Party's Over

by Friend_Computer

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character
Length: 21841

Being a member of Luna's Night Guard has been the cushiest job in Equestria's military for the last 1000 years. But when Luna returns, the Guard quickly realizes that their lack of professionalism and discipline will surely get them into trouble.

The Night Guard was once a highly regarded order, and joining the personal servants and defenders of Princess Luna herself was one of the most prestigious positions anypony in Equestria's armed forces could aspire to. Then the Princess of the Night had her little run-in with jealousy-induced insanity, and her subsequent banishment left the Night Guard in a bit of an awkward position.

Fortunately, the fact that the Night Guard was not really needed anymore never seemed to occur to anyone, and now, a thousand years later, the order is still just sort of... there. However, after centuries of neglect and a complete lack of supervision, the Guard barely resembles a military organization anymore.

Some unquestioning military bureaucrats apparently still take care of pay and hiring, and every now and then, new recruits arrive with purpose in their step and stars in their eyes, convinced that service with the Guard will allow them to achieve great things. But while those hopes unavoidably end in disappointment these days, recruits tend to acknowledge soon enough that the current state of the Guard does have its perks.

The only thing that could possibly ruin this cushy little job would be the return of Princess Luna. But it's been centuries since she was banished, and really, at this point, what are the odds of that ever happening?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
A little just-for-fun side project I did a while ago over a pretty short period of time.
Be warned, within this tale you will find:
- references to excessive alcohol consumption
- juvenile and cringeworthy innuendo
- shenanigans
May also contain trace amounts of bat ponies.

Expertly proofread and edited by the hawk-eyed, diligent, and just all around [insert positive adjective of your choice] 0_0.

Published 2015-08-05 02:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-07 00:43:37 UTC

The Letter

The Pale Wood Forest, while not as dangerous and unpredictable as the Everfree, was nonetheless one of the last stretches of untamed wilderness within the borders of Equestria. The soil that nourished its ancient trees was dark and fertile, and entire cities could have been erected from its lumber without doing any lasting harm to the sprawling green ocean. And yet, civilization refused to encroach on its borders, and whenever somepony inquired why this was the case — something that happened rarely enough already — the only answer they would get was a shrug and a brief comment about how it had always been that way. There was a better explanation, but only a select few remembered the reason as to why not disturbing the forest had become second nature to those who lived close to it.

At the very center of the forest, a single mountain rose up from the ground, standing out against the surrounding trees like a giant among ants. With its steep cliffs and slopes, its countless rocky spires that could have been mountains in their own right, and its snow-tipped peaks that reached to such dizzying heights that they seemed to touch the bottom of the sky, the mountain was impressive enough by itself, but even more so if you knew that it housed the ancient palace of the Princess of the Night.

The existence and location of Luna's palace was not really a secret. But as the centuries went by, most ponies had simply forgotten about it, just like they had forgotten about many other things related to the disgraced princess. But the fact that few ponies knew of its existence did not mean that the palace was abandoned.

Although the Princess of the Night had been banished almost a thousand years ago, her personal guard had never been disbanded. New members came and went, but the Night Guard had remained at its post all these centuries, faithfully guarding the seat of their beloved Princess, their loyalty and sense of duty never wavering.

Well, more or less. After a thousand years of being stationed in a palace with nopony to answer to and no duties to perform, all while still receiving regular pay, discipline and protocol had understandably become a little lax.

* * *

Swift Shade awoke from her less-than-restful sleep, immediately regretting it when a bright light stabbed into her catlike purple eyes like hot needles. She groaned and quickly warded off the cruel brightness by pulling her straight black mane across her face like a curtain. It took several seconds before her eyes had adjusted enough for her to take a look around.

She was lying in the great ballroom, a massive cave that had been remodeled into a magnificent hall. When the palace was dug out from the mountain caves, the architects had taken special care to preserve the natural beauty of the place, and their efforts showed most prominently here. All throughout the hall, dozens of natural rock pillars stretched from floor to ceiling, adorned with masterful carvings of the night sky. The floor of the cave had been evened out and polished until it was as flat and smooth as glass, and the vaulting ceiling was streaked with veins of precious metals and gem deposits that shone and glittered in the silver light of the magic lamps illuminating the hall.

However, the grandeur was somewhat diminished by the junk and garbage strewn all around the floor. There was hardly a spot of ground that wasn't covered with heaps of empty bottles, glasses and tankards, columns of dirty dishes, empty food packaging, or overturned chairs and tables. And lying in the middle of this chaos were Swift Shade and twenty-one other bat ponies, who were completely dead to the world at the moment.

Swift Shade wanted nothing more than slip back into blissful unconsciousness. Her head felt like a dragon was performing a tap dance inside of it, she had the revolting aftertaste of stale cider and cheap liquor in her mouth, and her stomach was extremely outspoken in questioning some of the decisions she had made last night. But she knew she would not be able to go back to sleep, so she figured that she might as well get up.

Apparently, she had spent the entire night lying on her side, and her left wing had fallen asleep. Also, Dusk Chaser had passed out right next to her, and his head was currently resting on her belly.

“Dusk,” Swift Shade croaked, but the stallion was out cold. “Hey, Dusk. Wake up. I said wake up! That's an order, lieuten... ah, forget it.” She finally gave up and just rolled over, robbing Dusk Chaser of his pillow, and the stallion’s head bumped on the stone floor with a dull thud. His crimson eyes shot open, and he let out a garbled sound that Swift Shade had only heard from a few species of giant cave worms before.

She gave him a toothy grin and rose to her hooves. “Back among the living, Dusky?”

The dark gray stallion looked up at her and folded his front legs over his head. “Unfortunately. Hey, if you feel like doing me a favor, maybe you could give me a good kick in the head so I can pass out again? That would be phenomenal.”

Swift Shade walked over to a table that was somehow still standing, trying to clean something that looked like a mustard stain off her dark blue coat by scratching at it with the tip of her wing. “No can do. If I have to suffer, you suffer with me.”

She checked the bottles and packages on the table, fortunately managed to find what she was looking for, and picked up a bottle of hot sauce and an open bottle of tomato juice that was still half full (Shade had always considered herself to be an optimist). Looking for a clean glass would be completely hopeless, so she just dumped the contents of the glass closest to her on the floor, filled it with juice, and added almost the entire bottle of hot sauce to it. There was a salt shaker on the table, but somepony had spilled it, so Shade just held the glass under the table and scooped some of the wet, lumpy salt into the mix.

When she turned around holding the glass clamped in her fetlock, Dusk Chaser looked at her in disgust. “You're an animal.”

Shade just shrugged. “As long as it helps.” Then she took a big gulp of the vile concoction, and it immediately made her eyes water. The tricky part was keeping down the first swig, everything after that was foal's play. She kept it down.

“All right,” she coughed, “Lets wake the others, shall we?” She then turned towards the enormous stereo system they had wired up inside the ballroom.

Dusk went pale, and his ears drooped. “You wouldn't...”

Swift Shade bared her sharp canines in a cruel grin. “Brace yourself Dusky. It's gonna get loud.” Then she turned the volume up to maximum, pressed “play,” and instantly, the bass-heavy rhythm of DJ Pon3's Wub till you Drub started thundering through the hall.

A chorus of tortured moans and groaning swelled up behind Swift Shade. “Up and at 'em, my little ponies,” she shouted. The other members of the Night Guard looked like they had freshly risen from their graves, and Shade pranced past them while blaring an off-key song at the top of her lungs, “Oh, what a beautiful moooooooorning! Oh, what a beautiful daaaaaaaaay!"

When she cantered past Starlit Sky, the mare glared at her from underneath the unkempt thicket of dark-purple insanity her wavy mane had transformed into overnight. Despite being the Guard’s appointed medic, right now she seemed much keener on opening up some wounds rather than patching them up. "Hate you. Hate you so much."

Shade patted her on the head with one of her leathery wings, but quickly pulled it back when Starlit Sky took a snap at it, her pale-blue eyes spraying flaming murder. Yet more proof that a bad enough hangover had the power to transform even the most amiable pony into an irritable grouch.

"Aww, don't say that, Sky. Hate is such a strong word."

Starlit Sky's marefriend Moonlight Sonata was lying right next to the medic, and while Sky and Shade were having their little spat, she groggily pulled a small bottle of painkillers from the saddlebags that she had used as an improvised pillow.

“Oh, hey, could I please have one of those? My head is killing me,” Shade asked when she saw Moonlight shake two pills onto the underside of her left hoof.

Moonlight briefly stared at her with a flat expression. Then she popped both pills into her mouth, and shook the upturned bottle a few times to emphasize its emptiness.

Shade's eyes narrowed slightly, and she had a quick internal debate if this was worth getting into an argument over. But after a few moments of contemplation, she just turned away and walked back over to Dusk Chaser. Not so much because being in Moonlight Sonata's good graces was something she placed any real value on, but because she knew Sky didn't like it when her friend and marefriend were quarreling with each other.

Dusk was still lying on the ground, and Shade began poking him with the tip of her wing. "Get up."

Dusk Chaser rested his head on his forelegs and closed his eyes. "No."

Swift Shade's poking grew more insistent. "Come on! You said you were going to go grocery shopping today. Are you really gonna make me pull rank here?"

"Oh, shove it up your nose, ma'am!" Dusk growled, "It's a full day’s trip to the next store, and I'm in pain here. What exactly do we need that's so important?"

"Everything!" Shade said, "We are literally out of everything. Having food would be nice, you know. I'm a big fan of food."

That gave Dusk Chaser some pause. "We really don't have anything left?"

Shade looked around the room. "Well, if push comes to shove, whatever is growing in that pizza box over there might last us for another week. But I'm afraid if it gets any bigger, it might start eating us."

"I guess,” Dusk Chaser said, but he still seemed hesitant. “You know, I hear all that processed, pre-packed stuff they sell in stores these days is really bad for you. We got all that nature just outside our door, and I've been meaning to eat more grass anyway..."

"You know, when I say 'we're out of everything,' I mean booze as well, right?" Shade interrupted him.

Dusk Chaser was standing on his hooves faster than Shade's eyes could follow. “I'll have to take the chariot with me.”

“Hey!” Shade called, “I wrote a list, all right? Don't come back with nothing but alcohol, we really need some food.”

“Booze is food,” Dusk insisted, as if the mere suggestion of that not being the case offended him.

“Booze is not food!” Shade objected, “Look Dusk, we have done very extensive case studies on this subject, and I think we have proven that the pony body needs more than hard cider and hay fries. I'm honestly worried that I might get scurvy if we go on like this.” She put a leg around his neck and pulled him close so she could glower at him more effectively. “I wrote you a list. Don't make me nail it to your forehead.”

Dusk rubbed his temple and let out a pained chuckle. “Kinda feels like you already did. All right, you shall have your precious 'fibers' and 'vitamins,' your Highness.”

Shade smiled and patted his cheek. “Good boy.” She was about to say something else, but then her ears perked up and she thought she picked up a very strange sound. “Hey guys, kill the music for a sec, all right?”

A moment later, the hammering of the bass stopped.

“Thank the Stars,” Starlit Sky mumbled, but then the melodic chime of a bell echoed through the hall. “What's that?” she asked after a few seconds of confused silence.

“Sounds like a doorbell,” Moonlight Sonata said.

Dusk Chaser frowned. “I didn't know we had a doorbell.”

Swift Shade took another sip of her hangover cure. “Honestly, I'm pretty sure we don't.”

* * *

Swift Shade zipped through the winding corridors of the palace at a breakneck speed, catapulting herself forward with strong, rhythmic strokes of her wings. She had her eyes closed, and with every exhalation of breath, she let out a high pitched shriek that most other ponies would not even be able to hear. To her sensitive ears, however, the echos of the sounds she made mapped out her surroundings in perfect detail, and she took twists and turns with such precision that whenever she changed course, there was barely an inch of air between her body and the naked rock of the surrounding walls.

Bat ponies were superb fliers by nature, but even for them, maneuvering through such a limited space at this velocity was a task few would be up to. Swift Shade could have just walked, or flown at a speed that was less insane, especially considering the night she had before. But there was so little to do around here on a daily basis that she liked to challenge herself every now and then. Besides, she was extremely curious to see who was at the door.

Finally, Shade shot into the hallway leading to the entry doors of the palace. It was perfectly straight and very roomy, so maneuvering wasn't a problem here. To make things more interesting, Shade accelerated until the very last moment, and then abruptly shifted her weight in the air and started beating her wings in the opposite direction when she sensed that the doors where only a couple of yards away. She stretched her hind legs out in front of her, and when they made contact with the smooth surface of the doors, she immediately pushed back, did a backflip, and landed perfectly on the hallway's thick carpet. Then she finally opened her eyes to look at the glass she was still holding with her left fetlock.

