The Night Watch

Chapters

Ch. 1: Bad Dreams
Ch. 2: The Routine Changes
Ch. 3: The First Night
Ch. 4: Restless
Ch. 5: The Chance You Take
Ch. 6: Interrogation
Ch. 7: Keeping His Oath
Ch. 8: Subconscious
Ch. 9: Assassin on the Loose

Ch. 1: Bad Dreams

Chapter 1: Bad Dreams

(note:) slight alternate universe in which Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 are already friends prior to Nightmare Moon’s return)

It was a bright night in Ponyville.

Upon the face of Equestria’s radiant satellite, the curious visage of the Mare in the Moon provided a sharp contrast to the unusual lunar brightness. Yet this oddity did little to disturb the peace of the night, as ponies slumbered and waited for the next day.

But one might say this was not the case for any number of astronomers, who opted to spend their nights gazing into the dark sky, in search of the many brilliant constellations that adorned the voidscape. Many thought that the stars above were simple points of light, placed by a once benevolent princess to bring light to the night.

But there were some who regarded the stars with a strange curiosity. Morbid in their outlooks, these few ponies spoke of the stars not as embers beside the nocturnal beacon, but as fell sources of light. These ponies spoke of an ancient prophecy, of a tale long passed into legend, into myth, and forgotten by history.

The tale of Nightmare Moon.

None but Celestia knew what truly occurred nigh upon a millenia ago, nopony alive at least. The sparingly few times the solar princess had been asked about that night, she would reluctantly recount the story with far more trepidation than any old mare’s tale had right to.

But tonight was not a night for concern. It was, as any, a time for rest. And this particular night found a family bidding their goodnights and laying their heads to sleep.

A tiny filly nuzzled into the forehoof of her loving father. “Good night, Daddy…”

The father of the little filly smiled as he drew his daughter’s covers up to her head, letting her snuggle into her bed without effort. As the stallion drew his hoof away, a smile graced his muzzle as the child’s breaths became slower and more sleeplike.

The prideful father in question was a tall unicorn of solid build, complemented by a sleek coat of dark blue. His eyes, by contrast, shone as twin neon blue orbs, a color shared by his short and spiked mane and tail. On either flank was the insignia of silver star, superseded by a pair of crossed swords.

Soft hooffalls announced the presence of the motherly figure in the household. The mare was a mirror of her husband, with dark blue eyes, offsetting her light blue coat that faded into completely white mane and tail. A ladle-like arrangement of stars adorned her flanks.

“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” the stallion muttered to the mare. His deep voice was thick with an accent trademark to Marebourne, a desert city on the Equestrian coast rich with kangaroos. “I tell you, Const, I know I sound biased but…” He shook his head and chuckled softly. “What a kid we made…”

“That she is, Alabaster…” The mare called ‘Const’, or ‘Constellation’ if one was to use her full name, whispered to him. She leaned into his shoulder, resting her head upon him. As opposed to her husband’s thick accent, Contellation’s speech was adjusted to something expected of a Trottingham native. Being such, it made sense that she sounded the part. “Our daughter… a magnificent sight, if ever there was one…”

“But come, let her rest…” Constellation lifted her head from her husband and left the room, quiet as she could be. Alabaster followed suit, after taking one last look at his daughter. His smile persisted until he left her room, closing the door behind himself.

As Alabaster and Constellation made their way downstairs, they passed through the remains of various party decorations, from confetti, to streamers, even a range of partially deflated balloons. A large banner was hung high, reading in flowery script ‘Congrats on Your New Discovery Constellation!’.

Only one pony remained among the leftovers of the party, a multi-hued purple unicorn mare. Constellation immediately went up to the unicorn and began conversing with her. Alabaster opted to settle down in his chair next to the fireplace, letting a heavy sigh loose as he sank into the cushiony depths.

“What a night!” he said with exhausted enthusiasm, running a hoof through his spiky mane.

Constellation and Twilight Sparkle chuckled before Twilight spoke up. “Too much punch, Alabaster?”

“I think the problem is that he’s not used to Pinkie Pie’s parties yet…” Constellation held a hoof up to her mouth and chuckled.

“And I reckon I won’t ever be…” He muttered, turning his head to look at the two mares. “Where in Equestria did you find that crazy mare? It’s like she can’t stop partying! Does she eat pure sugar or something for brekky everyday?”

“I don’t know about that…” Twilight smiled before walking to the front door with Constellation. “She’s ..well, she’s just Pinkie.”

“Just Pinkie…” Alabaster yawned. “Well, I’m just Alabaster, and unlike just Pinkie, I need sleep. I have an early day tomorrow…” He slowly stood and walked to the door as well. “Thanks for coming Twilight. It means a lot to us.” He smiled at her.

Twilight turned her head to the side and waved her hoof passively. She then gave Constellation a large hug. “Congrats on your discovery, Constellation...I can’t wait to study those stars and see what they mean…”

“I’ll beat you to it dear…” Constellation smiled, patting her friend on the back and looking her in the eyes. “It’s what I do best…” She chuckled before letting go of Twilight.

“Challenge accepted.“ Twilight smiled back. Constellation opened the door for her, and Twilight took her leave with a generous goodbye wave.

“Good bye Twilight!” Constellation waved back before shutting the door. She turned around and saw Alabaster over in the kitchen part of their home, uncorking a fresh bottle of cider. “Isn’t it a tad late for that, dear?”

“I’m never gonna sleep after a party like that, love…this’ll help.” His horn glowed light blue, as his eyes, levitating the cider bottle in the air and pouring a glass for himself, as well as his wife. “And besides, I’ve been wanting to share a moment alone with you ever since the night began.”

Constellation turned slightly red. “Oh Alabaster…” She trotted over as he levitated over his cider glass. She caught it with her dark blue magic. “What should we toast to?”

“Hm, a toast, eh?” He scratched his chin with his forehoof. “To the new constellation you’ve discovered…” He winked and raised his glass next to hers in the air. “And to Moonblaze.”

She smiled and clinked her glass against his. “To my discovery, and to Moonblaze.”

The couple took their sips of cider and set their glasses down on the kitchen table. They took a moment to savor their drink, before Constellation perked up. “I’ve got it!”

“Eh?” Alabaster Star looked up towards his wife. “What have you got, hun?”

“I know what to brand the new constellation. It fits perfectly!” She smiled and trotted to their living room window. “I’ll name it after our daughter, Moonblaze.”

“What…? After our...daughter…?” It took Alabaster a while to register what she had said. Finally, he trotted up behind his wife. “Are sure about that, love?”

She turned around and nodded furiously. “Absolutely. I’ll call it...Princess Moonblaze. Just for her. I know how she’s always wanted to be a Princess.” She chuckled. “She’s always playing Princess with her friends…”

Alabaster shook his head and embraced his wife in a hug. “I love you, Constellation. It’s times like this that I realize just how much I love you. That’ll make her the happiest filly in the world.”

She embraced her husband back. “I love you too. Anything for our daughter…”

They held each other for a moment before they parted. Constellation leaned in and kissed her husband on the lips for a second or two before hugging him again. He gave a soft chuckle before she turned around and they both gazed up at the stars above and the moon. Alabaster’s gaze, in particular, fell upon the moon, and the mysterious black craters that formed the face of the legendary Nightmare Moon, or Mare in the Moon, as she was being called these days.

“Speaking of Princesses…” Alabaster said, pointing up to the sky. “Do you ever wonder about the moon? And the legend? Like, do you ever study the moon at the lab?”

Constellation leaned on his shoulder again as both their gazes went up to the moon now. “Not much to tell about it, dear. Some say it’s just that, a legend. Some say it’s coincidence that the craters on the moon were formed that way. Only the Princess could tell you that for sure. And I’m pretty sure you don’t rank that highly.” She smirked.

“Knock it off, Const.” He smiled and playfully nuzzled her nose. “Ah well, at least it makes a great stor-”

It all happened in an instant. Broken glass flying through the air as the window shattered, Constellation’s scream as she and Alabaster were tackled by something that had flown through the window...two things that had flown through the window. Pain flared in Alabaster’s neck as unusually sharp teeth sank into the nape of his neck.

“Where gems?!” A crackly voice cried out from over near Constellation. “Need gems for pony!”

Alabaster cried out and rolled over, slamming his back two hooves into whatever was attacking him. Another voice yelped as whatever attacked them was sent toppling into one of Constellation’s bookcases. Picking himself up, he lunged at the creature that was on top of his wife, holding a dagger at her neck.

Diamond Dog.

Enraged at the tears of fear sliding down his wife’s face, he rammed into the Diamond Dog as hard as he could, slamming the creature into the wall, which cracked under the force of the stallion’s attack. The creature cried out in pain as Alabaster used his forehooves to choke the it.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” He roared angrily. “You have some nerve breaking in like this…”

“We only wants gems...pretty...pretty gems…ACH…” gasped the Diamond Dog. “For nightmare...pony…”

“Nightmare pony…? Who’s Nightmare Po-” He stopped and slowly turned his gaze towards the broken window, looking up at the moon. He growled and slammed his hooves harder into the Diamond Dog, which howled in pain. “Nightmare Moon is just a legend!”

“Not...what pony...thinks…” The dog sputtered through being choked. “Pony knows not...legend true...need gems for...return…”

“What the bloody hay are you talking ab-”

“ALABASTER!” Constellation screamed from behind him.

He tried to turn around, but it was too late. A crack and a flash of light in his vision, and Alabaster was down, dazed after being hit with a piece of the bookcase by the dog that had been biting him.

Now free, the dog he was choking turned to Constellation. “Now, girl pony...give me your gems…now, lots of gems, we needs…”

Constellation was sweating nervously. “I...I don’t have any...we have enough to get by…”

The second dog didn’t take that comment very well. He walked up from behind Constellation and swiped at her with the back of his paw, knocking her to the ground as well.

“Go checks the upstairs…” The first dog said to the one that just swiped Constellation.

Alabaster’s eyes opened wide when he heard that. No...Moonblaze…

With strength only a father could have, he leaped up from his delirium, using his magic to send a chair flying the first dog, who cried out in pain and fell to the floor. The second dog was tackled before he could get to the stairs.

“OH NO YOU DON’T!” Alabaster bellowed, wrestling with the dog. Remembering his training from the Royal Guard Academy, he put everything he had learned into this fight. His first move was to clap the Diamond Dog’s ears, dazing the creature for a few precious seconds. He then began wailing on the dog, until its muzzle was significantly bloodied and the dog was whimpering in pain. He shakily stood up and wiped a bit of the dog’s blood from his torso. “Constellation? You alright?” He panted heavily.

He looked across the room at his wife, who groaned as she shakily stood up. With one eye closed, she nodded with a small smile. But then her eyes widened.

“What?” He turned around at what she was looking at and saw a very tired-looking and very confused Moonblaze standing on the bottom step. She looked down at the nearly unconscious diamond dog on the ground and her eyes instantly widened to that of her mother’s. “Daddy, wha...what’s happening?”

Alabaster, still panting heavily, felt his breath catch. “Honey, go back upstairs. Go back to bed, please..”

“Are those diamond dogs? Were you fighting diamond dogs?” Moonblaze’s look turned from that of shock to that of slight excitement. “That’s awesome!”

“Moonblaze, I’m not going to ask again…” Alabaster stepped over the dog’s body and put a hoof around his daughter’s back and turned her around and gently pushed her upwards. “I’ll be up in a momen-”

“AAAH!” Constellation suddenly cried out from behind him.

“Mommy!” Moonblaze suddenly cried, looking behind Alabaster.

Alabaster whirled around and saw the first diamond dog, whom he had hit with a chair, was now up, and holding Constellation against his body and his knife against her throat. The dog had broken splinters in his face, and he looked none too happy about it. “Gives us gems, or we slice the girl pony open!”

Alabaster slowly reached a hoof forward and shook his head. “Hey, come on now, don’t do anything we’ll regret!”

“Silence pony!” He pressed the knife a little more into Constellation’s neck, drawing a little blood.

“MOMMY!” Moonblaze shrieked, clutching her dad’s hind leg like her life depended on it.

“Do not do this...I’m sure there’s something here you’d like to take...please…” A tear slid out of his eye. “Take anything you want, just do not kill her...please…”

“No gems!?” The dog growled. Constellation fidgeted as she struggled to breath with the knife pressed up against her throat. “We wants gems for Nightmare Pony’s return! She will not like anything else!”

“Please…” Alabaster had started to shake. “Please don’t kill my wife...please...I don’t have anything else to give…”

For a moment, it seemed like the diamond dog hesitated. Slowly, but surely, the knife was removed from her neck. Alabaster heaved a sigh of relief.

But it was for naught.

A scream from Constellation was silenced by the knife entering her neck…

A scream and crying from Moonblaze…

Alabaster roaring and charging the dog who had just taken his wife from him...

A flash of light.

Twilight Sparkle has blown open the front door and, with horror on her face, sees Alabaster cradling his dead wife in one hoof and his crying daughter in the other, both dogs dead with horn wounds through their chests.

It’s raining. He’s dressed in his newly made Royal Guard armor, silver with blue trim, and he’s surrounded in ponies dressed in black. Twilight Sparkle and her brother, Shining Armor, are lowering a casket into the ground.

R.I.P.
Constellation
Brilliant Astronomer, Mother and Wife

Alabaster sees Nightmare Moon laughing at his pain. His misery. Her delight that she had taken his wife...his eternal love...was easily seen. Lightning struck the ground in front of him.

“GAH!!!!”

Alabaster sat up in his bed. Sweat was pouring down his forehead and neck. He panted heavily for a few seconds, before he finally gulped and sighed. “Just that dream again…”

He looked down, his unkempt neon blue hair making a shadow over his eyes. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed from his window. Slowly, he removed the covers and stood up. The sweat coating his body glimmered faintly his body, another bolt of lightning flashing illuminating both him and his room as he walked to the window and gazed outside.

Rain fell against the cobblestone streets of Canterlot like a barrage. “Great…” He muttered, turning from the window and making his way of the room. “Guard duty in the rain…my favorite…”

He made his way down the small hallway of the Canterlot apartment that he now shared with his daughter, Moonblaze. It had been a year since Constellation had died, and the same dream haunted his sleep once a week… if he was lucky. He thought about getting help, but dismissed that thought rather quickly. He thought shrinks were a crock anyway.

He entered the small kitchen of his flat and opened the fridge. Using his magic, he grabbed some milk and placed it on the table. He turned on the coffee machine with his magic as well, which began grinding the beans with a whir. Before he knew it, he was silently sipping his coffee. He wouldn’t be be going back to sleep anyway. Never on days with that… nightmare. All he could do was find ways to stay awake for his shift at the castle in four hours.

He looked over at the clock. 4 PM. Night shifts required that he get his rest during the day.

“Fantastic…” He looked down at his coffee before placing it on the table. Slowly he got up and walked down the hallway, past his small room, to another door. He scratched his chin, which had the beginning of neon blue stubble on it, before quietly knocking on the door. “Moonblaze? You there?”

“Yeah, Dad. Come in.” Her voice came back.

Quietly, Alabaster opened the door into his daughter’s room. The little filly with mixed blue and white hair and a slightly lighter coat than his looked up at him from her bed, where she held her handheld gaming device. She cocked her head. “What’s up Dad?” She noticed he looked slightly shaken and had some sweat remaining. “Are you okay? You didn’t have that dream again, did you?”

Without a word, he slowly walked over to her bed. As she looked up at him, he slowly ran a hoof through her mane, tears beginning to form on his head. Slowly, he nodded as more tears began to flow. “Y...yes…” Slowly he fell to the floor at her bedside and buried his face into the covers of her bed. He gripped the covers with his forehooves. “I...I miss her so much, Moonblaze! I...I...oh why…”

Moonblaze threw her game aside, and embraced her fallen father in a tight hug. “I miss her, too, Dad…” Moonblaze gulped and tried to hold back tears herself. “I miss her, too…”

Author's Note

Well now! It's been a while since I've posted anything, hasn't it?

Please do tell me what you think! I know it seems kind of dark now, what, with Alabaster having a dead wife and all, but let me know what you think of the story, the character, the backstory...whatever tickles your fancy!

Chapter 2 is nearing completion so expect that soon as well. Peace out!

Ch. 2: The Routine Changes

Chapter 2: The Routine Changes

Alabaster Star gazed into the mirror. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, what with his freshly showered body, and his silver and blue night watch armor. His tired eyes caught on his neglected stubble, but he merely blinked and exhaled. A neon blue aura formed over his horn and he drew his helmet to his head from its resting place on top of his cluttered dresser.

He stepped out of his bedroom and glanced at the clock. “7:30 PM…” he muttered. That left half an hour to get to his post on the castle walls.

Alabaster trotted down the hallway to the combination kitchen and family room. Moonblaze, her dinner finished and plate pushed to the side, was sitting at the kitchen table, her nose buried inside a book of Canterlot history. A few homework sheets were off to her other side, in varying states of completion. Hearing her father’s hoofsteps, the filly lifted her head from her book and smiled at him. “Looking good, Dad.”

“Thank you, sweetie…”Alabaster chuckled softly. He walked up to her and gave her mane a quick ruffle, along with a quick kiss on the top of her head. “You know the routine, hun...Octavia should be here in a couple minutes.”

Moonblaze pouted, placing both her forehooves on the table in protest. “Dad...do I really need a foalsitter still?”

Alabaster flinched. The truth was, she didn’t really need a foalsitter. He just didn’t want to leave her alone in their flat. His worst fear was one morning coming home and seeing the same horrible sight that haunted his dreams, but this time, with his precious daughter as the victim.

“Yeah...yes you do.” He finally responded after a moment. “Canterlot may be Equestria’s capital, dear, but it it’s not completely safe… you need somepony here to keep an eye on you and make sure you are safe.”

Moonblaze sat back down in her chair, huffing annoyedly. “I understand…”

“If you are good and get to bed at a reasonable hour, maybe she’ll play her cello for you before you go to sleep…” Alabaster gave a rare, small grin at his daughter before opening the front door.

Moonblaze perked up a bit. “I love it when she plays her cello!”

Alabaster was halfway out of the door when he turned to look back at his daughter. “Good night, Moonblaze. And you let me know if she feeds you anymore of that assassin rubbish you’ve been telling me about…”

Moonblaze giggled, “Will do Dad…I love you!”

“I love you too. Good night, hun…see you in the morning.” Alabaster said before he stepped outside into the hallway.

The door to his apartment closed behind Alabaster and he sighed. “Off to the old grind…” He muttered quietly to himself. He was beside himself with anxiousness everytime he left Moonblaze to wait for Octavia, but the cellist always showed up and kept his daughter safe, so his nerves were stayed after a while. He had met Octavia one evening at a party he was assigned to at the castle. Upon overhearing Alabaster say to his fellow guard he was looking for a sitter for his daughter, Octavia quickly signed on, and had became close friends with Alabaster and Moonblaze since. Why had she leapt at the opportunity so quickly? He had no idea, but Octavia was a good sitter and Moonblaze liked her, so she was fine in his book.

He trotted down the third floor dark hallway of the Canterlot apartment building in which he and his daughter lived. Slowly he descended the three flights of stairs at the end of the hallway, meandered through the lobby, and stepped outside into the rain. He shivered and sighed as the cold rain started splashing over him. Lightning flashed through the sky as he turned and looked up the street, towards the giant form of Canterlot Castle.

As he began his walk to the castle, he nodded at a ragged-looking Earth pony with a tattered jacket, huddled over a burning barrel in an alleyway next to his building, trying to keep the fire lit. “G’day Rusty…” Alabaster nodded at the poor Earth pony as he passed by. Rusty hardly spared a nod in response, his attention riveted to the fire.

Alabaster and his daughter didn’t exactly live in the best part of the city.

