"Hey you, wake up," a voice yelled.
"Huh?"
"Get up!"
Nightfall, a female bat pony with a grey coat and piercing yellow eyes, leaped out of her bed, nearly hitting her head on the iron pole that made the roof of the tent she slept under. Upon plopping back down, she shook her head, rubbed her eyes, and looked over at the general, a tan earth pony that looked as though he could break a concrete block with his bare hooves.
"Don't yell in my ears," complained Nightfall. "You're gonna give me an ear infection."
"Well if you're not gonna wake up, I'm gonna yell at ya," retorted the general as his veins looked ready to pop as he spoke. "Understood?"
"Understood."
"Then put your armor on and head on over to the training area this instant."
The general slowly trotted over to a unicorn royal guard, who received the same treatment Nightfall did. Looking at the rows upon rows of beds with ponies in them, she chuckled for a split second, thinking that the general's vocal cords would be history by the time he's gotten through everybody.
Nightfall climbed out of her bed lackadaisically and peered under her bed, which is where her armor was stored in a small, wooden box. She grabbed the box and opened it up, her eyes fixed on the chest's contents. As a member of the Night Guard, Nightfall's armor looked different than those of the more common attire of the Royal Guard, a purple plated armor with a stylized, flowing pattern with an eyeball-like gem at the chest portion. Her boots, however, were the same as the other guards, a hoof-shaped metal piece, only her's was colored a light purple as opposed to the gold-like sheen of the others.
Upon getting dressed, Nightfall galloped out of the tent and saw her group beginning to line up. With her were about twelve royal guards and two members of the Night Guard, both of whom were also bat ponies. Nightfall skid to a halt and took her place as a few other guards lined up next to her one by one until everyone was accounted for, and the general approached the group, pacing in front of them with a bulgy scowl.
"Listen up, maggots," the general shouted. "I want you to clear the obstacle course set up for you, and do it fast, or I'll make you wish you were never born. Do you understand?" The row of guards nodded. "I said, do you understand?"
"Understood," replied the guards in unison.
"Remember, no flying, or I'll make all of you worms do it again." The general froze, looked over to the guards, and emitted steam from his muffler sized nostrils. "Get to work, maggots."
The guards all charged at the obstacle course, which were a set of walls, bars, rings, and so on that tested the physical capabilities of those forced to face it. Nightfall was ahead of the others, but turned her head briefly at the sound of embarrassing battle cries, the sound of rookies.
Coming up to the first portion of the obstacle course, Nightfall grabbed the rings above and swung her way across to the end. She wasn't the fastest, especially compared to the veterans, but she did clear it without messing up. Some of the other rookies were sloppy at it, falling into the mud pit below, designed just for those who failed. The pattern of being better than the other rookies, but not as good as the veterans continued for her throughout the ordeal, whether it be wall climbing, crawling, wall jumping, or whatever was set before them. After half an hour of non-stop exercise, Nightfall made it to the finish line, her lungs flaring up as she smiled. Eventually, everyone else made it back, some covered in scrapes, bruises, or mud. The general trotted towards them, a fierce frown painted on his face, and none of the guards felt a feeling of easiness inside of them.
"That was it?" asked the general in a fierce tone. "That was pathetic, I'll—" Another general, a unicorn, approached him, tapping his shoulder. The interrupting general whispered something in his ear, and Nightfall, too curious to simply let it slide, twitched her ear and listened in.
"So what you're saying is that a golden statue was stolen, and the place is heavily guarded?"
"That's correct. Nobody has been sent to the fortress yet, as it was just discovered by our spies. Any ideas as to what we should do?"
"Yep, and I have the best strategy."
"What would that be?"
"I'll send some of these maggots to clean the mess up." Nightfall's jaw dropped, her fangs exposed. "If that doesn't work, we'll let Princess Twilight take care of things."
"She's probably busy. Are you sure you want to ask her afterwards?"
"There's gotta be a friendship lesson in there somewhere. Is that what they're called?"
"Fine then. Give them the orders." The interrupting general left them. Everyone patiently waiting stared at Nightfall with strange expressions. Nightfall looked around, saw everyone staring at her, and blushed before grinning innocently and flapping her wings for a bit.
"Hey, stop looking at her and look at me," ordered the general. The guards all did as instructed. "Good. Now then, there's a small fortress-like building in the Everfree Forest. Bandits have stolen a golden statue, and according to our spies, the place is heavily guarded. We need a team of highly successful units to go and retrieve the statue as quickly as possible, so instead, we're gonna have you lot do it."
"What?" shouted a pegasus royal guard at the top of his lungs. "We're dead meat if you send just us. We're inexperienced."
