicolta was on high security.
Soon after she had arrived, she heard some hoofsteps. She turned around to see the amber-eyed batpony. He was still wearing his indigo armour, but held his helmet under a wing, and now, he too, had a saddlebag.
“Well, I’m here, we can go now.” his voice was deep, but he sounded like he was trying to hide something.
“You know, you never told me your name.”
“Steel Shadow.”
She looked at Steel. He was well built, and though his body wasn’t too visible with his armour on, she could tell that he could easily knock her unconscious.
There was an awkward silence, though neither of them wanted to break it, eventually Raspberry gave in,
“What’s your rank in the guard? I heard that unicorn - I think his name was Spearhead, - call you Captain Shadow.”
“He calls me ‘Captain’ because that’s what I am, among Hunters, anyway. In the guard, my rank is much higher. I’m actually a Lieutenant Colonel.”
Raspberry was impressed. Even she, who had never had anything to do with war, knew that was a high rank, especially for a stallion of his age.
“You’re a bit young for that rank though, don’t you think?”
When Steel Shadow responded, his voice was blended with a mixture of both confidence and defensiveness, and was that a little hurt that she heard?
“I worked hard for this rank, I’m not planning on letting go of it.” he told her, his face set in a stoical expression. The rest of the walk back to his apartment was mostly quiet, except for Raspberry’s occasional humming. She sped up and slowed her pace at times. but Steel’s was constant, and this was one of the many ways in which they were different.
She almost wanted to ask him ‘are we nearly there yet?’ but pushed the thought aside when she saw the tall white building in front of her. She could see that the palace wasn’t too far away, but she knew it was probably because most of his work was centred around the palace, so the closer, the simpler.
She couldn’t say the building was grand. ‘Rustique’ or ‘vintage’ would probably fit better, for unlike most of the other buildings in Canterlot, this one was composed completely out of brick. Only the oldest buildings, like Canterlot Palace, were built out of stone. Other alternatives such as crystals, glass, and even a newly developed plastic were being used. The walls were painted white, and gold lines filled the empty spaces with a metallic touch separating the floors and framing the windows.
Raspberry kept quiet as they entered through the mahogany doors into a large hallway with a curved ceiling. There were a few other doors, and each of them had, painted in silver, their numbers. They walked up three sets of stairs, and the air got vaguely colder. Then they walked along another hallway and came to a door labeled:
48
Steel Shadow took some keys out of his own saddlebag and unlocked the door. He, of course, having been brought up in Canterlot and taught at the best of schools, was extremely polite, and followed the ‘mares first’ tradition. Raspberry advanced into the room ahead, and was followed soon after by him. As she took in the features of his room, he carefully placed his armor on a stand, making sure that not even the slightest dent could harm it.
Taking a quick look around, Raspberry saw that the walls were all painted a drab shade of grey, unlike most other walls in this building, and the grey almost matched Steel Shadow’s coat perfectly. The ceiling was a slightly brighter shade of the walls’ grey. The floor in this room was covered in pristine, white tiles. There was a window with a light shade of grey blinds ahead of her, a leathery sofa and in front of it sat a coffee table. There was a step up on her right which led to an organized kitchen, and to her left there was a corridor about three ponies wide that led to more doors.
A picture hung up on the wall. It was painted of a scene at night, and a couple sat peacefully having a picnic. There were a few fallen leaves on the ground, and behind them, there was a forest. They seemed happy, but something about the picture was unnerving. Then she noticed. Two white eyes stared out from the forest. Then she noticed another pair, and another, and soon, the painting seemed to be filled with treachery and betrayal.
“Your room is second on your right,” he told her, gesturing to the corridor. A warm white light hummed above the sofa, and both stood speechlessly, waiting for the other to do something. Steel advanced toward the corridor, but diverted his steps toward a chair.
“I thought you might want to unpack, so I’ll give you time in there.” Raspberry thought about it for a moment. She had never been given her own room, she was always sharing, whether it was with her siblings or a roommate. This would be her first own, personal, private, room. She stared down at the corridor. There were five doors, two on either side, and one at the end.
She nodded quickly and moved toward the second on the right which he had told her to go in. She pushed the door gently forward, and without a creak, or a groan, it opened. In this room, the walls were not the shade of grey that consumed most of the walls, but a golden yellow that faded into white. On one side, there was a window which was perfectly positioned to see the sun set, though it had already gone down. Hanging firmly from the other side, there was a work of art which was quite pleasant. It was set in the day; the sun shone on a large mansion, surrounded by greenery along with a path which led up to a fountain spurting out cool, fresh water. Finally, In the centre of the room, there was a bed with white sheets, well made, not a crease in sight.
She undid her saddlebag and laid it down on the bed and spread out her belongings on the covers. She hadn’t much to unpack, really. She put down her wallet, which was empty except for her flying license and ID card, on the bedside table, and stored ‘101 Party Pranks’ on a shelf which had an absence of reading material. There, she found a photo album which had not yet been used, and decided to keep her photos in there. Soon the shelf was full with her newspapers and other personal belongings.
When Raspberry was done with her packing, which was quite soon considering what she had in her bag, she returned to the main room, and saw that Steel Shadow was preparing some sort of dinner or lunch. He looked a tiny bit hilarious, and Raspberry barely suppressed a giggle. When he saw her, he was holding a pan in his mouth, apparently, about to flip whatever was inside.
“Sorry, didn’t know what you liked, so I just made pancakes, since I reckoned you’d like them. I’m used to being alone, I guess, so I don’t know how to cook.” he explained, averting his gaze toward her. Well, at least he had tried. She took a glance at the attempted pancake. It was burnt around the edges, but not too bad.
“I’ll take it from here,” she said, for she knew that stallions were quite prone to ‘accidents’ in cooking.
“There’s really no need,” he argued, but he sounded more relieved than stern.
“I’ll take it from here,” she repeated, her voice more confident this time.
He sat down at the table, this time with no objections.She worked quicker than him, and her hooves were more delicate. His pancake was almost complete, so it just needed to be flipped, and with a quick flick, it was on its front. She managed several pancakes with the ingredients she had, and soon enough, she had used up all she could. On a plate, she had piled the pancakes about four centimeters high, and she carefully balanced some maple syrup along side it.
After they were finished, they both departed to go to sleep, for it was almost midnight.
“Remember, I’m right across if you need me,” Steel had reassured Raspberry.
She had simply nodded, too tired to say anything. Once she was inside of her bedroom, she let herself drop onto the covers, and in a few seconds, she was in a deep sleep.
The night was fairly silent from then on, until the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the apartment.
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