As the unicorn trotted up the cobblestone road, he kept his face down to avoid getting splashed by the rain in his eyes. As he did nearly every day, Alabaster wondered how his shift would go and if anything even remotely exciting would happen.

In the daytime, one could expect something to happen.

But guarding the night? Nothing ever did occur.

“You summoned me, Princess Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle entered the throne room of Canterlot Castle and gave a small bow, extending her wings.

The Princess of the Sun nodded briefly. “Yes, Twilight. Please, do come in. We have something important to discuss…”

Twilight nodded and approached the princess. She noted that Celestia and herself weren’t the only ones in the room. Celestia’s sister, Luna, was also present and looking very shaken for some reason. Princess Cadence and her husband, and Twilight’s older brother, Shining Armor, were also in attendance. Celestia had summoned the lot of Equestrian royalty for something, and judging by the looks on all their faces, it wasn’t good.

“Twily…” Shining Armor turned, gave his sister and quick hug and smiled at her, “It’s so good to see you again.”

“You too, Shining...what’s going on here?” Twilight returned the hug and cocked an eye at her brother.

Her brother released her from the hug and his smile turned into a frown. “Well…” He looked at Celestia, who nodded in her approval for him to speak. “Long story short, another attempt has been made on Princess Luna’s life.”

“What?!” Twilight’s gaze snapped over to Luna, who was looking down at the ground.”Where? When? Are you okay Luna?”

“I am fine, Twilight Sparkle…” Luna retorted bluntly. “I am just tired of this happening...I thought ponies would be...used to me by now…”

Twilight returned her gaze to her brother. “What does she mean by that?”

“My sister means…” Celestia spoke up. “That the ponies that keep trying to take her life away from her are ponies that are convinced she is still possessed by the evil spirit of Nightmare Moon…”

“Which is ridiculous, by the way…” Cadence trotted over beside Shining Armor and leaned her head on his shoulder, addressing Twilight. “We know Luna is free of such evil magic because of you and the Elements of Harmony.”

“Regardless, everypony else doesn’t…” Shining Armor raised a hoof up and scratched his head. “We caught the attempted killer and questioned her. It was the same as every time before. Obsessed with ending Nightmare Moon.”

Luna’s gaze fell even more. “‘Twas a Pegasus when we visited Cloudsdale...she looked so innocent until we passed.” Her eye twitched. “Truly, I am tired of having these ponies try to kill me and be taken away. They don’t deserve it.” She shook her head.

Twilight sighed in disbelief and then paused in thought. “Is this why we all have been summoned? Are we going to take action?”

Celestia nodded and gave a small frown. “Indeed, we are. Luna has been refusing to have personal Royal Guards since her return. But I have talked with her and we agree...now is the time that she be assigned personal Royal Guards. Two, to be precise. Guards with skill and proficiency. Guards with unshakable loyalty and resolve. Guards that know the palace inside and out and know how to handle themselves in a fight.” Celestia sighed. “Because this is most definitely not the last attempt on my sister’s life.”

“I already have a list of potential candidates…” Shining Armor nodded. “Who we pick is up to Luna.”

All gazes turned to the Princess of the Night, who looked up from the ground and stood up straighter. She stepped down from her throne and began to pace. “If I must have Royal Guards, they need be part of the night watch. They must be able to stay up through the night while I do my work.” She turned and looked at Shining Armor. “That is my sole condition.”

Shining Armor frowned. “That narrows it down…” He muttered sarcastically as he used his magic to levitated the list up to his face. Silence enveloped the room as everypony waited for Shining Armor to read from his list.

Twilight, on the other hoof, perked up, as she already knew the perfect pony for the job. The one pony she knew that knew this castle better than she did, was a very good friend to her and loyal to Equestria until the end. A friend who was down on his luck and could use something else to live for.

To strive for.

“If I may, Luna…” Twilight took a step towards Luna, who turned to look at her. “I would like to put somepony’s name forward for the job.”

“Oh?” Luna said, drawing everypony’s attention. “And who might that be?”

“He’s...a little down on his luck right now, but is one of the best guards I know besides Shining and graduated from the Academy at the top of his particular class…” Twilight winked at Luna. “And he is voluntarily part of the night watch.”

A small smile appeared on Luna’s face. “That is certainly rare, Twilight Sparkle. Most of our night watch members are conscripted...who is this pony?”

Twilight smiled. “His name is Alabaster Star. And I think he would be perfect for the job.”

Alabaster Star, now drenched from the rain, stopped outside the golden gate that lead to the courtyards of the castle. Even though the rainclouds still covered the sky, he could tell Celestia’s sun was still shining on the other side. Even though it was five minutes to 8 PM, Alabaster Star knew he was right on time for one of his favorite things to view: Celestia lowering the sun.

The guards on either side of the gates were day guards; white, Unicorn stallions with golden armor and armed with spears.

Alabaster looked at them and stood at attention. “Alabaster Star...Guard, 1st Class. Night Watch. Reporting.”

They acknowledged Alabaster’s presence, and the one of the right rose his spear up and tapped on the gate a few times.

“Opening up!” The voice of the gate operator called down from the tower above.

Slowly, the gates slid open. “Thanks, mates…” Alabaster acknowledged as he trotted through. As soon as he was on the other side, the gates slid shut behind him, a metallic clang ringing through the courtyards as they did so.

As he trotted to the front doors of the castle, he looked up, using a forehoof to shield his eyes from the droplets of rain that continued to fall. His gaze was upon the balcony at the top of Princess Celestia’s tower. Any second now, the Princess herself would emerge and use her magic to lower the sun for the day. The times he had seen it before gave him hope for a new day.

Faust knew he needed it.

He waited for a minute or two, rooted to his spot in the courtyards. A few guards passed by, their gazes going upward too, but after another minute they left, not patient enough to wait for the majestic sight Alabaster loved to witness.

A loud gong suddenly rang out from the clock tower on the castle. Alabaster’s gaze moved to the clock. It was 8 PM. “She should’ve lowered it by now…” Alabaster muttered as they bells rang out again.

He returned his gaze to Celestia’s balcony, hoping to see her, but it was for naught. The Princess of the Day was still absent as the clock tower rang out again.

And again. And again.

And again.

On the eighth ring, Alabaster noticed it was getting darker. He fidgeted. The sun was being lowered. Celestia must’ve been doing it from inside the castle.

Alabaster frowned and started trotting forward again, shaking his head. “A little rain never stopped her before…” He said with disappointment in his voice. “Maybe something bad happened…”

Slowly, but surely, he used his magic to open the castle doors, stepping past the two day guards who were nearing the end of their shifts, and through the doors to start his shift on the castle walls.

As soon as he was inside and the doors closed behind him, he shook himself off and looked around to see if everything looked okay. It was odd enough that Celestia wasn’t present to lower the sun, but everything and everypony seemed normal on the inside of the castle. Day guards removing their helmets and heading out for the day, councilors and dignitaries from all three races walking along calmly to their quarters; everything seemed in place.

“I guess everything is...alright.” He finally muttered as he slowly trotted his way through the ponies and to the staircase that led upwards.

On an ordinary night, Alabaster would make his way up several flights up stairs, down a long hallway, up through a parapet, and onto the castle wall, where he would make his rounds all the night long. Making his rounds wasn’t as exciting as he wished it was. He just stood in one place for a bit, then moved, and then stood in another place for a bit, checking for anything unusual along the way, for twelve hours until 8 AM. It wasn’t his favorite post he’d been assigned to. He’d once been assigned to the library and caught several book thieves. He’d even caught Princess Twilight snooping around in a Rigid Rattlesnake cosplay once. When he finally got transferred, he thought that being on the walls would help him see some more action on his part, but assassins these days knew how to get past walls quicker than a phoenix catching on fire.

However, this was not an ordinary night. Instead of being able to trot up the stairs like usual, he found his path blocked. His head was down, so all he saw were the armored shoes of another guard. “Hey, mate, would you kindly get out of my...way…” Upon looking up, his pupils shrank as he realized he was standing before the Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor, in his purple Guard armor.

The large white stallion narrowed his eyes and gave a small smirk. “Alabaster Star. Guard, First Class? Night Watch?”

The ponies around them stopped and looked in their direction. Alabaster gulped nervously. What was this about? Why was Shining Armor acting so serious? He and his sister, Princess Twilight Sparkle, were very good friends of Alabaster. Something was off. “Y-yes, sir, Shining Armor, sir. What are you doing out of the Crystal Empire, s-sir?”

Shining Armor nodded. “At ease, Alabaster. You aren’t in trouble. And I’m here on...Royal business.” Shining Armor turned curtly and started walking up the stairs. After a few steps, he stopped and turned his head around to look at the shocked stallion. “Come with me. We have something to discuss.”

Alabaster could feel sweat forming on his brow as he slowly nodded. “Yessir…” He muttered as he slowly followed the Captain up the stairs. Behind them, the various ponies returned to their travel routes, pondering what the Captain of the Guard and Prince of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor, would want with lowly widower and Guard First Class, Alabaster Star.

Shining Armor trotted down the vast hallway that Alabaster Star usually traversed to his post on the wall. Following the Captain, a nervous Alabaster Star turned his head as he noticed they past the stairway that led up to his post through the parapet. “Um, Captain Armor sir? My post is back there, sir. And I’m late as it is.”

Shining didn’t even turn his head to address his fellow soldier. “You’re being reassigned, Alabaster. You won’t be on the wall anymore.”

Now this was strange. When he was reassigned from the library to the wall, the Platoon Sergeant came to his house and threw a scroll at his face informing him of his reassignment and new shift hours. Shining Armor himself didn’t come and take him to the wall like this.

There was no doubt now, something was amiss.

Alabaster turned his head one last time, and saw another night guard entering the parapet he would usually enter. He turned back around and steadily looked at the ground. His eye twitched slightly. This had never happened to him before, so he had no idea what to expect.

“Captain?” He spoke up.

“Yes, Alabaster?” Shining turned his head slightly.

“Where are we going?”

Shining turned his head forward again. “Luna’s tower.”

Alabaster’s blood boiled in an instant. Luna. That sorry excuse for a Princess. It was a well known fact that Celestia and Luna had their own towers, and Alabaster made it a point to stay as far away from the tower that creature inhabited as possible. Ever since her return, Alabaster didn’t trust her. Whenever he saw her in the news or occasionally around the castle, his face would heat up with rage.

The Diamond Dogs who took Constellation from him and Moonblaze were Nightmare Moon cultists. In his mind…

Luna was responsible for his wife’s untimely death that fateful day.

Despite his desire to yell out and stop where he was, Alabaster controlled his passion when Shining Armor stated their destination. He took a few deep breaths before sighing, relaxing, and looking back up at the Captain.

“Why?” Alabaster almost hissed at his superior.

Shining Armor merely gave a small chuckle. “Didn’t you hear me? You’re being reassigned.”

This time, the angry Unicorn’s blood turned to ice instead as realization dawned on him:

He was being reassigned to Luna’s tower.

Luna’s. Bucking. Tower.

He stopped cold in his tracks and looked down, trying to hide the mix of anger and fear in his eyes from his Captain. This time, Shining Armor did stop. He turned around and cocked an eye at Alabaster, who fidgeted as he stared at the ground. “You okay, soldier?”

Alabaster nodded, still looking at the ground. “I’m...I’m fine, sir.” He looked up and gave a fake smile that would’ve made little foals laugh. “I’m...being reassigned to Luna’s tower?” He asked desperately.

“Indeed you are, soldier.” Shining turned and started walking again. “And not just any assignment. A special assignment.”

“Special, sir?” Alabaster started to calm down. Maybe this special assignment wouldn’t have anything to do with Luna. “How special are we talking?”

“You’ll see, Corporal.”

Alabaster nodded. “Thank you Cap-” He paused. “Wait, what?! CORPORAL!?”

“Congratulations, Alabaster Star.” Shining said simply as he used his magic to open a big door with a crescent moon design on it. Spiral stairs were on the other side. “You’ve just been promoted.”

Alabaster’s eyes were wider than they had been in a long time. The routine he was so used to was crumbling before him, and he had no idea what to think.

After the long trek upwards and upwards, Alabaster Star and Shining Armor finally arrived at the top. Alabaster was sweating more than a pig. What was his new post? The higher they got on the tower and the closer they got to...her, the more nervous he got.

Shining Armor stopped before another door with a crescent moon design on it. He stopped and turned around, looking at Alabaster. “Now listen, Alabaster.” He narrowed his eyes. “The assignment you are about to receive is an important and possibly dangerous one. Either you retire from this post, or you leave it in a body bag.”

Alabaster gulped, but retained his composure. He slowly nodded. “I...I understand sir.”

Shining Armor gave a curt nod and pushed open the door. “Then welcome to your new post, Alabaster Star.”

Alabaster’s blood ran cold at the sight that greeted him on the other side of the door.

“Hello, Alabaster Star. ‘Tis a pleasure to meet you at last.”

There stood his old friend, Twilight Sparkle, smiling awkwardly.

Next to her stood Princess Celestia.

And next to her, the Princess of the Night herself.

Alabaster could only twitch slightly as Shining Armor trotted up from behind him.

“Congratulations, Alabaster Star.” Shining Armor patted the back on his armor. “You are now one of Princess Luna’s personal guards.”

Author's Note

WHOA!

And with that bombshell, we leave you for next time on BBC Equestria.

How will Alabaster take this? Stay tuned to find out.

Ch. 3: The First Night

Chapter 3: The First Night

Alabaster stood riveted in place, eye glazed over. He couldn’t believe his ears. Him, a guard of Luna? With Shining Armor and three princesses close at hoof, what was he going to say?

“W...wha…?” Was all that escaped his mouth as his eye twitched slightly. Luna’s mood visibly fell as she cocked her head at this night watch guard. She was confused as to why this, of all reactions, was his.

“Is...is there a problem, Alabaster…?” Shining Armor took a step back towards the new Corporal.

Luna’s personal guard!? Why did it have to be Luna?!?

Alabaster finally managed to get a grip on his senses, shaking his head and giving a fake smile. “Urm...n-no, sir, Captain Shining Armor sir…” His pupils were still dilated with shock as he gazed at the four ponies gazing right back at him. “Here’s...here’s my question though...not...that I’m not...thrilled...with this promotion but…” He looked back at Shining Armor. “What’s the cause for giving me...such an honor?”

Shining Armor narrowed an eye, sensing his sarcasm. “It was Twilight, Corporal. She put your name forward for the post.”

“Indeed, Alabaster Star.” Celestia spoke up, causing Alabaster to jump slightly in shock. The Princess of the Day hadn’t spoken up until now. “Twilight seemed to think you were the ideal candidate for the post, saying you knew the castle and it’s ins and outs almost as well as us. Was she wrong?”

Alabaster slowly turned his gaze towards Twilight, who was smiling sheepishly, a blush appearing on her face. He narrowed his eyes. “No, Your Highness. She would be right there.” He kept his gaze glued to Twilight as he spoke again. “May I have a private word with Princess Twilight, Your Highness?”

Celestia nodded. “Granted. But please make it quick. We need to swear you into your... new... post.”

Before Celestia could properly finish her sentence, however, Alabaster had grabbed Twilight by her forehoof and had pulled her through the door he and Shining Armor had come through.

“Ugh! Ow!” Twilight rubbed the hoof he had pulled as the door closed behind them. “Nice to see you, too, Alabaster…” She shook her head. “What are you-”

“What is wrong with you, Twi?! Are you insane!?” He hissed so that the others couldn’t hear him. “Why in Equestria would you do this?! You know why I can’t be Luna’s guard! It just…” He growled. “It can’t happen, Twi! It just can’t!”

Twilight narrowed her violet eyes. It was her turn to get slightly angry. “Because, Al, I know what a tough time you and Moonblaze are going through right now and thought you could use the promotion! Excuse me if I forgot for one moment you have a Luna-phobia!”

“It’s not a phobia!!” He retorted sharply. “It’s a hatred! A pure hatred for the mare responsible for taking Constellation from me and my daughter!”

Twilight got up in the stallion’s face so that they were eye to eye. “Listen buster...for the 206th time, and yes, I’ve been keeping track, Luna is not responsible for your wife’s passing! It was those crazy dogs! They were from a tribe that worships Nightmare Moon as a goddess.” She scrunched her nose as she pressed his shocked face up against his. “She was not inherently responsible for those dogs doing what they did, Alabaster! Now would you please get ahold of yourself and accept your promotion!?”

Alabaster was shocked. He had seen Twilight angry before, but that anger was never directed at him. After a moment of Twilight’s violet eyes burning a hole in his soul, he looked down and sighed. “I...I’m so sorry Twilight. I just...I just don’t know if I can…” A tear formed on his face. “I...I can’t shake this loathing I have...for Luna...I just...gah…” He shook his head.

“Constellation…I’ve...been having dreams about her again, Twi…” He looked back up at her. “And Nightmare Moon is there...laughing at me…”

Suddenly, he was pulled into a hug. She shook her head as she placed it on his padded shoulder, and rubbed a hoof up and down his back. “It’s okay, Alabaster...it’s okay. I’m...sorry that your nightmares came back…”

She broke the hug and stepped back, a blush gracing her cheeks as she smiled sadly. “Look, I put your name forward because I care about you and your daughter. Al...I want you two to be happy in your circumstances. I’ve seen your flat and it… it’s not the best place for Moonblaze. Or you, honestly.” She cocked her head, smiling happier this time. “The pay raise from this new post would be more than enough for a decent house in the Cloud District in a week or two.”

Alabaster froze for a moment, then wiped a sudden tear from his eye and looked at Twilight in bewilderment. “Are...are you being serious?”

Twilight nodded. “I knew you could use the help, Al.” She placed a hoof on the door handle and nodded. “Now, can you overcome your hatred for Luna and just… do what you have to?”

Alabaster looked down, face drawn from thinking.

“For your daughter?”

He didn’t need to think anymore.

Alabaster looked up at Twilight and nodded, a stern look in his neon blue eyes.

“I will.”

“Do you, Alabaster Star, swear to hereby uphold the rules and statutes of a Personal Royal Guard, and will protect Luna, the Princess of the Night, with your very life, until such a time as you are honorably discharged or killed?” Celestia gazed down at him, a hint of seriousness on her face.

Alabaster kept his gaze on the Princess, gulping with anxiety.

Here goes nothing.

He bowed. “I, Alabaster Star, Corporal in the Night Watch, swear to this oath and will uphold it until I am honorably discharged…” He looked up and his voice dropped a register. “Or killed…”

“Then it’s done.” Shining Armor stepped forward and placed a set of silver bars in front of a crescent moon on his armor in place of the blue star that adorned the front.

“Wear that always Alabaster Star…” Luna stepped forward, a small smile touching her face. “It will recognize you as my personal guard wherever you may go in the castle. ‘Tis an honor to have you by my side.” Luna gave a small bow.

She looked up and, to her slight shock, beheld her new guard turned around and talking to Twilight. “Thank you, Twilight. I really appreciate this.” He said, hesitantly pulling the Princess of Friendship into a hug.

“N-no problem…” She responded, returning it.

Luna stood up awkwardly, confused at her bow not being returned. She coughed and turned around, annoyed that her new guard just gave her the coldest shoulder she’d experienced since her return. “Well, I do believe I will raise the moon and… begin my work.” The Princess of the Night nodded at Shining Armor as she opened the large doors to her chambers. “Please instruct the Corporal on what to do and then send him in. My duties cannot wait much longer”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Shining Armor bowed as Luna pushed open the doors to her chambers and trotted inside.

When the doors slammed shut, Celestia took one last gaze at Alabaster before nodding. “The life of my sister is in your hooves...never forget that. Now, I believe I will retire…”

“Good night, Your Highness.” Alabaster bowed as Celestia trotted by him.

