The Warrior of the Night
By: Raising Shadows
Premise: Twilight Sparkle is known for many things, having a level head in serious situations, losing her mind over being late on an assignment, being the owner of one of the few libraries in Ponyville, being a good friend and other things. But one thing that she isn’t known for, is being the best swordsmare in a Live Action Role Play environment that was set up by Princess Luna.
Well Pinkie Pie finds out, and after a split second misunderstanding, wants to join in.
“Is everything all set?”
“Yes Twilight, everything on today’s list is done… Finally.” Spike answered, wiping sweat from his scales and setting an extremely large checklist to the side. He normally wouldn’t be so grumpy so late in the day, but with Twilight waking him up at five in the morning to help her with planning and preparing supplies for the next several weeks he had an excuse to be an a sort of a foul mood.
“The Quills and Parchment?” He heard the Lavender Unicorn ask from the kitchen.
“There’s a full set in your desk drawer upstairs, and the rest of the box is in the supply closet in the lab.” Spike answered, fighting back a yawn. “I would know. It’s like she’s preparing for an apocalyptic war or something.” He thought as he flexed his claw.
“What about the extra spell ingredients?” Twilight asked, walking into the main room with a modestly sized diamond floating in the purple glow of her magic.
“All stored away in the proper controlled and contained environments.” Spike answered, only seeing the diamond.
“What about the mail?” Twilight asked, looking down at her trusted assistant closely. “There wasn’t anything that was out of the ordinary… Was there?”
Spike, who hadn’t heard a word of what Twilight said, shook his head. “Nah there wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary. Just some usual stuff, bills and things. Though there was a dark blue envelope that came in after a while ago. Don’t know what it was but-”
“A dark blue envelope?” Twilight asked through a sharp intake of breath. “One with a royal seal on the back of it?”
Spike nodded, snapping out of his entranced gaze and staring at Twilight. “Uhh… Is there something wrong Twilight?” He asked before the Lavender unicorn got very uncomfortably close to his face.
“You. Didn’t. Read. The. Letter. Did. You?” Twilight hissed, glaring deep into the retinas of Spike’s eyes as if to stare into his soul.
“N-n-n-n-n-no…” Spike stammered as the unicorn continued to glare at him. “Why… Is it important?”
Twilight stepped back, a wave of relief washed over her body. She sighed and turned away from her trusted assistant. “Yes Spike, It’s very important.” She answered as calmly as she could. “Where did you put it?” She asked.
“It’s in the bedroom, lying on the bed.” Spike answered, as it was their custom to put very important letters where Twilight would be spending the rest of her day (or evening as was this case) after a huge supply run like today. “Twilight are you feeling okay?” He asked staring at her as several strands of her mane fell out of place.
“I’m fine Spike… Just Fine…” Twilight answered half-heartedly before giving her number-one assistant a smile. “Look, I’m just really tired from today and I’ll be upstairs getting some rest. You can have that,” She said, motioning towards the diamond, “And then it’s off to bed for you all right?” She asked, watching Spike nod.
“But Twilight-” Spike began, but stopping just as he saw an all familiar glint in Twilight’s eye. “Right… ehehehe, sure… Twilight it’s right off to bed for me. I’ll see you in the morning I guess.” He said, walking over to the diamond and picking it up before heading up stairs. He stopped, looking down at Twilight nervously as she walked back into the kitchen. “You know, you scare me sometimes…” He thought, opening the door and into the bedroom. “I guess it’s time for me to call in that favor, I just hope that Owliscious knows how to get there.” He thought before heading to Twilight’s desk and grabbing the recently acquired writing materials.
So far the evening had gone without a hitch. Spike was sleeping a few hours after Twilight had sent him to bed early, most of the diamond was gone when she had gotten up to the bedroom and he was loudly snoring in the little basket that he made claim to as his bed.
However it wasn’t the little purple and green dragon that soundly slept just feet from where Twilight stood that bothered the purple unicorn. Quickly and quietly she grabbed a midnight blue envelope from the center of her bed with her magic and blinked. “The Princess is really pulling out all the stops this time.” Twilight thought quietly, looking at the envelope that had her name written in a dark purple ink scrawled across its front side. She flipped it over, seeing the Canterlot Royal Seal on the back side of the envelope in black and took a deep breath. “It’s all right Twilight, maybe it’s just another date for the event… maybe it isn’t a fully blown-”
Her thought’s betrayed her as she opened the envelope with her magic and slowly pulled the letter out of its prison. She forced herself not to scream with delight, swallowing it whole like Pinkie Pie would with a cupcake. A big and wide grin formed on her face as she turned away from the bed and headed to her bathroom, flushing the letter down the toilet save for the last page. After waiting and making sure that Spike was sound asleep, Twilight nearly galloped for the bedroom door and exited the bedroom as quietly as she could so as to not disturb the slumbering dragon.
Quicker than what anything Rainbow Dash could produce while walking, Twilight rushed down to the main floor of the Library and hurried to the only vanity closet that her home had. After waiting a few more moments for another loud snore, Twilight quickly and quietly opened and shut the vanity closet door behind her.
While most ponies thought that she was a sort of pony who didn’t take too well to fantasy, Twilight was one to prove them wrong. She had gotten Rainbow Dash into Daring Do, after reading and re-reading the entire series at least ten times herself, but she didn’t just want to read about famous knights and sorcerers and ponies who were nothing but mere myths she wanted to be one of them. Yes she knew that her role in vanquishing Nightmare Moon was one thing that would put her in the history books, and yes she knew that Discord’s recapture was all for the good of the world, but this was a different kind of fame and glory. She wanted to be recognized, wanted to be a pony that she wasn’t inclined on being most of the time, and half of that time was spent in placing herself in the positions of her favorite fantasy heroes, Daring Do included.
