Author's Note

Sorry 'bout the time for this one, ladies and gentlemen, I actually had social obligations for a little over a week, and didn't even turn my computer on during any of it. But it got here eventually! Which has to count for something. I've also realized that I'm more comfortable writing dialogue than anything else, and I'm sure there's a correlation between the density of dialogue and how long a chapter is.

Oh, and a huge thanks to those that support me, and let me know of any errors and I'll fix them as soon as I can.

Sun and Moon

The next morning started with me being poked by an armored hoof, which is always a pleasant way to be woken.

"Wake up, Jack, time for our meeting." I didn't even respond to such an absurd statement. No one should be up at this time.

Get up. If you do not show, it reflects badly upon me, which would end badly for both of us.

Yes Mistress I reply with as much sarcasm as I can muster.

You do realize I understood the connotations of that, correct?

Yes, and I don't care

"Stop fucking around and get up." The guard barked from where she was putting the finishing touches of her armor on.

Deciding that testing my benefactors good will was probably a bad idea, I got up and walked towards the door. Getting dressed up, or at least my hair brushed, would have been nice, but none of the brushes looked like they'd do anything useful. With a small sigh, I follow Kemo back towards the Throne Room, where we are once again let in by another of the carbon-copy guards.

We approached, I knelt, and we waited to be spoken to. Fortunately, neither of them wished to drag out the pleasantries.

"Good morning, loyal subjects. I've been informed that we have an important matter to discuss." Celestia said in a warm voice, which really didn't surprise me, considering she was the avatar of the sun and all.

"Indeed, your highness." Kemo responded, while I nodded an affirmation.

The Princess floated a gem from behind her throne and handed it to me, "While you're holding this, your thoughts will be heard by us, and it should work for Werda too."

So is this thing going to replicate my voice, or go all robot, or... I'll just answer my own question. Now everyone has voices inside their heads.

While I'm glad it works, this is a serious discussion and that was barely even a joke.

Well excuse me, Mistress. We can't all ouch. Our friend had decided to derail me by applying her hoof to the back of my head. That was uncalled for, Ranger.

"Ranger?" Luna asked.

"Don't get into it, he's an idiot."

"So Werda, who exactly are you? I don't recall hearing or reading about you at any point during my considerable life." The solar princess not so subtly derailed the conversation back to where it was intended to be.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I believe I've been locked away since a time before either of you truly walked these lands. While your names sound familiar, I have been bound underneath one of your churches and likely heard your names from the devout. As to who I am, I am Werda, Mistress of Nightmares, just as I told your sister. I used to keep the Nightmares in check, making sure they never brought ruin to those they visited.

"But why would you allow ponies to be afflicted by them? They're terrible experiences and can effect the mind, whether they sleep or not." Luna inquired.

It is true that Nightmares can cause many problems if left to run amok. However, when they are properly cultivated, they remind ponies that their fears and guilt are not without reason.

"That is a strange view to have, though I can see the logic behind it if you are from before the Age of Harmony." The Solar Princess mused.

Is that what you are calling this age? I'll have to see more to truly gauge it, though I do know that regardless of what I see I shall prefer it to the Age of Discord.

"I do hope so, I've worked hard to promote peace and harmony through out all of my little ponies. To stray back to our original topic, however, I do hope we can come to an arrangement that will work for all of us."

As I'm not familiar with this age, all I can truly do is to tell you whether I can agree to your terms or not.

Hey, ladies, this is all nice and dandy, but has also lasted a good ten minutes longer than required. You're talking magical ponies, just have Mistress here complete a magically binding oath to not fuck up ponies outside of self-defense and we're golden, right? As I finished, the mares all stared at me. Apparently they'd forgotten I could 'speak'.

"Your Highnesses, I have to say that is probably the only intelligent thing I've ever heard from him."

I would be willing to do that, as well, and the spell for it is quite simple.

"This plan sounds wonderful, don't you agree sister?" Luna inquired with a smile.

"I do indeed, whenever you're ready Werda."

Brace yourself, Jack, this probably won't be pleasant.

Taking that as a warning that this was going to hurt like a motherfucker, I sit down on the floor to keep from killing myself from blunt force trauma to the head, likely on one of the many sharp marble edges that ringed the dais. Then she began to channel the magic, and it being 'unpleasant' was the understatement of the century, I could practically feel my cells being fried.