Shining Armor followed after Celestia. Before he exited the antechamber, he turned and glared at Alabaster before whispering loudly at him. “What is wrong with you, Al?”

Before Alabaster could respond, the door slammed shut, leaving him alone with Twilight. He sighed and turned back to Twilight, whose head was cocked in slight worry. “Are… are you sure you’ll be alright with this, Alabaster?”

Alabaster placed a hoof on her shoulder, gave a small smile, and nodded. “No worries, Twi. I can do this.” He lowered his hoof and looked around. “Hey, where was Cadence? All of you were here except for her...even Shining was here. Where is she?”

Twilight nodded. “Oh. She traveled back to the Crystal Empire to get the second one.”

“The second one?”

“The second of Luna’s guards, yes.”

“I’m not the only one?”

“Of course not. You’ll be inside her chamber, while...Bladeheart, I think his name was...will guard this antechamber. He’s a Crystal Pony Elite Guard...and part of the Night Watch there. He’ll be here tomorrow night, but tonight, it’s all you.” Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. “It’s best if we cover all the basics of security around here, as well as when Luna travels.”

Alabaster scoffed, “I got the short end of the roo’s tail, then, eh?”

Twilight chuckled. “Oh relax. At least you’ll have company. Poor Bladeheart will be out here all by himself.”

“You are forgetting, dear Twilight, who my company will be.” Alabaster added dryly.

Twilight laughed one more time before trotting to the door leading out of the antechamber. “Have a safe night Alabaster… let me know how it goes tomorrow, alright?”

Alabaster huffed annoyedly, but gave a small bow to the Princess. “Good night, Princess Twilight. Pleasant dreams to you.”

“Tell Luna to make sure of that…” Twilight stifled a chuckle before leaving the antechamber.

Alabaster heaved a heavy sigh, staring at the door he saw Twilight leave out of. He kicked one of his front hooves, looked down at his new insignia on his armor as it gleamed in the moonlight, then slowly turned towards the door to Luna’s chambers. “Well...here goes nothing…”

Luna, the Princess of the Night, stood silently on her balcony. Her horn glowed a dark blue as the moon continually rose up into the sky, stars beginning to pepper the the space around the moon as the night grew blacker. She hummed in pleasure as the sounds of crickets emerging down below filled her ears. She loved the night. She used to think it was nothing compared to her sister’s day, but she had since learned each had it’s merits.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends had taught her how to let go. She also learned herself that her night could not exist without her sister’s day.

That didn’t stop the multiple attempts on her life, however. Besides that poor Pegasus in Cloudsdale, there had been a score of other attempts, each of which ended with some poor pony in prison, or, in rare occasions, dead. She felt guilty about all of them, but her sister had been a great source of comfort, telling her what those ponies tried to do was their own choice and now had to suffer the consequences for their actions. Luna knew Tia meant well, but she still slightly felt partially to blame.

She ceased such thoughts and closed her eyes, letting the sounds of her beautiful night fill her ears. It had since ceased raining, and there was the lovely smell of dew in the air.

The bliss she was in was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing behind her.

Luna deactivated her magic and turned to face who she knew had just entered: her new guard with the cold shoulder. He stood there, gazing at her, still with ice in his glare, though it looked as if he was a little bit more in control than he was before.

“Welcome to my chambers, Corporal.” Luna said, stepping inside from off of her balcony.

Alabaster Star remained silent as he scanned Luna’s room. There was her king sized bed off to the right with a crescent moon pattern on the covers. The bed had a circular shape to it as well. A stand next to the bed had Luna’s chest plate on it, in addition to some battle armor and a sword hung up next to it. Off to the left looked like a study. A lit candle upon a desk was the only light, with star charts and lunar patterns, books on the skies, weather patterns, and space all scattered about. There was also a small area with couches, a glass table, and some comfort chairs. A wet bar for drinks and food was over there as well. A telescope was on a stand next to the open balcony doors. And then of course, there was the Princess of the Night, eyeing him mysteriously.

“You do not speak much, do you?” Luna turned and stepped to the side, making her way to the wet bar. “You seem to be good friends with Twilight Sparkle, though…” Her horn ignited and one of the bottles of cider levitated over to a goblet. She poured the cider and levitated the glass over to her lips. She took a small sip and placed the glass down on the glass table. “Wouldst thou enjoy partaking some?” Luna winced internally, as despite her best efforts, some of her Old Canterlot dialect shone through occasionally.

Alabaster Star slowly turned and glared at the Princess before turning towards the door and taking up a stone-cold guarding stance, staring into space and standing at attention.

Luna sighed and took another sip of her cider, “A pleasure speaking with you…” She muttered before standing up, levitating the glass with her. “Well, I’ve got stars to chart, moon patterns to observe and manage, and dreams to send out and observe. If thou finally decides to speak, let me know if you need anything.”

Alabaster remained silent, staring ahead.

Surprise, surprise.

“Well, this is Tia’s best idea ever…” Luna muttered sarcastically She turned to the balcony, taking the telescope with her and began her work for the night.

Here Alabaster was… standing guard in the very room where Nightmare Moon slept. It made him nauseous. What made him even more sick was the fact that Luna actually tried to socialize with him. How dare she try that after what she did! There he stood, seething with rage under the surface, while keeping the calm and rigid demeanor of the guards of the Duchess of Trottingham.

He glared at the Princess behind her back as she peered into her telescope. A few times she would use her magic to rearrange some stars, make the moon, brighter or darker, and would move clouds in the sky. As much as Luna’s work with the night fascinated the poor Night Guard, he was still reminded of who exactly was doing this work.

He thought briefly of that night a year ago...when his beloved wife was taken from him in the name of Nightmare Moon. That was something he would never let go.

And just like that, Alabaster’s shift was over. The sun was rising in the sky and Luna trotted back into her room from the balcony, yawning. She narrowed her eyes at Alabaster, who was still standing there as if he were a statue.

“Still there, Alabaster Star? Impressive. I don’t think I’ve seen a guard of modern days capable of standing in one location for more than an hour…” Upon receiving no response, Luna sighed and waved a hoof. “You are dismissed, Corporal. Leave me. I need some sleep.”

Alabaster didn’t need to be told twice. Without so much as a salute, he was out of the room, the door creaking shut behind him.

Luna sighed, her horn glowing dimly. Her flowing, starry mane reverted to it’s shorter, light blue form, and she trotted to her bed, lastly using her magic to close the blinds of her balcony.

“Perhaps he’ll warm up to his post…” Luna muttered as she readied herself for bed.

The door to Alabaster Star’s flat slammed open and closed quickly as the angry Corporal strode in.

Using his magic, he flung off his helmet.

Trotted into his room.

And yelled.

“GGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!”

He closed his eyes and roared at the ceiling of his flat. He roared and roared until his voice cracked and fell forward onto his creaky bed. He panted heavily a few times before sighing and groaning into the covers.

“It’s a good thing Moonblaze isn’t home yet…” He muttered, peeling his face off the covers and looking out the window.

He didn’t know how in Equestria he was going to get used to this. Not only had they changed his regular post out of the blue, but now, he had to guard the creature he hated most with his life.

By oath.

It made him nauseous whenever he thought about it. Knowing that one day he may have to sacrifice his life for that demon.

Slowly, he stood up and shook his head so his neon blue mane, which had helmet-hair, returned to it’s messy state, covering one of his neon blue eyes. He used his magic to remove his armor. He didn’t care to place it on the stand he usually placed it on, settling for flinging it carelessly in the corner. In an instant, he was in bed, the covers pulled up to his face.

He wanted to try and get some rest while the thoughts of him dying for Luna were out of his mind.

His agony at this new post, however, was just beginning.

Author's Note

Well now, that was fun. I certainly enjoyed writing this chapter.

What happens next? Any guesses?

Stay tuned! :3

Ch. 4: Restless

Chapter 4: Restless

He couldn’t sleep. He just couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried.

There he was, Alabaster Star, the new Corporal and Personal Royal Guard of Luna, laying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling, his eyes showing a hint of red.

The poor night guard was restless. He had gone from being a simple night guard to being the personal royal guard of the she-demon Luna in an instant. His thoughts were flooded with questions like “Why me?” and “This can’t get any worse…” and “Why can’t I fall asleep!?”

The answer to that last question was simple: His mind did not know how to process what was happening. He stretched and gave a large yawn. “Buck me…” He muttered for the fifth time since he’s been home.

His stupor of thought was interrupted by the door to his flat opening and then shutting again quickly. The quick little hoof falls of his daughter, Moonblaze, signaled her return home from school. Usually, he’d be asleep right now, but today was different. He groaned, rolled off of his bed, and stood up. He wobbled a bit, steadying himself on his dresser, and then pushed open the door and stepped out into the hallway.

As he emerged into the kitchen, he was greeted by his daughter, Moonblaze, who stared at him incredulously. “Um...Dad?”

Alabaster blinked and coughed a little bit, itching his chin. “Yeah, love?”

“You’re...awake…”

He blinked again, tilting his head to the side. “Yeah...what about it?”

“Are...are you...ok?” Moonblaze slowly sat down in a chair at the table and gestured for him to sit down as well.

He stared into space for a moment before shaking his head and, still quite wobbly, moved to sit down across from his daughter and used his forehooves to massage his temples briefly before looking up at his daughter. “No…” He finally gave her an answer. “No...I’m...not…”

“Is everything alright?” Moonblaze began to panic. “Did you get fired? Did someone we know die?”

“Moonblaze…” He tried to calm her.

“Are we being invaded by space alien Templar zombies?!”

“What the bloody he-...Templar…has Octavia been feeding you more assassin nonsense?!” His bloodshot eyes popped out with anger before he shook his head. “Gah...I’ll have to have a talk with her...no…” He looked up at his daughter again. “No, nothing that drastic, I promise you, love…”

Moonblaze settled down and twitched uncomfortably under her father’s odd behavior. “Then...then what happened?”

Alabaster sighed. He never thought about how to tell Moonblaze about his new assignment. “Well...you see…” He scratched his chin. “Daddy...got a promotion…”

Moonblaze’s face lit up. “Oh wow! That’s awesome Dad! Congratula-” She stopped herself mid-sentence when realization suddenly dawned on her. This was obviously not a promotion that made her Father happy. “What...kind of promotion?”

“I’m…” He hesitated. “You...you have to keep it a secret, alright love?”

Moonblaze merely nodded in response as she leaned forward questioningly.

“I’m…I’ve been selected to...to…” He struggled to find his words because of how much he still refused to believe this was so. “I’ve been chosen to be one of...Princess Luna’s...personal guards.”

Silence enveloped the room for what seemed like an eternity to Alabaster Star. He fidgeted in his seat as he watched Moonblaze’s face slowly go from confused to happy to…

Well…

The next thing Alabaster knew, Moonblaze had leaped over the table and tackled her father to the floor, gripping his torso in an intense hug.

“OH MY GOSH DAD! That’s AWESOME!” She squealed as she gripped her father.

Alabaster didn’t share her joy. He slowly used his magic to lift his daughter off of him and place her back in her seat. She tilted her head in puzzlement as he slowly picked up his chair that had been knocked over and sat back down in it. “That...is...awesome…right?”

Alabaster sighed and placed his forehooves together in front of his head. “No...no it isn’t. You know how I feel about Nightmare Moon, love…”

Moonblaze scoffed. “Are we really back to this Dad? Everypony keeps telling you that she’s not-”

“Well, they’re wrong!” He barked suddenly, breaking the quiet mood. Moonblaze sank back into her seat a little bit, recoiling at her father’s sudden outburst. “It’s just…” He heaved an even heavier sigh, standing up and slowly moving into their kitchen. “I took the job for the money...not for the honor of being Nightmare Moon’s guard…”

Moonblaze narrowed her eyes. “The money…? I don’t understand.”

He turned to look at her, giving her a soft smile. “Twilight said that in a fortnight, I’ll have enough money for us to live...in the Cloud District…”

Moonblaze gasped and her smile returned. “Are...are you serious!?” She jumped in her seat, her spark of magic teleporting her to a barstool at the counter. “That...wow…” She sniffed. “I thought we’d never get out of this place…”

Alabaster only spared a nod as he turned back to the kitchen cupboards and appliances. “Righto. It’s not everyday your old man is awake at this hour. How about...I make you some dinner?”

“Right on!”

“Goodbye...Moonblaze…tell Octavia to...to not...” Alabaster Star yawned loudly as he pushed open the door to their flat.

“Yeah yeah. No assassin stuff. Gotcha. Love ya! And...try to have a good time?”

“I love you too...no promises.”

Alabaster Star yawned again as he stepped out of the door to head to work for the evening. He shakily made his way down the hallway, swaying back and forth a bit. His armor was equipped very sloppily, and his eyes remained bloodshot. His mane was similarly messy, unwashed and sticking to his head, as well as out from under his helmet. His neon blue stubble was more visible than the day before.

He hadn’t slept a wink since his last shift. He enjoyed his time with Moonblaze, but...he would’ve enjoyed some sleep more, guiltily enough.

Alabaster reached the staircase and took a few steps. With a tired grunt of surprise, he found himself tumbling down the stairs. With a painful groan, he became aware that he was on his back on the second floor landing. He huffed and rolled over, shakily standing up. He gripped the railing with a forehoof as he made his way down the final flight of stairs and pushed the doors in the lobby open, exiting the building.

He sniffed the air and gazed up at the dimming sky. He yawned heavily and began his long trot to the castle, this time looking more like a zombie than was healthy. Rusty, the old Earth pony hobo who lived in their alleyway, was huddled around his flaming barrel as usual. He gazed up at Alabaster as he walked by, expecting his customary “G’day,” but was shocked when the night guard just idly passed him by. He shrugged and returned his attention back to his barrel.

Rusty could tell Alabaster was in for a long night.

“One coming in!” One of the gate guards tapped his spear on the front gates to Canterlot Castle. As the gates screeched open, the day guard frowned at Alabaster. “Um, sir? The gate is open.”

“Huh...wha…?” Alabaster shook his head, trying his best to stand at attention. “Ri…right...thank you, Private.”

As Alabaster trotted sleepily by, the gaze of both gate guards followed him. The other one decided to speak up. “Are you alright Corporal?”

“Rack off, mate...”

“R-right. Sorry Corporal…” The gate guard turned around and stood at attention as the gates screeched closed.

“What’s his problem?” The one who had tapped the gate with his spear muttered.

In the courtyard, Alabaster stopped dead in his tracks, looking up at Celestia’s balcony. He gave a small, but half-awake, smile as the Princess of the Sun stood regally on her balcony, her horn glowing with brilliant golden energy. The sun, in the background of Alabaster’s vision, was slowly lowering itself. He was sad he missed the event the previous night, but his desire fulfilled, he returned to his walk towards the castle.

As soon as Alabaster made it to the top of the stairs of Luna’s tower, he wanted to collapse. Not just from the sheer amount of stairs that needed to be climbed, but he just...wanted to fall asleep, but couldn’t.

As soon as he pushed open the door into Luna’s antechamber where the Royalty convened with him the night before, his tired body finally failed him and he fell face-first down onto the floor.

He heard the sharp gasp of a female and the deep, throaty laugh of a gruff male pony. “Well, look what the manticore dragged in…”

“Alabaster…? Are you well?” The female asked.

“Mmmhfff…” Alabaster mumbled into the floor in response. He felt himself being lifted up be magic and, before he knew it, he was staring into the eyes of Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire. “Oh...your highness, I...I’m so sorry…” He gave a quick bow before noticing the large forehooves of a Pegasus crystal pony trotting up to him. He looked up into the crystal pony’s cedar eyes. “And you must be-”

“Bladeheart.” The crystal pony interrupted him, staring the poor Unicorn down. “Corporal...Bladeheart.” He gave a crisp salute, then dropped it when he noticed Alabaster swaying from side to side. “You sure you’re in the right place, twinkle hooves? You don’t look like you can stay up all night.”

Corporal Bladeheart of the Crystal Empire’s night watch was a beefy Pegasus, yet younger than most. Alabaster was old enough to know a young one when he saw one. His see-through body was orange and his mane was red. His cutie mark was a simple sword and shield. His armor was the same as Alabaster’s...and it bore the same crescent moon symbol.

Alabaster narrowed his eyes at his new companion. “I’ve been staying up during night shifts since you were a foal, mate…” Alabaster muttered towards his unwanted compatriot. “Name’s Alabaster. Alabaster Star. I’m a Corporal as we-”

“Eh save it man…” Bladeheart turned around and walked towards the door to Luna’s chambers, interrupted Alabaster mid-sentence. “You’ll have all night to talk to Moonbutt in there…”

Alabaster couldn’t believe this new guard. This pony was top of the Night Watch in the Crystal Empire? Cadence must’ve not set the bar very high.

He gazed over at Cadence and gave the Princess a knowing look. A look, in short, that said. ‘Are you bucking serious?’

Cadence smiled cheekily and trotted over to Alabaster, whispering in his ear. “He may seem...standoffish, but rest assured, he gets the job done. He’s the best the Crystal Empire Night Watch has to offer.”

“If he survives the night without me slitting his bloody throat, I’ll believe you…” Alabaster scowled and gave another large yawn, teetering a bit.

“Stop standing around exchanging pleasantries with my Princess, Al…” Bladeheart gave a rude look in their direction. “You’ve got a Moonbutt to guard…”

It was Cadence’s turn to get slightly irritated at Bladeheart. “Please refer to her as Princess Luna, Corporal. We don’t want an incident.”

Bladeheart sighed then returned to attention. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Cadence winked at Alabaster and then turned around to leave. “Have a good night, you two. Remember, Luna’s life is in your hooves.”

The door slamming signaled Cadence’s departure, and Bladeheart suddenly snapped out of attention, walking up to Alabaster and scowling. “Alright, Unicorn. I don’t like you. I can tell you don’t like me. So here’s the deal. We stay out of each other’s way, and no trouble has to happen. Got that?”

Alabaster was again shocked. There was no way a rude, belligerent pony like Bladeheart made it through the Academy without some form of help.

Alabaster narrowed his eyes. “You’d best watch yourself, mate…” With that, he trotted past his new comrade in arms and into Princess Luna’s quarters, slamming the door behind him.

“I can’t believe I’m stuck guarding Moonbutt…” Bladeheart returned to his post next to the door, breaking his vow to Princess Cadence within a minute of her departure.

“Welcome back, Alabaster Star…” Luna said, approaching her in-room Night Guard as he entered. “Dost thou feel like speaking tonight?”

Alabaster’s stone cold glare answered her question. She could tell something was off about him, though.

“I see…” She muttered, scrutinizing her new guard.

Unkempt mane. Tattered hair.

Bloodshot eyes.

The poor guard was tired. An expert on dreams and the night, Luna could tell at a glance.

“Was thine sleep adequate, or mayhaps…?” Luna started to ask a question, but huffed and turned around. She forgot who she was talking to. “Nevermind...now if you’ll excuse me, Corporal, I have dreams to send out…” Luna stepped out onto her balcony and her horn started glowing. Dark blue beams of energy started getting blasted into the night to various locations.

Despite his still stone-cold silence, this part of Luna’s nightly routine fascinated him. He never knew how dreams reached the minds of ponies, and finding out was invigorating.

Still, the nightmares he kept having about Constellation’s death...he couldn’t help but wonder if she was sending them out on purpose, or if it was something out of her control or knowledge.

“Oh dear…” Luna suddenly said, snapping Alabaster out of his thoughtful stance. “What poor filly suffers a nightmare...I must intervene…”

Alabaster’s gasped slightly as Luna’s entire body suddenly lit up, her eyes becoming glowing, white orbs. A fantastic beam of energy blasted out of her horn and traveled into the night.

Then he understood why Luna needed a guard at night.

As she traversed the dreams of ponies, she was in a very vulnerable state physically. A state somepony could use to their advantage.