It was a few weeks after Princess Luna had left Ponyville after Nightmare Night that Twilight had received a strange letter. Not unlike the one that was probably halfway to the sewers by now, but it was just as cryptic. After reading the instructions, which told her to meet the Princess at the outskirts of Ponyville, and disposing of the evidence like she had previously done, Twilight had headed to the rendezvous point.
It was then her whole world had changed.
“There are ponies all across the Equestria, nay the world even, who have taken Nightmare Night to a whole new level.”
Princess Luna had told her and a select few other ponies that had met them both on the outskirts of the city. “It is our wish that we could join them, but it would be best if the nopony else finds out about this. This wonderful event, it… It is a sort of unknown portion of the underculture that seeps into our society. Ponies from the Far East enjoy it as a commonplace site, and we wish to make that something happen here. So if you are willing, we would like to show you something that has never been seen by everypony here in Equestria before.”
It was from then on that Twilight had been sworn to secrecy, and had kept an open mind about this strange new idea that spawned from the east. She smiled a little, feeling a bit flattered that Princess Luna of all ponies had selected her out of all the thousands of others that were quite as equally capable. After snapping herself back to reality Twilight grabbed the thing she sought after, an all-black saddle bag with a midnight blue star not unlike her cutie mark. After putting the saddle bag on her back and grinning, Twilight turned and exited the vanity closet the same way she entered.
After checking to see if the Library’s front door was locked and secure, and that all of the lights were out in her home, Twilight trotted calmly and quietly to the back door of the Library and unlocked it, freezing at the sounds of the noisy lock. After waiting to hear a sound from Spike, Twilight opened the back door of the Library and stepped out into the cool night air.
Faking being asleep wasn’t easy for Spike. Especially for being up as long as he was. But as soon as he heard the
back door close and lock shut, he bolted awake and ran to the window. Sure enough, Twilight was out and heading towards the Town Hall. A gentle tap alerted him to something behind him, and Spike saw Owliscious standing on the railing on the balcony outside the bedroom, a letter in his beak. Spike quickly walked over to the door that went outside and opened the door, watching the Owl land on the desk.
“Did she get the letter?” Spike asked.
“Who.” Owliscious answered after Spike took the letter from his beak.
“Pinkie Pie.” Spike answered, looking over the letter.
“Who.”
“You know the pony who I asked you to send the letter about calling in a favor before I went to sleep?” Spike answered.
“Who.” Owliscious replied, not blinking at all.
“You know the-” Spike stopped, rubbing his temples with his claws. “You know, I’m not going to get into this with you. It’s late enough as it is.” Spike said before un-wrapping the note. “I would just send the letter like I would to Princess Celestia, but Twilight would have seen it. Plus, Owliscious was already on the way out to get something to eat anyways.” Spike thought, looking the letter over. “Great, she’s going to be here in a couple of minutes. I guess I had better get something ready for her.” He said before hearing a quick knock on the front door. Spike growled nervously before leaving the bedroom, making a mental note to roast the owl later as he left.
After hearing another knock on the front door, and fighting with the chair after getting it sitting straight, Spike ran to the door and unlocked it, seeing Pinkie Pie standing on the other side. “Hey there Pinkie Pie, thanks for coming.” He said taking a step to the side as the pink mare trotted sleepily in.
“You know that it’s almost midnight right Spike? I was having a good dream about robots and cake, and robot cake, and zombie alien ponies and strawberry pie, and flying even though only Dashie and Fluttershy can fly and-”
“Pinkie Pie, breathe.” Spike said, interrupting the pink mare’s monologue so that she could take a breath.
“So, what’s up?” Pinkie Pie asked, watching Spike close the door before walking past her and into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a cupcake that he and Twilight had gotten from Sugarcube Corner earlier today.
“Well, it’s about Twilight. And that favor you owe me.” Spike answered.
He watched as Pinkie Pie’s demeanor changed as she pulled out a very posh black suit from out of nowhere and put it on, leaping onto the chair and put her hooves in front of her face. “So… You wanna use your favor eh?” She said seriously, looking down on Spike like a totally different pony. “You send your stool pigeon to me in the middle of the night, invite me to my best friend’s home while she’s gone, and you have the nerve to ask me to do a favor for you?” She said coldly, watching as Spike passed the cupcake towards her, before getting on his claws and knees. “All right, but you need to show me a sign of respect first.” She said, extending her hoof to the dragon.
Spike looked up from the floor, and blinked nervously. After a few moments he closed his eyes and leaned forward only to fall flat on his face again.
“Eww Spike!” Pinkie Pie snapped, pulling her hoof close to her body.
“What? What did I do?” He asked, staring at Pinkie Pie nervously.
“I thought you had eyes only for Rarity. Besides, I’m sitting in a chair. I’m not going to ruin Mr. Cake’s suit by getting that cupcake from off the floor. That would be really bad.” She answered.
“But I thought that-”
“What, you wanted to kiss my hoof?” Pinkie Pie asked, staring at Spike. “I’m not a gangster pony Spike, sheesh you read too many fiction stories.” She said, giggling a little as Spike blushed. She extended her hoof again and watched as Spike placed the cupcake in it before swallowing it in one bite. “Now that’s a good cupcake.” She said, giggling a little. “So, what do you need?” Pinkie Pie asked happily.
“Well, it’s about Twilight like I said.” Spike began, looking outside. “She’s been acting weird for the past few weeks now.”
“How so?”
“Well, she leaves the house late at night, and is carrying something on her back every time. She also checks her mail
all the time now, and she nearly freaked out when I told her about a dark blue letter I found.” He watched as Pinkie Pie was nodding in his direction, but had a huge book of blank paper lying in her lap.