I, Werda, do swear that I will not willfully bring harm to anyone, save for in the defense of my life or the life of my vessel. And with that short phrase, the magic stopped as I continued to lay there, the smell of singed hair reaching my nostrils.

Fucking hell, that better be good enough for you two, I don't think I could take another one of those.

"Thank you Werda, it was rude of us to ask you to do that, but we have an obligation to protect our little ponies." The white alicorn said with a soft smile.

"Terribly rude, I do hope you'll forgive us." The darker alicorn added.

Your caution is commendable, though as you have noticed, there isn't much I can do right now without killing Jack.

"Thank you for looking into these matters, Princesses, but we shall take our leave now so that you may go back to your duties." Ke'mot entered the conversation again with a salute.

"Fare thee well." Luna responded, as Celestia nodded.

With a quick salute of my own, we made our way out of the throne room.

Our trip back had been rather boring, and now we were sharing tea and biscuits at Frost's place. Well, she said they were biscuits, but they were actually just sad cookies.

"So Kemo, how'd the trip go?"

"Surprisingly well. Jack didn't get us killed, and Werda cooperated with the Princesses, so a success overall."

"So she's not an evil tyrant wanting to take over Equestria?"

"Probably not. Everything is under control and I've given the damning evidence Jack found to Captain Armor, so High Arch will be taken down at some point."

"Really? That's good, but I thought you Lunar Guards did things on your own?"

"Normally, but she's got too much sway over the masses for us to do this nice and quiet. It's quite unfortunate, but the Solar Guard are better equipped for the shit that's about to go down."

So you're letting the Solar Guard do this because you can't just go kidnap her and throw her in a cell? I wrote out on my notepad, finally deciding to join the conversation.

"Yes."

"It makes sense, and they'll probably make a show of it to boost the Guard's reputation and standing with the city."

So Kemo, now that we've did our job beheading the Thieves Guild, what do we do now?

"We tell the Guard that was covering for me that he is no longer necessary, and then I go back to my usual patrol."

So everything goes back to normal for you, but what about me?

"That's for the Commandant to decide, we'll be going tomorrow morning to visit him and give our reports. Then he'll decide where he wants you next, and you might even get your pendant." The mare told me with a small smile.

And then I'll be an official Ranger, fucking sweet! I held my hand up to Frost for a high five. Sadly, she just looked at me funny. Oh come on, I know you won't call them high-fives, but you can't tell me you guys don't have this gesture?

"I have no idea what you want from me."

Bah. Just hold your hoof up, I'll show you.

She did as I asked, and I gave her a high-five. Sadly, it didn't quite turn out how I imagined it would.

"That was weird." The pierced pony told me, even though it was quite obvious to everyone involved.

Well that's a bust. Uh, fist-bump? I wrote out as I held a fist out. That one seemed to click, as she bumped it with a hoof without prompting.

"Hoof-bumps, now that makes sense."

"So now that you two are finished with that, I believe I'm going to head home. You can either come with me or stay with Frost, Jack. Just be ready at dawn to leave."

Alright Boss, I think I'll stick around and catch up with my favorite pegasus.

"With that settled, have a good evening you two." We waved goodbye as she exited the store.

"So what now?"

Cuddle and relax? I haven't truly gotten to relax in ages. I know Canterlot was probably the safest I've been since I got here, but I didn't sleep for shit the entire time I was there.

"That sounds like a great idea, let's get washed up and I'll throw an audio-book on. There's a new Daring Do one that just came out, it should be interesting."

That sounds perfect.

We'd gotten through the first record and Frost was cuddled up against me, quietly snoring her way into dreamland.

Everything seems to be going well for you.

Oh, hi there. Almost forgot about you, you haven't said anything today.

I was just contemplating about our situation, and how... Odd it is. You're a human from a different universe, and I'm an incarnation from an almost forgotten age.

Yeah, we're a hell of a pair, ain't we?

Indeed. If I can answer the question as to how to allow you to wield my magic, that would increase our power dramatically. But, alas, I fear I may never find the answer to that question, though it shall not be from a lack of effort.

I'm sure you've got this, you've got plenty of years of wisdom, and have aged like a fine wine.

While flattery will get you nowhere, it is appreciated. Now get some sleep, young one, for the sun shall rise sooner than you would like for it to.

Good night Werda.