As much as he loved serving his country, he would much rather guard the dump than Nightmare Moon while she haunted the dreams of the ponies he protected.

The night wore on slowly, as Rusty predicted. Alabaster stood still, the same as last night, staring ahead into the night. Luna was in and out of her dream state quite often tonight. She must have had a lot of dreams to manage.

Alabaster found his eyelids fluttering shut occasionally and his body swaying back and forth uncontrollably. He blinked and let out a very large, and very loud, yawn.

Luna heard the yawn and turned around briefly, gazing at her guard. “Art thou in need, perhaps, of a rest, Corporal? I would refrain from my dream state for awhile, if it will help thou regain thine energy…” She winced. Sometimes she thought her Old Canterlot dialect was taking over again.

Alabaster did not respond, instead he sniffed and continued trying to stare ahead past Luna into the night.

Luna deadpanned. “Of course…how stupid of me...” She sighed before turning back to her work, peering an eye into her telescope and rearranging some star patterns.

How dare she try to offer him a nap! She would definitely take advantage of his sleeping state to…

To…

“Mmm...that breeze feels nice…”

“AAAH!” Constellation suddenly cried out from behind him.

“Mommy!” Moonblaze suddenly cried, looking behind Alabaster.

Alabaster slowly reached a hoof forward and shook his head. “Hey, come on now, don’t do anything we’ll regret!”

“Silence pony!” He pressed the knife a little more into Constellation’s neck, drawing a little blood.

“MOMMY!” Moonblaze shrieked, clutching her dad’s hind leg like her life depended on it.

“Do not do this...I’m sure there’s something here you’d like to take...please…” A tear slid out of his eye. “Take anything you want, just do not kill her...please…”

“No gems!?” The dog growled. Constellation fidgeted as she struggled to breath with the knife pressed up against her throat. “We wants gems for Nightmare Pony’s return! She will not like anything else!”

“Please…” Alabaster had started to shake. “Please don’t kill my wife...please...I don’t have anything else to give…”

For a moment, it seemed like the diamond dog hesitated. Slowly, but surely, the knife was removed from her neck. Alabaster heaved a sigh of relief.

But it was for naught.

A scream from Constellation was silenced by the knife enter-

The knife didn’t enter her neck at all.

Alabaster opened his eyes mid-wince and looked around. “Wha-what?” He stammered, breaking out into a cold sweat.

The dog was about the plunge the knife into his wife’s neck and Moonblaze was crying but...they weren’t moving.

He collapsed onto the floor and breathed in and out slowly, panicking. “What...what is happening!?”

“I...I see now…” A familiar voice he didn’t care much for reverberated around the room, causing the house to shake.

“GAH!!!” Alabaster Star awoke with a start. He stumbled to his feet from the floor of Luna’s chambers.

He had fallen asleep on the job.

He found himself staring into the blue eyes of Princess Luna. “Alabaster...I…” She reached a hoof forward.

He stumbled backwards, falling over again and scooching backwards until he hit a wall, using his magic to draw his sword. “Stay. Away. From me.” He hissed.

Luna slowly put her hoof down as a tear ran down her face. “Alabaster, I can assure you...I had no control over my actions as Nightmare Moon, regardless of whether or not it was I who ordered the dogs to commit such a heinous crime…I-”

“That’s just what you’d want me to think, isn’t it?!” He growled, drawing his sword and advancing towards Luna, tears streaming down his face. “So you can kill me, too?! And my daughter!?”

Luna’s eyes widened as she took a few steps back. She was shocked. She didn’t know what to say. “I...I…”

Alabaster only snarled as kept his sword at the ready. “How dare you intrude on my dreams, you monster…don’t ever do that ag-”

“You are dismissed, Corporal…”

Alabaster paused. “What?”

Luna gazed into his angry bloodshot eyes with a suddenly sturdy resolve. “You are dismissed. You guarded me all of the night before, Bladeheart can guard me alone tonight. ‘Tis only fair, I would imagine.” She turned around, wiping the tear off of her face and strolling back onto the balcony. “Go get some sleep and report back tomorrow night.”

He twitched slightly as he slowly sheathed his sword. “I hate you…” He hissed once more as he turned around and slammed the doors to Luna’s chamber open, knocking down Bladeheart in the process and running by him.

“Hey Al! You forget something?!” Bladeheart rubbed his head. “You left your stallion-card in Moonbutt’s room!”

Luna shook her head as she stared into the night. Twilight Sparkle had picked a personal guard for her...and that guard despised her with every fiber of his being because he believed her to be responsible for his wife’s murder.

“Tia’s best idea...ever…” She blinked back another tear as she regained her composure and returned to work.

Author's Note

Well...I'll just leave it at that.

All aboard the feels train for Luna.

Stay tuned for more. Let's just say Alabaster has had about enough after only 2 nights on the job.

Ch. 5: The Chance You Take

Chapter 5: The Chance You Take

Alabaster Star silently praised Celestia that Moonblaze was asleep when he barged into his flat, tears still steadily streaming down his face as he silently entered his room and closed the door. He tore his armor off with his magic and threw the pieces carelessly in the corner like the day before. His messy neon blue mane fell in his face once again as he laid down on his bed, not bothering to pull the sheets up.

He gritted his teeth and put his forehooves up to his head, gripping his face in frustration.

“WHY!? WHY!? WHHHHHYYYYY!?” On the last scream he sent forth, he slammed his forehooves into his pillow several times before letting out a rather pathetic whimper and collapsing onto his bed.

He was exhausted and he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to do something.

He racked his brain for solutions as tears continued to pour from his eyes and stain his pillow.

Should he quit the guard and get a new job?

Bloody hell, no. His cutie mark was in combat. He wouldn’t be good at anything else.

Fake his own death?

No, that’d be too hard to explain to Moonblaze.

Ask Twilight to reconsider her recommendation?

He had already tried that.

“Bloody alicorns…” He murmured into his pillow as that particular thought passed through his mind.

He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling, which was made blurry through his tear-stained eyes.

He closed his eyes and exhaled, remembered the events of the past few nights, trying to remember something, anything, that could help him.

Then he remembered the reason Luna had been appointed personal guards in the first place.

He sat up, his eyes wide.

He knew what he had to do.

He just didn’t know how to go about doing it…

Moonblaze awoke suddenly, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eyes. It was morning.

The sound of hooffalls in her house had awoken her from her slumber. She cocked an eye and slowly used what magic she knew how to use to remove the covers from her body and jump out of bed. “What in Equestria...?”

The door to her room creaked open and she saw the form of her father trotting down the hallway from the closet in their hallway. He seemed to be carrying something back to his room.

“What’s Dad doing awake…?” She thought as she cautiously made her way after him to his room. “Horseapples...maybe work didn’t go well…”

“Dad?”

“GAH!”

The sound of his daughter’s voice startled him. Moonblaze usually didn’t wake up until later on days when school was out, and today happened to be one of those days.

Alabaster quickly shoved what he had retrieved from the closet into one of the pockets in his armor which was still carelessly lying on the floor, hoping his daughter had not seen it.

“G-good morning, love!” he gave a mock smile as his eyes darted back and forth. “W-what are y-you doing up so early? I thought today was a day off for you?”

“I could ask you the same question, Dad…” Moonblaze said with a hint of concern in her voice. “What happened at work this time?”

“Oh...uh...well…” he scratched his head and stood up, standing in front of his chestpiece, blocking Moonblaze’s view of it. “Daddy didn’t get enough sleep last night, and Luna could tell, so she sent me home to get some rest.” He smiled again. “I guess I was wrong after all! Haha! Heeeh…” He tried his best to force out a laugh, trying as hard as he could not vomit at so much implying that Nightmare Moon could be nice.

Moonblaze smiled. “See Dad? I’m glad you’re warming up to the idea! I knew you could do it!”

“Heheheh...yeah...thanks for believing in me, love…” He wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow, thinking the conversation was over.

“What were you getting from the closet?”

Cud.

Alabaster gulped and closed his eyes, giving a warm smile, walking forward and pushing Moonblaze out of his room and closing the door behind him. “I was just getting a gift for the Princess to take with me to my shift tonight...to say thank you for her...generosity…”

Moonblaze wasn’t buying it. “From…the closet?”

“Um...yes.”

“What could a Princess possibly want from the closet of our old flat?” Moonblaze cocked an eye.

Damn, she was smart for her age. He really needed to pay more attention during those parent/teacher conferences.

“It’s… it’s the thought that counts, love…” He said as they made their way into the kitchen and living room area, which was dimly illuminated by the morning sun peeking up over the horizon. “The Princesses already have so much… it’s just to show appreciation, that’s all. I’m not trying to impress her or anything… tch… that’s bloody crazy.”

“I guess so…” Moonblaze turned and made her way into the kitchen, getting out some cereal and milk from the fridge with her magic.

Whew…

He was in the clear. For now.

“When are you going back?” Moonblaze asked casually as she poured her cereal as she sat at the counter.

“The normal time, love…” he sat down in a chair in the living room, leaning back and sighing. “The normal time.”

“Don’t forget your gift.” She said, taking a bite.

All he did was give a small smile as his eyes closed again. He wouldn’t forget this gift. And something told him that Luna wouldn’t either.

Alabaster Star stood in the courtyard of the castle, gazing up at Celestia as she stood on the balcony, using her magic to lower the sun. He was joined by a host of other guards and dignitaries leaving the castle, all sharing the wonder that Alabaster felt at the sight. As a Unicorn, he couldn’t even comprehend how much magical power the Princess needed to accomplish such a feat.

Once Celestia made her way off of her balcony and the moon began to take the sky, his attitude of wonderment quickly changed to that of scorn in the form of a mild frown. He made his way from the courtyards, through the front doors of the castle, and slowly started ascending the central staircase.

“Well, well, well…” A voice that made his eye twitch sounded from behind him.

He turned and saw Corporal Bladeheart also ascending the stairs, a smirk plastered on his face. Alabaster sighed and nodded. “Bladeheart.”

“Al…” He nodded, snickering. “Sorry I’m a little behind like you, but I just finished telling some of the day guards about your little...incident...last night…”

Alabaster was about to ask what he meant when a pair of day guards passed by, snickering at him and pointing. He swore he heard one of them mutter the word pansy.

“Oh, gee… thanks Bladeheart. You saved me the trouble of doing it myself...asshole…” Alabaster muttered as he continued walking.

“You’re very welcome, you pasty-faced bastard…” Bladeheart held his head up high as he followed. “By the way, I found your stallion card in the princess’s room after you ran out cryi-”

“Just shut up…” Alabaster said sharply as the pair made their way towards their post.

Alabaster never thought he’d prefer the company of Nightmare Moon above that of one of his fellow guards, but upon slamming door in the face of the sneering Crystal Pony, he felt a smidgen of satisfaction as he entered Luna’s quarters.

“Welcome back… Corporal…” Luna’s voice sounded from the room. He looked around the room, narrowing his eyes. The Princess of the Night was nowhere to be found. A sudden shuffling sound sounded from the Princess’s large circular bed. Luna’s form sat up in the bed. He heard a cough as the Night princess drearily slipped out of bed and made her way towards her guard. Her mane was...not wavy. It was just cobalt blue and short and...ruffled. Very ruffled. He cocked an eye. The last thing he expected of Nightmare Moon was to be tired on the job… much less with bed-head.

“How art… thou feeling…?” She swayed slightly, stifling a yawn with one of her forehooves. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot and there were visible bags underneath her eyes.

Alabaster kept his resolve from earlier nights, but he spared her a nod.

“Good…” Luna turned around. “I was hoping thou wouldst get adequate rest…” She slowly made her way back to her bed, beckoning Alabaster to follow her. He hesitated at first, but he humored the Princess, trotting up to her bedside as she slipped under the ruffled covers. He saw some tissues spread out on the floor next to her bed.

Had she been… crying?

“I had enough energy to raise the moon tonight, but that is all…” Luna muttered from her covers. “The ponies of Equestria will go without dreams this night…” She turned to face her guard, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes. “Thou hast no doubt assumed that thy Princess didn’t get enough sleep this last day…” She yawned again. “So just… I do not know… guard me as I sleep, I suppose…”

Alabaster fidgeted slightly.

He couldn’t believe his luck.

He nodded slowly twice, acknowledging that she had spoken and gave a salute.

“Good night then, Alabaster Star…” Luna shuffled around under her covers, getting comfortable.

Alabaster turned around to return to his post when he heard something he thought he’d never hear.

“Please forgive me…Corporal…” Luna sniffed.

He slowly turned with a look of shock on his face. Princess Luna had a tear streaming down her face as she gazed at him.

“Had I the power to go back and fix it...I would…” Luna sniffed, a lump forming in her throat. “Please...forgive me…”

Alabaster stood rooted to the spot, his face still plastered with shock. He had no idea what to do or say. The first thought that came to his mind was that she was lying to fool him, but...those tissues. Her lack of sleep. Could it be she actually...cared?

Luna whimpered slightly at her guard’s lack of a response. She turned over in her bed and hunkered down. “G...good night...Corporal…”

An hour passed away and Luna had fallen asleep. Her soft breaths permeated around the room and were the only sounds heard.

Alabaster Star stood rooted to his usual spot near the door where he usually stood. But tonight, his eyes were locked on the sleeping Princess of the Night. His expression was not that of hate or anger, but not of happiness or joy either. His look was that of confusion. Of inner conflict.

Several thoughts were racing through his head at the same time, and with his lack of sleep recently, it was starting to give him a headache.

Did she really mean what she said? Would she really go back and save Constellation if she could? Maybe she was being sincere. After all, Twilight seemed to trust her.

Or...

Maybe she just said that to butter him up and get him off her back. Maybe she just wanted to paint a good picture for him when it couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Tch...argh…” He slowly removed his helmet and placed it on the floor, his messy neon blue mane falling out from under it. He quietly trotted over to one of the love seats in the room next to her balcony, sat down, and reached his hooves up, massaging his temples. He heaved a heavy sigh and turned his head to again look at the sleeping Luna.

Suddenly his heart was filled with rage once again. He didn’t know where it came from, but there it was. The rage he felt at her when he buried his wife, the same rage he had felt for a year, and the overwhelming sense of evil upon meeting her in person.

“I’ve just gotta get this over with…” He thought to himself, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

He grunted and slowly stood up. Slowly he walked away from the living area of Luna’s quarters and stood in the middle of the room, his eyes locked on Luna.

He huffed, his horn lit up, and with a distinct, yet quiet, metallic ringing, he drew a small dagger. It was the dagger he received as a graduation gift from Shining Armor when he was still at the academy. Having been buried in his closet ever since, it had accumulated quite a bit of dust. He blew the dust off of the blade and suddenly the blade went from dull and lusterless, to glinting eerily in the moonlight.

He slowly approached the sleeping Princess, glaring at her as he reached her bedside. Suddenly, Luna twitched and let out a small whimper, and Alabaster hesitated. Could it be possible the goddess of dreams and nightmares was having a nightmare herself?

This made way for more conflicting thoughts to enter his head.

What if she’s dreaming about this? What if she’s dreaming about the dogs?

Honestly? There’ a lot of dreams she could be having. Like her getting stabbed in her sleep. That’d be a nightmare come true, wouldn’t it?

“Do you really wanna end up in prison or banished to the moon, Alabaster? You could even be put to death!” The thought came as a still, small voice, yet it boomed like thunder in his mind.

He gulped.

“It’s the chance you take…” He whispered.

He raised the floating dagger in the air above Luna’s torso, which was steadily rising up and down with her sleep.

“Sleep tight...Nightmare Moon!” He said quietly, raising the dagger high in the air, about to plunge it down.

“AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!”

The scream came from outside of Luna’s chamber, in the antechamber.

Luna’s eyes snapped open, but Alabaster was way ahead of Luna, turning around and holding the dagger in front of him, ready for battle.

“What in Equestria was that?!” Luna barked drearily.

“That sounded like Bladeheart!” Alabaster galloped towards the door. He reached the door and was about to open it, when the door burst open, slamming into Alabaster and sending him reeling back. Before he knew it, he was tackled to the ground and a sharp pain shot through his shoulder.

He opened his eyes and saw a Pegasus pony, dressed in a full-body black spandex suit similar to the one he caught Twilight in, with a dagger in his teeth, dripping with blood.

His blood. He had been stabbed.

“RRRRAAAHHH!” He roared, bucking upwards with his hind legs, slamming them upward into his assailants torso. The pegasus gasped in pain and went flying upwards, spinning backwards into the air. Alabaster took this opportunity to send his dagger flying upward with his magic, impaling his assailant in the throat. The Pegasus let out a pained gurgle and fell to the floor lifeless, a pool of blood forming around him.

“Grrrr…” Alabaster gripped his shoulder and leaned back against the wall. He looked over at the pegasus’ corpse; his knife was still impaled in it. He shoved himself off the wall, all the while trying to stave the bleeding and moved to retrieve his knife.

It wasn’t long before he was beset upon by another black-dressed assailant, jumping at him through the open door. This time it was an earth pony, seemingly another male. The earth pony charged into him, smashing him through the glass door of Luna’s balcony and pinning him up against the railing.

“Surrender, guard!” The earth pony growled through his mask. “She’s a menace to ponykind!”

Alabaster couldn’t respond. The earth pony’s hoof was jammed up against his throat, trying to strangle him.

A yelp from Luna signaled the entrance of another intruder. Alabaster caught a glimpse of a slender figure, also dressed in black and with a unicorn horn, roar and rush towards Luna’s bed.

“It’s over, guard! Give u-ARGH!”

Blood splattered across Alabaster face as he used his magic to smash Luna’s telescope over the earth pony’s head. The earth pony collapsed and Alabaster leaped towards the body, slamming his front hooves down onto the downed earth pony. The attacker roared in pain as Alabaster lifted him up into the air with his magic. Before the earth pony could say anything more, Alabaster flung him from the balcony.

He heard a scream. And then a crack down below.

He grunted painfully in satisfaction and turned around, only to see the third intruder, a slender female Unicorn getting blasted against the wall with a magic blast from Luna, who was now up. “STAND DOWN!” The Princess of the Night bellowed in her signature Royal Canterlot Voice.

The female Unicorn said nothing, letting out a frustrated growl, she charged the Princess again, her horn glowing with magic.

She was stopped short, however, by a levitating sword in her tracks. Alabaster has gripped his sword that was on the floor with magic and was limping over from the balcony. “You...you’re under...arrest…argh…” He grunted painfully.

“Corporal!” Luna gasped, noticing his wounds and shards of glass.

The Unicorn laughed and drew a pair of twin daggers with her magic. “Pathetic! You can barely stand! A paid-by-the-hour night guard. Just give up and let me do my job!”

“I don’t think so…” Alabaster snarled, lunging forward with his sword. The Unicorn deflected his blow and lunged at him from beneath. Alabaster sidestepped the lunge and slammed the hilt of his sword down onto her back. She screamed, but rolled to the side as Alabaster tried impaling her, stabbing his sword into the ground.

He grunted as he withdrew his sword from the carpet and leaped after the Unicorn. He slashed furiously at her, him advancing as she stepped back, but she blocked him blow for blow. It was clear she had been trained for many years in the art of using those daggers in first-hoof combat.

“AUGH!” Alabaster cried out suddenly as the wound that he had received on his shoulder from the pegasus sent a wave of pain around his body, telling his brain he was straining the wound.

He collapsed, dropping his sword, his magic aura around his horn flickering out. He rolled over and attempted to crawl towards his sword, which was lying on the ground two feet away. He cried out in pain as the Unicorn’s hoof stomped down on the hoof that was about to grab it. He found her pair of daggers crossed over his neck.

“End of the line…” He could see a smirk forming from under her mask.

But before she could do anything else, a cyan blast of magic impacted into her. She grunted as she flew backwards against the wall. She moaned in pain as she slid to the floor, unconscious.