"That's why we're sending you in. Don't worry, the ponies at the fortress only deal in hoof to hoof combat, so you won't die." The general smirked ever so slightly at the royal guard. "Though you might get roughed up a bit."
"That's no good."
"Anyways, if you confront the burglars, who, if we're being told the right thing, are standing with the statue, arrest them, and make sure you don't kill anyone. The weapons you'll be given are for your protection only. Understand?"
"Understood," the guards said in unison.
"Well then, get your spears, swords, bows, whatever, and we'll send you over to where the fortress is located. Good luck, because you'll need it. Follow me, maggots."
"Can't we have some lunch first?" a unicorn inquired, his stomach growling audibly.
The general groaned and thrust his hoof onto the ground. "Fine then, get some grub, and then we'll leave."
*****
Nightfall and her fellow guards entered the mess hall, a small room with a scent that made those entering not expecting the smell to cringe intensely. There was a kitchen to her left and rows of benches to her right, the benches looking uncomfortable to her just seeing their appearance. The guards got their food one by one until it was Nightfall's turn. Before she could say anything, a hot pile of goop dropped onto her plate, her eyebrows raised.
"Huh? No watermelons?" asked Nightfall.
"This is all you're gonna get," replied the lunch lady, a corpulent unicorn with a messy mane and a mole on her cheek.
"Seriously?"
"Get movin'." Nightfall trotted out of the way, staring intently at the lunch lady one last time before turning around. "Next."
Nightfall, with a tray of whatever she had in hoof, shifted her eyes from left to right as she trotted. She then froze for a moment and approached a table where some of her fellow guards were. Sitting down next to a dark green unicorn mare. Nightfall took her spoon, dug into the food, and took a bite. Her response, absolute disgust.
"My goodness," gagged Nightfall, her voice wheezy. "What in Tartarus is this?"
"I don't know," replied the unicorn. "I don't even want to know."
"Say kid, I remember reading about how scientists examined that thing, and they couldn't even determine what it was made of," added a grey pegasus stallion.
"Well I've lost my appetite." Nightfall wiped his mouth and chugged down water to clear the bad taste. "By the way, what are your names?"
"I'm Mint Leaf," the unicorn said.
"And I'm Steel Wrench."
"Well, my name is Nightfall."
"So you're a bat pony? I've never had the chance to meet one." Steel Wrench stretched his wings out. "Your wings look cool, but mine are better."
"Cut it out," responded Mint Leaf. "Anyways, how long have you been in the Night Guard?"
"About two weeks."
Mint Leaf's eyes shot wide open. "Two weeks? Well, um, welcome to the guard?"
Nightfall recoiled slightly, her eyes darted around a little before fixing back on Mint Leaf. "I don't know what that's supposed to mean. I'm guessing things are gonna get a little crazy, right?"
"Trust me, the general can get even more tough on us."
"Well then," Nightfall sighed, "let's get this over with."
"Hold on a second." Nightfall remained completely still, her eyes shifting towards Mint Leaf.
"W-what is it?"
"I just wanted to say, you're a nice pony, and I'll have your back."
"Um, thanks. You too."
Nightfall resumed moving, got up, and trotted away from the bench. She looked at Mint Leaf and Steel Wrench fondly after their first chance to talk with each other, though she knew that all three of them, and by extension the rest of the guard, had to exercise caution in their mission. Leaving the mess hall and trotting towards the flagpole erected at the center of camp, Nightfall waited for the general to show his face and give her and her fellow guards the command.
"Okay, maggots, I'm leading you to the fortress's location," screamed the general. "You're on your own after that. Get moving, maggots."
Nightfall, anxious of what was waiting for her, marched in unison with the other guards. She didn't know what to expect, thinking that whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty.
*****
Nightfall, along with nine other guards, one from the Night Guard and the rest from the Royal Guard, arrived at the drop off point and waited outside of the fortress with each of them holding onto useful supplies, hiding behind a thick covering of leaves and bushes that covered the Everfree Forest. The fortress was a tall, grey block with no features of note. At the only entrance to the inside were two burly unicorns, decorated with fierce tattoos on their legs and cheeks. One of the guards was about to leap out of the bushes when the two unicorns had their backs turned, but Mint Leaf grabbed him at the last second before they could spot them. Nightfall looked on, distraught at her teammate's idiocy.
"You're gonna get us all caught," whispered Mint Leaf to the guard. "This is a sneaking mission, remember?"
"But we're the Royal Guard," he replied. "And—"
"Dark Sky and I are in the Night Guard," interrupted Nightfall, pouting at him, a grumpy face expressing her mood.