Good night Jack

She wasn't exactly right, as it happened. It turned out Kemo realized I didn't have an alarm, or just really liked waking me up. Either way, we were up and at it by the time the sun peeked over the rim of the sky. Not that I really noticed it, I was barely awake and walking while eating a granola bar was using what little brain power I had. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because we were there before I'd gained any real coherency.

The echo from Kemo's knocks had barely faded when we heard the Commandant's distinctive voice.

"Come in, come in! A little bird told me you have quite the tale for me!" Storm Crow's exclaimed as he beckoned us in.

"You seem chipper, I don't think the tales of our exploits would excite you this much."

"Well that Guild has been a thorn in our side for some time, but I do admit that that's not the only reason." The old stallion responded as he settled into an exquisitely crafted rocking chair.

"That's a fine chair, I don't recall seeing it when we last visited."

"Just came in this morning! I'll tell you about it after you tell me about your little adventure."

And so I once again retold my visit into the church, though I let Kemo tell the parts she knew, if only for the break from writing. By the end of it, the Commandant was shaking his head in disbelief.

"So not only did you get all of the evidence you needed to cut the head off, but you found the literal Mother of Nightmares.

I am not there mother! More like their shepherd.

Ouch, inside voices please.

I think you offended her, as she thinks of it more as a shepherd sort of thing. Also, please don't offend her any more, I'll have a migraine if she keeps sqawking in there. Apparently she took offense to that, or maybe it was a stray bolt of phantom lightning that gave me a small zap.

"If the state of your hair is any indicator, I don't think you need any help on that front," Crow chuckled. "Now, as for this here fancy chair, I made a little bet with Shining Armor. I told him a group of five of my Guards could clear the new hostage rescue course faster than a platoon of his. He seemed slightly offended by that, and agreed without hesitation."

He took a drink and wiggled a bit to get just right in his chair, before continuing. "So, being the gentlestallion that I am, I let him go first. That platoon did a pretty good job, but they didn't know the layout and emptied each room to make sure they had gotten all of the hostages. They did clear it in good time, but my team had prepared a little more than them, and knew the approximate locations of hostiles and hostages, and managed to clear the course only five seconds faster than Armor's platoon."

Fucking got'em then, eh Commandant?

"'Fucking got'em' indeed, Jack!" He parroted before breaking into laughter.

"I take it the objective was only to retrieve the hostages, not to take out all of the hostiles as well?" Ke'mot asked while he was trying to stifle his mirth.

"Very astute of you, and we would have lost quite handily had the objective been to do both. Unfortunately for the Captain, he had too much pride in his soldiers to truly think the situation through. So instead of me giving him my bottle of 100 year old wine, he ended up having this chair custom-made for me."

And a very nice chair it is.

"Thank you. Then I told him that it was okay to be the sledgehammer instead of the scalpel before heading to The Full Moon to get the guys the drink they deserved. I could practically hear his eye twitching as I trotted off, and that memory shall now be a treasured one."

Catching myself from trying to give him a high-five, I give him a fist-bump to get my feelings across in an appropriate manner.

"Quite the tale indeed, it feels pretty great to remind them that they are not, in fact, the elite force of Equestria. Staying in the shadows makes our work easier, but ponies seem to forget what exactly it is we do." The mare put in, her face occupied by a smug grin. "Our mission, as you may have heard, was a complete success, and Jack pretty much completed it by himself."

"Back to business then. Report at will, Guard Ke'mot."

Kemo told my tale for me, to which my hand was grateful, and by the end of it Storm Crow was wearing a huge grin.

"And now, on to the topic of the future. Ke'mot, you will go back to Manehattan and continue your previous orders, keeping in touch with Jack as necessary if he decides to live in the city itself." Then the stallion looked me dead in the eyes. "As for you, Jack, you can either accept a Brass Moon and continue to hide from everypony that you're intelligent, though being one of three living recipients of it will garner some attention, or you can listen to what I consider to be the best path for you."

Just to make sure I understand, the Brass Moon is what you give to your exceptional humans, basically marking them out as being extra clever and reliable? Though I'm guessing they rarely part with their owner/partner for missions?

"Correct. As for my counter proposal; I would like to send you to Canterlot to take on the Lunar Guard training courses. If you can pass those, you'll be well on your way to a Bronze Moon. It'll be tough, and you'll definitely be singled out, but if you pass you'll open the doors to be truly independent."