Alabaster painfully rolled over to see Princess Luna, her mane still in tatters and bags still under her eyes. Her horn was smoking, having just fired that magical blast.

“Art thou...whew...art thou alright, Corporal?” She steadily trotted towards him.

He grunted as he stood up. He didn’t speak to her as he leaned on one of her loveseats. He turned and looked out of the open doors to Luna’s antechamber. One of the stained glass windows had been broken and there on the floor in front of the door, lying in a pool of his own blood, was the smart-ass Bladeheart.

“Blade...urgh...heart…” He released his grip on the chair and stumbled over to the door and fell down next to his fallen comrade. He put his ear up to his chest. He was breathing. “Princess! Call the rest of the guard! There could be more!”

She was way ahead of him. Luna had since got to her balcony and used her magic to send three red blasts of magic into the air. Shouts started ringing out around the castle and bells started to chime, signalling an alarm.

Soon, heavy hoofsteps were heard as guards hustled up the stairs to Luna’s chamber. Alabaster stumbled to his hooves and reached a forehoof up, slowly wiping the earth pony’s blood from his forehead.

He turned and reentered Luna’s quarters as guards came and rushed inside and surrounded Bladeheart, attempting to stabilize him. He slumped into one of the love seats and stared at the body of the pegasus intruder, his dagger still buried in his throat.

He was going to kill Luna with that. Why didn’t he help Luna’s assailants in murdering her? Clearly, that was her goal. Why did he defend her so...impulsively?

More importantly...why did she save him like she did?

He also watched as guards came and surrounded the unconscious Unicorn, placing an anti-magic cuff on her horn and cuffing both sets of hooves, taking her away.

“They’ll question her and see if there is any more of them…” Luna yawned as she trotted over and sat down across the coffee table from him. “You need treatment, Corporal.”

“Eh...what?” He looked up at Luna, who seemed shocked he actually spoke to her without anger or bitterness in his voice.

“Thine...shoulder.” She pointed a hoof timidly. “It’s bleeding...badly.”

His shoulder suddenly gave a sharp grunt of pain and gripped his shoulder. He had forgotten about it in the aftermath of the confrontation and the adrenaline surging through him.

“It’s...it’s fine…” He replied sheepishly.

“Here…” Luna slowly got up and trotted over towards him.

He sunk lower and lower into his seat as she approached him. He was about to object to her getting so close to him when she lowered her horn to his wound. He grunted as a cold feeling washed over the wound.

It was healed.

When the feeling left, Luna’s raised her head and stood up straight, giving a tired smile and yawning.

“As a thanks...for saving my life.”

His blood ran cold when he realized what had just happened.

In attempting to murder Luna...he had saved her life.

Author's Note

Anypony who thinks of the best battle music for that battle gets a cookie...

Or something!

Well, I had a lot of fun writing this part and I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for the follow-up investigation.

Ch. 6: Interrogation

Chapter 6: Interrogation

Alabaster Star sat in one of Luna’s loveseats. He silently used his magic to lift a cup of water off the coffee table in front of him and took a small sip, placing it down again. He glanced out of the window. The sun was due to start rising soon.

It would have been up already, if the princess that controlled the sun hadn’t been standing in the busted up room of her sister Luna, speaking with the Princess of the Night and Shining Armor. Another pegasus guard, dressed in blue and black armor, was standing guard at the door.

“There were three of them… one of each race…” Luna was explaining. “The Pegasus entered first, and it was he that injured Corporal Alabaster Star. The Corporal made quick work of both him and the Earth pony intruder…”

“What happened to the Earth pony intruder?” Shining Armor asked, looking around the room.

Alabaster grunted in response to Shining’s question, using his magic to take another sip of water. “Threw him off the balcony, mate…”

The blue-armored guard stifled a chuckle while Shining turned and shot a glance at Alabaster. “That was a bit unnecessary, don’t you think?”

“It killed him, didn’t it?” Alabaster turned his head to look at the Captain. Seeing his unamused face, Alabaster sighed and nodded. “Alright...I’ll refrain from it in the future, Captain.”

“Thank you, Corporal.” Shining turned back to look at Luna. “Do you know anything of the Unicorn prisoner we took?”

“Not in the slightest…” Luna looked at the ground and kicked a forehoof sadly. “I’m just shocked that this hasn’t ended yet. Tonight two more ponies lost their lives and another is to be executed for trying to kill me…” She shook her head and looked up. “I just...don’t know how to cope with this anymore.”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness.” The Pegasus guard removed his helmet, and his long, brown mane fell down onto his head. He was a blue pony with golden eyes that glinted in the dull darkness of the room. “We’ll question her and make sure there are no others after you and take care of Bladeheart. He’ll be back up and running in no time.”

“Great…” Alabaster heaved a heavy sigh and took another sip of his water, this time draining the glass. For a moment, he wished the cup had held a different sort of contents...

“I know you don’t like Bladeheart much, Al…” Shining trotted over to Alabaster and sighed. “And I know that you are probably tired beyond belief after that fight, but I’m afraid I will need your services for the rest of the day.”

Alabaster turned his head slightly at his Captain. “Why?” He didn’t really like the idea of spending the rest of the day on guard duty after what had just transpired.

“Since you were present during the attack, and Bladeheart is out cold at the moment, Captain Armor and I are going to need your help to solve the mystery of who’s behind this.” The blue pegasus guard said.

Alabaster shakily stood after using his magic to finish off his cup of water. He turned to face the Captain and the Sergeant. “We know who’s behind the attack...it was this bloody unicorn we captured...she instrumented it all, didn’t she?”

Shining Armor and the blue pegasus exchanged a distraught look before Shining shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Al.”

“Sergeant Ace inspected the wall and the way the intruders scaled the wall and broke in through the window from the outside.” Celestia, who had remained pensive and silent until this point, spoke up. “The window, unfortunately, was the only thing they broke. In order for the earth pony and unicorn to scale that wall, they’d have to pass through the security gate and the pegasus would have to escape the gaze of tower down below...the gate of which was left wide open...and the tower’s guard was conveniently late to his post this evening.”

Alabaster narrowed his eyes. “An inside job…”

“Precisely…” The pegasus known as Ace spoke up. “We have to face the truth of it… somepony in the castle was in on this.”

“If that’s true…” Luna looked down at the floor. “Then I’m not even safe in my own hom-oh...” She stumbled a bit. Celestia caught her with her shoulder, letting her sister lean on it.

“Alabaster, you can return home if you wish...I know your daughter misses you dearly.” Celestia gazed upon him. “But I beg you to stay here and investigate this attempt on my sister’s life with Ace and Shining Armor.”

“But...I…” Alabaster hesitated. Celestia could read him like a book. He did want to go home to his daughter. It had been a long night, and a long night in which he almost died. The royal guard side of him, however, the side of him that was trained to investigate such occurrences and the side of him that swore an oath to his country to serve and protect...her...told him to stay and help.

“Something tells me I’m going to regret this…” Alabaster thought to himself as he heaved a heavy sigh and used his magic to place his helmet, which was on the coffee table, back onto his head. He gave a smart salute. “I live to serve, Your Highnesses.”

“Thank you, Corporal.” Celestia gently wrapped a wing around her tired sister and slowly started walking her back towards her bed.

“I’ll stay here with the Princesses until the day guards arrive.” Shining Armor stated. “Until then, you and Sergeant Ace start your investigation and report to me with a communication spell whenever you find something. Understood?”

“You got it, mon capitan.” Ace gave a smart salute before flapping his wings and hovering above the air, floating towards the door.

Alabaster gave a more formal salute. “Yessir.” He turned around and followed the unusual Sergeant out of the room of the Night Princess.

In the antechamber, Alabaster walked by the glinting pool of crystal pony blood left by Bladeheart on the floor and the broken window, both oddities being tended to by castle staff.

“Don’t fall behind now, Corporal.” Ace said as he, still airborne, pulled open the door to the stairway and gestured for Alabaster to step through. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover between us and the dungeon.”

Alabaster didn’t need to ask about the dungeons.

It was about time they gave the would-be unicorn assassin a visit.

“So Alabaster…” Ace looked at the unicorn as they exited the stairway up to Luna’s tower, guarded by three heavily armed guards. The castle was on high alert. “How long’ve you been Luna’s bodyguard?”

“Just a couple days mate.” Alabaster sighed as he stepped off of the last step. Celestia, those stairs were way easier to climb down than up. “I’m surprised I lived through that, actually.”

“Now, that’s the biggest pile of manure I’ve heard all week. And believe me, I get some pretty big piles of it as head of castle security.” Ace laughed, doing a small twirl in the air. “They give me the resumes of all the guards that are stationed in the castle, and the minute I received yours, I knew Luna was in good hooves.”

Alabaster rolled his eyes. This pegasus certainly was an interesting one. How in Equestria did he become head of castle security, anyway? “Thank you, sir.”

“Please, tin-soldier, call me Ace.” Ace stuck out his black armored hoof from his position in the air. Alabaster sighed and reached a forehoof up, shaking it. “A pleasure, mate.”

“HA! Mate…” Ace flew forward a bit, twirling in the air again, stifling a chuckle. “Maaaaaate…heheh…hay, I love you Marebournians. You guys have the coolest accents.”

Alabaster couldn’t help but chuckle at that one. This head of security was truly something else. “You’re a lively one, Ser-uh, Ace.” Alabaster said, looking up at him. “How’d you land this job with your attitude?”

Ace spun above Alabaster once more and then landed beside him, folding up his wings as they started descended the steps to the dungeon. “My intuition, Alabaster. I can deduce a few things here and there. Ergo, when the castle has a security breach like this, it’s my job to find out what the hay happened.”

“This kind of thing happens...often?” Alabaster gave the pony a look of shock.

“Sure. We just tend to not make a scene of it when it happens...but when an attempt on one of the Royal Sisters’ lives is made…” He took on a sudden serious look and sighed, shaking his head. “Kinda hard to keep things like that quiet, bro.”

Alabaster stopped as Ace once again picked up off the ground and started flying down the steps, which had become like a spiral staircase down into the depths below. He again thought of how he, not shortly before the intruders broke in, was holding a dagger above the Night Princess’s chest, ready to kill her himself.

“Yo, tin-soldier!”

His stupor of thought was interrupted by Ace, flying back up the stairs to see where Alabaster had gone. He shook his head and cocked his head to the side. “Eh...what?”

“Prisoner to interrogate, remember?” Ace dropped down and waved a hoof in front of his face. “Are...you all there, Alabaster?”

“Um...yeah.” He nodded. “Just...tired, that’s all.”

“There'll be time to rest when we put this case to bed…” Ace turned and took flight again. “Hah! Rest! To bed...I kill me!”

Alabaster rolled his eyes as he followed the happy-go-lucky head of castle security down into the dungeons.

Both Alabaster and Ace had stone-cold looks on their faces as they stood in front of the cell in the dungeons containing the unicorn assassin. She lay chained to the wall behind the bars, an anti-magic cuff locked onto her horn. Her daggers and black outfit had been relieved, and Alabaster was now able to see her for who she really was.

Her coat was a sleek grey, her long red mane overshadowing her eyes, which Alabaster remembered were a bright orange. Her cutie mark was simple: a pair of daggers crossed in an x formation. They looked exactly the same as her real ones.

Ace turned his head and curtly nodded at Alabaster, who, in turn, drew his sword with his magic and banged the hilt a couple of times on the bars. “Oi...wake up.”

The unicorn twitched in her cell, but remained in her position.

“No one likes fakers, unicorn.” Ace spoke up as Alabaster banged on the bars once more.

A chuckle rang out from the unicorn’s cell as she rolled her head around, opening her orange eyes. Trickles of hardened blood could be seen coming from her mouth and nose, left over from her scuffle with Alabaster. “And here I thought the next ponies I’d be seeing would be my executioners…”

“Stow it, or that may just be true.” Alabaster snarled, but Ace placed a hoof on his shoulder and peered curiously through the bars at the unicorn.

“My name is Ace, and I’m in charge of castle security. And you know Alabaster.” Alabaster narrowed his eyes at the would-be assassin, who, in turn, smiled and winked. “Ah yes...well fought, Alabaster Star.”

Alabaster cringed. This assassin was from Trottingham. Her accent gave her away. He hadn’t really paid attention during their scuffle.

“May I ask your name, miss…?” Ace trailed off, expecting an answer.

The chains linked to the unicorn’s forehooves rattled around as she sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the wall. “Crimson Edge...a pleasure, darling.”

“Charming name…” Alabaster muttered as he sheathed his sword. He eyed the unicorn curiously. “So, let’s cut to the chase, love...you’re gonna tell us everything. Who you work for, your motive, and why you tried to kill Nightma-...uh, Luna. Cooperate, and we’ll make things easier on you.”

Crimson Edge gave a chilling cackle from inside her cell, opening her orange eyes and staring at Alabaster. “And what, pray tell, would be better than death as a punishment for attempting to assassinate a Princess? Being banished to the moon? A fate worse than death…” She trailed off, coughed, and then shook her head. “I’d rather die.”

“Listen, you-” Alabaster gritted his teeth and was about to yell angrily at the assassin’s lack of cooperation, but Ace again played the “good guard,” intervening at the last second.

“We can get you life in prison with a possibility of parole, no access to Canterlot.” Ace nodded at the assassin, who perked up a bit at his words.

Alabaster was about to interject and oppose Ace, but this could be the only way to get her to talk. He also remembered this was Luna she had tried to kill, so...he didn’t mind as much.

But didn’t he risk his own life to save Luna from her?

Before his mind wandered to such conflicting thoughts, he regained his composure. He kicked a hoof and nodded. “That’s the best we can do for you, Crimson.”

“My my…” The chains holding her rattled as she readjusted her position. “Someone has certainly decided to cheer up.”

“Don’t push it…” Alabaster gave a half-snarl as he glared at her. “Do we have a deal, or not?”

Crimson Edge nodded. “Hmhmhm…” She gave a soft chuckle that oozed with eeriness. “You guards have a deal. It sounds like my only chance of survival in this place.”

Ace coughed, holding up a hoof to his mouth, to get her attention. “Start from the beginning, Crimson. Who hired you to kill Luna?”

“I was not informed of who my employer was.” Crimson closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, smirking softly. “We received an anonymous package with an unsigned letter detailing the job and a large amount of bits. The letter promised double the amount enclosed when we carried out the job.”

“How much are we talking here?” Alabaster asked.

She shrugged. “20,000 bits...plus 40,000 more upon Luna’s death.”

“So… our culprit is clearly somepony who can afford to toss his or her bits around…” Ace muttered to himself, reaching a hoof up and scratching his chin. “60,000 bits doesn’t come lightly.”

“How did you know about the way up the tower, and that the guard in the watchtower below would be late to his post?” Alabaster pressed the assassin.

She opened her eyes and gazed at Alabaster. “The letter included that information as well. My employer said that they would take care of making sure nopony saw us sneak into Luna’s tower.” She chuckled. “We had a few close calls anyway.”

“Do you have a personal vendetta against the Princess at all, Crimson?” Ace asked suddenly.

Crimson turned her head and smirked at the sergeant. “What a deep and thought-provoking question, my dear.” Her smirk grew into a full on smile as she turned back to Alabaster, narrowing her eyes. “Personally, yes. I hate her.”

Ace jumped at the venom in her voice, but Alabaster just leaned forward and glared at her. “Why?”

“She is responsible for the death of someone very close me a very long time ago.” Crimson sighed, breaking her stalwart resolve just briefly enough for Alabaster to see a tinge of emotion in her eyes. She quickly blinked away the tear that was forming in her right eye before continuing. “A family member, no less. I didn’t dare try anything until somepony offered me a way that might have actually worked.”

It was Alabaster’s turn to be shocked. A family member? Murdered as a result of Luna’s actions as Nightmare Moon? It was like he was looking in a mirror. They hated Luna for the same reason.

“I...see…” Ace was steadily looking at the ground, clearly speechless and unclear of how he should proceed. Finally, he spoke. “Where did you learn to fight like you do? And to assassinate?”

She smiled again. “I’m a former member of MARE-I6, dear.”

“So you’d betray your city and your nation by assassinating one of our leaders!?” Alabaster snapped again. He had friends in MARE-I6, a group of highly-trained undercover guards based out of Trottingham. They were sent around the nation to keep a careful watch on ponies and creatures who have...records… and discreetly ensure the peace was kept.

She shrugged again. “Former, member dear.” This was followed by another evil smile. “Are we done now?”

Alabaster was about to retort, but Ace again intervened. “Thank you, Crimson Edge. I’ll put in a plea agreement to the Princesses, saying you cooperated in this investigation. You plead guilty at your trial, and you don’t die.”

“I look forward to it…” Crimson smiled as she returned to her normal position against the wall.

“Come on, Al. Let’s go before you blow a hole in the ceiling.” Ace muttered as he took flight, hovering away from Crimson’s cell. “Let’s go check out the guard tower and figure out the details of how they scaled Luna’s tower. There might be more clues as to who is behind this.”

Alabaster nodded and was about to follow, when he heard something come from Crimson’s cell that chilled him to the bone, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“A bloody shame, really. About Constellation, that is. Isn’t it, Alabaster?”

Alabaster couldn’t believe his ears. This assassin knew his late wife.

He turned tail and galloped as fast as he could after Ace up the stairs. He was afraid he was about to do something he was going to regret, Crimson Edge’s chilling, almost deranged laughter echoing behind him.

Luna lay sound asleep in her bed as the sun slowly peaked over the horizon. Celestia stood on Luna’s balcony, her magic petering out as the sun reached it’s final position.

Shining Armor stood behind the solar princess, his helmet off and tucked under one of his forehooves. “I can’t believe somepony got so close to killing her...the closest anypony has ever gotten.” He sighed. “Should we tell Alabaster what he has to do now to keep her alive?”

“Not yet, Captain.” Celestia opened her eyes and turned to face the guard captain. “He has this investigation and his daughter to worry about first. Speaking of which…”

“I already have the assassin Octavia watching over the child at their flat.” Shining responded, gazing past Celestia out at the horizon. “As soon as he is done with this investigation, he’s got to do what he swore an oath to do, and that’s to preserve the life of your sister.”

“Very well…” Celestia sighed, turning again to face the sun.

“I only hope that he can handle it.”

Author's Note

WHHHOOOAAA!!!!

Ace has a cameo and a twist ending! I'd say this is the best chapter yet.

Stay tuned for more.

Ch. 7: Keeping His Oath

Alabaster Star pawed the floor of the top of the watchtower with an armored hoof. He gazed around the room, empty save the few weapons racks that housed spears and wing cross-bows for the guards that were stationed in the tower. Aside from that, he could see nothing of significance.

He gave a hollow sigh and looked out of one of the many windows of the tower. Outside Ace was steadily flapping his wings, his shadow creating quite the image on the wall in front of him. Up and down he flew by the wall, carefully inspecting it.

“Any luck, mate?” Alabaster called out from the window.

“Nada, bro.” Ace responded, his eyes still locked on the wall as he poured over it for any kind of clue. “All that’s here are the hooks that Crimson Edge and the Earth pony used to scale the wall.”

“Bloody hell…” Alabaster muttered before wiping a few beads of sweat off of his cheeks. He swayed a bit. He was starting to get tired. “I’ll meet you at the gate that was left open!” He called out to his companion. “I need to question the guard that was late to his post there.”

“Good call, bro. I wanna spend a little bit more time here. I get the feeling there’s something I’m missing.” Ace responded, turning his head to look at Alabaster.

Alabaster raised an eyebrow. “On...the wall?”

“Har har...I don’t need your condescension, tin-soldier.” He stuck out his tongue and turned back to the wall. “I’ll see you down there.”