"Okay, we're the Royal Guard, and they're the Night Guard, and we go in arrows blazing, right?"
"Not today. Listen, the general said that we could approach them slowly and capture them. That's why there is ten of us. One for each pony known to guard or occupy the fortress."
"Okay, fine," the royal guard turned to Dark Sky, a male bat pony. "You, take Fireball with you and capture the two unicorns at the front door."
"Got it," replied Dark Sky. He and Fireball, a red unicorn, slowly crept out of the bush from which they were hiding, careful not to make a peep. The two slowly trotted towards the unicorns. Nightfall, watching the ordeal, noticed her heart beating faster. After a minute of creeping, Dark Sky and Fireball simultaneously grabbed the two unicorns from behind and taped their mouths shut, cuffing them afterwards.
"Hurry up," said Fireball just loudly enough for the others to hear, but quiet enough to not alert the enemy. He motioned the other guards, who all leaped out of the bushes and made it towards the thick, cold, iron door.
Stealing a key from one of the captured unicorns, Dark Sky opened the door and the guards all walked inside. Before them was a long, concrete, undecorated hallway, which would be a nightmare to someone conscious about home improvement, and at the end of this hallway was a large chamber, four pillars standing tall to support the structure, and seven guards standing perfectly still, as though they'd rather be somewhere else.
"Listen up," Mint Leaf murmured. "We'll sneak up on them, since they don't seem to be an attentive bunch, and we'll have Nightfall go after the boss."
"Me?" Nightfall had never been given this much responsibility in her life, let alone in a mission of this magnitude. She shivered in place before Mint Leaf clapped her hooves in front of her.
"Yes, you. Your hearing is incredible. You knew what the general was saying, which is why you reacted the way you did. Your hearing will be useful, because we might get to find out something about what they plan to do with the statue."
"Oh." Nightfall stopped her shivering, her eyes widening. "I get it now."
"Good. We're counting on you."
Nightfall felt more relaxed, but she couldn't shake off the heavy load placed on her shoulders. She waited for her fellow guards to take care of the patrolling unicorns, and once she was given the all clear, she quickly sneaked around the room and entered the main chamber, a glowing white room, and at the far end was none other than the boss, a white unicorn with cardboard wings cut out on his back that served no purpose. Nightfall noticed from his movement that he seemed to be talking to himself, so taking a hiding position behind a pillar, her ears twitched, the boss's voice becoming audible.
"This old statue will give me tons of money. All I need to do is find a black market and all will be well. Soon I'll make myself a prince of a land."
Nightfall raised an eyebrow. The boss's goals were strange, she knew that well, but since he desired power, it made some sense. Peeking from behind the pillar, Nightfall noticed the boss take out a watermelon, and she unconsciously licked her lips.
"Huh? Who's there?" asked a panicked boss. "Show yourself."
Nightfall shuddered. She had been caught, but because the boss was the last one remaining, she knew that the odds were in her favor. It didn't make it any less embarrassing for her. Forced to think quickly, Nightfall flew up to the ceiling and hung on it, managing to find a shady place where she might be able to hide.
"Was it my imagination?" The boss peeked around the pillar where Nightfall once was and scratched the top of his head. "Oh well. Back to business."
Nightfall, seeing a perfect opportunity, emerged from the shadows and dropped down behind the boss, grabbing the burglar with all of her might. She cuffed him and taped his mouth shut, ensuring he wouldn't escape. All that came from the boss were muffled whines, which Nightfall ignored. She then heard the sound of hoofsteps, and before her was Mint Leaf, smiling.
"Great job, Nightfall," commented Mint Leaf. "I heard the boss was supposed to be tough, so how did you do it?"
"We were told that stealth was important."
Mint Leaf giggled. "Oh, that's right. Well then, keep up the good work. Let's send these guys away and afterwards, we'll report back to camp."
Nightfall nodded. "Sounds good to me."
Five of the royal guards hoisted the statue up, placed it on a roller, and carefully carried it off, where it would be back where it belonged. Nightfall looked back at the old fortress, her eyes confused at the sight upon thinking about it. Mint Leaf approached next to her.
"Say, why is there a fortress here?" asked Nightfall.
"It was an old temple converted to a fortress by the bandits," replied Mint Leaf. "At least that's what the briefing said."
"Hey, why wasn't I told about it?"
Mint Leaf blushed. "Um, seniority?"
The pair laughed and trotted with their comrades, all filled with joy after a perfect mission. They all wondered how the general would respond, as he'd have to be impressed, but Nightfall, despite hardly knowing him, knew that he'd complain about something. He didn't seem like the type to provide compliments. Regardless, she felt great about herself.