That sounds really good, actually. But before I get too far into this, mind explaining exactly how the Lunar Guard works? You told me about the small groups that watch over the towns, but I saw some guards at the palace that I'm pretty sure were Lunar Guard as well, but were standing about like the Solar Guard. I'm also guessing all of the Guard armor has an illusion enchantment, because every one looked rather uniform.

"Good question. As it happens, the Lunar Guard is split into two divisions: The House Guard and the Night Guard. There's rarely a reason to distinguish between the two, but the House Guard protects the castle and Luna from internal threats, while the Night Guard generally protects the citizens from external threats, such as rampaging monsters, while occasionally taking care of some of the more problematic citizens."

Alright, simple enough. So do the House Guards have Silver Moons too?

"Yes, we both go through the same system. Everypony graduates with a Bronze Moon, and after either ten years of service, or an action of great valor, they're awarded the Silver Moon."

And the Brass Moon is basically the Silver Moon for humans, but humans don't get a starter moon due to being human?

"As terrible as it might sound to you, that's exactly the case. At last count, the Lunar Guard only had eight humans in its employ. Admittedly, there's only about a hundred of us, but I believe you get the point."

His offer seems like the best way to become more than a pet. It is also likely to be the most difficult path that you'll be offered on this world.

Alright, I'm agreeing with the voice in my head saying this is likely going to be the best opportunity I'm going to get while I'm here, but I would like a full list of what I'd be getting myself in to.

"Smart lad, because there is going to be a lot of effort on your part for what, to you, won't amount to much of a gain. To start off, the instructors will likely be harsher on you than the others, and it will be because you're a human, though their exact reasons may vary. Secondly, if you do earn your Bronze Moon, you won't actually be entitled to everything that it usually entails. Humans are pets here, and most ponies won't see past your race, so there's a chance you'll just end up staying out of the front lines and doing paperwork and logistics."

The stallion chuckled at the face I made at that. "We'll try and keep that from happening, then. On to the rewards, which start off with a salary that, while likely smaller than others of the same rank, should be enough for you to live comfortably. You'll also gain autonomy, and unless there's a huge outrage, I'll have you be our mobile and discreet backup. This way it should only be ponies who are apart of the Lunar Guard who know of your talents."

That seems reasonable. So go to basic training, get my Bronze Moon, and as a reward my job is to be your secret weapon? Then while I'm not doing that I get to have basic autonomy and do whatever I want within the limits of not drawing the wrong type of attention to myself?

"That about sums it up. Bit for your thoughts Ke'mot?"

Having sat quietly the whole time, the third body of our group looked between us before speaking up. "I believe he can pass training, though I'm worried about some of the older Guards. They don't like change, and this is a big one, so they might try and sabotage his training somehow. You have to admit, going from ponies straight to a human is a big leap."

Crow let out a low sigh. "You're not wrong, which is one of the reasons why I'm, personally, taking him to Canterlot and getting it all sorted out for him. So how about it Jack? Want to be the first non-pony to become a Lunar Guard through prejudice and a sergeant that'll ride you harder than the rest?"

Is this a Lady Sarge or a Dude Sarge? 'Cause the former sounds like a blast.

The collective facehoof was accompanied by a small pop from electricity sparking between my hands.

"Thanks Werda, he deserved that." Ke'mot's a mean one, and apparently Werda is too.

That was terrible, and you deserved it. Keep it up, though, and I might actually give you a real shock.

You're a brutal mistress, you know that?"

Yes, and eventually you'll learn to respect your elders.

We'll see, but the electroshock therapy is frying my brain, so unless you want your host to be a vegetable, you might want to calm down with it.

I apologize for causing you undue harm, but you do really need to work on your timing and word choice.

I'll try, but no promises, it's a part of my nature.

Please do.

"He really does just stare off into space when he's talking with her, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, it takes some time to get used to."

"So Jack, now that you're little inner monologue is done, are you going for it?"

Yeah, I think it'll be good for me, and apparently my soulmate thinks I could use a little polishing.

"Perfect, I had a feeling you'd accept. The stack of books on the kitchen table will help you get a head start, and there's plenty of daylight to burn before we leave tomorrow."

Thank you, I believe I'll do just that. And with that, I grabbed the books and left the old friends to talk, settling under a tree to start reading The Guardians of the Night.