“Ha! Still got it. Didn't even spill my juice.” She looked around the empty hallway and smiled, a little embarrassed. “Sucks that nopony saw it, but whatever.”

The doors were almost twenty yards high, and had many heavy bars and elaborate locks. With all of them in place, the massive obsidian gates of the palace could have withstood an army of rampaging dragons, but the members of the Night Guard had long since stopped locking the door. Nopony ever came by, anyway. So all Swift Shade had to do was to push it open, which was surprisingly easy, considering that the gate had to weigh several tons.

The massive slabs of black stone swung outwards in complete silence, and Swift Shade squinted and blinked when she saw sunlight for the first time in over two weeks.

Outside the door sat a pegasus mare with a gray coat and a flaxen tail and mane. One of her golden eyes was fixed on Swift Shade, while the other one seemed to be more interested in something slightly off to the upper left. She wore a mailmare uniform and carried a heavy bag, and as soon as she came into view, she gifted Swift Shade with one of the brightest and most genuine smiles she had seen in a while.

“Hello, ma'am. I...” She paused, and looked a little anxious while she studied Swift Shade more closely. “Oh...” Several seconds of awkward silence passed before she spoke again, a lot less cheerful this time, “Ehm... a... are you going to eat me?”

Shade cocked an eyebrow at the other mare. “Wow, girl. You really get right to it, don't you?” She took another sip of her juice. The exertion from earlier had made her headache return with a vengeance. “Now, don't get me wrong. You're cute and all, but I don't really swing that way.” Suddenly, something in her brain went 'click,' and she shot an angry glare at the pegasus. “Hey! That's a really hurtful stereotype, you know? We're all herbivores here, these teeth are just for self defense.”

The other mare didn't say anything. Instead, she just looked at the glass Swift Shade was holding, then at her face, then back at the glass. Suddenly, Shade was acutely aware of the fact that the contents of the glass had a very distinctive color, and that the hasty and sloppy way she had been drinking meant that her muzzle was very liberally coated with the stuff. She quickly lashed around with her tongue to clean as much as she could off her face.

“It's juice,” she said meekly.

The pegasus responded with an eager nod. “I... I believe you,” she was quick to assure Swift Shade.

Shade let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, is there something I can help you with?”

The other mare's facial expression cleared up instantly. “Right! I have a letter for you!” Almost her entire head disappeared into the bag she was wearing at her side, and she pulled out a scroll. “It looks super important,” she said after giving it to Swift Shade, “Sorry, I couldn't find the mailbox.”

“We don't have one,” Shade said.

The pegasus beamed as if Shade had just solved the greatest mystery of their age. “That's probably why I couldn't find it, then. Anyway, I didn't want to put it anywhere where it might get lost, so I rang the doorbell. I hope that's all right.” While she said that, she pointed at one of the many decorative gems that were set into the surface of the palace door.

Swift Shade hesitated for a second. Then she reached out and pushed her hoof against the gem. Nothing happened.

“That's not a bell button,” Shade said slowly, “In fact, we don't have a doorbell either.”

The pegasus frowned briefly and stared at the gem. Then she just shrugged, and her smile returned as brightly as before. “Sorry. I didn't know that.”

Swift Shade blinked twice. Although she was afraid of the answer she might get, she couldn't help but ask, “You know, you don't strike me as military. How did you find this place, anyway? It's not even on a map these days.”

“Oh, that was easy,” the pegasus assured her. “You see, I had to deliver a letter here,” she then said, as if that was a perfectly valid answer to Swift Shade’s question.

For a few moments, Shade was tempted to poke further. But then she realized that in her current condition, thinking too hard about this would probably make her head explode. “You know what? I'm not entirely sure how you do it, but it's obvious that you are insanely good at your job. I don't have any money on me, but if you wait here a sec, I'll go get you a tip.”

But the pegasus simply shook her head. “Very kind of you ma'am, but that's really not necessary. Just doing my job.” She flapped her wings a few times and lifted herself off the ground, then waved at Swift Shade. “Have a nice day.” And off she went.

Shade looked after her until she disappeared in the distance. “Maybe I'm still a little tipsy,” she mumbled to herself. Then she swallowed what was left of her juice, tossed the glass away, and took a closer look at the scroll.

Her eyes went wide when she saw the royal seal that kept the correspondence rolled up.

This has to be a mistake. She thought, while she broke the wax with shaky hooves.

To the hooves of our sister's most loyal servant, Swift Shade, esteemed Captain of the Royal Order of the Night Guard.

It is with great joy that I inform you...

Shade felt beads of sweat form on her forehead as she read through the letter. “Oh, buck me sideways...”

* * *

Swift Shade was standing on the stage in the palace theater, and looked at the other members of the Night Guard assembled before her. “We have a really big problem.”

Dusk Chaser rolled his eyes. “Look, I told you I'm gonna go get groceries. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

“Not grocery related,” Shade said, “This is so, so far beyond groceries, it's not even funny.” She sighed, looked intently at the ponies gathered before her, and tried to give her next words as much gravity as she could, “Princess Luna has returned.”

There was a heavy stretch of silence.

“Who?” Moonlight Sonata finally said.

Swift Shade's eyes almost bulged out of her skull. “The Princess of the Night? The Mistress of the Moon? One of the Royal Sisters, ruler of the Night Court, diarch of the nation of Equestria, the pony whose personal guard we are supposed to be, you know, that Princess Luna, does any of this ring any bucking bells?!”

Moonlight Sonata gave her a frown that was half annoyed and half confused. “You mean Nightmare Moon?”

Shade hushed her up with a very insistent hoof gesture. “Hey! First of all, we don't use the N-word around here. It's disrespectful. And second, no, not any more, apparently. Initially, she came back as... her, but it seems like she's herself again.”

“Hold on a second. So, when and where did all of this happen exactly?” Dusk Chaser asked.

“Just over a week ago, in some one-horse town called –” Shade scratched her head “– I don't even remember. Ponytown or Donkeyville or something like that. Sounded like Hick Central. Anyway, apparently we missed the whole thing while we were sitting down here, blitzed out of our skulls like usual.”

Dusk Chaser looked around and let out a nervous chuckle. “Eh... maybe that's for the best? I mean, were we supposed to help her when she first came back? Because I’m not really thrilled by the prospect of fighting in a civil war. How did the Night Guard deal with this a thousand years ago?”

“Oh,” Shade said, and then, as the realization sank in fully, “Oh! Yeah, good thinking there, Dusky. Boy, good thing we sat that one out. That would have been a really awkward situation. But in any case, Princess Luna is now really and truly back, as herself. Celestia has welcomed her back at court, and, this is the important part, tomorrow, as in, the day after this one, she's going to show up here to ‘meet with the members of her trusted guard, and take care of urgent business.’ I don’t know about you, but that sounds like an inspection to me.” Shade waited a few seconds so the full meaning of what she just said would have time to slap her friends across the face. “Now, I'm going to be as nice as I can: This place is a pigsty. I have seen cockroaches leave here in utter outrage. We need to make this palace and ourselves at least halfway presentable, and we need to do it in just a bit over one and a half days.” She let her gaze wander over the ponies in front of her. “Any questions?”

Shadow Charger, a tall, sinewy stallion who had been with them for about fifteen months, raised his hoof.

Shade pointed at him. “Yes, Shadow?”

“Yeah,” Shadow Charger said, “Just so I get this right, you are all in the military?”

Swift Shade's mouth dropped open. “Wait... are you saying you aren't?!”

Shadow Charger grinned sheepishly. “Not as such, no. I'm just an old friend of Dusky. I was kinda between residencies, and he offered me to crash with him for a while.”

“No I didn’t,” Dusk quickly denied, “I didn’t even know they kicked you out of your apartment. You just followed me here all the way from home after I came back from R&R. And that still blows my mind, considering it’s a week-long trip.”

Shadow just waved his hoof dismissively. “Details. Anyway, I guess it became kind of a permanent deal. I thought this was just a flatshare.”

Swift Shade felt as if she was about to go cross-eyed. “A flatsha... Shadow, you live in a palace! You don't pay rent. At all! In fact, you get paid to live here! When I noticed that you weren't getting your pay, I wrote a letter to the Equestrian Office for Salaries and Pensions and told them to send more money. They just did that, by the way, without even double checking it, which raises all kinds of uncomfortable questions about how they spend our tax bits, but that's a headache for another day. What kind of flatshare did you think this was!?”

Shadow Charger looked at the ponies around him and smiled happily. “A really, really awesome one.”

Swift Shade covered her eyes with a hoof. “You are killing me here, man. All right, just so we're clear on this, is anypony else not actually supposed to be here?”

She noticed Starlit Sky poking Moonlight Sonata in the ribs, but Moonlight just shook her head and made a zip-up motion across her mouth. Starlit Sky rolled her eyes and raised her hoof. “Hey Shade? Sorry, but Sonny isn't technically military either.”

Swift Shade sighed. “Define 'technically’.”

“Not at all,” Starlit Sky said with an embarrassed grin. She put her leg around the other mare and went on to explain, “She's here because I asked her to move in with me. She hasn't been getting service pay, though. I think you once asked me if everything is taken care of with her, and I said yes. So I guess we misunderstood each other there, but that was probably for the best.”

Moonlight Sonata looked extremely annoyed at this. “So, I could have gotten paid to live here all this time? What a total ripoff.”

“I always thought that twenty-two was a bit of an odd number,” Shade mumbled, “Okay. You know what? I'm in serious trouble anyway, and we are going to need all the help we can get. So congratulations Moonlight Sonata and Shadow Charger, you are now honorary members of the Night Guard, ranked private. Do us proud.”

Moonlight Sonata seemed unsure how to react to that. “Is that, like, a job?” She emphasized the last word as if it were an obscenity.

Swift Shade scratched her head and shrugged. “I guess it is now.”

Author's Note

Remember kids: Booze ain't food.

Now, I'm not going to say the 'waking up with a hangover' parts of this are partially autobiographical. But I won't say it ain't so either.

Many thanks to 0_0 for proofreading and giving many helpful comments and suggestions.

Spring Cleaning

Shade was currently standing inside the palace bathroom with Shadow Charger, Dusk Chaser, and Starlit Sky. Actually, bathroom was a bit of an understatement. All in all, the palace had about thirty or so bathrooms, but this one was by far the largest, and it was more of an underground water park. When the palace was built, spells had been woven through the rock that drew every bit of moisture inside of it to this room, where it was collected, heated, and finally formed a constantly running waterfall that streamed over several carefully arranged terraces and slides, and fed into about a dozen large pools. It was a clever system, as it not only supplied the room with constantly running water, but also prevented the interior of the palace from being as clammy and uncomfortable as caves usually were.

They had divided tasks among the Night Guard members by pulling straws. Starlit Sky had just pulled one of the remaining long straws, which meant that she and one other pony would be in charge of cleaning this room.

“Okay,” Shade said. “That means me and Sky are going to work here, and you two are cleaning out the ballroom. Have fun with that.”

Dusk Chaser frowned. “I didn't see you pull a straw.”

Swift Shade tossed the remaining straws to the side. “I'm the captain.”

“A total dipstick is what you are,” said Dusk.

Swift Shade gave him a merry little grin. “I can live with that.”

“What about Moonlight Sonata?” Shadow Charger asked, “She was supposed to clean up the music room, but she came back and told me it's full of really big spiders.”

Swift Shade rolled her eyes. “Oh for pony's sake, what is she, five?”

“Don't worry about it. I'll go help her once we're done here,” said Starlit Sky.

Swift Shade gave her an uncertain look. “You won't just do all the work for her, right?”

Sky smiled a little sheepishly and avoided eye contact. “Eh... I'll try. She's really good at dodging work though. If she put half as much effort into working as she does into getting out of work, she could really get things done.”

“Seriously, Sky, you need to stop letting her walk all over you and then acting like it's some sort of endearing trait of hers,” Shade said. Then she pointed at Dusky and Shadow. “Now, you two. Get going, the ballroom is going to keep you busy for a while.”

The bathroom was one of the places that had been in regular use over the years, and there were no carpets or tapestries to attract any persistent stains, so cleaning it was one of the easier tasks they had to undertake before the princess arrived.

Sky was busy scrubbing water stains from the marble statue of some regal-looking unicorn, when she started talking in a pleasant conversational tone that told Swift Shade she was definitely going somewhere with this. “So, Shade. Do you think we'll still be able to use this place when Luna is back?”

Shade looked up from her own cleaning rag. “What? The palace?”

Sky glanced at one of the steaming, bubbling pools of water. “Particularly the bathroom.”

“I honestly don't think so, Sky,” Swift Shade said, “From what I understand, this place was something of a private refuge or summer home for the princess. We are probably going to spend a lot of our time in Canterlot, and while we're here, we'll stay at the guard quarters. You know, those rooms we've been using as broom closets. I'm fairly certain this place is going to be off-limits for us.”