Alabaster again questioned Ace’s eligibility for the position as head of castle security, but shrugged it off again as he used his magic to open the door and traverse the stairs back down to the courtyards, where the guard he needed to talk to was waiting.

“I swear on Celestia’s life, sir.” The guard in question shook his head as he gazed at Alabaster questioningly. “I got this letter that said it was from the head of castle security, telling me they were doing maintenance on the tower and I needed to come in an hour late.”

Alabaster sighed annoyedly, briefly gazing up at the tower he had just come down from. “And I’m telling you, Private...maintenance is important, but not important enough for a guard to be late. Plus, Ace isn’t in charge of maintenance.”

“He’s right there, buddy.” Ace’s voice sounded from above as the pegasus touched down next to Alabaster. “What I’m doing right now is my job, not sending ‘you-can-be-lazy-today’ letters.”

“Well how the hay was I supposed to know?” The guard retorted sharply. “You don’t think I’m actually in league with the assassins, do you?!”

“Easy, Stormwind.” Ace held up a hoof to calm the frustrated guard. Alabaster noticed that Ace was holding something in his hoof, but before he could get a good look at it, Ace had tucked whatever it was under his chestplate and put his hoof down. “You are free to go.”

The guard, who was shaking at this point, gave a nervous salute before galloping off to the palace to finally clock out.

Before Alabaster could complain, Ace interrupted. “He’s clean, Al. I can tell by the way he was talking to you. What he was saying is true.”

“Just because you’ve been at this cud for a long time doesn’t mean you know that for sure…” Alabaster muttered as he approached Ace.

Ace just gave a small chuckle in response. “True, but you can’t argue with my results, can you? Besides, I found a little something that may interest you.” Ace reached into his chest piece and retrieved what he was holding when he came down from his wall inspection.

“How the hay did you find a small coil of rope on the wall!?” Alabaster said, gazing at it the rope in shock.

“I found it hidden away behind one of the cement blocks.” Ace gave a cheeky smile.

“How!?”

“Well…”

“DANG it!” Ace angrily slammed an armored hoof into the wall in frustration. “There has GOT to be something here!”

The sound of gravel coming loose sounded above him. He looked up just in time to see one of the cement blocks the wall was made out of tumbling down towards him. He shouted in surprise, avoiding it at the last second.

As it crashed onto the ground below, he turned his attention upwards. He floated up to where the block came loose and smiled.

“Gravy…”

“You’re yanking my chain, mate.” Alabaster’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “So you sucker-punched the wall, and you found that rope behind a loose brick?”

“Indeed I did.” Ace nodded. “But here’s the clincher. This isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill rope.” His smile faded as he turned the rope over in his forehooves as he floated in the air. “This is-”

“From the guard armory.” Alabaster finished his sentence, gazing at a symbol that looked like Celestia’s cutie mark pressed into one side of the rope. “Somepony working in the armory is our traitor.”

“And Bingo was his name-o.” Ace said, narrowing his eyes as he tucked the rope under his chestpiece again. “Based on the amount of bits they were offering our assassins, they must be a vendor or something. Come on, Al. I do believe we have a scumbag to catch.”

“He probably knows we’re on to him, whoever he is.” Alabaster growled. “We’d better hurry.”

With that, Alabaster broke into a gallop towards the armory with Ace flying in tow.

The door to the armory burst open as Alabaster leaped in, his sword drawn and hovering in front of him with magic. Ace flew in behind him, his dual scimitars in both his forehooves. Both guards were repulsed by what they saw.

Two corpses were on the floor, blood forming small pools around their heads. Alabaster recognized them as the two day guards who were supposed to guard the armory. Clearly, they saw the culprit and tried to arrest them, but failed.

“Damn! We’re too late!” Ace sheathed his scimitars and dropped down the ground, trotting over to the two guard corpses. “This was recent. The knife wounds in their necks are fresh.”

“He could still be here…” Alabaster muttered. He had let his gaze wander around the vast room of weapons, armor, and equipment, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, a cloaked figure leaped out from behind one of the weapons racks, lunging at him with a knife. Alabaster yelped and sidestepped out of the way, slashing downward with his sword. The figure grunted as the blade barely made contact with his face, causing a bit of blood to stain Alabaster’s sword. The figure whirled around and slammed his back hooves into Alabaster’s chest. The unicorn flew upwards and landed down on the ground hard. He groaned as he heard Ace galloping after his assailant, yelling for him to stop.

By the time Alabaster rolled over and stood up, Ace had returned, a snarl encompassing his usually happy face. “He got away. Out of the window. After bucking me-”

“I get it.” Alabaster held his chest and winced when he still felt pain. “We’re dealing with an Earth pony here.”

“Yeah. None of the the other races can buck like that.” Ace said through a wheezing lungs as more guards came galloping in. Amid all the chaos, two light blue eyes glared at them from the parapet he had landed on. In the blink of an eye, the figure was gone.

“Gargh…” Alabaster grumbled as he leaned against the wall of the armory with Ace as he gently used a forehoof to hold an ice pack to himself. “I’m so done with today.”

“I feel you, dude…” Ace was doing the same, but his ice pack was applied to a bruise on his forehead. “Listen, we know who we’re dealing with now…kinda.” Ace looked over at his companion. “We already put out a warrant for this pony’s arrest. Why don’t you head up to Luna’s chamber, see if the Princess is okay, and then clock out?”

Alabaster removed his ice pack and looked over at Ace. “With all due respect, Ace, I’d rather help you catch this motherbucker.”

Ace chuckled at his choice of words and shook his head. “You’ve got a daughter to look after, and you’ve been away for too long. Trust me, I have a son and I know how important it is to look out for your kids.” He smiled, but winced in pain, pressing the ice pack onto his head yet again. “Seriously, if I find anything else about this pony, you’ll be the first I contact.”

Alabaster was about to object yet again, but then stopped himself. Ace was right. He had been away for far too long. Moonblaze would be waking up any minute now. He had to get home. He shakily stood up and used his magic to keep the ice pack pressed to his chin. “Thanks mate...keep in touch.”

With that, Alabaster walked down the hall and back towards Luna’s tower.

Alabaster wearily pushed the door that lead into the antechamber outside Luna’s room open and yawned. Regardless of his horrible situation in his career, he was going to sleep like a rock. He had faced off against a grand total of four would-be assassins of his ward, Princess Luna, and had killed two of them and captured another. “Not bad for being on the job for under a week…” Alabaster thought to himself as he walked through the antechamber.

The blood pool from Bladeheart had been cleaned up, and now the worker ponies were repairing the stained glass window the assailants had broken through.

He pushed open the door into Luna’s chamber and was surprised to see that the chamber was repaired as if nothing had happened. Luna’s personal items that were broken during the scuffle, including the telescope Alabaster had bashed one of the assassins over the head with, were repaired and back in their rightful place.

“Surprised, Corporal?”

Alabaster turned and saw a most unusual sight. Captain Shining Armor was sitting at the bedside of Princess Luna, who was laying in bed and looking...pale. For a creature of the night she looked pale. Alabaster could tell just by the eerie feel in the room that something was wrong.

“I was just…” Alabaster paused and trotted over next to Shining Armor, removing his helmet and placing it on the floor with magic. “Going to check on Ni-the princess, before I clocked out and headed home.”

Shining Armor just nodded and turned his attention back to Luna. Without looking at Alabaster, Shining spoke in a low, quiet tone. “You catch him?”

Alabaster gave a heavy sigh and sat down next to his Captain. “I’m afraid not, sir. He gave Ace and I a good go before escaping.”

“Shame…”

There was an awkward silence between the two of them before Alabaster cleared his throat and spoke. “So, I guess I’ll leave the princess in your able hooves and-”

“You can’t go home yet.” Shining said with sudden sharpness. “You have one more thing to do.”

“But, w-with all due respect, Shining…” Alabaster stammered. “My daughter is-”

“Safe. She’s being looked after by Octavia, our finest assassin.” Shining turned his head to look at him.

Alabaster slammed a hoof onto his face. “The bloody mare was telling the truth…”

“What was that?” Shining cocked an eye.

“Nothing.” Alabaster lowered his hoof and gave a heavy sigh. “So… what more must I do?”

Shining stood up from his seat on the ground and turned to face Alabaster, who looked up at Shining. “As you can see, Luna is not well.”

Alabaster was silent. He was right. There was something wrong. “Wh… what’s wrong with her?”

“This happens every time she exerts too much of her magical reserve. Contrary to popular belief, Luna actually has a bigger workload that Celestia.” Shining stepped around to the other side of Luna’s bed, who fidgeted and coughed in her sleep before rolling over. “In addition to rising and lowering a celestial body each and every night, she must also regulate the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria, occasionally going into them and fixing them. I take it you’ve witnessed this, yeah?”

Alabaster nodded slowly. He had seen her enter that disembodied state with the glowing eyes where she left her body to go into dreams. “Yes. I… I didn’t know that took so much out of her?”

“Did she… look tired tonight? Prior to the attempt on her life?” Shining looked towards him with a stern glance.

Alabaster hesitated. “She said that she wasn’t going to do dreams last night, and that she was going to sleep...she was in bed when they attacked.” He looked down at the floor, ashamed to look at his CO as he recalled his almost traitorous murder of the Princess.

“I was afraid of that.” Shining narrowed his eyes at Alabaster and sniffed, looking around the room cautiously, before returning his gaze to Alabaster. “What I am about to tell you is the highest level of classified information, so if you ever utter this to anypony except the royalty, myself, or Bladeheart when he recovers, you will rot in prison for the rest of your life. Do you understand?”

Alabaster recoiled slightly at this statement. Upon thinking about it briefly, he decided his life had been thrown into enough of a tailspin, that nothing would surprise him anymore. “I understand, Captain.”

Shining looked down at Luna, who again fidgeted in her sleep, and then back to Alabaster, his gaze still stone-cold. “There… there is still a piece of the dark magic that possessed her; transformed her… into Nightmare Moon… deep inside her, being kept in check by Luna’s immense magical power and fragments of the Elements of Harmony that turned her back to normal.”

A frigid chill ran up Alabaster’s spine and his pupils shrank as Shining continued.

“When she exerts this much magical energy, which she has recently done assisting in your fight with her assassins, and apparently for whatever reason she lost her sleep yesterday, this dark magic has enough power to potentially overpower the good within her...transforming her again into Nightmare Moon.”

“I… I…” Alabaster couldn’t even breathe. His world had already been turned upside down by his new post, but now this new revelation that Nightmare Moon was still inside Luna? Part of him started accepting the widely spread truth that she was good now, and this just made him get an instant, massive headache just thinking about it.

“Alabaster, the sleep she is in now lets us know that the dark part of her is again resurfacing. The only way to wake her up from this sleep is to send someone into her subconscious and beat back that part of Nightmare Moon…” Shining stepped around the bed towards the heavily sweating Alabaster. “Someone who is a great warrior and has been with her close proximity and has witnessed her magic first-hoof.” He pointed. “That’s the ulterior motive for you and Bladeheart being her personal bodyguards at night, in case this happened. Since Bladeheart currently has a massive hole in his chest in the castle infirmary, the duty falls to you.”

Alabaster took a few steps back, his eyes locked on the twitching face of Luna. “Captain… I… I can’t… I… I can’t do this! I’m sorry! I just CAN’T!” He shook his head violently.

“You swore an oath, Alabaster!” Shining suddenly barked.

Before Alabaster could respond, Luna gasped and her eyes opened. The candles in the room blew out in an instant. A bone-chilling evil laughter filled the room...the evil laughter of a mare. Alabaster and Shining Armor’s helmets were blown off and clattered to the floor. Manes blowing in the faces, they whipped their heads in the direction of the laughter.

Luna’s eyes were serpentine, and her mouth was wide open. More laughter erupted from it. Her mouth did not move, and the laughter sounded distant and ghostly.

It all flooded back to Alabaster in an instant. His wife dead. His daughter crying.

His hate.

Blinded by his refound rage, he used his magic to draw his sword and leap forward towards Luna.

“NOOOOOO!!!!” Shining Armor drew his sword with his magic and countered Alabaster’s attack, slamming his sword into Alabaster’s, sending the tired night guard reeling back, hitting the floor hard. Before he could get up and counterattack, he gasped in pain as Shining stepped on his forehoof and stared down at him as the wind died down, and so did the laughter.

The room was silent. Shining just stared down at Alabaster, unblinking. Alabaster panted heavily, taking in deep breaths to regain his composure. Finally, Shining sighed, blinked, and leaned down. “You swore an oath, Corporal. Now, are you going to keep your oath?”

Alabaster gritted his teeth as Shining’s hoof kept his whole body in place on the floor.He gazed at Luna on her bed. Her covers had been blown off in the torrent and she lay on her back, fidgeting even harder than before, grunting in her sleep.

He returned his gaze to Shining, who was frowning. “We don’t have much time. That little spasm she just had indicates we are running out of time. Fast. So what’ll it be?”

Shining gasped, however, when he saw tears sliding down the cheeks of the hardened night guard. Shining slowly removed his hoof and stared down at Alabaster with concern. Alabaster sniffed. “Captain…” He slowly returned to his hooves. “I hate her. I hate her so much. Ever since you put me in this… Celestia-forsaken post, I’ve yearned for the moment I could kill her myself.”

“Alabaster…” Shining took a step back as Alabaster turned and retrieved his blown-off helmet with his magic, placing it on his head, and then retrieving his sword the same way, sheathing it.

“But now...I understand.” Alabaster sobbed slightly, blinking away more tears. “I understand now that the mare I hate...isn’t her.” He pointed at Luna. “The mare I hate is inside her. And I’m not just going to beat it back into submission…”

He stepped towards Shining and looked into his Captain’s shocked eyes.

“I’m going to bucking kill it.”

Moonblaze groaned and rolled out of her bed, her mane sticking up all over the place. The first thing she did was look into the mirror that was in her room. She groaned when she saw her mane.

“Dad! Is breakfast ready yet?” She half-yelled. No response.

“Dad? Did you hear me?” Moonblaze opened her door and peered down the hallway towards the kitchen and living room area. “Dad?”

“Your Dad is still at work.”

Moonblaze gasped and whirled around to see a pony in a white and red robe standing in the hallway. Her hood was down, however, and she recognized her as…

“Octavia! You really are an-”

“Assassin, yes. I tried to tell you.” She gave a warm smile. Octavia reached a forehoof up and pulled up her hood. “Your father had an… incident… at work, and won’t be home until later. But trust me…” She rose a forehoof and patted Moonblaze on the shoulder. “He’s okay. Just do what you must do. I will watch over you.”

Moonblaze was about to ask all kinds of questions about what kind of manure her dad had gotten into now, but decided she would save those questions for him.

“Do we have an accord?” Octavia cocked her hooded head at her young filly ward.

Moonblaze nodded. “Yes. And can I-?”

“No, you cannot tell anypony about me.”

“Cud.”

Author's Note

Badda bing. Whatdya think, guys?

Stay tuned for more.

Ciao.

Ch. 8: Subconscious

Alabaster sat on one of the love-seats in Luna’s room. Beads of sweat dripped down his face as both Shining Armor and Celestia gazed at him. Alabaster had been relieved of his armor and weapon, and his neon blue mane fell messily around his face. He reached a hoof up and brushed some of his mane aside so he could gaze at Luna, who was still bedridden. She had started fidgeting more violently since the incident where she laughed like Nightmare Moon. They were running out of time.

“Are you ready, Alabaster Star?” Celestia said suddenly, drawing his gaze away from Luna to her sister, who stood motionless as she gazed at him. He could tell she was worried about her sister. He could see it in her eyes. “My sister is depending on you.”

Alabaster gulped and looked down. He pawed the chair anxiously. Truthfully, he wasn’t ready. He had no idea what to expect once he was within Luna’s subconscious. All he knew is that he he couldn't go in with any of his weapons or armor, so he had to remove them. The only other thing he knew is that he would be in a kind of out-of-body state like Luna was when she searched through dreams. Celestia and Shining Armor would cast the spell that would send him in.

“If I die while I’m in there…” Alabaster looked up at Celestia, whose face suddenly turned even more sullen at his mention of a possible death. “What happens to me?”

Shining Armor and Celestia exchanged a look before Shining sighed. “Your body will become a shell; the soul gone from it. We’d...have to put you down.”

“I figured…” Alabaster shuddered at the thought. “If I don’t make it back, please take care of my daughter.”

Celestia blinked away a tear. “I will personally see to it that your daughter is cared for.” She shook her head and lowered her horn towards Alabaster as it started to glow a brilliant golden color, while Shining did the same, his horn glowing blue. “There is no turning back now, Alabaster.”

Alabaster sighed, try his best of relax as he sunk down into the loveseat. “Let her rip.”

Even though his eyes were closed, he saw a brilliant golden and blue flash of light.

And then, he felt as if he were flying through the air.

Then he hit the ground.

Hard.

“AAAARGH!” He cried out as he hit solid ground. Luckily, he landed on his hind-quarters, which cushioned his fall, but that didn’t stop the rest of his body falling forward and hitting the ground as well.

He groaned into the dirt as he shakily stood up, reaching a hoof up and wiping the dirt from his mouth. He took a moment to take in his surroundings and immediately, his blood ran cold.

He was right in the middle of the Everfree Forest.

And before him, across a deep chasm and repaired as if nothing had ever happened to it, was the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Alabaster’s body floated in the air above the loveseat he was previously sitting on, his eyes open wide and glowing. His mane and tail were billowing slightly as if a small wind was blowing past him. Celestia and Shining Armor let up their spell and their horns flickered out. They both panted heavily. The spell had clearly taken a lot of energy.

“So...heh...the only way he gets out is if Luna gets saved from...her...right?” Shining asked, coughing a bit.

“Indeed, Captain.” Celestia recovered a bit quicker than the guard captain. “Keep the castle on high alert...no, all of Canterlot on high alert. I want every guard available at their stations. If Alabaster fails…” Her voice trailed off, and she turned to face her sister.

“I understand, your Highness.” Shining Armor used what magic he had left to pick up his helmet and place it on his head. “I will make sure we’ll be ready if...if Nightmare Moon makes an unexpected return.” Celestia was about to object to Shining calling her sister that, but he held up a hoof. “It’s true, what Alabaster said.” He turned around and opened the doors. “They definitely aren’t the same pony.” With that, he gave a quick salute and closed the doors behind him, his heavy hooffalls indicating his fast descent down the stairs of Luna’s tower.

Celestia took a seat on the floor next to Luna’s bed and stared at her sister, a tear gently rolling down her cheek.

“I’m counting on you, Alabaster…” Celestia thought to herself as she blinked away the tear.

Alabaster gritted his teeth and wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow as he finally made it across the rope bridge that led to the castle. He shivered. It was cold. Heinously cold. He jumped as lightning flashed through the sky and it started to rain a bit. He growled annoyedly. “I’m in a dream. I’m in a bleedin’ dream.” He muttered out loud to himself as hastily made his way through the slightly ajar doors of the castle. “I shouldn’t be cold. I shouldn’t be-”

He paused and took in his surroundings. It looked as if the place was abandoned, even though it looked like nothing had happened to it. Red carpets greeted his hooves as he slowly entered the grand main hall, and tapestries of the sun and moon adorned the walls. “Whatever Luna is dreaming about, it must be in the past. I’ve seen this castle. It’s destroyed and abandoned and in the middle of the Everfree Forest.”

He then suddenly remembered his mission. Somewhere in this castle, this dream of Luna’s, lurked the monster responsible for his wife’s demise. He looked around frantically. He needed a weapon. He used his magic to yank a longsword free from a stand of armor off to the side of the hall. He held the blade in front of him with his magic, inspecting it. Sharp. In a slightly used condition. It’d have to do.

Then he heard something he didn’t think he’d hear in a dream of Luna’s.

A foal crying.