“Okey Dokey Lokie Spike, I’m way ahead of you. I’ll find out what’s going on with Twilight and see if we can fix it.” Pinkie Pie said before leaping out of the chair. Spike watched the blank paper fall to the floor and looked at it nervously seeing the title of the book of paper labeled as, “The Warrior of the Night Script,” And shook his head. He watched as the pink mare trotted out of the door and scratched his head. “Pinkie Pie, where are you going? You don’t even know where Twilight is!” He said as she opened the door.
“Yes I do. I read the script silly.” Pinkie Pie answered before disappearing behind the front door.
Twilight stood and stared at the site before her, nothing in her wildest dreams could have prepared her for what she was witnessing at that moment. It was a miracle of magic itself, almost as beautiful as the night sky itself. “Sweet Celestia…” Twilight thought as other ponies voiced her own thoughts.
What they all were staring at, from the safety and comfort of a carriage being pulled by Princess Luna’s own soldiers, was a dome of midnight blue magic that obscured a huge building from normal view. The dome wasn’t the thing that drew her attention, even though it was an impressive feat all on its own but it was what was in the dome that made her inner school filly squeal with delight.
“You’re unusually chipper today commander.” One of her fellow carriage riders commented from underneath a black cloak.
“Well, after tonight a few more ponies will be put under my charge.” Twilight answered in her best soldiering voice. “The Queen is depending on me to get things most suitable for their arrival. Especially when this will be their first time.”
“I see.” The cloaked pony answered. “So, should I perform a ballad in your honor or something Commander? I’ve gotten better with the harp that the Queen had procured for me, and have been willing to practice with something other than setting the mood.”
Twilight shrugged. “Do what makes you happy Lyra. Especially since we’re supposed to be in character and the Queen doesn’t like ponies that break her rules.” She turned back to the dome, watching as it neared ever closer to them. “Well, it’s almost time. Would you mind helping me into this?” Twilight asked, pointing at her saddle bag that was on the floor of the carriage.
“You’re asking me to help you into your saddlebag Commander?” Lyra asked, quietly removing her cloak and revealing the dark emerald dress that she wore underneath. Her mane was braided and lazily cast over her shoulder as a small golden tiara went over her horn.
“Not the saddlebag, but what’s in it.” Twilight answered, watching Lyra make an, “o” with her mouth.
“Sure, but you really should have put it on when you were back home. You know, maybe have gotten Spike to help you out or something?”
Twilight shook her head, using her magic to open the saddle bag. “That’s not an option. You remember the rules that the Queen laid down. Nopony is to know, or in this case no dragon.”
Lyra nodded, keeping the saddlebag aloft with her own magic as Twilight slipped on a plain white tunic before shaking her head. “Well, I can see why nopony needs to know. Some of these meet ups get really… Dirty when we get into them.” She said, watching as the midnight barrier passed through Twilight and eventually herself. She watched Twilight squeal a bit, nearly getting lost in the fake chain shirt that she was putting on and smiled to herself.
Between both ponies, a candle wasn’t necessary. Their bodies provided the light needed to see what they were doing. The barrier wasn’t just designed to keep ponies that weren’t invited out, it was also designed to make ponies that were invited shimmer and sparkle with the beauty of the night skies above. Twilight looked herself over, the parts of her that weren’t covered up by her tunic and shirt, and nearly jumped like a foal at the sight. “It still looks like I’ve taken a bath in diamonds.” She said happily, before picking up an all-blackish blue breastplate from her bag.
“You really want to take a bath in diamonds?” Lyra asked, setting the saddlebag down with her magic.
“No… I just said that-”
“I know what you said Commander.” Lyra said, teasingly. “I was just being in character. You know we’ll be there in a few moments.” She added, looking at Twilight as she fought with the clasps on her breastplate as was normal for her on nights like this.
“Oh well, at least I have the armor on before we touched down. Her highness would be furious if I was unprepared before it began.” Twilight answered, using her magic to bring out an all-black helm from within. “Well, I’m ready for whatever her challenges her highness has for me.” Twilight said finally, seeing Lyra through the slits in the faceguard.
“You know that you look completely chilling in that armor. Like a demon or something.” Lyra said nervously, shifting in her seat.
“My lady, thou shouldst relax. It is only the uniform that is necessary for a ranking soldier in the Queen’s army.” Twilight said as they felt the carriage touch down. “Well, it’s show time.” Twilight said as the carriage pulled to a stop and the door flung open.
“Indeed.” Lyra added as trumpets began to blare.
“Presenting The Captain Commander to the Diamond Knights Aurora Borealis!” A voice bellowed out as Twilight crawled out of the carriage and into the night.
The site of the ponies before Twilight was a combination of wow and a sort of disappointment. There were at least twenty or thirty ponies, each dressed in a sort of medieval fantasy outfit like she and Lyra were wearing, and all of them were shining just like they were. Several ponies cheered and stamped their hooves in approval, which would have made Twilight Sparkle blush, but as they did so another set of trumpets blared as Lyra stepped off of the carriage.
“Presenting the Mistress of songs, and wielder of the golden harp, Lady Apollo of Muse!” The small crowd cheered equally as loud as Lyra advanced, and did a polite curtsey before the carriage was carted off.
Both ponies were standing in a small clearing in a forest, a lone oak tree sat in the middle of the clearing, leaning over a very modest looking tent with a sign that simply said, “Castle,” on the front side of it. Both Apollo and Aurora advanced to the tent, the school filly smiles almost non-existent as they advanced. It didn’t take them too long for them both to get to the tent before entering it.