Sky's scrubbing motions became increasingly slower as Shade talked.

“I see. Now, I know how this is going to sound at first, but please, hear me out before you dismiss the idea I'm going to run by you now.” She turned around and looked at Swift Shade. “I say we secede from Equestria, declare our independence, and claim the palace as our own. I think The Independent Nation of Midnight Castle has a nice ring to it, but we can put that up to a vote. Unless we choose that we don't want to be a democracy. We can put that up to a vote as well.”

Swift Shade looked at Starlit Sky as if the other mare had lost her mind, which didn't seem like much of a stretch at the moment. “For a bathroom?”

There was a manic glint in Sky's eyes. “Yes! Just look at what we would be giving up!” She stabbed her hoof in the direction of one of the pools. “These things are relaxing muscles I didn't even know I had, Shade! Do you know how many water jets every one of those pools has?”

She had been slowly stalking up to Swift Shade while she spoke, and their faces were now only a few inches apart from each other. Swift Shade had started to lean slightly back, and it took her a few seconds to realize that Sky was actually expecting an answer to that question.

“No?” she said meekly.

“Neither do I!” said Sky, “There's just so many of them! I tried to count them once, I didn't get further than two hundred and thirty-three.” She seized Swift Shade's shoulders with her front legs and started shaking her in desperation. “I can't go back to the cold and dismal place that was my life before I learned this bathroom existed! You can't do that to me, Shade!”

“Calm down, Sky!” Shade called, “I know wars have been started over dumber things, but we won't commit high treason for a bathroom! Not like I ever used the thing, but I really think you are overselling this.”

Sky stopped shaking her, and her eyes went wide. “Wait... you never tried it?”

Shade looked at one of the pools and shook her head. “I don't really bathe. I always preferred showering.”

* * *

Swift Shade let out a deep sigh of utter bliss. Jets of warm water were pushing against her body from all directions, kneading every last bit of tension out of her muscles, while myriads of tiny air bubbles gently caressed her coat. She felt so relaxed that she thought she might just melt into a puddle at any moment.

“All those wasted years...” she whispered.

Starlit Sky, who was sitting in the water next to her, pulled her into an embrace and patted her on the head. “I know, Shade. It changed my life too.”

Shade spread her wings under the water, and almost slipped into an ecstatic coma when the pool started working its magic on her sensitive patagia. “Yeah, well, it's worse for me. At least you had a few years to enjoy this.”

“Remember my suggestion from earlier?” Sky said, slightly hopeful.

“Why must you test my loyalties so?” Shade sighed. “Sorry, the answer is still no. Also, you're insane.”

The door to the bathroom opened, and Dusk Chaser and Shadow Charger walked in.

“Hey, Shade. We put all the garbage in bags, but now we don't know where to put the ba—” Dusk said as he entered the room, but when he saw the two bat ponies sitting in the pool, his face contorted into an angry sneer. “Are you two for real?! We are working our flanks off, and you laze around in the tub?”

“I... it... we were done cleaning, and we just... wanted to see if the bubbles still have enough... buoyancy,” Shade stammered. Then she pointed an accusatory hoof at Sky and called, “It's her fault! She tempted me with her magical fountain of joy and happiness!”

“Whoa now, Shade, I did no such thing!” Starlit Sky objected. Then realization seemed to hit her, and she conceded, “Oh, you mean the pool. Yeah, I guess I did tempt you with that.”

Shade jumped out of the water and shook herself, making a dense cloud of droplets erupt from her coat and mane. “Enough with the conspiracies,” she said to Starlit Sky, “We have work to do.”

Then she jumped down on the marble tiles of the bathroom. Her coat, mane, and tail were still dripping wet, but they would dry out soon enough.

Starlit Sky left the tub as well. “I guess I should go check on Sonny,” she said, and walked out of the room.

Dusk Chaser gave Swift Shade a sardonic smile. “All right. Now that you are sufficiently relaxed, captain, maybe you could instruct your subordinates as to how we are supposed to get rid of all this garbage. They only pick up the trash once a month when they deliver our pay, and that was just over two weeks ago.”

“I know,” Shade said, “Listen, it absolutely can't stay inside the palace. Take it outside, stash it somewhere they won't find it.”

Shadow Charger didn't seem very happy with that. “It's a lot.”

“I guess you should start as soon as possible then,” said Shade.

“Yeah, but that would take a really long time, and we still have to take care of the mushroom garden,” Shadow said.

“Wait, mushroom garden?” Shade asked, “I didn't know we had a mushroom garden. Why didn't I know about that? I like mushrooms.”

Shadow Chaser suddenly seemed very interested in the tiling of the bathroom floor. “They're not exactly the kind of mushrooms you'd put in a salad. Well, I guess you could, but you really shouldn't. I could tell you some stories.”

Swift Shade's mouth dropped open. “Did you know about this?” she asked Dusk Chaser.

“Maybe?” Dusk said.

Shade groaned and stomped her hooves in frustration. “Get rid of them! Get rid of the trash! And do it quick-like!” she screamed, and stormed past them into the hallway.

“How?” Shadow Charger called after her.

“I don't care!” Shade shouted without looking back.

* * *

The palace lacked a few modern conveniences, but over the years, the Night Guard had made a lot of modifications to rectify that. For example, while the palace theater had originally been designed with thespian entertainment in mind, the Night Guard had discovered that it could easily be turned into a movie theater by simply hanging up a canvas on the stage and placing a projector at the end of the hall. However, there was one universal truth about the floors of movie theaters everywhere: They were absolutely filthy.

For the better part of an hour, Swift Shade had tried to clean a soda stain out of the theater's thick, silk carpet. She had started out with soda water, moved on to vinegar, followed by about half a dozen different detergents with increasing amounts of skulls and bones on their labels, and right now, she was trying punches and insults, but none of it seemed to really make an impression. While she considered upgrading to bladed implements, the door to the theater opened, and Shadow Charger poked his head in.

“Hey, Shade,” he said in a tone that was entirely too cheerful and immediately filled Swift Shade with an acute sense of alarm.

“What did you do?” she asked.

Shadow did his best to look offended. “I have no idea what you mean. On a completely unrelated note, do you remember when you told me 'I want you to get rid of the trash and the mushrooms, and I don't care if you have to burn down the palace to do it’?”

Swift Shade could feel the blood draining from her face. “I very distinctly remember never having said that!”

Shadow frowned. “You didn't?” There was a very prolonged stretch of silence that was ended by him clearing his throat. “So, here's the thing. I had this brilliant idea for getting rid of the trash and the mushrooms all at once. I figured we could just put all the trash into the mushroom garden, set it on fire, and then close the door.”

Swift Shade felt like her brain was trying to slap its forehead. “I... I can't even...”

Shadow nodded eagerly. “I know. Really good plan. Problem is, it didn't go quite the way I planned it. Now, I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is –“ he slightly turned his head to make sure his voice carried into the corridor “– Dusky was being a worrywart for no good reason, and I was completely right about how we couldn't actually burn the palace down, seeing how it's made of rock. The bad news is, the ventilation of the palace is apparently not quite up to draining all the smoke.” As if it had waited for an introduction, a thick tendril of oily, black fumes appeared over Shadow's head and wormed its way into the room.

It looked like Shadow was about to say something else, but Swift Shade threw herself forward with three quick strokes of her wings and smashed into him like a catapult stone. They briefly tumbled through the hallway, and then stopped with Shade standing upright and having both her front legs firmly planted on the prone stallion's chest.

“Okay, hold it, Shade,” Dusk Chaser called from slightly off to the side, “I get that you are angry...”

“I am so far beyond angry!" Shade snarled. "The blasted stain on the carpet in there made me angry. I am now well into livid and quickly approaching murderous!”

But before she could carry out whatever it was she had in mind for Shadow Charger, a worried looking Starlit Sky zipped into the hallway. “Eh, Shade?” she said while hovering in the air right next to her commanding officer, “Sorry to interrupt, but I kinda need your help. You remember how Sonny complained about those spiders? Well, when she said 'big,' I thought she mean 'big' as in 'big as an apple.' Turns out she meant something along the lines of 'big as a buffalo.' Long story short, the spiders have taken her hostage, and now they demand to speak to our leader.”

“That sounds serious!” Shadow Charger said quickly, “You should really check that out as soon as possible! Like, right now!”

Swift Shade looked back and forth between Starlit Sky and Shadow Charger, before lowering her head an baring her teeth at the frightened stallion. “Fix. This. Now!” she growled while pointing at the smoke that was accumulating under the hallway's ceiling. Then she flung herself into the air and followed Starlit Sky.

“So, what are you going to say to them?” Starlit Sky asked while they flew next to each other.

Swift Shade's mood was still anything but pleasant. “Unless you count kicks and tooth marks as words, I won't be saying anything. We're Equestrian military, Sky. We don't negotiate with terrorists.”

* * *

Swift Shade was lying on her back, pinned to the ground by four spindly, but frightfully strong, segmented legs. A pair of giant fangs with thick drops of milky venom already accumulating at their tips twitched and waggled just a few inches away from her eyes, but since she was not in the mood for any more shenanigans, she simply clocked the thrashing arachnid on the head with her front hoof, and then bit the stunned creature on the face.

“Not so fun anymore when someone is doing that to you, hmm?” she hissed, and then used her hind legs to push the spider off her forcefully enough to throw it out the palace door. “And don’t come back!” she shouted after it. Then Starlit Sky pulled the door shut, and both of them sat down on the floor, Swift Shade letting out an exhausted huff.

“I agree with that assessment,” Starlit Sky said. Then she grimaced in disgust and let her tongue roll out. “Yuk! Stupid bristles. I feel like I have to shave the inside of my mouth now.”

Herding ten immensely uncooperative giant spiders through half the palace had been a rather taxing and time-consuming ordeal. Swift Shade was just glad that they had managed to do it on their own, without pulling other members of the Night Guard away from their own tasks.

“I guess that means Moonlight Sonata can clean out the music room now,” Shade said, “She might need something other than a broom to get rid of those cobwebs, though. Maybe a cutlass.”

“Maybe we should giver her a little break,” Sky suggested, “She's been through a lot.”

“I think it was harder on the spiders,” Shade mumbled and started walking down the hallway.

Sky hurried after her, and she sounded more than a little annoyed. “Hey, now you're just being mean, Shade.”

“That's not a joke, Sky,” Swift Shade said, “They literally threw her at us as soon as we walked through the door. So either they really didn't know how a hostage situation is supposed to work, or they were so sick and tired of her presence that they just didn't care anymore.”

“You could have at least tried to catch her,” Sky mumbled.

At that moment, Dusk Chaser flew out of one of the numerous doorways that opened into the entry hallway of the palace. “Hey Shade? It's probably getting a little old for you to be dragged from place to place like this, but you should probably know what happened.”

Shade gave him a confused look. “How did you know we were here?”

Dusk glanced back into the side corridor he had just left. “Well, I knew you went to the music room, and it wasn't all that hard to follow you from there.”

Swift Shade frowned, and then walked a few steps forward to take a look past the stone archway Dusk Chaser had come through. What she saw was a hallway filled with torn-off tapestries, fallen chandeliers and broken paintings. She hadn't noticed it while it was going on, but apparently their struggle with the spiders had completely trashed every hallway they went through.

Shade groaned and started rubbing the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof. “Wonderful. Just what I need.” Then she turned to Dusk Chaser. “So, you were about to tell me that everything is finished, the palace looks perfect, and the others are already working on cleaning up this little mess, right?”

Dusk made a big point of avoiding eye contact. “All right, first of all, I want you to know that I'm really, really sorry...”

* * *

A few minutes later, Shade, Sky, Dusk and Shadow were standing in the hallway outside the mushroom garden turned incinerator. Mucky water was reaching up to their hips, high enough to almost cover up their cutie marks. Swift Shade was a bit shorter than the others, and only the tip of the forked purple lightning bolt that adorned her flank could currently be seen. The red cross on the rump of Starlit Sky was still visible, but the three crimson droplets next to it were covered up by water, as were the shafts of Dusk Chaser’s two crossed spears. The snapping turtle on Shadow Charger’s flank was half-hidden as well, but with its goofy grin, it actually seemed to be quite happy with the situation, and almost looked like it might detach itself from his coat and swim away at any second.

“Okay,” Shadow Charger said, while soot-covered bottles and charred pizza boxes were lazily floating around him on the water’s oily surface, “I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is, my plan to clog the drain in the bathroom in order to flood this part of the palace and put out the fire worked perfectly. The bad news...”

Without saying a word, Swift Shade grabbed his head and pushed him underwater. It took a combined effort from Dusk Chaser and Starlit Sky to pull her off the flailing stallion.

“No!” she screamed while Shadow came back up, desperately gasping for air. “Let me at him! No jury in Equestria will convict me! He's clearly a saboteur, I refuse to believe that anyone could be this stupid without making a conscious effort!”