He whipped his head towards the direction of the crying. From first impressions, it sounded like a filly rather than a colt.

He brought himself to call out to the filly. “Um...hello?” He slowly trotted towards the crying, his sword hovering in front of him. “I’m...I’m not going to hurt you, mate. I swear to it.”

The crying seemed to be coming from some armament crates in the a corner of the main hall. Clearly, the castles occupants, wherever they were now, were preparing for some kind of fight.

“Go away!” The voice suddenly shrieked as he got close enough to hear the filly’s rapid breathing behind the crates. She sounded like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

Alabaster grunted and took a few steps back. “C’mon now...I’m not here to hurt you…” “Hopefully…” He added in his head as he carefully reached a hoof forward and pushed one of the weapon crates aside.

He gasped.

Curled up in the corner behind the fortress of boxes was a tiny version of Princess Luna. “Go away, pwease…” She choked back another sob as he gazed surprisedly at her. “Befowe she finds me…”

Alabaster had no idea how to react to this. Here was a tiny, innocent filly that would one day grow up to be Luna. He didn’t know how to treat her. Then it hit him.

“Who is chasing you, love?” Alabaster nodding in understanding at the filly Luna before taking a quick look around the big main hall. “Is...she...here? In the castle?”

Luna sniffled sadly and nodded, tears flowing out of her eyes. “She’s big and scawy. She looks like my big sistew, but...e-evil…” She curled up again and choked back more sobs.

The pieces all fell together in Alabaster’s head. The real Luna was dreaming from the perspective of herself as a filly. Nightmare Moon was trying to track her down and kill her. And judging from his surroundings, he was in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters right before Luna’s fall.

Right before her transformation into…

“Nightmare Moon…” He growled and whirled around.

A flash of lightning exploded outside, hitting a tree probably. A few of the stained glass windows shattered. Alabaster instinctively leaped behind him and used his body to shield the young Luna from any stray shards of glass.

Then he heard the evil laughter.

The evil laughter that had haunted his dreams for so many years.

He leaped up, not caring a few shards of stained glass had impaled themselves into his hide. He couldn’t feel them. Adrenaline surged through his body as he stared angrily at the tall figure before him.

“Well, well, well...what have we here?” Nightmare Moon cackled. “We don’t believe we’ve ever seen thou in this dreamscape before…”

The sword he took from the statue twirled around in front of him as he glared daggers at the embodyment of his rage. “It’s because I’m not from Luna’s dream, Nightmare Moon!” He swiped at Nightmare Moon with his sword, but her figure fizzled and disappeared in a purple cloud of smoke. “Huh?!” Alabaster gritted his teeth, looking around the large main hall of the castle.

“Ahhh...we seest now…" Nightmare Moon’[s ghoulish voice echoed around the room. “Thou art from the real world...no doubt Celestia sent you in to save the pathetic foal behind you…”

He turned around to see the cowering filly Luna whimper and cover head tiny head with her forehooves. “GO AWAY!” She shrieked at Nightmare Moon.

Lightning cracked again outside, shattering more glass windows further down the main hall. Alabaster felt something attach to one of his hind legs. He looked down as saw the filly Luna burying her muzzle into the fur of his hind legs. “D-Don’t let her g-g-get me, mistew…”

His eye twitched he gazed at her. Here was the small, innocent version of the mare he used to hate with all the passion in his heart, and she was afraid of the part of herself Alabaster swore to destroy. His heart pained to see her like this, especially since he figured that the real Luna was seeing things through this tiny filly’s perspective.

He gave a sigh and reached a hoof back, running it slowly through her cobalt mane. “Don’t worry, love. I won’t let her get you.” Alabaster gave a small smile as she slowly peeled her face away from his leg and sniffed, gazing at him as if he were an angel from Celestia herself. “And call me Al.”

“Ok, Owl…” The tiny version of Luna slowly detached herself from his leg and smiled up at him.

Alabaster chuckled at her slight slur of his nickname. “No, no, it’s-”

Lightning cracked again, and Alabaster gasped in pain as he was flung into one of the armament crates, shattering it and causing the numerous weapons of many kinds sprawling in many directions.

The filly Luna shrieked as Nightmare Moon appeared yet again, this time in her battle armor. “Art thou ready to die, Al, was it?” She cackled as Alabaster shakily stood up, using his forehoof to wipe the blood from his muzzle. “Only if you are…” He replied before looking over at the filly Luna. “Luna! Take cover somewhere! Hide! And don’t come out until I say!”

The little filly didn’t need to be told twice. She bolted away as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, her tiny wings fluttering on her back as she desperately tried to take off.

Nightmare Moon laughed as she charged up a spell from her horn. “Hah! As you you actually think we’d let our pray go that easi-LAAAAGHH!!!”

Suddenly she shrieked in pain as a javelin from the shattered armament crate was impaled through one of her forehooves. She growled and looked in the direction from where it was thrown. Alabaster stood there, panting heavily and his horn fizzling out, indicating her had hurled the javelin. “THOU WILT PAY ETERNALLY FOR INTERFERING!!!”

Alabaster growled at his opponent as used his magic to pick up the sword he had taken from the suit of armor. “You picked the wrong Princess to mess with, Nightmare Moon!”

(cue if you want. It helps with the mood)

Before Alabaster could even make a move, Nightmare Moon exploded in a cloud of purple smoke and re-materialized behind him, slamming one of her armored forehooves into his exposed back. The filly Luna yelped as Alabaster went flying, slamming into the wall across the hall.

Nightmare Moon turned, laughing, and approached the tiny filly, who started to cry once again. Before Nightmare Moon could attack, however, she gasped in pain as Alabaster had used his magic to teleport above her and slam himself and the hilt of his sword down on her back, leaving a massive dent in her armor, and slamming her into the ground.

“ARGH!” Nightmare Moon barked in pain as Alabaster flipped off of the collapsed goddess of nightmares and snarled, twirling his sword in the air. With a roar, he charged the demon again, his sword aimed for her evil heart.

This time she was ready for the night guard. In a puff of black smoke, she produced a large axe, the pole of which was very long. It almost looked like a spear with extra blades on the end. She moved swiftly, parrying his sword strike by using her magic to move the polearm down to block the sword.

Alabaster leaped back and struck again and again, viscously. Nightmare Moon was more than a match, however, parrying his attacks blow for blow. She cackled evilly before disappearing in another cloud of smoke, causing a last swipe from Alabaster to hit thin air. Thrown off by the sudden change, Alabaster fell forward onto the floor. He somersaulted back to his feet and whirled around just in time to swipe his sword in front of him, knocking aside three black, spikey daggers that Nightmare Moon had just thrown. She cackled maniacally as more daggers appears in the air around her. In an instant, their points were aimed at Alabaster.

“Cud…” He swore under his breath as he began to run to the right. Dagger after dagger impaled the wall behind him as he ran. Realizing he was too quick for her daggers, the demon goddess hurled some in front of him, hoping he’d run into one of them. Noticing the daggers flying in his path ahead of him, he leaped up using as much strength as he could used every ounce of magic he had to twirl the sword as fast as he could, like a shield. The daggers were deflected off of the sword as he flew through the air.

Before Nightmare Moon could even realize her attack failed, she found herself getting blasted back by a cyan blast of magic from his horn. She slammed through one of the marble pillars in the room, shattering it as she slid to the ground behind it. More thunder cracked outside and lightning illuminated the room once again as Alabaster started galloping towards his downed opponent.

Another flash of lightning, and his opponent was gone.

He skidded to a halt, snapping his head left and right, trying to see where she had gone.

“GAAAAARRRGH!” He roared in pain as a swipe from Nightmare Moon’s pole-axe sliced open one of his hind legs. He whirled around to see the grinning beast he hated with his blood dripping off of her pole axe blade.

In Luna’s room back in reality, blood started oozing from Alabaster’s left hind leg as he floated. Small dripping noises caused Celestia to sit up and look towards Alabaster’s floating body. She gasped when she saw a pool of blood on the loveseat he was hovering above start to form.

“Alabaster…” Celestia shook her head in worry. “You must be fighting it.” She used her magic to grab a piece of Luna’s bed sheets and wrap it around his wound. “Please...I have faith you can do this. You must prevail. But...should you die…” She paused, shook her head, finished the tying of the bandage, and turned back to her sleeping sister. She couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence.

“Pathetic!” She barked as he swiped at her again, but as she disappeared, he fell to the ground, dropping his sword and gripping his hind leg in pain, trying to stifle the bleeding. He yelped in pain as she lazily kicked him in the torso, sending him rolling across the floor towards the crates where the filly Luna was hiding. His blood stained the floor he rolled across as more blood pooled around him.

“WORTHLESS!” Nightmare Moon bellowed as she raised her poleaxe above her head and swinging it down to deliver a final blow. Steel slashed against steel as Alabaster used what magic he had left to parry her attack. He magic flickered a bit as her axe blade inched closer to his face. He was losing his power from being so tired and wounded.

“No…” The filly Luna whimpered from behind him, covering her eyes with a forehoof.

“We’re going to end you…” Luna leaned down and hissed near his face as she slowly made headway with her axe. “When thou diest in her subconscious, thy soul will be ours! Thy body will be possessed by us and will serve our dark purposes for ETERNITY!”

Alabaster turned his head away as her poleaxe got closer and closer to his face. He closed his eyes, waiting for it to end, a single tear sliding out of one of his eyes. He didn’t want to die! Not just for his sake, but what about his daughter? What about Equestria? What about-

His eyes snapped open.

He had turned his head enough to see the cowering figure of the filly Luna, awaiting to be possessed because of his failure to stop Nightmare Moon’s spirit.

He saw the face of the adult Luna he had shunned. The Luna back in reality who lost sleep because of him. The sleep she lost made her vulnerable. It was all his fault.

He had to make things right. He had to save Equestria from plummeting into eternal darkness.

He had to save the Princess he suddenly cared for.

He had to save Luna.

Slowly, but surely, his strength started returning to him. Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened and her pupils shrank as he slowly started retaliating, shoving her poleaxe back towards her.

“Impossible...thou art wounded! Severely!” Nightmare Moon started to panic.

She barked in surprised as Alabaster, with a sudden surge of unexpected strength, pushed her weapon off of his and leaped up. He was too overconfident in his return, however, as Nightmare Moon whirled around and roundhouse bucked him in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards.

He rolled over onto his side, holding his chest with a forehoof. A bruise could be seen and he wretched up some blood onto the floor. He shuddered, trying to get up, but collapsed, unmoving.

“If we cannot kill you here…” Nightmare Moon was irritated. She slowly turned, panting angrily, and started advancing towards the filly Luna, who screamed at the sight of her enemy. “We will possess Luna once again and kill thee in reality!” The demon raised her poleaxe above her head, ready to kill the filly the personified Luna’s soul and take control. “This ends n-ELCK!”

He eyes widened suddenly. She started shuddering violently, and it was her turn to cough up blood. Copious amounts of it in fact. Slowly her eyes traveled downward and she gave a pained gasp. A sword, Alabaster’s borrowed guard armor sword, was impaled through her chest at a downward angle. She coughed again as she felt the hot breath of a mortal on her ear to her right. She heard heavy panting and a small chuckle before Alabaster, who had used the remainder of his strength to make one final leap, said one last phrase. “You...lose…”

With that, he withdrew the sword from her back with a sickening “SCHLUNK” and toppled off of the demon goddess, landing hard and falling unconscious on the floor.

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and her form dissipated into her trademark cloud of gas. This time, instead of flying away, it slowly vanished from existence.

Nightmare Moon had been slain for good.

The filly Luna opened her eyes and gasped when she saw the blue colt who had come to save her on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

“Oh no!” She galloped as fast as her tiny hooves could carry her over to Alabaster’s body. “Wake up, Alabaster! Pwease, wake up!” The filly started crying and started shaking his body. “Wake up. Wake up!”

“WAKE UP!”

Alabaster’s eyes snapped open and he inhaled sharply, immediately coughing up some blood. He leaned over on his side using one of his forehooves to support himself as he leaned over the side of the loveseat and coughed the remainder of the blood out of his throat.

“Art thou alright?”

He took a few deep breaths and sighed, looking up at whoever woke him up. “Yeah, yeah, I’m just-”

His gaze fell upon the worried face of Luna, her mane still a mess, bags under her eyes, and some tears streaming down her face.

“Fine…” He finished as he gazed at Luna.

Celestia approached from behind her sister and gave a bright smile. It was the biggest smile he’d ever seen the Princess give. “I don’t know how you managed it, Corporal, but Nightmare Moon’s evil presence is…” She shook her head and wiped away a happy tear of her own. “Gone. Just gone. You destroyed it.”

“I am forever free of my curse, Alabaster Star.” Luna said, a tad of coarseness in her voice from the emotions and lack of rest. “I owe you my life.”

He gave a small, single chuckle and looked down at the floor. “Eh, really Princess, it was noth-umph!”

He suddenly found himself wrapped in Luna’s hooves, caught in a tight embrace. It took him a second to register what was happening. The mare he hated for the longest time, the mare he blamed for taking his wife away from him...was now hugging him and he was fine with it. He was more than fine with it, in fact. He felt...warm. Happy. The happiest he’d been in a long while.

Slowly, and painfully, as the wounds he sustained in Luna’s mind manifested themselves in reality, he wrapped his forehooves around the torso of the Princess of the Night and rested his grizzled chin on his shoulder. Luna buried her muzzle into Alabaster’s shoulder, and he could feel the tears still pouring out of her eyes.

He looked up at Celestia, who gently nodded and started trotting out of the room. “I’ll get a medic for your wounds.”

“Thank you, Princess…” Alabaster said softly, instinctively rubbing a hoof up and down Luna’s back.

Celestia stopped on her way out and turned around. “Oh, and Corporal?”

Alabaster looked up again. “Yes?”

Celestia smiled. “I know how much you hated this post, Corporal. I’ll have you moved to a different-”

“No…”

Celestia looked taken aback. “What?”

“Um...no thank you, Princess…” Alabaster quickly corrected himself, shaking his head. “I’m...over that now.”

Celestia gazed at the pair, who were still embraced in a hug. “I’m glad, Alabaster Star. I’ll be back with your medic. And again...as you have my sister’s debt, you have my as well. We both owe you a great deal.”

As Celestia finally exited the room and used her magic to teleport away, Luna finally peeled her muzzle away from Alabaster’s chest and wiped away the remaining tears. “We are sorry we put you through this, Alabaster…”

“It’s fine, mate.” Alabaster grunted, getting up off of the loveseat.

Luna put a forehoof up to her mouth and giggled as he limped over to the balcony and gazed up at the night sky. “What’s so funny?”

She stopped chuckling and stood up and trotted up behind him before making a funny shape with her mouth and imitating her guard. “Maaaaaate...haha!” She laughed. “Ace was right, you ponies from Marebourne have the best accents!”

Alabaster chuckled and looked at the moon: free of Nightmare Moon’s shadow, as it should be.

“It’s good to have to back for good, Luna.”

Author's Note

I'm sorry to say this will be my final writing for a while...until May of 2016 to be exact. I have been called on my mission again, this time to the Farmington, New Mexico, area.

I leave tomorrow morrow.

Cheers mates. Thanks for reading.

Ch. 9: Assassin on the Loose

Chapter 9: Assassin on the Loose

Alabaster Star hissed in pain as the castle healer used her magic to finish tying the bandages around his bare torso. “Ow…” He grunted, leaning back in his bed. He gazed around the castle’s infirmary and gave a heavy sigh. “I sure let her do a number on me, eh?”

The healer and chief medic of the castle, Justinia, held a hoof up to her mouth and chuckled. She was a white unicorn garbed in a white and red robe, a matching headdress, and spoke with a distinct Prench accent. “I’m sure you didn’t let her, Corporal. Anypony would have been hurt facing the monster you just defeated…” The Unicorn smiled as she turned and closed the medical kit she had used to produce the pads and bandages that now adorned Alabaster’s chest and leg. “In either case, you have a severe laceration on your leg and a few broken ribs. You’ll need to stay here for a couple of days before I can comfortably clear you for duty.”

Alabaster gave yet another heavy sigh. If it was one thing he hated, it was not being able to do a job he knew he had to. Whether it was simply not having time for the dishes or defending the Princess despite injuries, he wasn’t one to sit around and let other ponies do his job. Nevertheless... “Well, if that’s what you feel I need to do...I will stay.” He sat up and used his forehooves for support, grunting slightly. “But, what about my daughter? And Luna? Who will guard her while both Bladeheart and I are down for the-”

“We...have plenty of guards, Al.” A familiar voice sounded from the infirmary’s entryway.

Alabaster and Justinia looked towards the entryway. Upon seeing the speaker, Justinia bowed deeply, and Al smiled. There stood a freshly rested Princess Luna, the bags under her eyes all but history and her mane flowing and glowing brilliantly with stars. Her black chest-piece and regalia glinted as if they had just been polished.

“She looks...well, beautiful.” Alabaster thought, not being able to take his eyes off of the Princess. He fidgeted at the thought. “For...lack of a better term.”

“Princess…” Alabaster closed his eyes and bowed his head at her entry. It was the best bow he could manage in his current state. He opened his eyes as she trotted to his bed-side. Her entry was flanked by two day guards, who remained on either side of the entryway. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

“We wanted to visit the stallion who saved our life.” She smiled and cocked her head. “Is that such a crime?”

“I...wouldn’t say so.” Alabaster shook his head. “It’s daytime...shouldn’t you be...asleep or something?”

Luna glanced back at her day guards before refocusing on Alabaster. “We slept for two days consecutively after the incident. We are... very refreshed, to say the least.” She chuckled again, closing her eyes and shaking her head with a slight smile.

“I’ll leave you two alone, then. Princess.” Justinia bowed slightly to Luna, using her magic to pick up the medkit as she left. “I have other patients to attend to, but I’ll be back to recheck the bandages.” She trotted off towards the other end of the room where Bladeheart was, his chest steadily rising and falling underneath his blankets. He had been in a coma as a result of his injuries, but Justinia gave the guess he’d be out of it any day now.

Alabaster gazed nervously at the Princess, who gazed back at him with her cyan eyes. He thought briefly about the past week’s events. He had gone from hating this mare to the point of almost murdering her, to defending her to his last breath. He thought of his reasoning...exactly WHY he wanted to kill her in the first place. He now realized that the world needed more ponies like Luna. She was genuinely a good pony...a good pony and a co-ruler of Equestria. It was certainly worth his time and efforts to keep her safe. He felt a strange emotional motivation to keep her safe as a result of the previous day’s adventures as well. He couldn’t quite put his hoof on it.

“So…” Luna shook her head, breaking the stare between the two of them. “There are some guests here to see you.”

Alabaster perked up. “Is it-?”

“They went so far as to contact me personally to ask how you were and if they could see you.” Luna turned and nodded at the guards, one of whom nodded back and opened the door.

“DADDY!”

Alabaster couldn’t help but let a few tears slide down his cheek as he saw his daughter, Moonblaze, gallop from the entryway and jump onto his bed. He coughed as the weight of her body gave his ribs unwanted pressure. He didn’t care though. Laughing, with the sound of a choke in his throat, he wrapped his forehooves around his daughter. “Moonblaze! How are ya, love!? It’s so good to see you!”

The tiny Unicorn filly nuzzled her father’s cheek. “I was so scared...when Octavia told me what you were doing...I...I didn’t even wanna think about losing you, too!” His chest suddenly felt warm from the tears his daughter was clearly shedding.

Alabaster ruffled her mane and started rubbing her back. “I’m here...don’t worry…” He looked up at Luna while still embracing his daughter. Luna had a huge grin on her face. He had never seen her smile like that.

“It was a pleasure to meet your daughter.” Luna finally spoke up. “Such a sweet little filly.”