Normally, Twilight would have at least thousands of questions on how the Princess was able to maintain all of the magic that she was generating with every spell that was being cast. But it wasn’t too much of a concern of Aurora; she was just impressed with how everything reminded her of what a proper castle should look. They both stood on a cobblestone floor that led all the way up to the throne at the back, a regal red carpet sat down the length of the tent that welcomed the visitors. A pair of long table sat closer to the throne, and were laden with all sorts of dishes that wouldn’t be normally found on an average Equestrian table. Aurora could hear Lady Apollo lick her lips as they both continued their approach and couldn’t help but smile.
“I never knew that a well-respected mare of a foreign nation would lose her manners over our dining hall.” A calm voice said from behind them both.
Lady Apollo jumped for a split second as Aurora turned calmly and gave a respectful bow. “Uh umm… Y-your Highness Queen Andromeda. I’m sorry, I just haven’t eaten as well as I would have liked since our last encounter.” She said, following Aurora’s example and bowing low at the site before her.
The Princess of the Night, or Queen in this case, stood before both ponies with gentle smile on her face. She wore an emerald suit of armor that covered most of her entire body with golden trim around the edges, which made it brighter. She had a pair of midnight blue gems that were centered in her pauldrons, which brimmed with magic, and made every pony in her presence glow brighter. A blood red cape covered most of her body, that draped itself over her night colored tail and dark blue wings. “Rise my friends, we are but equals here.” She said calmly, watching both ponies rise from their knees. “Now that everypony is here, we can start the night’s events.” She said with a smile.
Pinkie Pie had stopped for the fifth time that night; looking up to the sky and seeing an all-black carriage fly away from deeper within the forest. A chill went down her spine and she shuddered. “There’s a party going on that I wasn’t invited to!” She thought, using one of her hooves to point out where the carriage came from. “It must be a super-duper special party that Twilight got invited to! But… Why didn’t I get invited? I love a good party! Unless…” Pinkie Pie stopped counting to six with her hooves. “My birthday isn’t until several months from now so that can’t be right.” She pulled an all pink calendar from out of nowhere and looked it over. “There aren’t any birthdays scheduled for this week. And there aren’t any ponies who wanted a midnight party out anyways… What if it’s a secret organization that Twilight’s gotten herself into? I mean that would be totally neat-o but at the same time very dangerous, but then she wouldn’t be able to tell anypony and that would make somepony suspicious and…!” Pinkie Pie gasped before putting the calendar away before retracing where the carriage came from. “Don’t worry Twilight! Pinkie Pie is on the Case!” She exclaimed before putting a hoof to her mouth. “Ehehe, oopsie. I don’t want to let them know that I’m on the way, they could capture me too.” She said quietly before trotting off in the direction the carriage came from.
She stopped again several minutes later after walking face first into a midnight blue barrier. After trying to walk through it several times, Pinkie Pie nodded and pulled a small pencil from out of nowhere. After doing a few quick, made up calculations in her head, Pinkie Pie trotted several yards away from the barrier and smiled before charging at it. In no time at all she pushed through the barrier, which offered little in the way of resistance, and smacked face first into a tree on the other side. Pinkie Pie shook her head, and blinked at the sight of her body now appearing to be covered by twinkling and sparkling little lights. She smiled a little, hopping in place and pulling out a mirror from out of nowhere. “Ooh… I make this look good.” She said giving herself another look over. After a few moments she stopped, putting one of her hooves back over her face and took on a serious look. “All right Pinkie, time to focus. We need to get Twilight out of… Whatever it is that she’s neck deep in.” She said, walking around the tree she ran into and heading deeper into the woods.
As she went deeper, Pinkie Pie could hear the sounds of metal striking against metal, and heard loud and angry shouts from several ponies that sounded like they were deeply engaged in combat. The pink mare got low to the ground and crawled into the nearest bush and stared nervously at the scene that she beheld.
Several ponies, at least ten to twelve of them with weapons drawn, had surrounded another pony in blackish blue armor. Pinkie Pie didn’t want to say a word, but could see her best friend’s cutie mark from a mile away. “Twilight’s in trouble!” Pinkie Pie thought nervously, watching as the lavender unicorn drew an all-black long sword from a midnight blue scabbard that she had. Pinkie wanted to rush in and help Twilight, but something in the back of her mind told her to stay back and wait for the right moment. “Oh… Twilight, please be okay…”
The Captain Commander was surrounded, everypony wanted her position and she wanted to remain as The Queen’s loyal sword. The foals wanted her spot; they would have to take it through force. Each of the other ponies in the circle clattered their weapons against the armor and shields that they carried, some with magic and some without. It didn’t matter to the Commander, they could do it with both for all she cared and the result would still be the same.
“At the request of her Highness Queen Andromeda, we would ask the challengers to fight with honor and dignity as Diamond Knights of the realm.” One of Princess Luna’s guards said calmly, as he stood to the right of the Queen.
“Let the challenge begin!” Queen Andromeda called out, watching from her throne outside the tent closely.
As soon as the command was issued, several ponies flung themselves at Aurora at once. They all piled onto the ground after an extremely skilled leap into the air and away from the crowd that surrounded her. The group then turned on her; each pony had a maddened desire to end the Captain Commander’s reign. One of the closest ponies, a dark blue Unicorn with a battle axe, made a charge at the Commander who rolled out of the way and struck the ponies exposed mid-section.
“Your soul is mine, Slay.” Commander Aurora said confidently, bringing the blade across the pony and watching him drop to the ground. Several other ponies stepped back nervously looking at the commander. “Slay Active.” She said, advancing on the group slowly. Several ponies charged at her, recklessly as the Commander readied herself for their approach. Without even blinking or thinking at all, she took a step forward and vanished.