“Shade, please calm down!” Dusk said.

At the sound of Dusk's voice, Shade's anger suddenly realigned itself on him. “And you! Why are you doing this to me, Dusk? I thought you were better than this! Why are you going along with his ideas, instead of kicking the snot out of him as soon as these ludicrous schemes start pouring out of his stupid mouth?!”

Dusk's expression suggested that was just as much a mystery to him as it was to her. “I don't know! The way he explains it always makes it sound really reasonable and thought-out.” He shot a baffled look at Shadow Charger, who was still busy coughing up water. “I actually think he has the power to make you dumber just by listening to him.”

“Hey now,” Shadow wheezed, “Hoof pointing is getting us nowhere here. Instead, we should work on getting rid of all this water. Now, I have already thought of a plan. All we need to do...”

Shade squirmed free of the other two ponies’ grasp, and clamped Shadow's muzzle shut between her hooves. “Not another word!” she growled. “Now, this is going to play out one of two ways. You can either grab a bucket and get to work, or I can make you drink up every last drop of water in here, drag you outside, and pop you like a balloon.” She leaned forward until their faces were almost touching. “What's it gonna be?”

Shadow's eyes had grown wider and wider while Shade talked. “Bucket!” he squeezed out between her hooves.

Shade nodded. “Good choice.”

* * *

Swift Shade dumped another bucket of dirty water into the freshly unclogged bathroom drain. Then she flapped her wings to lift herself off the ground and picked up the five empty buckets she had carried into the bathroom, one with each leg, one with her mouth. But when she turned around to continue her work, she saw Dusk Chaser standing in the door.

“Hey, Shade,” he said a little hesitantly, “You think it's about time for you to take a little break?”

Swift Shade shook her head. “Can't,” she mumbled around the rope of the bucket in her mouth, “Still so much water.”

“I guess,” Dusk said, “Would be great if those spells could pull water from inside the hallways as well. But I guess then you wouldn’t ever be able to mop the floors, hey?” He looked at Swift Shade and grinned, but quickly realized that his forced attempt at a joke had fallen flat. “Look, Shade, you've been doing this for eight hours straight now, with barely three hours of sleep yesterday, and then there was that little brawl with the spiders earlier. I really think you should get some rest.”

But Swift Shade flew past him into the hallway. Starlit Sky was standing outside, looking just as worried as Dusk Chaser. “He's right, Shade. Come on, you let Shadow go to sleep four hours ago, and he's the one who caused this in the first place.”

“He's a civvy,” Shade said, “I was afraid he might drop dead if I pushed him any harder. Besides, he started crying, and that just made me feel super awkward.”

She still gave no impression that she was about to stop working, and Dusk and Sky continued their pleading while flying after her.

“You won't get this done today in any case, Shade,” Sky said, “You worked harder than any of us, you really should save some energy for tomo—”

Shade spun around to glare at her. “I can deal with this, Sky! Just kindly leave me be and let me work!” she grumbled, and then tried to fly on.

But the sudden turn had made her feel a little dizzy, and her eyelids seemed very heavy all of a sudden. She tried to fall back on her sonar, but forgot for a moment that she was still carrying a bucket, dropping it as soon as she opened her mouth. Since she was paying absolutely no attention to where she was headed while this was going on, the corridor predictably chose that exact moment to make a sharp right turn, and Shade crashed face-first into the wall. All the buckets she'd been carrying clattered to the ground, and she landed harshly on her rump. She glanced around with a profusely confused look on her face and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Ouch...”

“Aww, Shade.” Sky sighed and landed next to her. “What are you doing, girl? Come here, let the medic take a look at that.” She quickly snatched up one of the crystal lamps in the hallway to shine a light in Shade's eyes and poked and prodded the bruised area. “Good thing you got a thick skull on your shoulders. It doesn't look too bad.” But almost instantly after saying that, she paused, and then looked over and winked at Dusk Chaser. “Then again, back in med school they always said you can't be too careful with head wounds. So I think maybe you should lie down for a spell, just to be safe.”

Swift Shade looked at the buckets scattered around her. “But—”

“Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?” Sky didn't make use of it very often, but when she wanted to, she was more than capable of pulling off that very authoritative tone of voice only medical professionals talking to their patients had fully mastered.

Shade quickly shook her head. “No, ma'am.”

“Good,” Sky said, “Now, lie down.”

Swift Shade did. The hallway's thick carpet was surprisingly cushy, and she found it remarkably hard to keep her eyes open. Maybe Sky was right, and she had hurt her head more badly than she had thought.

A few moments later, she heard Starlit Sky's voice next to her. “Okay, lift your head up a little.” When Swift Shade did, she felt something soft and fluffy slide under her chin, and almost simultaneously, a warm cover was thrown over her entire body below the neck. “There. Just a little something to keep your head still, and we wouldn't want you to get hypothermic.”

Shade's eyes fluttered open briefly, and she saw that her head was now resting on a pillow, and that Dusk Chaser had draped a blanket across her. A slight frown formed on her face. “Wait a minute, I see what you're doing,” she mumbled, “You're trying to trick me into falling assssssss...” The last word drifted off into a quiet little snore.

Starlit Sky sighed. “Poor Shade. She's taking this whole thing pretty badly.”

“Not really surprising,” Dusk Chaser said, “She's technically the one who's in command here, and she's probably scared that all of this will be on her head. I just hope we can do something to keep that from happening. Out of all of us, she's the one who has the most to lose.”

Starlit Sky seemed uncertain. “I guess. But honestly, I think there's more to it than that.” She shook her head and sighed again. “Come on. Maybe we can at least clean up the worst chaos from our little spider scuffle earlier.”

* * *

When Swift Shade finally woke up, she was wide awake and on her hooves within the literal blink of an eye. “Oh, you crafty little scoundrels.”

She threw aside the blanket and began looking for some other member of the Guard to tell her how much time she had lost. Unfortunately, the fact that the first pony she found was Moonlight Sonata, lazing around in one of the palace drawing rooms, slouching on a causeuse and reading a book like she had not a care in the world, did little to brighten Shade's already somewhat dour disposition.

“Hey, Moonlight Sonata,” she said flatly, “You wouldn't happen to know what the time is, or where I can find the others?”

Moonlight Sonata didn't look up from her book and made a vague gesture with her hoof. “Eh... it’s ten-ish, I think. And they're around, still trying to clean this place up.”

The smile Shade gave her had all the warmth and friendlessness of a frozen over graveyard. “And I suppose you didn't really think it was necessary to lend them a hoof?”

Moonlight Sonata finally looked at her, and her expression switched from bored to hurt. “He... hey. I did help! I was almost eaten by spiders yesterday, that still haunts me.” Her bottom lip began to quiver slightly. “Why do you have to be so mean to me all the time, Sha—”

“How about you cut that out right now?” Swift Shade interrupted her, “You can save that act for Sky, and I'm honestly surprised it works on her.”

The tearful expression slid off Moonlight Sonata like a mask, and she just shrugged and went back to her book. “Whatever. It's not like I even have to bother, you're not the boss of me anyway.”

Shade glared at her. “I kind of am. I did make you an honorary member of the Guard and all. But to be perfectly frank, that was an incredibly hay-brained decision on my part. So, you can consider yourself to be dismissed from active duty.”

“Yeah, don't do me any favors,” Moonlight Sonata mumbled, “Didn't want to be part of your stupid club anyway.”

Swift Shade felt her coat bristle at that. “We are not a club! We are the Night Guard! We are meant to protect and serve the Princess of the Night herself. Do you even realize what an honor that is? Being part of the hoof-picked personal guard of one of the royal—”

Swift Shade stopped abruptly when Moonlight Sonata threw her head back and started laughing. “Oh, give me a break, Shade,” she chuckled, “I lived with you guys for eight months, I know exactly what goes on around here. You goof around, dance the night away, and drink yourselves into a stupor. That's all you do. The only time I've even seen your armor was when you used your helmets to have a drinking contest. And afterwards, you barfed right in front of a statue of that princess you so proudly serve all of a sudden. I'm sure she would have appreciated that dignified little display.” She shook her head and smirked. “You don't get to act all holier-than-thou at me, you bucking hypocrite.”

Swift Shade's ear's drooped, and she couldn't meet Moonlight Sonata's eyes anymore. “I haven't been the most worthy member of the Guard. I don't deny that. But I realize that I made mistakes, and I'm trying really hard to make up for it.”

“Sure you do,” Moonlight Sonata said, “But if that letter had never arrived, you would be dancing on a table with a lampshade on your head right now. You're not sorry because you suddenly realized that what you did was wrong. You're sorry because you know that you are going to get caught. I know the difference, sweet cheeks.”

Swift Shade's shoulders slumped more and more while Moonlight Sonata talked, and when the other mare had finished, Shade was staring at the ground, her wings hanging limply at her side, and she tried very hard to blink away the tears of shame and anger that stung her eyes. Unable to think of anything to say, she simply spun around and stormed out of the room. Shade wanted nothing more than slap that smug grin off Moonlight Sonata's face, but that would not have changed the simple fact that she was absolutely right.

* * *

“Shade?” Dusk Chaser called into the dimly lit hallway, “Are you in here?”

“Yeah,” came her quiet answer a few seconds later from somewhere far ahead.

Dusk Chaser sighed and started to move towards her voice. The palace memorial had always creeped him out just a little, so he had put off looking for her here until the very last moment. It was a very long corridor with smooth stone walls that were lined with slim pillars made from polished obsidian. Every two of those pillars framed a white marble slab that was set into the wall, and engraved with names of former members of the Night Guard. The first name was the name of the guard captain, the names beneath it were the names of the soldiers who had ended their service under his or her command. However, the names themselves took up only a small part of the stone slabs. The rest was covered with brief stories and anecdotes about every single one of the ponies named above. They had to have been inscribed over a long period of time, as the earlier ones were written in a dialect Dusk Chaser could barely understand.

It was mostly simple things, like personal quirks, talents, or even taste in food or music, but all of it was written in a way that suggested whoever put down those facts had known the ponies in question very well, and some of it hinted at how their service with the Guard had ended.

Comet Glare. A stallion of few words, but endless bravery and dedication. I hope that if I should ever face the choice he made, I shall find the strength to do as he did. Never will I forget his sacrifice.

Midnight Dew. Quick with spear and tooth, quicker yet with tongue and wit. Not dragon's breath, nor monster's claw or griffon's blade could touch her, but in the end, time comes for us all. I miss her dearly.

Dusk Chaser felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't help it, the tone was just so personal that whenever he walked through the memorial, he felt as if he was intruding, looking at things that were not meant for him. There was never any hint as to who had written the inscriptions, but Dusk figured it had to have been the Captain of the Night Guard in most cases.

Dusk Chaser passed by several dozen of those marble slabs on both sides of the hallway, all of them filled completely with writing, before he finally reached Swift Shade.

She was sitting in front of one of the tiles, a cloth wrapped around her right hoof, and was currently wiping the dust and cobwebs off the marble. Dusk Chaser suddenly realized that all the tiles he had passed on his way here had been clean and spotless.

“So,” Dusk Chaser said after a prolonged stretch of silence, “I heard you had a little conversation with Moonlight Sonata? She didn't get into any details, but she seemed very pleased with herself, and that can't be a good thing.”

“She said a lot of things I didn't want to hear. Unfortunately, all of them were right,” Shade said without looking up from her work.

Dusk rolled his eyes. “Moonlight Sonata is never right about anything.”

“Well, broken clock, twice a day, and all that,” Shade said, “How are things going?”

Dusk laughed nervously. “Pretty good, pretty good. No more major accidents. We are making great progress in the kitchen, chiseled away enough cake frosting that you can actually see the stove again. I think things are looking pretty...”

“Dusk, don't,” Shade said and gave him a sad smile, “You know we are not getting this done in time. It will take weeks before the ballroom stops smelling like a trash heap, some of the hallways are still flooded, the entire content of the armory is littered all over the palace because we used it for our LARPing sessions, and the music room is completely trashed. I took a look at the inventory list. They had a harp in there that was over fifteen hundred years old, made from the wood of a tree that went extinct seven centuries ago. I smashed it with my big fat butt when a spider tossed me across the room. And those are just the things I can think of from the top of my head.”

Dusk Chaser tried his best to give her a reassuring grin, and put his hoof on her shoulder. “Hey now. It's not as bad as all that. I think you have a really cute butt.”

Shade had to laugh at that. “You stupid suck-up,” she said, smiling. But it didn't last. “I used to take this seriously, you know?” she whispered, “I never talked about it with you guys, but I'm from a military family. My parents met in the service, and I can't even tell you how much I adored them as a kid. They were everything I wanted to be, and there was never a doubt in my mind that some day, I would do what they did. I actually tried to drop out of school as soon as I was old enough to enlist, but luckily, my folks were having none of it. 'Good luck making officer without graduating,' my mom said, and that was all it took to motivate me.”