“She’s got a lot of her mother in her…” Alabaster laughed, using his magic to lift his daughter off of him. “She doesn’t get her good attitude from me...you learned that the hard way, eh?”

Moonblaze and Luna laughed as another pony entered the room. It was the assassin Octavia, clothed in her robes and hidden blades. “I’m happy you are doing better as well, Al.”

Alabaster’s eyes widened, he coughed awkwardly, then reached up a forehoof to scratch the back of his head. “Heheh...uh...about me trying to tell my daughter you were a phony…”

Octavia shook her head and lifted a forehoof, cutting him off. “No need to apologize.” She smiled. “It is hard to believe. I understand. Not the first time I’ve had to explain myself to somepony.” She cleared her throat before removing her hood, letting her black mane fall loose. “I came to inform you I will be looking after your daughter while you recover here.”

Alabaster turned his gaze to Moonblaze. “Hear that, love? Just because daddy’s all laid up doesn’t mean you can skip your studies. Ha!”

Moonblaze stuck out her lower lip and kicked a hoof. “DANG it…”

Alabaster grinned. “I can read her like a bloody book…”

After bidding his daughter and Octavia goodbye (who had literally peel his daughter off of him), he requested a few items from home to keep him busy during his stay in the infirmary. Luna, at the detest of her guards stationed at the door, teleported to his flat and returned with the items in a matter of minutes. The items he requested were the Daring Do book he was reading, his hoof-held gaming system (used almost solely for playing Super Smash Ponies with Moonblaze when time permitted), and his guitar he learned to play at the academy.

Luna seemed perfectly content with keeping him company, but with night quickly approaching, she had to leave to perform her nightly duty. Alabaster felt sickened about not being able to guard her (and even questioned the competency of the conscripted Night Guards that were in his place for the time being). But, at the insistence of Luna, combined with a visit from Shining Armor telling him that the Captain himself would be guarding Luna in his absence, he finally let off.

Despite these reassurances, Al found himself not being able to sleep properly. The only light on in the infirmary was Alabaster’s bedside lamp. For a short time, the sound of a page turning was the only break in the silence. Alabaster sat uneasily, reading Daring Do’s latest adventure to himself. It was not long before he sighed suddenly and laid the book down. Daring Do was in the middle of a red-hot battle scene with some buffalo, and it was not relaxing in the slightest. His gaze suddenly fell on his guitar, which lay at the foot of his bed. Looking around the room, and seeing the only other pony in the room was Bladeheart (who was still out like a light), he grunted in pain to reach down and pick up the instrument.

He took up the proper strumming position, he gently strummed the the thing once. Twitching upon hearing it was out of tune, he took a moment to adjust the tightness of the strings to his liking, plucking each and every one to make sure they sounded perfect. He grinned.

“Now what to play?”

The injured night guard racked his brain, trying to think of a song that would appropriately relax him, and then he thought of the perfect one. It was a song he played for his late wife before he asked her to marry him. He strummed the first few chords, but then stopped short. He thought that maybe, just maybe, this would make him emotional. The chance was pretty high. There were some days the wounds left from his wife’s death would still sting.

“Oh, to hell with it…” He muttered before starting to quietly strum.

He strummed rhythmically, occasionally tapping the edge of the instrument as he closed his eyes, his body swaying back and forth. He began to sing quietly.

When your legs don’t work like they used to before…

And I can’t sweep you off your hooves…

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

It had been ages since he had picked up the bloody thing. He had forgotten he could carry a tune if he really wanted to. He opened his eyes and stared out of the nearby window.

And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70!

And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23!

And I'm thinking 'bout how ponies fall in love in mysterious ways...

Maybe just the touch of a hoof...

Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day.

And I just wanna tell you I aaaam!

His cheeks suddenly felt very warm. The tears started to flow a tiny bit. This damn song really made him miss his wife. “Traitors…” He thought to himself about the tears as he hit the chorus.

So, honey, now!

Take me into your loving hooves!

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars!

Place your head on my beating heart!

I'm thinking out loud...

Maybe we found love right where we are…

The sound of a hooffalls from the entryway cut his playing abruptly short. His head snapped in the direction of the noise, ready to leap at the sight of danger. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw none other than Luna herself standing there. He cocked his head to the side, embarrassed. “Um...how much did you hear, Your Highness?”

A slow smile came to Luna’s face as she stepped forward towards Alabaster’s bedside. “We had no idea you had musical talent.”

“Sometimes I forget that myself…” Alabaster muttered, grunting as he put the wooden instrument back to it’s original position by the bedside. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Princess, but...shouldn’t you be doing your...night duties or something?”

Luna kicked a forehoof. “Not a lot of ponies are...dreaming tonight…”

That was an excuse if the injured Night Guard ever heard one. He arched an eyebrow at the Princess standing before him. “Ok, why are you really here? It can’t have been just to check on me, is it?”

Luna was quiet for a moment before looking down and responding, “It could be…” She looked up and her eyes widened slightly. “Thou are crying...”

“Luna…” Alabaster leaned back and sighed in exasperation. “I’m fine. I promise.”

“You saved our life Alabaster…we are concerned for thine well-being…” Luna stepped forward to his bedside. “It’s kind of...hard for me not to worry...especially with the mastermind behind my assassination attempts still out there. They could target you, too.”

Alabaster was taken aback by how worried she seemed at the current situation. He thought about it for a moment and realized that she was right. Now that he and Ace were on the trail of the would-be assassin, and even saw the stallion escape, they could be targets as well as Luna now.

He scoffed. “I may be injured, your Highness, but I reckon I can still handle myself.” Luna was about to say something else, but Alabaster held up a hoof to stop her. “I will be fine.” He smirked. “Now stop worrying about your lowly night guard and get back to helping ponies dream sweet dreams.”

Luna smiled and gave a half-lidded expression. “We...are relieved now, Alabaster Star. We trust thee as well. Thank you for...entertaining me for a bit tonight.”

Alabaster grunted and sat up, gazing curiously at the Princess. “No problem...I think…”

There was an awkward silence between them for a moment. Alabaster’s cheeks suddenly felt hot. As he gazed silently at the mare he used to loathe with his very being, he again found his mind entertaining thoughts of how regal and...beautiful she was.

Luna stepped closer and began to speak. “Alabaster…” His eyes widened at the tone of her voice as she spoke his first name. It sounded...almost sultry. “I…”

“GAH!!!!!”

Both ponies whipped their heads towards the door, which had just slammed open. There stood Sergeant Ace, without a helmet and his torso bleeding profusely.

He had been stabbed.

“ACE!” Both ponies shouted simultaneously. Luna rushed over and let the bleeding Pegasus fall against her.

“Sergeant, what happened?!” Luna barked as her as the two infirmary guards appeared in the doorway, looks of alarm plastered on their muzzles.

Ace’s eyes scrunched in agony, gasping in pain, before opening his golden eyes, which were more dull than usual. Finally, he mustered the strength to speak two words:

“She...escaped…”

With that simple alarming declaration, he passed out against the Princess of the night. He was losing a lot of blood. Luna grunted as the weight of the dying castle security chief fell against her. “JUSTINIA!” Luna bellowed in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

The door to the healer’s quarters burst open, the female Unicorn only wearing a nightgown. “What in the bloody...OH MON DIEU! Ace!” The healer rushed to the side of the Princess and used her magic to lift the bleeding guard off of her. “What in Equestria happened to him?!”

Alabaster flung the covers off of his bed. “He was stabbed by Crimson Edge! We need to go-whoa!” As he tried to get out of bed, he lost his balance and landed hard on the floor. “GARGH! Ahh…” He used a forehoof to lift himself off of the cold floor. “The...hell…?”

“I told you you weren’t ready to return to duty yet! Merde merde MERDE!” Justinia swore over and over again as she placed Ace on a fresh bed and quickly sprung into action trying to stave off the bleeding with bandages. At that point, Shining Armor burst in, his weapon drawn. “Princess! You must get to…” The guard captain looked around, alarmed. “Princess!?”

Groaning in pain, Alabaster rolled over on his good side and looked up. He was just in time to see the doors to the infirmary swinging as though they had just been charged through.

Luna was gone.

“Damnit…” Both guards swore.

The sound of her hooves hitting the cobblestone floor, accompanied by the sound of alarm bells ringing and the shouts of the Night Watch being roused, raced through Luna’s mind as she galloped away from the infirmary… and the panic of it all only added to her new-found adrenaline.

Luna was furious, no two ways about it. The mare who was now running rampant in the castle had severely wounded both of her personal guards AND had come closest to succeeding in murdering her. If not for Alabaster’s quick thinking, she most likely would have fallen to the would-be assassin. Seeing Alabaster fall out of bed and hurt himself like that cinched the decision for the Princess of the Night.

It was time she started pulling her weight in this situation.

It was time for her to take action, instead of letting others do so.

She would deal with Crimson Edge personally.

She skidded around the corner of the hallway she was running through and gasped at the sight before her. Near the stairway down to the dungeons lay two of the dungeon’s guards, stab wounds evident throughout their chest pieces. One was the dead on the floor, and the other was leaning up against the wall, barely alive.

Luna galloped up to the poor guard, who opened up an eye and gritted his teeth in pain. “Sorry...c-couldn’t...stop her…”

Luna took on a look of worry as she lowered her horn and used her magic to try and stabilize the guard. “Where did she go?”

Luna’s question was answered when a familiar bone-chilling laughter sounded down the hallway, followed by the scream of what Luna perceived to be another guard.

“CRIMSON EDGE!” Luna bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice, unfolding her regal wings and taking off down the hallway where the laughter sounded.

The assassin was fast, but nowhere near as fast as an enraged alicorn Princess.

Crimson Edge wore a slightly worried look after hearing Luna bellow her name. Throwing the guard she had just stabbed against the wall, she ran as fast as she could down the staircase. She knew from her studying of castle schematics there was an exit in this turret of the castle, and she made her way down the spiraling staircase with all possible haste. The mare exited the turret staircase after reaching the bottom, panting and sweating, but managing quite an evil smile. She was certain she was in the clear now.

A thump and the clatter of hooves, and the ruffling of flared wings argued otherwise.

Crimson whirled around and found herself staring at the Princess of the Night. Luna’s eyes were glowing white and her horn blazed with readied magic.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” The Princess bellowed.

“Not a chance!” Crimson Edge scowled before turning around to make her escape.

She didn’t get very far.

As she turned, a sharp pain shot up the assassin’s back. Luna had taken off, flown down the hallway and spun her body, slamming one of her shoulders into the back of the assassin from Trottingham.

Crimson gasped in pain as she flew forwards askew, sailing through a decorative suit of old guard armor and crunching into the wall behind her. Luna folded her wings and landed in front of the assassin now planted against the wall. “Stand. Down.” Luna commanded, her voice dripping with venom

Crimson slowly slid off the wall to the floor. She cracked open her glowing orange eyes to gaze at the Princess standing before her. Instead of following the princess’ orders, she smiled, cackled, and slowly rose a hoof up to wipe a stream of blood off of her muzzle. “You really like slamming blokes into walls, don’t you, Nightmare Moon?”

“Nightmare Moon is dead.” Luna’s face turned from that of anger to boldness, taking pride in the truth. “The Elements of Harmony, their friendship, and the guard who helped me overcome you the first time made sure of that…”

Crimson jumped up on her hooves, grinning as her horn suddenly sparked with magic. The assassin’s two daggers poofed into existence in the air between the two ponies, and their wielder twirled them around into a crossed ‘x’ shape. “I don’t care what you say...you are a monster. A monster who I was paid a rather handsome sum to kill.” The assassin gave an eerie grin. “And now I get another chance.”

Luna sighed and closed her eyes. A brief moment of concentration passed, and her eyes reopened, glinting with newfound rage. Luna’s horn powered up with magic, firing off a burst of pure moonlight that temporarily blinded the assassin, followed by the distinct metallic ‘shing’ of a weapon being drawn. Crimson opened her eyes and gasped. Floating in front of Princess Luna was an ethereal, custom-made summoned halberd.

The halberd was a brilliant masterpiece of summoned weaponry. The haft was composed of stone, black as night and twinkling faintly with silver stars. Atop the body there rested the distinctive hybrid head halberds were known for, although due to the weapon’s magical nature it was far larger than any of its kind. Composed of what appeared to be polished silver, the speartip of the weapon was approximately as long as a shortsword. From the bottom of the tip, it flowed outwards into two large axeheads, which extended for a foot past their curved edges to sink back into the haft. Every inch of the blades glinted in the light of Luna’s magic, almost as alive as their wielder.

Luna twirled the weapon around with her magic before feigning a battle stance. “If you will not not surrender…” Luna’s eyes turned pure white again. “THEN THOU SHALT PERISH!”

(i wrote this battle to the tune of this theme:

The assassin smirked and, to Luna’s surprise, disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving her eerie chuckle behind.

Luna growled and looked around. “What in the-ARGH!” Luna was sent stumbling forward as Crimson Edge appeared behind the Princess, delivering a solid buck. Luna gritted her teeth and flapped her wings, whirling around just in time to use to parry a heavy attack by the assassin with her daggers. Crimson’s eyes widened in shock as her daggers collided with onyx instead of flesh, clearly not expecting Luna to recover so quickly. The princess huffed and pushed the assassin back, raising her poleaxe over her head and swinging down with the flat of the head to smack the assassin backwards, a little blood flying from Crimson’s face.

Luna advanced, continuing to use the flat of the weapon, growling as she smacked the assassin across the face twice more before giving what could only be described as a battle cry and spinning around in the air, twirling the weapon, and slamming it once more into the assassin. This blow hit her torso, sending her flying back the way she came. Luna teleported quickly behind Crimson’s direction of travel and used her forehooves to slam her opponent into the floor, the cobblestone cracking beneath her.

More blood flew from Crimson’s mouth as she yelped in pain. Luna leaned down, her eyes glowing with anger. “Give up yet, heathen? Or shall we continue thine paddling?”

Crimson opened one eye, giving a devilish grin. “Not on your life!” The wind was suddenly knocked out of Luna as Crimson used her unusually strong back legs to once again buck Luna, this time upwards. Crimson used her magic to amplify her leap upward after the Princess, her daggers aimed for the kill.

Luna parried the attack mid air, growling at the sudden surge of power from her opponent. Crimson surged upward once more, sending Luna flying towards a stained glass window. Luna barked in pain as she sailed out of the window, but managed to steady herself mid air. She hissed in pain from some shards of glass that were embedded in her hide, but did not let that deter her from the fight at hand. Crimson Edge had landed on the floor inside the castle and was glaring daggers up at the Princess. Luna roared and, her horn glimmering in celestial light, sent a cyan energy wave down at Crimson Edge. It barreled through the broken window, causing some of the castle’s masonry to crumble. Crimson let out a cry as the energy enveloped her.

Luna floated there, panting. A slow smile formed on her lips when she saw the smoke coming billowing from the window. “No way...she...survived that one…” Luna muttered in between heavy breaths.

“Oh really?”

Before Luna could react to the voice that sounded behind her, a sharp pain shot up her shoulder as one of Crimson Edge’s daggers planted itself just barely outside Luna’s chestpiece. The strike was unrealistically precise, as it pierced through Luna’s hide and stopped just short of her wing joint. The sheer pain from continuing to fly forced the princess to fall gracelessly back into the castle, avoiding the sharp edges of the shattered window through luck alone. Crimson immediately took the opportunity to leap onto Luna, preventing her from retaliating easily.

There they were, Crimson Edge on Luna’s back, a dagger driven into Luna. Crimson Edge chuckled and leaned forward to whisper in Luna’s ear. “You lose, my dear.”

Luna gritted her teeth and tried to hold back the howl of pain residing in her chest. “What...what do you hope to accomplish...by doing this?”

“Ridding the world of a monster…” Hissed Crimson Edge. “And if it means living the rest of my life in hiding, a fugitive...then so be i-ARGH!”

The knife withdrew itself as a sudden neon blue burst of magic impacted Crimson from the parapet of the castle. Luna’s shoulder felt warm as blood ran freely down it. Gasping, she looked at where the blast had come from, only to see a limping-

“Alabaster!?” Luna barked. “What are you-!?”

“I can’t just leave you hanging, now can I mate?” Alabaster winked at the Princess before gasping and diving behind the wall on the parapet, an orange blast of magic sailing towards him.

Crimson floated in the air, using her magic to levitate. “THAT’S IT! Make up your damn MIND, Alabaster Star!” She rocketed towards the injured night guard, daggers ready. “Are you going to pick the side of the monster who killed your wife? Or the side of justice!?”

Alabaster broke cover, gritting his teeth and firing off a couple more blasts at the oncoming mare. “That monster is GONE! So, I’ll pick justice!” Alabaster gripped the parapet and whirled around just as Crimson reached him, bucking her square in the chin, a sickening crack sounding as Crimson sailed backwards. “For those you’ve killed to get to Luna…”

Luna smiled briefly. She gazed caringly at her night guard before taking advantage of this distraction to again teleport, this time above the sailing assassin. With a burst of magic, Luna swung her halberd downwards, only just missing Crimson Edge. It was just as well however, for the magic-enhanced weapon let off a burst of magic that sent Edge flying, her body sailing out the broken window and crashing down into the castle grounds below, a cloud of dust mushrooming upward.

Luna exchanged a look with Alabaster, who had since fallen back on his rump, unable to stand anymore. As Justinia, Shining Armor, and the infirmary guards came to claim their wayward patient, yelling obscenities at the night guard in Prench, Luna slowly glided down to where Crimson Edge had landed, folding up her wings. She winced in pain at the wound she sustained during her skirmish, her shoulder still oozing blood. Nevertheless, she advanced on the dust cloud, weapon ready. She could see a small crater had formed through the dust.

Suddenly a figure emerged from the dust, leaping forward and tackling Luna to the ground. The surprise and Luna’s lack of strength from her wound made her drop her weapon as Crimson Edge crossed her daggers over Luna’s throat.

Luna looked up, utterly surprised, at her assailant. Blood streamed down the Unicorn’s face, her eyes bloodshot. “A valiant effort, Nightmare Moon! Hahahaha! But now…” Luna grit her teeth as the daggers were pressed tighter against her throat. “YOU WILL DIE! Hahahahaha!” The assassin’s chilling laughter echoed through the night sky.

Luna closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, expecting the worst. The killing blow.

But it never came.

Luna cracked open an eye and looked upwards. Crimson Edge’s eyes were wide with shock. The magic surrounding her daggers slowly fizzled out, the weapons falling to the ground. Crimson Edge looked down at Luna and one of her eyes twitched. “Burn in Tartarus…” She hissed.

Luna inhaled sharply as Crimson Edge suddenly fell to the side off of Luna, three daggers of a curious design embedded in her back.

Luna quickly scrambled to her hooves only to see a bipedal figure in what looked like green scaly armor and a hood standing behind Crimson Edge’s body, feigning a stance like he had just thrown the daggers.

The figure straightened himself up, a long, fluffy tail swinging around behind him.

“Thank ze Stone…” The figure muttered before removing his hood. “I thought she vas never going to shut her trap…”

Luna gasped for the millionth time that night.

Diamond Dog.

Author's Note

WHHHHHOA!!!!

I'm back! Jeez, it's been a good, long minute, hasn't it?

Anyway, with this new chapter I have some shoutouts to make.

First and foremost, Robsa990. This dude went above and beyond going so far as to make a full fledged COMIC strip for this chapter instead of just a pic like normal. Thanks man! Let us know if you like it!

And ZimprusNalune, the brilliant editor! Really cleaned this up and now it sparkles. Don't you agree?

Anyway, looks like a Diamond Dog is in the picture now. Think Alabaster can handle anymore Diamond Dogs? I sure hope so, because, believe it or not, he is SO relevant...in the next chapter.

Cheers guys!