The next few seconds were murder on everypony. Where did the Captain Commander go? Where was she? As everypony nervously looked at each other, the Queen included, the Captain Commander reappeared with her sword almost completely in its sheath. “Sleep, for eternity.” Aurora said quietly before sheathing her sword. In the next instant the other ponies were dazzled by a purple magical contrail as it passed through every pony with ease, causing them all to drop on command. Queen Andromeda smiled as the non-combatant ponies all let out a cheer for the Commander. The Captain Commander gave a polite bow to the crowd and kneeled before the Queen. “I take no pride in what has befallen today your highness. Spare me thine righteous punishment so that their souls may know peace.”
Queen Andromeda nodded and with a wave of her hand several healers went down from the steps to the throne and went to the fallen ponies. After a few moments she smiled. “It is quite all right Commander, you needn’t worry thyself. For our kingdom is filled with magic, and even the veil of death can be broken to undo what has been wrong.” The Queen descended the throne and placed a gentle hoof on Aurora’s shoulder. “Do not worry thyself; we have judged thee as a just and wonderful Captain Commander of our nation’s Diamond Knights.” She smiled, seeing the, “fallen,” ponies back on their feet with smiles on their faces before nodding. “From this night forth, let it be known throughout the land that Aurora Borealis is the one and only Captain Commander of the Diamond Knights. The Queen of the Capital City of the Star commands it!” She shouted, hearing a round of applause and stomping from every other pony.
Pinkie Pie was shocked. She didn’t know that Twilight could handle herself in a fight like that; she didn’t even know that Twilight could fight at all what with her past experiences wanting her to end things without fighting. This was beyond just being in a psychotic cult or something, she was a totally different pony. And it would take a totally different pony to bring her back into the real world.
“But she looks like she may be having fun though.” Pinkie argued with her brain. “She’s not exactly hurting anypony, I don’t think… And even then, Princess Luna wouldn’t just sit there and watch her hurt anypony. I don’t think that I can really do this on my own… I’ll need help to bring Twilight back. Professional help.” Pinkie Pie thought before disappearing from her hiding spot in the bushes and heading off back to town.
-The Next Morning-
“But I’m telling you the truth!” Pinkie Pie said through a partial whine. “Twilight was in a clearing wearing a full suit of armor like a knight and used a sword to take down twelve ponies at once!” She had tried Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and even Fluttershy, but none of them seemed to believe her story.
“And how much sugar did you have before bed this time?” Rarity asked, calmly working on an order from her sewing machine.
“Well I chugged a whole bottle of soda before bed, and Spike gave me a cupcake to call back on his favor but that’s beside the point!” Pinkie Pie answered. “Twilight is acting like a totally different pony and is beating up other ponies in the middle of the night when everypony else is asleep! You have to believe me!”
The white unicorn spun around on her chair after shutting her sewing machine off. “Pinkie Pie, maybe you just dreamed all of this up. All of that sugar and caffeine right before bed can not be good for your coat. Before long you may just be running yourself ragged like poor Applejack. You remember the last time she worked herself into a near-coma don’t you?”
Pinkie Pie fumed. She wanted to say something really, not Pinkie Pieish at the moment, but stamped her hoof and grumbled. After the white unicorn returned to her sewing, Pinkie Pie got an idea.
A wonderful idea.
A super, splenderificous, spectaculabuolous, excellent idea.
“Hey Rarity, do you happen to have any fabric that you aren’t using?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking around.
Rarity stopped with her sewing again. “Not to sound too cross Pinkie dear, but I am in fact using all of the fabric you see hear. Why?”
“What about this?” Pinkie Pie asked pulling a roll of sparkling pink fabric that rested in the trash can as Rarity turned back to face Pinkie Pie again.
“Well, that’s not exactly something that I would say that I would use but…” Rarity’s voice trailed off. “Why, are you planning on making something with it?” She asked, staring at the pink mare nervously.
“Yeah, and it looks perfectly fine for what I want to do. Ooh ooh ooh! And so does this black fabric!” Pinkie Pie squealed, grabbing another roll from the other side of Rarity’s room.
Rarity was about to say something, watching as Pinkie Pie grabbed another roll of fabric from the stack Rarity wasn’t using, but before she could get a word in the pink mare trotted out of her room with a happy, “I’m going to need to use these if that’s okay with you Rarity, I’ll pay you back later when I’m done. Bye for now!”
Rarity rubbed her temples nervously. Whatever fashion disaster that Pinkie Pie had planned, she opted to have nothing to do with it. “It’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie I guess.” She thought before returning to her work.
Twilight’s entire body ached. It wasn’t necessarily the bad kind of, “I’m hurt,” kind of ache as much as it was the, “I’m glad I did something and made something out of myself,” ache. Spike was calmly snoozing upstairs in the bedroom; she had let him sleep in for his help yesterday, as was the status quo for things at the Library. Twilight herself had been busy with one of her experiments as the bell from the front door to the Library jingled open.
“Coming!” Twilight shouted, setting down a filled bottle with her magic. After trotting up the stairs and into the main room for the Library, she stopped as she saw Pinkie Pie walking down the lengths of the bookshelves looking for something. After watching her friend pick out several books with her hoof and balance them all on her head, she turned to Twilight and smiled.
“Hey there Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said happily.
“Uh… Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, looking at the heavy bound books that were balanced on her head.
“Oh these? These are for research purposes.” Pinkie Pie answered before looking around. “Secret Research purposes. I can’t tell you what I’m researching because it’s a secret.” She said, smiling a little.
“Well I know that, so is that going to be it?” Twilight asked before yawning a little.
Pinkie Pie smiled. “Yep.” She said, continuing to balance the books on her head as she made her way to the front door. “I’ll bring them back to you next Thursday if that’s okay with you.” She said.