She looked at Dusk very intently, and he felt like she couldn't quite settle on whether she was sad or angry. “Top of my class at boot camp. Had my own squad before I was twenty-one! I spent five years in the Deep Corps, patrolling underneath some backwards mountain ranges nopony even knows the names of, stomping out all kinds of nasty critters so they wouldn't crawl out at night and snatch up some small surface town. When I got this promotion, I thought this was the best thing that ever happened to me. Then I actually got here.” She stared at Dusk Chaser, and when he saw how utterly lost and confused his friend looked, it almost broke his heart. “What was I supposed to do here, Dusk? Why did they send us here to guard an empty palace nopony even remembers anymore? What I did before wasn't glamorous, but it was important work. It kept ponies safe, and I was good at what I did. That's all I ever wanted. Why...” She shook her head and looked away. “No point asking those questions, I suppose. Whatever they wanted me to do here, I'm sure this wasn't it.”

“Hey,” Dusk said softly, “Listen, Shade. I remember that when you first came here, you were a massive pain in the neck. You really did your best to whip us back into shape. But things have been like this for a long time now. Seeing how far everything had gone downhill before you ever showed up, there was really nothing you could do about it.”

“Except join in?” Shade asked bitterly. Then she sighed, and continued a lot more gently. “I don't want to put this all on you and the others, Dusk. I promise, I'll try to make this right for you. Tell the rest to be at the theater at fourteen hundred sharp, all right? I'll meet you there.”

Dusk was uncertain if he liked the sound of that, but he nodded. “Okay. If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do?”

“The only thing I can do,” Shade said, “Salvage as much from this mess as I can.”

Dusk Chaser looked at her doubtfully for a few more moments, but then he turned around and left. Swift Shade moved on to the next part of the memorial. She still had some time left, and she felt that at least this part of the palace should look presentable.

Shade raised her dusting cloth and hesitated. The inscription on this one was different from the others. The names were edged much deeper into the marble, and the writing was slightly askew, as if it had been carved into the stone very hastily and with a lot of force. It listed the names in much the same way as the others did, but instead of a long and personal inscription, there was just a single word cut into the stone beneath them.

Traitors

Shade frowned. The marble slabs had no date on them, so she couldn't tell how old this one was. When she glanced over at the next one in the hope that it might tell her a little more, she saw that, while the names of the Night Guard members had still been written down, the space where the short tales and anecdotes had been on the other slabs was completely blank. Walking through the entire corridor confirmed that it was the same for every part of the memorial further down from the one that had been marked in such a peculiar way.

* * *

The residents of the palace had assembled in the theater at precisely fourteen hundred, just as Swift Shade had asked them to. All of them were whispering amongst each other, trying to guess what Shade could have in store for them, but when the theater door opened, they fell silent almost instantly. Swift Shade walked past the ponies sitting on the theater seats, and every eye in the room was resting on her. None of the ponies present had seen her like this in a long time.

Swift Shade was wearing her guard armor, the dark blue steel polished to a mirror shine, and every strap and buckle impeccably in place. She looked neither left nor right while she strode purposefully onto the stage of the theater, and only when she had reached that elevated position did she turn around to let her gaze wander over the ponies that had gathered in the room. Few of them could meet her eyes for long. During the time all of them had spent together, they had gotten so used to her always displaying a mischievous grin that the serious demeanor she showed now was more than a little unsettling to them.

Just before the silence could grow uncomfortable, Swift Shade began to talk in a tone of voice that was very calm and matter-of-fact. “Since yesterday, you have all worked very hard to ensure that this palace would be able to pass scrutiny from her Royal Highness, Princess Luna. I appreciate all of your efforts, but I think we all knew from the very beginning that in the short amount of time we had at our disposal, we would not be able to mend all the damage our previous transgressions caused. The truth is, we shamefully abused our position as caretakers and guardians of this place. We have failed at our duties, and all of us have fallen short of what it should mean to be a member of the Night Guard.” Shade saw how most of the other ponies in the room began to shuffle uncomfortably, or guiltily stare at their own hooves. But she wasn't done yet. “And worst of all” – she saw some of the ponies in the room cringe in dread anticipation – “I failed you as your commanding officer.”

This declaration was answered with stunned silence and confused looks, and despite having planned this speech out, Swift Shade had to collect her thoughts before she continued. “I had very high hopes for this position when I first arrived here. But when it turned out to be not what I had expected, I grew frustrated, and in the end, I simply gave up on any hope that I might be able to achieve something here. I should have tried harder to pull you out of that hole, and give you some kind of purpose and something to take pride in, but it was easier to just let myself go along with you. Or perhaps it was a kind of petty revenge against the ones who sent me here for no good reason that I could see.” She bowed her head to the ponies sitting before her, who were in turn staring at her in complete befuddlement. “Fact is, I let you all down, and I am very sorry for that. I know that you are all good soldiers, and you deserve better than this. When the princess arrives, I will take full responsibility for the state of the palace and the Guard, and while I can make no promises, I will do my best to make sure that you will still have a career after this is over.”

Dusk Chaser had grown increasingly agitated during Swift Shade's speech, and at that last sentence, he jumped off his chair and stomped towards the stage. “What are you doing, Shade?”

“Owning up to my mistakes,” she said.

“Well, they're not just yours to own up to!” Dusk made a sweeping gesture with his right front leg that included every pony in the room. “This is on our heads as well. I don't want you to sacrifice your career for me.”

Shade gave him a curt nod. “Duly noted. But this is not your decision.”

Dusk's nostrils flared. “Like heck it's not! Would you just cut the self-sacrificial bull—”

“Watch your tone, lieutenant!” Shade snapped.

The effect it had surprised even her. Immediately, Dusk Chaser's posture became ramrod straight, his heels snapped together, and his eyes seemingly focused on something dead ahead in the far distance.

“With due respect, ma'am.” His voice was perfectly level and composed, but the anger behind the words was still very much palpable. “The current state of the palace and this unit is not solely your responsibility, and I refuse to let you take the fall for it.”

Swift Shade's angry frown mellowed out a little. “I appreciate it, Dusk. I really do, but we both know that just won't work. I'm the one who was in charge here, so I'm the only one who can take the heat for this.”

Dusk Chaser still stood at attention, but he allowed himself to move his head to look at her, and his ears drooped slightly. “But why do that, Shade? Why are you willing to throw your career out the window just like that?”

Shade groaned and rolled her eyes. “Because I like you guys, you doofus!” She looked at the assembled members of the Night Guard, and smiled for the first time since she had entered the theater. “Look, I know what we did here was horrible, irresponsible, childish, probably, nah, scratch that, definitely criminal in several different ways, and just all around a crass dereliction of duty.” Her smile changed into an embarrassed grin, and she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “But while I hate the fact that I was sent here to sit on my rump and be useless, at least I got to do it in great company. I regret how everything got out of hoof, but I will never regret meeting all of you.”

“Even me?” Shadow Charger asked tentatively, and jumped when Swift Shade hit him with a glare that could have started a forest fire.

“Shadow,” she growled, “since I met you, there were several times when you came closer to killing me than most of the monsters I encountered during my years in the Deep Corps. You are dumber than a bag of hammers with a hole in it, and I've never in my entire life met another pony who could infuriate me as much as you.” She held her angry stare fixed on him for several seconds, but then she smirked and shook her head. “But I know you mean well, and despite everything else, you're a great pal and a great guy. So yes, even you.”

Shadow grinned, and Swift Shade thought she saw the hint of a blush creep into his cheeks. “Thanks, Shade.”

“But you!” Swift Shade whipped her head around to look at Moonlight Sonata. Her eyes narrowed, and it took her several seconds to find the words that could properly express her disfavor. “I don't much care for you,” she then said quietly.

Moonlight Sonata shrugged.

“Listen, Shade,” Dusk said, “I get what you're trying to do, but I don't want this. None of us do.” He walked forward until he stood directly in front of the stage, and his tone became pleading. “Just an hour ago, you told me how much the service means to you. I don't want you to lose that, and you can't ask me to sit by while you give up one of the most important things in your life to cover for my sorry rump.”

“Then what would you suggest we do?” Swift Shade asked him.

“I say we face the music.” Both Shade and Dusk turned their heads to look at Starlit Sky. “Let us try to look as dignified as we can manage. Give Luna her tour of the palace, let her see what we did, and then we accept the consequences. But we do it as a unit. No solo runs. We all messed up, and it's only fair that we should try and spread the blame as evenly as possible.”

Shade was still hesitant. “I don't want to ask this of you.”

“You don't have to, Shade,” Dusk said gently, “She just offered it, and I'm pretty sure all of us are up for it.” The other members of the Guard filled the room with affirmative calls and murmurs. “So what do you say ma'am?” He saluted. “Should we go prepare ourselves?”

Shade stared at the floor and tapped her left front hoof on the thick wooden boards of the stage in a slow, ponderous rhythm. “What if I say no?”

Dusk's eyes narrowed, and his lips split apart to form a wolfish grin. “We'll tie you up, toss you in a broom closet, and when Luna arrives, we're gonna tell her we did that the day you showed up, and that you've been in there ever since.”

Shade eyed first him, then the other members of the Night Guard very thoughtfully. They all appeared to be equally determined.

“Get ready for inspection. Sixteen thirty sharp at the palace gates,” she said slowly, while seemingly trying to keep a close eye on everypony in the room, “Dismissed.”

With a bored expression on her face, Moonlight Sonata looked at the members of the Night Guard hurrying out of the room. “Ah well. Guess we'll have to find another place to crash,” she said to Starlit Sky.

Sky had already stood up and was about to follow her comrades. She looked at Moonlight Sonata, and over the course of about ten seconds, her expression changed from surprise into anger, then disgust, before finally settling on resignation.

“You know, Sonny,” Sky sighed, “I really don't think this is working out anymore.”

Moonlight Sonata frowned. “Huh... bummer.”

Inspection

“Looking good, Shadow,” Shade said approvingly, “Just a few more pointers: The straps of your breastplate are a bit tight, it's generally frowned upon to pick your nose with your spear, and when I said that you should salute with your right hoof, I meant your front right hoof. That looked quite impressive though, didn't know you were that flexible.”

Shadow was still fiddling about with the unfamiliar gear to try and make the armor fit more comfortably. “I don't know if being a soldier is something you can absorb through a crash course. Do you really think this is a good idea, Shade?”

“Oh, it's not. It's a horrible idea,” Shade said bluntly, “But you've been getting service pay for almost a year now. That means you have to be a member of the Night Guard, otherwise both of us are frauds, and we are going to get very closely acquainted with a cushy little dungeon cell. You could say that I'm retroactively making honest ponies out of us.” She straightened his helmet and smirked at him. “Besides, I sincerely doubt that this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.”

Shadow suddenly seemed rather downcast and looked away from her. “Shade, I'm really sorry I messed up so badly. I didn't mean to get you and the others into trouble.”

“I know, Shadow,” said Shade, “I'm sorry too, about being so short with you. And the bit where I almost drowned you, that was slightly over the line. Now, I'm not saying you didn't mess up, because boy, did you ever, but it's not like we would have passed with flying colors if that hadn't happened.” She rapped her hoof against his helmet and grinned. “Buck up, soldier. During inspection, you're supposed to look angry, not gloomy.” Shadow nodded eagerly, and began to scowl at the empty air in front of him. “Atta boy.”

Shade walked down the row of bat ponies that had gathered on the small clearing in front of the palace doors. Despite having, in some cases, not worn it for years, the members of the Night Guard had donned their armor with speed and precision, and at first glance, their posture was the very picture of stoic discipline. But to Swift Shade's trained eye, it was obvious that there was much to improve on. A hoof that was slightly out of line, a pauldron that was a little bit askew, or a greave that had not been polished properly. Small things by themselves, and most of them were fixed easily enough on the spot, but it still told her that the Guard would need some time to get back into its old form.

When Shade reached Starlit Sky, she gave the medic a questioning look. Like all the others, Sky sat very straight, with her spear resting lightly on her right shoulder, but unlike the others, she had a very conspicuous black eye that Shade did not remember from earlier.

“Whatcha got there, Sky?” Shade asked and pointed at the bruised area.

“Nothing much. Little lovers quarrel, so to speak,” Sky said.

Shade's eyes went wide with surprise, and she let out a quick snort. “That skinny little chick gave you a shiner? What for?”

The topic seemed to make Starlit Sky very uncomfortable. “Well, after the meeting earlier, I just wanted to clear the air with her. Talk for a bit, make sure she has a place to stay, that sort of thing. I caught her trying to take some 'souvenirs' from the palace. Didn't really feel like talking anymore after that, and she wasn't too thrilled about being thrown out on her butt.”

Shade grinned. “I guess she looks a lot worse then?”