“Of course Pinkie, just try not to get anything on them. You remember what happened to the last book that you borrowed.” Twilight said playfully, opening the door for Pinkie Pie.
“You know that wouldn’t happen. I Pinkie Promise.” Pinkie Pie answered, performing the motions of her own patented promise before turning to go.
“Okay then, I’ll see you later.” Twilight said quietly.
“See you later.” Pinkie Pie replied, before turning to glance at Twilight. “Oh, and you don’t need to worry about not getting enough sleep anymore. I’m going to help you fix that problem too.”
Twilight froze, most of her mane exploded out of place. “W-W-What problem are you talking about Pinkie?” She asked as sweat began to form.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just going to help you with you being the pony I know all the time at night time. You know, when you’re in the armor and not you.”
Twilight nearly fainted.
“Twilight? Twilight? Are you okay?” Pinkie Pie asked, turning around and seeing Twilight’s entire body turn white with fright.
“Yes. I’m okay Pinkie. I’ll talk to you later okay?” Twilight replied in a voice that didn’t sound like her own.
“Okey Dokey Lokie! I’ll see you later then Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said, leaving the Library.
Twilight remained standing at the front door of the library, seemingly frozen in time as hundreds of thousands of possibilities flashed through her brain. How much did Pinkie Pie know? How much has she seen? Why wasn’t she apprehended by Princess Luna’s guards? What did she mean about her not being her? All of those didn’t seem to matter as Twilight slowly closed the door to the Library and mechanically walked to the spots where the checked out books were. “This is not good. No. No. No. No. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!” Twilight screamed in her head. Quickly she galloped to the bedroom and headed to the desk. After opening the drawer, Twilight picked up a midnight blue envelope with her magic and a quill with ink and parchment before hastily scribbling down a quick letter. “Maybe Princess Luna can sort this out… A-a-after all, this is something her character is good at. Maybe I won’t get kicked out if I tell her. Twilight stopped and put a hoof to her mouth. “But what if I do? I’ll be the laughing stock of the whole realm! Princess Luna probably won’t speak to me, I-I-I…” Twilight stopped, horrified as visions of Aurora flooded her mind as the Captain Commander was escorted out of the world by Princess Luna’s guards. A shadow, a forgotten name, something that ponies would look on with disgust and betrayal. She sealed the letter as quickly as she could and literally galloped over to Spike before shaking him wildly with her magic.
“Wh-Wh-WHOA! Easy Twilight, Easy! You’re making me sick!” Spike exclaimed, before glaring at Twilight. “Where’s the fire?” He asked, staring at the blue envelope in Twilight’s magic.
“Spike, I need you to send this letter to Princess Luna now.” Twilight answered, staring at the purple dragon before thrusting the letter at him.
“A letter? You want me to send a letter?” Spike asked, sounding a bit cross. “All right, but you owe me double than normal. Especially after you promised that I could sleep in.” He said, taking the letter from Twilight’s magic before taking a deep breath. After a few moments and some concentration, Spike exhaled a burst of flame which consumed the letter and sent the fluttering smoke trail off in the direction towards Canterlot. “Is that it Twilight?” He asked, watching as the lavender unicorn began to pace.
“Yes Spike. Thanks.” Twilight answered, before unsteadily trotting out of the bedroom.
“Whoa… Wonder what’s got her so worked up.” Spike thought before shrugging. “I just hope that I don’t have to send another letter to Princess Celestia again. The last time she nearly destroyed Ponyville.” He curled back up into his basket before the realization hit him, which caused him to snap back up like a rocket. “Maybe Pinkie Pie knows something!” Spike exclaimed, before scampering after Twilight.
In a little less than six hours, Pinkie Pie’s room in Sugar Cube Corner would have rivaled Rarity’s room in the Carousel Boutique. Fabric was scattered every which way, scraps of pieces were in the trash can or lying in one of the many piles that dotted her room, but she was turning her room into the epicenter of chaos for one of her friends. Twilight needed her, and she wasn’t about to let her down.
Pinkie Pie busily smiled, looking from one of the books, “Military tactics of Equestria,” to a pink mass that sat beneath her own hooves. It glimmered and shone just like the sun that was about to fall, but it wasn’t meant to be utilized for just looks. “Everything is coming together nicely. I just need to let my helmet dry,” Pinkie looked over to a hardening faceguard that stood on her dresser before looking to the mass that was beneath her hooves, “And then I can wear this to the next outing. And I can have a chance to help Twilight!” She smiled, setting the book aside before pulling out a needle that had already been threaded.
Night quickly fell on Ponyville as Twilight waited for word from Princess Luna in regards to the situation at hand. Pinkie Pie knowing about the game wasn’t really a bad thing, at least that’s what she hoped it didn’t turn out to be and didn’t want to get thrown out just because of a mistake that she made. Twilight jumped a couple of times at the sounds of the front door opening, only to find other ponies looking around to check out books to read.
When the last few moments of the sun had dipped beneath the horizon, and Twilight was about to fall asleep in her favorite chair, a loud knocking from her front door caused her to leap from her chair. “Aaaah!” She yelped, landing on the floor of the library in a heap. The front door of the Library knocked again, slightly louder than the first time, before Twilight could get to the door. “I’m coming!” She said, trotting to the front door and opening it as she tried to compose herself.
“Twilight Sparkle?” One of Princess Luna’s Royal guards stood on the other side of the door, with a grim look on his face.
“Y-Yes sir?” Twilight answered, staring at the guard nervously.
“The Princess has requested that all members of the Night Court meet her in full attire.” The guard reported. “We have been instructed to give assistance to those who need it. And we must hurry, the news of being discovered long before her highness was ready has greatly troubled her.”
Twilight nodded, understanding the guard that was standing in front of her. “I’ll… I’ll go grab my things.” She said, turning away from the front door and leaving it open. After retreating to her vanity closet and grabbing her black saddlebag, she returned to the front door and looked at the ground quietly. “Hopefully this isn’t my last trip out…” She said quietly, looking at nothing in particular.
Twilight then calmly stepped out and closed the door with her magic, making sure to lock it. The Library was nearly silent, save for Spike who had just witnessed his best friend get taken away. A huge lump of guilt sat in the bottom of his stomach as the sight of Twilight walking away with one of the guards pierced through his scaly skin and made him feel worse than how he looked.
Spike wanted to say something that would get her out of the kind of trouble that he imagined that she was in, but just before his imagination ran away from him the front door knocked a second time. Quickly the baby dragon rushed down stairs and opened the door, and gasped.
Even in the dark of the night, Pinkie Pie shined like a diamond. She was covered in a full suit of pink armor that was laced with gems, and had a black trim around the edges of the plate. Her mane was drawn back from the black helmet that she wore, but still retained most of the puffiness that it was famous for. A massive sword rested on her back in a dark red sheath, and seemed to be more menacing than what was necessary and as she smiled, it seemed to be hiding a lot more than what was absolutely possible. “Hey Spike, Is Twilight here?” She asked.
“No Pinkie, you just missed her.” Spike answered, still dumbstruck at the crazy getup that the pink earth pony wore. “Why do you look like your about to go into a battle?” Spike asked, looking at her nervously.
“Well it’s the climax silly. Sheesh, didn’t you read the script that I left behind?” She asked, watching Spike slowly shake his head. Pinkie Pie shrugged and stepped inside the Library. “Well seeing that I’m the only pony who did, I need your help.” She said, staring at the purple dragon coolly.
“You need my help.” Spike repeated.
“Yep, I need your help.” Pinkie Pie said. “You see, a good knight can’t go into battle without a squire, and in order to snap Twilight out of the problem you called me in for your favor I need you to be my squire okay Spike?” She said, pulling out a small brown bag from out of nowhere.
“What’s in it for me?” Spike asked, staring at the brown bag and watching Pinkie Pie laugh a little.
“Maybe if you help me, you can call yourself a Knight in front of Rarity.” Pinkie Pie teased, smiling as the dragon grabbed the bag and blushed red.
“I am at your service!” Spike said proudly, bowing low before looking into the bag. He looked up, seeing Pinkie Pie’s smile and blushed even more before groaning inwardly. “Why do I get myself into these things?” Spike thought before glaring at Pinkie.
“What’s the matter?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking worried.
“Nothing… Nothing. I’ll get changed.” Spike answered, walking upstairs with the bag.
“Oh, and do it quickly! We need to time our big entrance perfectly!” Pinkie Pie shouted after the dragon. “And isn’t it time for a scene change?”
What?
“I said, isn’t it time for a scene change? You know, let the reader’s know what’s going to happen to Twilight, and why she’s gotten so worked up over what’s really nothing.”
Good point. But what about you guys?
“We’ll be there. Just keep writing. You’re almost done.”
The moon hung high above the clearing in which the ponies of the Night Court stood. Everypony was either exchanging nervous glances, or staring at the once proud Captain Commander of the Diamond Knights. Nopony spoke a word.
“Aurora Borealis, or should we say Twilight Sparkle. You are accused of breaking your vow of silence in the world of the Night Court. An uninvited pony of the day has found out who you are in this world, and has passed that information on to several other ponies. We would give thee a customary chance to defend thyself, but we have not heard a change into your story. What do you say?” Princess Luna stood over Twilight, doing her best to control and contain all of the powers of the ancient magics that she as her character held sway over.
“I don’t have anything else to say other than I’m sorry.” Twilight replied, her voice barely over a whisper. The crowd of Night Court Ponies whispered and muttered amongst themselves as the Queen raised a hoof to silence them.
“Thou dost realize that we have no choice but to take the gift of the royal night away from thee?” Princess Luna asked, staring almost ashamed at the Lavender unicorn.
“I do understand.” Twilight answered. “That was the risk of entering the Night Court when you first told me about it. And I know that I can never be the same without it. It’s been an amazing experience, but I don’t think that I’ll be able to remember it after tonight.”
Twilight’s answer resonated throughout the other ponies as a single tear swept through the eye of the Princess of the Night. She felt betrayed, and after tonight it wouldn’t be long until her Night Court was turned into a complete and dysfunctional mess. Princess Luna turned to one of her guards and nodded with a lump in her throat. “Though it pains us to say it but, Captain you may carry out the sentence.” She said, watching the night guard nod before advancing to the lavender unicorn.
The heavily armored unicorn advanced on Twilight, his horn glowing as black as the night sky above until the sounds of a trumpet blaring loud enough for everypony as far as Canterlot itself could hear. Everypony looked up and shielded their eyes as a pink mare wearing a full suit of blinding pink armor stepped forward. As the lightshow ended, Twilight could only stifle a small giggle at the sight of Pinkie Pie in heavily shiny armor and Spike in an equally shiny, and downright embarrassing, squire’s uniform.
“Hold that spell and stay thy hoof, for the unicorn known as Aurora Borealis has done nothing wrong!” Pinkie Pie declared powerfully. “The Royal Knight from the lands of the Never-ending Party demands it!”
Everypony gave each other a very confused stare before turning towards Princess Luna who looked just as confused as they were. “Guard, stay thy hoof. We shalt deal with this trespass.” She said, concentrating for a few moments as her character’s armor materialized around her. “Who dares to trespass on the proceedings of the court of the Royal Night? And who is the foal who makes demand of our soldiers and presents thyself in a… most outlandish manner? Speak!” She demanded.