“Nah, I didn't hit her,” said Sky, “What would that have proven? She’s a civvy, Shade, of course I could have stomped her if I wanted to, but...” Sky paused, and after a brief moment of silence, she shrugged. “Just wouldn't have felt right.”

Swift Shade stopped grinning and reached out to put a hoof on Sky's shoulder. “Look, Sky, I'm sorry things ended like that.”

“No, you're not,” Sky said with a chuckle, “You hated her.”

“I absolutely did, and I think you're well rid of her,” Shade confirmed, “But you are my friend, and she was important to you. So when I say that I'm sorry, I really mean it.”

Sky smiled at her. “Honestly, this has been a long time coming. The timing sucks, but I guess it always does with these things.”

Shade leaned closer to give Sky a brief hug. “If there's anything you need, just ask.”

“That's sweet of you,” Sky said as she returned the hug, “But my rebound relationships never last long, and I'm happy with the way things are between us now.”

Shade laughed. “Aww, darn. Here I thought this was my chance to play a friendly match for the home team to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Hey, don't cop out now! Just kiss already!” someone called to Shade's right.

“Do wing-ups until I say you can stop, Shadow,” Shade deadpanned without looking in the speaker's direction.

“Yes, ma'am,” came the stallion's meek response, quickly followed by the quiet clanking of armor and a continuing stream of strained groans and huffs.

“Seriously, thank you, Shade,” Sky said, “But I'll be fine. Let's worry about getting this thing here over with, I'll have plenty of time to mope later.”

Shade nodded, and after one last reassuring pat on Sky's shoulder, she quickly finished up her inspection of the remaining soldiers, then joined Dusk Chaser, who stood in front of the row of ponies with his back turned, staring towards the horizon. Shade checked the position of the sun. It was almost time.

“Anything yet?” she asked Dusk.

He shook his head. ”No, but shouldn't be long now.”

They sat next to each other in the grass for a minute or two, until Shade saw a faint golden glimmer just above the canopy of the surrounding forest that quickly refined itself into the distinct shape of a pegasus-drawn chariot.

“Here goes nothing,” Shade mumbled, and then rose to her hooves and called a quick command to the others. “Attention!” She heard metallic clatter and the clanging of armored heels snapping together behind her.

As the chariot drew closer, and several armored figures flanking it on both sides became visible, Shade turned her head slightly towards Dusk Chaser. “Hey, Dusk. Just a quick question, were you serious about the thing with the broom closet?”

Dusk smirked and continued to stare straight ahead. “You’d better believe it.”

Once the chariot had come close enough that the ponies standing on the ground could see its occupants, Dusk and Shade glanced at each other in confusion, but remained standing in their rigid military posture. Just a short while later, the opulent chariot and its pegasus escort landed on the ground before them, and the two ponies that had traveled in it stepped down on the grass.

The smaller one was a unicorn stallion with a white coat and a blue mane and tail, wearing the armor of a captain of the Royal Guard. The second pony was an very tall and slender alicorn with a pristine white coat, and a cutie mark in the shape of a shining sun. Her mane and tail were a long, flowing mass of multicolored hair, with several broad streaks in various shades of blue, green, and pink. It also seemed to be in constant motion, as if moved by a gentle breeze nopony else could feel.

Dusk and Shade kneeled respectfully when the Princess of the Sun approached them. “Your Royal Highness,” Shade said. “The Night Guard is deeply honored by your presence.”

Princess Celestia gifted her with a kind smile and inclined her head slightly towards her. “Captain Swift Shade, I presume?” Still smiling, she then looked at Dusk and repeated the small gesture. “And you must be Lieutenant Dusk Chaser. Thank you for welcoming me here, it is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She nodded her head towards the unicorn standing at her side. “This is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot.” The stallion greeted Dusk with a nod and Shade with a salute, and both of them saluted him in turn.

This was the first time Swift Shade had seen Princess Celestia in the flesh, and she was not really what Shade had expected. Her demeanor was certainly regal, but also a lot more cordial than Shade would have guessed. However, being this close to her was a somewhat odd sensation. Far from unpleasant, but still odd. Even though it was late afternoon and they were all standing in the shadow of the mountain, Shade felt comfortably warm, like the sun was shining on her coat, and while every movement Celestia made was very graceful and calm, Shade felt a subtle, but constant stirring of energy around the alicorn.

Shade jumped when she was hit by the realization that she had been blatantly staring at Celestia for several seconds, and quickly scrambled for something to say so she could fill the awkward silence. “Forgive my boldness, your Highness, but I was under the impression that Princess Luna would be with you.”

“Oh, there is no reason to be concerned,” Celestia said, “My sister will be joining us soon. However, it has been a very long time since I was last here. So while we wait, would you be kind enough to give me a brief tour of the palace, Captain Swift Shade?”

Shade could feel her heart starting to beat faster, and she suddenly felt cold, despite the pleasant warmth that seemed to radiate off Celestia. “Of course, your Highness,” she said, hoping that the princess wouldn't notice the slight tremble in her voice, and gestured towards the open palace doors. “If you would follow me.”

Shade was extremely nervous, but apart from that, she didn't know how she should feel. This could be a good or bad thing, depending on where Celestia and Luna respectively ranked on the ‘draconian punishment’ scale of rulership. Maybe Celestia would be just a bit more merciful, and could later be a calming influence on her sister. At this moment, Shade regretted never having paid close attention in history class back in school. Whether or not things like drawing and quartering had been an integral part of the Equestrian legal system a thousand or so years ago suddenly seemed like very relevant information.

If Celestia sensed Shade's nervousness, she certainly didn't let it show. “Thank you. I will try not to take up too much of your time,” she said, her tone still as amiable as before.

“I'll be back shortly, lieutenant,” Shade said to Dusk, and he responded with a quick salute. When Shade walked past the row of bat ponies towards the entrance of the palace, she noticed that Shadow Charger was still busy doing wing-ups. She stopped in front of him, and for a few moments, all she did was stare at him flabbergasted.

Chasm Diver, the stallion standing next to Shadow, was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. “You didn't tell him to stop, Sha... ma'am.”

Shade looked at him, then back at Shadow. “Huh. I have to admit, I'm impressed. Still got a few more in you, Shadow?”

Shadow was wheezing like a tea kettle, and his eyes seemed ready to pop out of his skull. “No.”

“Well then,” Shade said, and for a short while, pity and morbid curiosity about how far he would take this wrestled for supremacy inside her head. Curiosity won by a large margin. “Carry on.”

Shade noticed Celestia giving her an inquisitive look. “Disciplinary action,” she answered the unspoken question.

Shining Armor shot a glance towards the panting Shadow and whistled. “Seems like you run a tight ship here.”

Swift Shade sighed. “You might want to suspend your judgment on that.”

* * *

Celestia remained perfectly calm and poised when she walked into the ballroom, but Shining Armor grimaced and raised a hoof to his nose. The hall had been cleared out, and there was actually not a single piece of trash or clutter remaining in it, but the floor was still pretty filthy in places, and the smell was anything but pleasant.

“What exactly happened here?” Celestia asked, and winced when a few of her tail hairs stuck to the floor and were pulled out when she walked on.

“Lots of things,” Shade said, “We used this room for... recreational purposes, and I'm afraid it will take some time to clean it up properly. I am very sorry, your Highness.”

By now, Princess Celestia had strolled up to the stereo system. “I really don't remember this being here.”

Before Shade could do anything to stop her, Celestia's horn flashed with golden light, and the speakers picked up the song exactly where they had paused it yesterday. For what had to be no less than half a minute, Celestia simply stood in front of the device, her expression unreadable, while the heavy rhythm literally sent ripples through her mane. Then her horn flashed again, and the music subsided.

“How disappointing,” Celestia said as she turned around and started walking towards the door. Shining Armor followed, and Swift Shade hurried after them.

“I understand, your Highness,” Shade said quietly.

“Well, I suppose there is no accounting for taste,” said Celestia, “Personally, I think Ms. Scratch's earlier works show promise, but are still somewhat underwhelming. She really needed a few years to fully grow into her own style.”

Shade abruptly stopped, and she felt as if she had just walked into a brick wall. Then she jumped and flapped her wings to quickly catch up with Celestia and Shining Armor.

“Uhh... we do have her recent records as well,” she said.

Celestia nodded. “I see. Perhaps there is hope for you yet.”

* * *

Swift Shade and Celestia flew just under the ceiling of the flooded hallway, occasionally swaying left or right to dodge a chandelier. Shade was feeling a little bad for Shining Armor, who had to wade through the dirty water instead. In addition, he was still a little dusty from when one of the damaged chandeliers had decided the doubtful look Shining Armor had given it was more than it could handle, and almost crashed on his head in retaliation.

“I have a question, if I may?” said Celestia.

Shade bit her lower lip. “It's about the water, isn't it?”

For a brief moment, she thought that she could see the slightest hint of an amused smirk tug at the corners of Celestia's mouth. “However did you guess?”

“Gut feeling. Would you believe me if I told you that we were trying to set up a permanent sea pony embassy?” Shade asked.

That actually drew a little chuckle from the princess. “Would you expect me to?”

“Not really, no,” Shade admitted, “Seeing how you are the ruler of our nation, it would actually scare me a bit if you were that gullible. The sad thing is, it's actually not a whole lot dumber than the real reason...”

* * *

Shining Armor and Celestia were sitting in the music room and exchanged worried looks with each other.

“Are you quite sure you don't need assistance, Swift Shade?” Celestia asked insistently.

Swift Shade unclenched her jaw from around the leg of the giant spider she was wrestling with, and spat out a mouthful of yellow ichor before she answered. “It's all right, your Highness. I got this.” Being able to move around more freely now, the spider thrashed and jumped to try and throw Swift Shade off its back, and Shade used her wings to slap at its eyes and disorient it. “I thought we had cleared these guys out, but this one must have hidden somewhere. Don't worry though, it's as good as gone.” Then she quickly found another weak spot in the beast's carapace that she could sink her teeth in, and started stomping on its head with both her hind legs.

Celestia reacted with a somewhat tentative nod. “If you say so.”

* * *

The only sounds in the giant bathroom were the bubbling of the pools and the babble of the artificial waterfall. Shining Armor, Princess Celestia and Swift Shade were sitting in one of the larger tubs, and it seemed like none of them really knew what kind of talk was appropriate in this situation. Their various articles of clothing were lying on the edge of the pool, except for Celestia's crown, which was still resting on her head. Shade was stirring the water in front of her with a hoof, staring very intently at the swirls it created. Celestia feinted interest in one of the nearby marble statues, and Shining Armor was just sitting in the water with his eyes fixed on the opposing wall, looking exceedingly uncomfortable.

“This is very nice,” Celestia said after what seemed like an eternity. The silence that followed this short sentence was even more awkward than the one that had preceded it. Finally, the princess asked Shade the question that had been hanging in the air for a while. “Now, as pleasant as this may be, I still would like to know: Why exactly did you insist we do this?”

“Two reasons,” Shade said, “First, after what you've seen in here, I thought it would be best to end the tour like this. I have a theory that nopony can stay mad about anything after sitting in this tub for a few minutes. Second, even if my theory turns out to be wrong, and you throw me in the deepest, darkest dungeon you can find, I wanted to have at least one more go at this thing.”

“Ah, I see,” said Celestia. Like before, her tone was calm and pleasant and didn't give away anything about what she thought. “Now, I am not saying that it is or isn't so, but if I had decided that you should be punished, do you really think this would be enough to placate me?”

Shade's shoulders slumped, and she sunk deeper into the water until everything below her nostrils was submerged. She looked up at Celestia for a few seconds, and then raised her head a little higher above the surface so she could speak. “Uh... hey, you should totally try spreading your wings, your Highness.”

Celestia let out a little sigh that could have meant a thousand different things, but, maybe because she was feeling generous, she still followed Shade's suggestion. For about two seconds, the princess lost control of her carefully guarded facial expression, her mouth dropping slightly open, and her pink eyes going wide with astonishment.

The Princess of the Sun cleared her throat. “Shining Armor? Would you be kind enough to remind me to dig up the construction plans for this place? I think they should still be buried in the archives somewhere.”

Shining armor nodded. “I'll make a note of that, your Highness,” he said tersely.

* * *

“Stars Above, I don't believe this,” Swift Shade mumbled when she walked out of the palace and saw Shadow Charger still in the process of doing wing-ups.

“Thank you very much for the tour, Swift Shade,” Celestia said when she stepped through the doors behind her. Then the princess turned her head and looked towards the horizon. “And we finished just in time. Luna will be here shortly.”

Shade followed Celestia's gaze, but she could not see anything that would have hinted at the imminent arrival of the Princess of the Night. On the other hoof, given how little she actually knew about the exact nature of Celestia's capabilities, that didn't really have to mean anything.

”I imagine you want to speak a few words with your subordinates,” Celestia said, “This is an important moment for the Night Guard. A lot of things are about to change for all of you.” Then she slowly walked away with Shining Armor and sat down next to her chariot.

Perhaps Swift Shade was simply feeling a little paranoid at this point, but she didn't know what to make of that last sentence.

Shade walked over to Shadow Charger and stared at him for a while. “You can stop, Shadow,” she then said.

He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. “Thanks, Shade.”

Shade tapped a hoof against her chin thoughtfully. “You are blindly following instructions with absolutely no regard for your own limitations and well-being.” She grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “I think we'll make a soldier out of you yet.”

By now, Dusk Chaser had joined them. “There was a pretty beat-up, angry-looking spider running past us earlier. I hope you had an opportunity to impress the princess just a little, we need all the bonus points we can get,” he said with slight smirk, but it quickly faded. “But seriously, how'd it go?”

Shade glance over at Celestia. The princess was sitting in the grass, her eyes fixed on the horizon, still wearing that serene ghost of a smile that she had displayed almost the entire time since she had arrived.

“I honestly don't know,” Swift Shade admitted, “I really wouldn't want to play poker with her, that's for sure.”

Dusk Chaser looked past her and squinted his eyes. Then he pointed in the direction the princess was looking. “Well, I guess we'll find out if her sister is as composed as she is.”

Shade turned her head and saw the golden glimmer of another chariot on the horizon. “I don't want to be a Negative Nancy, but I don't think composed types are in the habit of turning into folklore boogiemares and getting banished for a thousand years.”

Shade wasn't outright frightened, but the thought of meeting Luna, the Princess Luna, was still somewhat unsettling. In the olden days, bat ponies used to have a very strong connection to the Court of Night and Princess Luna in particular. Even to this day, they still remembered the Princess of the Night for things other than her fall and banishment, which was more than could be said about most of Equestria's society. But what they had were tales and legends from over a millennium ago. Shade was about to meet this pony personally, and that was another matter altogether.

Luna's chariot was pulled and escorted by pegasus guards, like Celestia's had been, and they landed on the clearing soon after Dusk Chaser had spotted them. Princess Luna stepped off the chariot. Swift Shade stared at her. The Princess of the Night exchanged a quick welcome with her sister, and then walked up to the assembled bat ponies. Swift Shade continued to stare. By now, Luna was standing in front of her, and she had to tilt her head back a little to look Swift Shade in the eye.

She was a whole lot shorter than Swift Shade had expected.

Shade suddenly realized that she was supposed to kneel, and almost made a belly flop in her haste to do just that. “Your Highness. The Night Guard is at your disposal.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “Welcome back.”

“We thank thee, Captain Swift Shade,” Luna said. Shade got the impression that the princess was trying to make her voice sound very loud and imposing, and a slightly annoyed frown formed on Luna's forehead when her words came out a little squeaky instead. “We should like to address our Guard. Lead the way, captain.”

Shade nodded and rose to her hooves. “Of course, your Highness.”

Swift Shade had expected Luna to make some kind of long-winded speech, as most ponies in positions of authority were fond of doing in situations such as this, but the princess surprised her when she approached each member of the Guard individually instead. Luna took her time to converse with them and ask them questions, never for longer than a few minutes, but Shade still noticed that the princess was well informed about their service history, and seemed genuinely interested in learning more.

Shade utilized the time to take a closer look at Luna. Except for the obvious fact that she was an alicorn, she looked like a fairly ordinary pony in her early teens, with cyan colored eyes, a dark blue coat, and a light-blue tail and mane. Even her cutie mark in the shape of a crescent moon could have meant all kinds of things. However, Shade sensed something very much like what she felt around Celestia. It was a lot fainter, but the spark of power was undeniably there.

Luna had just finished talking with Chasm Diver. “You have questions about our appearance,” she said with a glance towards Shade.

Shade jumped and stammered, “I... would not presume to ask, Princess Luna.”

“T'is simple enough. At present, we are in a transitory state. Upon our return...” Luna paused, and for a moment, Shade thought she saw a shadow pass over her features. “Suffice it to say, we almost repeated old mistakes. Thankfully, the newly awakened Elements of Harmony kept us from causing any more harm to our subjects. Our power was shattered, and it left us weakened, but in time, our strength will return, and we shall take up our duties as the Princess of the Night once more.”

“I see,” Shade said. Then she quietly added, “I'm sorry.”

Luna seemed a bit confused. “For what, pray tell?”

“Just, you know. That you had to go through all that,” Shade answered, “I don't know what it feels like to, eh, have your power shattered, but it doesn't sound enjoyable. I guess all I'm trying to say is, I wish your return home could have been more pleasant.”

Luna tried her best to sound nonchalant. “We brought this on ourselves. And if it means that we are free and sane once more, it is a small price to pay.” More quietly, she added, “But the sentiment is appreciated, Swift Shade.”

Then she reached Shadow Charger. She looked at him. He looked at her. Luna frowned and glanced down the row of ponies, like she was taking inventory of her troops.

“He's a new hire,” Shade said quickly.

“Shadow Charger, your Highness,” Shadow added.

Luna studied him very closely. “He is suitable?”

“Really good at following orders,” said Shade, “Just don't let him do any independent thinking while he's on duty.”

Luna seemed not entirely convinced, but she nodded. “Very well, captain. I shall trust your judgment on this.”

Shade gulped.

Then Luna turned to Celestia. “We are satisfied with the condition of the Night Guard, sister. If their military records are any indication, they will serve us with honor and dedication. Now, we should like to visit the memorial. Maybe afterwards, a brief stroll through our palace could be arranged.”

Shade could already feel beads of sweat form on her forehead, but then something about what Luna had said caught her attention. Maybe she was grasping at straws, but ‘brief stroll’ almost made the whole thing sound like an afterthought instead of a proper inspection.

Before she could think about it any longer, Celesta said, “Of course, Luna. Let us go and do what you came here for.” The next few sentences of the Sun Princess made Shade's mouth drop open. “But maybe you should wait a little longer to tour the palace. It has been nearly abandoned for a very long time, and when you first see it after all these years, I would like it to be the way you remember it.” She smiled at her sister. “Give me two more weeks, and it will be properly prepared for you to spend a couple of days here. Actually, I think I could spare some time to accompany you, if you wish.”

Luna beamed at Celestia. “Really? I would...” She quickly cleared her throat and tried to rein in her enthusiasm. “That would be lovely, sister. Thank you.” Then she looked at Shade and hesitated. “But if you and the rest of the Guard had anything prepared for this day, we would hate to let your efforts go to waste.”

Shade finally remembered to close her mouth and shook her head. “I'm afraid we didn't, your Highness. I'm sorry,” she said hoarsely.

“Do not concern yourself,” Luna reassured her, “We know that our visit was announced quite hastily.” She was quiet for a few seconds, and looked towards the palace gates. “We wanted to come here as soon as we were able to. There is something we need to do. You may accompany us, Captain Swift Shade.”

* * *

Swift Shade, Celestia, and Luna strode through the dimly-lit corridor of the memorial. Fortunately, they didn't have to pass through any of the less presentable looking parts of the palace to get here. Since the three of them had entered the palace, not a single word had been exchanged between them.

Shade tried hard not to stare, but she still felt her eyes wander towards Luna every other step. The princess glanced at the white marble tiles as they passed them, and every now and then, one of her wings unfurled, and the tips of her feathers brushed tenderly over a particular name or sentence that was cut into the stone.

When they had reached a particular tile, Luna stopped abruptly and turned towards it. Shade saw that it was the tile that she had seen earlier today, the one with the word traitor written on it.

Luna sat down and stared at the single word that had been hastily etched into the white marble. Her jaw muscles tensed up, and she pressed her lips together until they were only a thin line on her muzzle. For a moment, Shade though she saw a wet shimmer in the corners of Luna's eyes, but before she could be certain, the princess pinched her eyes shut and lowered her head almost to the floor. She remained like that for several minutes, and the utter stillness of the gloomy tunnel felt as oppressive to Shade as a physical weight pushing down on her shoulders.

Finally, Luna took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and gave the scornful word one last angry stare. Then her horn flashed with a bright silver light, and the section of the tile where the word stood simply dissolved into dust.

Luna nodded, like she was satisfied with the result. Then her horn began to glow again, and a small orb of light blinked into existence on the stone surface underneath the newly created hole. Luna's eyes narrowed, like she was concentrating very hard on something, and the glowing orb began to move over the marble with a quiet hissing noise, forming letters, words and sentences in its path.

Shade's eyes became as big as saucers. She stared at the writing Luna was creating right now, then looked over at the identical writing on the other tiles.

It took Luna only about a minute to finish. By the end, she looked very tired, but something told Shade that using her magic had nothing to do with it. She rose back to her hooves, and looked at the other two ponies in the hall.

“It is done.” She was making an effort to talk in a calm and measured voice, but it still came out shaky and quiet. “We will...” Her voice cracked at the second word, and she cleared her throat. “We...” It happened again, even earlier this time. Luna slowly sat back down. Her eyes were wide and clearly glistening with tears now, and she looked up at her sister. “Tia...”

Celestia was at her side in less than a heartbeat, pulled Luna into an embrace with her front legs, and then gently folded her white wings around her. Luna's entire body was shaken by loud sobs now, and she nestled her tear-stained face into the larger pony’s chest.

“They must have hated me!” she managed to say after a while.

Celestia pulled Luna even closer, and Shade noticed how different the white alicorn looked all of a sudden. The poise and composure she had so perfectly maintained until now had been dropped within the blink of an eye, and Celestia made no effort to conceal the emotional turmoil that was reflected on her face. It took Shade a few seconds to fully understand the reason, and realize that right now, she wasn't looking at Princess Celestia, a ruler with countless responsibilities and just as many appearances to uphold. Just a pony who hated to see her sister in pain.

Shade didn't know what to do with herself. She wasn't supposed to see this, she had no right to intrude on such a personal and emotional moment. But Luna looked so hurt and vulnerable. The Night Guard was supposed to stand at her side, to support her and protect her, and even though Swift Shade couldn’t think of anything to do in this situation, turning around and walking away would have just felt wrong.

“They never hated you, Luna,” Celestia whispered, but Luna shook her head violently.

“You're just saying that! How couldn't they!? They tried everything to help me, and I didn't listen to them. I hurt them so bad, and I never got to tell them that I'm sorry.”

Celestia loosened her embrace a little, so she could put a hoof under Luna's chin and lift her head up to look her in the eye. “Listen to me, Luna. Everything they did, they did for you. They missed you, and for a time, they were angry at you. But they never hated you. Please, Luna. Please believe that.”

Luna silently opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. Then she simply nodded, and huddled back against her sister. They remained like that for a few more minutes. Shade saw how Luna's tears dried up, then her breathing slowed down, and finally she pulled away from Celestia and stood back up. For a moment, it almost seemed like Celestia was hesitant to let go of her.

Luna walked up to Swift Shade, and her voice was a lot more steady now. “We are sorry that you had to see this, captain. We did not anticipate that coming here would be such a strain on our emotions. Had we known, we would not have put you in this position.”

Shade shook her head. “Not at all, your Highness. I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't mean to intrude.”

Luna gave her a tired smile. “T'is not as if you had much choice in the matter. Guards to royalty are made privy to much sensitive and personal knowledge about their rulers, be it intentional or otherwise. Still. I shall endeavor to make situations such as this the exception rather than the rule.” In little more than a whisper, as if mostly talking to herself, she added, “Losing control of my emotions is ill-advised for me.” Then she turned back to Celestia. “If it is all right with you, sister, I should like to return to Canterlot. Today has been liberating, but also quite taxing.” To Swift Shade, she said, “I imagine you and the rest of the Night Guard will need a bit more time to prepare, ere you can join me in the capital. I hope to see you before long.”

Luna started to leave, and Swift Shade watched her slowly walk away. But following a sudden impulse, she called after her. “Princess Luna?”

Luna stopped and looked at her. “Yes?”

The same heavy silence as before flooded the tunnel, as Shade struggled to find the right words. Even when she finally opened her mouth, she didn't know if it was the right thing to say, just that it was the only thing she could think to say at that moment. “I just want you to know that we will join you as soon as we are able. Soon, the Night Guard will be at your side again, your Highness. As it should be.”

Princess Luna held her fixed with her cyan eyes for several seconds. Then she nodded slowly. “Thank you, Swift Shade. I... hearing that truly means a great deal to me,” she said softly.

Then she left. Shade stared after her until the princess disappeared into the darkness further down the tunnel, and then she stood up and slowly walked towards the marble tile to read Luna's inscription.

There are a great many things a ruler can demand from those who serve her. Friendship is not one of them, yet sometimes, we are fortunate enough to earn it.

A friend might say things you do not wish to hear. A friend will try to make you see reason when your mind is clouded by darkness. And a friend will stand up to you, when they see that you have chosen a path that inevitably leads to your destruction.