Pinkie Pie smiled before bowing politely. “I go by many titles in the land that I hail from your majesty. But most ponies call me the Neverfading Star of Orion. Or Orion for short. I come with a great tale of both bold and fierce proportions, for it is the deeds of the Captain Commander of the Diamond Knights that I am still standing on this glorious night.” She smiled.
Everypony seemed to buy whatever that Pinkie Pie was selling. Twilight could see several faces of the other ponies lighting up with smiles as Pinkie Pie’s speech was almost spot on. She could even see that every pony had eyes on her at least, but were still overly close to her own position.
“Really… Captain Commander, is this the truth? Did’st thou go unto another nation without our command?” Princess Luna, in the voice of Queen Andromeda, asked.
“Well… your highness…” Twilight began, seeming to grasp at straws.
“She was there your Majesty, and I hath brought along my squire along with a most epic tale that would shower the masses with her glory for centuries to come. Squire Sweettail, you may proceed.” Pinkie Pie continued, looking down at the dragon that had begun to doze off. “SQUIRE!” She shouted, snapping the dragon from out of his slumber.
“Y-Y-Yes my lady?” Spike asked, after looking around and still realizing that he was still in the clearing where everypony else was.
“The story Sweettail?” Pinkie Pie said, pushing the dragon forward and winking. Spike nodded, and smiled. “Of course my lady.” He said before bowing to the crowd. “I would ask the crowd to take a seat, as this tale may take most of the night.” The crowd followed his instructions, with guards rushing every which way to deliver pillows to the members of the Night Court and bring out the throne for the Princess.
Everypony was focused on Spike for most of the night, watching as he and Pinkie Pie both reenacted battles that Twilight’s character surprisingly fought hard and won in. There were several points when the Princess had to stop and check with the scribe on hand to maintain accuracies in their story, and after what normal Night Court would consider to be the end, everypony cheered in a round of applause. Spike and Pinkie Pie both bowed, watching as Twilight was on her back hooves and whistling at the performance, as were several others. When Princess Luna raised her hoof to silence the crowd, and all fell silent, she smiled before beginning to speak.
“What a wondrous tale. Bravo. Bravo. These deeds may have been the greatest that have been ever foretold. We must ask our Captain Commander, should we be one to believe them?” She asked, staring at Twilight.
Twilight began to sweat a little, but could understand that Pinkie Pie understood what was going on. “O-o-of course your highness. Your Captain Commander wouldn’t ask this fine knight from the realms of the Dayworld, to come all this way to lie to thee.” She said, turning to Pinkie Pie who nodded vigorously.
“It is unfortunate however, those tales may not be able to be great enough to outweigh the punishment that we have slated for thee.” Princess Luna said, staring at Twilight nervously. “Unless we check the Royal Book of Laws for the Realm.” She said, summoning an all-black and heavy book from out of nowhere and flipping through it. “Hmm… let’s see, fighting off an adult dragon single hoofed… Check. Defending a small settlement with a small group of defenders against a horde of undead and successfully repulsed the attack… Check. And rescued the Empress of a foreign nation in the Daylands from an ancient evil… Check. Hmm… This is most impressive.” She stared down at the lavender unicorn. “It seems the weight of your deeds have swung things in thine’s favor Captain Commander. We expect that you enter our court with proper attire fitting for a member of legendary prowess.” She said, turning to the other guards before nodding at them both.
“You are most generous your highness.” Twilight answered in Aurora’s voice.
Princess Luna lowered her head down to Twilight’s level and gave a small grin. “Should you wish to go and save more
lands from distress, and get envoys to our small kingdom we would be most grateful.” She said with a wink.
Twilight, who didn’t seem to get what the Princess was talking about, stared at her blankly. Pinkie Pie snuck up next to Twilight and nudged her in the shoulder calmly.
“She means that if you wanna invite any other ponies, make sure that you get her permission and have a great story to tell for them to come and join them.” She said, watching as Twilight nodded.
“Oh.” Twilight said quietly before nodding. “OH! Okay.”
-Several Weeks Later-
“Ooh Ooh Ooh! You guys are going to love this!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, nearly jumping in her seat.
“Easy Pinkie dear, you may knock the carriage from the guards.” Rarity scolded, adjusting the dark purple cloak that she wore.
“Now how long have you guys been into this game? And why has nopony told me about it?” Rainbow Dash asked, sounding extremely miffed about not being told anything.
“Well it’s been several months.” Twilight answered. “And don’t look so glum. If we get enough players, there should be a huge raid soon.”
“A what?” Applejack asked through a yawn.
“Is it dangerous?” Fluttershy squeaked.
“Not if you stick by us!” Pinkie Pie said happily, popping in between her friends. “And the worst that could happen is that you could get really nasty welts. But with the way that you and Rarity are set up, you probably aren’t going to be seeing too much action-”
“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight snapped, cutting the pink mare from carrying on for too long. “No. Spoilers.”
Pinkie Pie’s face went white as she clopped her hooves to her mouth. “Oopsie.” She whispered before smiling apologetically. “Sorry guys but Twilight’s right. No Spoilers. Oh, and whatever Princess Luna says goes okay?
“But of course.”
“Sure whatever, let’s just get going all ready.”
“Ah’ll right, but I had better not be missin too much of my sleep because of this.”
“Uhm… Okay I guess. I mean, whatever everypony else wants to do.”
With the answers from everypony else, Pinkie Pie turned to Twilight. “We have an A-Okay from everyone Commander.” She said in a somewhat loopy, but serious voice.
“All right then, let’s set the scene with a story…”