You were my friends. I am sorry that I did not listen.

Shade read those words several times. Then she looked down the corridor, at all the white marble tiles that she could see, and thought about all the other ones set into the walls of the gloomy tunnel. So many of them them filled with names and stories, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. Just contemplating it made Shade's head spin.

“She wrote all of this,” she whispered, and barely noticed it when Celestia walked up beside her.

“Yes,” the princess said, “There is something you need to understand, Swift Shade. When I still shared the rule with Luna, the roles we had in our nation's government were equally important to ensure our subjects’ happiness and well-being. But my own responsibilities were always the more public ones. Luna never had as much open contact with the ponies of Equestria as I did, and as a result, she was very close with the ponies who served her personally. The Night Guard in particular.”

Shade frowned. Celestia sounded apologetic, almost guilt-ridden, but she couldn't imagine why that would be the case. Then she started to understand.

“This is why we are still here,” she said, “Not just us, I mean. The Night Guard in general. This is why you never disbanded it during all those years.”

Celestia remained silent for a long time, and Shade almost thought she wouldn't answer. “It was selfish of me,” she finally said. “Disbanding the Guard and sealing this place until Luna would return would have been the right thing to do. Acting as I did instead benefited no one. But the palace and the Guard had meant so much to Luna, and I missed her terribly, Swift Shade. I know that it was foolish, but just thinking about taking those things away felt like I was losing yet another part of her.” She sighed. “I know I put you and your comrades into a difficult position. That is also why I chose to be a bit more lenient towards your transgressions than I might have been otherwise.”

Swift Shade stared down at her hooves. “Yeah. Thanks for that, by the way. It was really nice of you to cover for us, your Highness.”

The princess smiled mischievously. “I wouldn't say I covered for you. Everything I said to Luna was absolutely true. I want this place to resemble the fond memories she has of it, and I fully intend to make good on my offer to spend time with her. Getting you out of trouble was merely a side benefit.”

“I see,” said Shade, “And here I thought my plan with the pool might have actually worked.”

Celestia laughed, a warm and melodic sound that almost seemed to brighten up the hallway. “Oh, it certainly didn't hurt.”

* * *

Swift Shade and Dusk Chaser were sitting outside on the grass. Luna had already left, and Celestia and Shining Armor were about to follow her.

“So what will happen now that Princess Luna is back, your Highness?” Dusk asked.

“A great many things,” Celestia said vaguely, “But regarding the Night Guard, you will return to serving my sister. Arrangements to accommodate you in Canterlot have already been made.”

“That is good to hear,” Dusk said. “And about –“ he pointed in the direction of the palace “– you know?”

“That will not just go away, of course,” said Celestia, “I fully expect you to pay for the cleaning and repairs, and for anything that was damaged or destroyed.”

That gave Shade some pause. She tried to estimate the value of some of the things that had been damaged or destroyed just during the last two days, but quickly gave up. “So, we're basically talking about a life-long pay cut for all of us?”

“Unless you plan on living longer than even me, I suppose that's what it amounts to, yes,” Celestia confirmed.

Shade grimaced, but knew better than to object. “I guess that's only fair.”

Celestia thoughtfully knit her brows and rubbed a hoof against her chin. “Perhaps a month or four in the salt mines would be appropriate as well.”

Dusk and Shade glanced at each other with a hint of panic in their eyes, and their ears flattened themselves against their skulls.

“She isn't serious,” Shining Armor said flatly, “We don't even have those anymore.”

Celestia gave him a slightly annoyed look. “What a dreadful spoilsport you can be.” Then she turned back to the two bat ponies. “What I will insist on, however, is to test your capabilities. My sister is very dear to me, Captain Swift Shade. I will accept nothing less than the best for her. One month from now, you will have to prove yourselves in a mock battle against the Canterlot Royal Guard, and if Luna or I are not satisfied with your performance, there will be replacements.”

Shade showed off a cocky smirk and saluted. This she could deal with. “We will not disappoint, your Highness.”

“I'm looking forward to it,” said Shining Armor. “I expect you to bring your A game. I certainly intend to.” He looked Swift Shade up and down. “Can't say I've ever seen one of you in action. I don't expect you'd give me any tips?”

Shade bared her sharp canines in a predatory grin. “Watch the teeth.”

“Yeah, that sounds reasonable,” Shining armor said with a chuckle.

Then he and Celestia stepped into the chariot, and the pegasi guards took off. Glittering in the gentle, orange light of the setting sun, the golden vehicle swiftly sped away over the slowly swaying sea of green that surrounded the mountain.

“'Watch the teeth?'” Dusk said when the princess and her entourage were out of earshot. “Isn't that what your last coltfriend always told you?”

“Shut up, Dusk. I really don't feel like talking about your dad right now.”

“Touché, ma'am.”

They grinned at each other, and then strolled back over to the others.

“I suppose that went a lot better than expected,” Starlit Sky said when they arrived.

“It did,” Shade agreed, “They'll still cut our pay, though.”

Sky frowned. “For how long?”

“Depends,” Dusk said, “How long are you planning to live?”

“Oh,” said Sky, “Well, that sucks.”

Shade pointed a hoof at her. “Hey! Don't you dare complain, missy! Earlier today, we didn't know for sure if we might get clapped in irons around this time.”

“Good point,” Sky had to admit. “So what now? Are we off to Canterlot?”

“Pretty soon,” Shade confirmed. “Celestia will order a cleaning crew to tidy the place up. They should be here the day after tomorrow. We'll hoof over the keys, and then skedaddle before they realize what they're in for. But don't expect Canterlot to be cushy, guys. Starting now, easy times are over. Next month, we're up against the Royal Guard to show what we're made of.”

Most of the other Night Guard members seemed rather eager at the prospect. Most of them.

“Are you serious?!” Shadow Charger called, “Come on, I've been a soldier for one day, and you expect me to go up against the Royal Guard next month?”

Shade quickly hurried to the worried stallion's side and put a leg around his shoulder. “Hey, Shadow. Buddy. You are part of the team now. We need you. Besides, you heard what Luna said to me, right? She said that she trusts my judgment.” She grinned at him. “My reputation is hinging on this now. Like it or not, you have to be a soldier. And not just any soldier, but one of the best.”

“In a month?” Shadow asked, bewildered.

“All just a matter of training, Shadow,” Shade said, “And train we will. Believe me, after I am done with you, you’ll be ready to go hoof-to-hoof and wing-to-wing with any member of the Royal Guard.” She shrugged. “Or you'll be dead. One of the two.”

Shadow simply stared at her. “Well, that's just swell.”

Shade nodded. “Isn't it? Now, to start, I'd say you fly ten rounds around the base of the mountain.” She reached up and pulled Shadow's helmet over his eyes. “There. That way you'll get some echolocation training as well.”

“Please remind me why I'm doing this,” Shadow said.

Shade's tone became a lot more serious. “Because you have the chance to better yourself, Shadow. An opportunity to push the limits of what you thought you were capable of, and achieve something that you never thought you could. And because if you don't, you will owe the state of Equestria an absolutely stupid amount of money.”

Shadow didn't look entirely convinced until Shade brought up the last point. “Right. There's that.”

Shade slapped him on the shoulder. “Chin up, Shadow. Soldiering is a good life. I think you'll learn to like it. Besides, I hear mares dig the uniform.”

“They do indeed,” Dusk confirmed.

“Yep. Big time,” Chasm Diver said.

Starlit Sky nodded. “Totally.”

“You better not be pulling my wing here,” Shadow mumbled before he took off.

The other members of the Night Guard strolled back into the palace with no particular hurry. Shade stopped at the door and looked up past the mountainside. The sun had almost set at this point, and the shadows around her were slowly starting to melt into each other.

“You know, I think I'll really miss this place.”

Shade tore her eyes away from the mountain and looked at Starlit Sky, who stood at her side and rested her right front hoof on the richly ornamented palace door.

“I won't,” Shade said, “Not really. Despite everything, I had some good times here, but that had nothing to do with the palace.”

“I think the palace helped,” Sky said.

“All right, maybe a little,” Shade admitted. “Still, what really made the time I spent here bearable was you guys. And you're not going anywhere.”

Sky chuckled. “You're not getting all emotional on me again, are you? I've had quite enough of that today.”

“Just trying to build up some sympathy credit,” said Shade, “I think we need some time to really get back in shape, and I will have to be an officer during the next few weeks. Not gonna lie, it won't be pretty. I can be a real diamond dog of the female persuasion when I have to be.”

“Don't worry about it, Shade. I know how it goes,” Sky said, “So, you want to get the others and hit the dance floor?” Shade gave her a look of utter horror, and Sky laughed. “Kidding. I know, party's over. See you tomorrow, Shade.”

Shade let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah. See you.”

Swift Shade spent a few more minutes staring at the sky, waiting for the stars to slowly light up in the vaulting blackness above, and the silver disk of the moon to start peeking over the forest canopy, before she went inside as well.

* * *

“Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?” Dusk Chaser asked.

Swift Shade rolled her eyes. “It's one day, Dusk, and all I have to do is wait for the cleaning crew and then give them the keys. I think I'll manage.”

Dusk shrugged. “All right then. Still don't really get why you think we should leave early, though. Are you afraid we might break anything else?”

“Good thinking on your part, but no,” Shade said, “I just think you should be in Canterlot as soon as possible. Take care of Princess Luna, all right?”

“Take care of her?” Dusk asked, frowning. “Is she in danger?”

Shade shook her head. “No. I just think having you guys around would help her.” For a few seconds, she was uncertain whether or not she should say something. But Dusk was her second in command, one of her best friends, and Shade knew that she could trust him. “I think she's pretty lonely right now, Dusk. It must be really hard for her, to get thrown back into the world after a thousand years. She doesn't know any of us, not personally, but she knows the Night Guard, and I really think she needs some constants in her life right now. Something familiar.”

“I see,” Dusk said, “In that case, don't worry. We will do our best so she's comfortable. All part of the job.”

“Thanks, Dusk,” Shade said, “Now, let me see them off.”

The two of them joined the other members of the Guard, who were sitting at the edge of the woods, a few paces away from the palace door.

“All right, kids. You behave yourselves now,” Shade called, and then pointed at Dusk Chaser. “If daddy tells me that you've been acting up while I wasn't there, mommy will be very upset with you.” A chorus of chuckles and wisecracks answered her, and Shade had to grin as well. “Now then,” she said to Dusk, “Everypony packed a lunch and gone potty?”

Dusk put on a pair of dark aviator goggles, so his sensitive eyes would be shielded from the light of the sun while he flew. “They better, we're only making planned stops,” he called loud enough that everyone on the clearing could hear him.

Shade nodded. “Shadow?”

“I put some rocks in his bags, and he'll be flying circles around our formation while we travel,” Dusk said.

Shadow Charger's ears perked up, and his eyes jumped to the saddlebags that were lying on the grass before him. “Oh, come on!”

“Perfect,” Shade said, “All right then. Fly, my pretties! Fly!”

She punctuated her order with a bout of sinister cackling. Dusk smirked, gave her a quick salute, and then lifted himself off the ground with two powerful strokes of his wings. The other members of the Night Guard passed Shade by and repeated the gesture before they swung themselves into the air. Even Shadow Charger gave her a proper salute, and Shade had to admit that he handled the additional weight quite well during takeoff.

Shade watched them fall into formation in the air, and then fly towards the horizon. She looked after them until they disappeared behind the treetops, and only then did she turn around and walk back into the palace. While she slowly strode through its winding hallways and corridors, completely alone, she realized for the first time how huge the place was, and she was glad that she would not spend a lot of time here by herself.

She was thinking how she could pass the hours in a meaningful way. She could go to her room and read a book. Or she could at least try to clean up some of the mess before tomorrow.

Then she walked past the bathroom.

Shade stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Or...

No. She should spend the time she had left here doing something productive, at least this once.

Then again, hadn't Sky told her that she never found out how many water jets one of those pools had? Wouldn't that be incredible useful information to possess?

“Ah, screw it,” Shade finally said and stormed into the bathroom. A few seconds later, a loud splash could be heard in the hallway, followed by a long, content sigh.

Author's Note

I swear, when I started writing this, I just wanted it to be a completely silly and funny story from start to finish, with a few pinches of 'Yay! Friendship!' sprinkled on top. The depressing hints at Luna's backstory and her minor emotional breakdown weren't planned originally, they just kinda snuck their way in and set up camp, and now I can't even remember how the whole thing would have worked without them. Maybe that says something about me not being able to do something funny and lighthearted for the sake of it.

Regardless, this was a ton of fun to write. Shade and the gang were a blast for me, and I actually hope I can revisit them at some point. But until then, I feel like I left them in a good spot.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you had some fun with it as well. Special thanks to 0_0 for his proofreading and helpful suggestions. See you all around :pinkiesmile: