A Night Guard's Love

"Mom?" Flare shook awake the older mare. "MOM!"

"Huh...? Luna..." Celestia rubbed her eyes. "Oh, I fell asleep, didn't I?"

"You were sweating a lake and muttering about a pony called Luna."

"Oh, heh heh...that was probably nothing..."

"Really. I know a lie when I see one, mom." She crossed her forelegs. "Fine. Don't tell me. I don't want to know anyways."

"Mother, I have some issues that I would love to take care of." Another alicorn walked in. Her coat was nearly black, but her mane was bluish white.

"Midnight Equinox, I already told you I would be around in a moment. Wait outside."

"Why Midnight Equinox of all names? Her cutie mark doesn't even have anything to do moons."

"I thought it would." Celestia looked up at the moon with it's barely-hundred-year-old decal on it.

"About that dream..."

"No."

"That dream..."

"You aren't ready, Flare."

"MOTHER! I DEMAND MUFFINS!" Equinox yelled.

"You know what's interesting? Dreams. Especially-"

"No, Flare. Not. Ready."

"So. Over the years, Glaive and I had a bit of a relationship going."

"Why don't you tell us, then?" Rarity asked. "I would love to hear some romance."

"It's as boring as-"

"I DON'T CARE, I WANT TO KNOW IF HE BECOMES YOUR HUSBAND!"

"Shit...my ears..."

Flare sat in a bench in the Canterlot Royal gardens, reading a newspaper. She had sent a pair of guards to retrieve Glaive, and here she waited. Celestia made her apologize to Glaive. Too bad that she quit the archery class.

"H-hey! That's mine! I demand you put you down at once!"

"Ow! The little bugger bit me!"

She sighed as she put the newspaper down. "When I said kicking and screaming, I didn't mean it literally."

"Fuck off! Unhoof me, fiends!"

"Do what he said."

The guards dropped him roughly.

"About time, dear Celestia." Glaive wheezed. "That hurt."

"Dismissed." Flare said calmly to the guards. They nodded and left. "You. Mom wanted me to apologize, so I'm sorry for making you go for an unexpected swim."

"Yeah, I probably should apologize for intruding on personal business."

"Well, aren't you?"

"Ugh. Your royal higness, I feel deep regret for nosing in on your royal "duties." How can you ever forgive me?" He bowed low and kissed the ground in front of her hooves.

"Now that's more like it. Why did you bring that saddle bag?"

"Oh, this? My granny spanked me out of the house."

"Say again?"

"She got angry at me for pissing off a princess."

"So?"

"I can't go back."

"Perfect. I'll find a guest room, say here." She turned around, giving him a good view of her flank.

"Whoa...that is one helluva room." Glaive looked around the little (In Flare's perspective) room.

"What are you talking about?" Flare seemed completely oblivious to the fancy decorations in the room.

"Look at this Faberge egg! You know how much it costs? And this! The Pona Lisa! The original!"

"Oh, those old dust collectors?"

"Dust collectors?! I literally don't even!"

"You obviously have no idea what-"

"Add spoiled onto that list."

"How was your night's sleep, Glaive?" Celestia asked from the main dining hall as he came in.

He looked up at Princess Celestia. She looked like a skyscraper from his point of view.

Glaive watched as Flare entered the gardens.

"Welcome, Flare."

"Thank you, Hard Master." The tow bowed towards each other.

"The adventum aetatis. An ancient test of swordsponyship. Flare, prove that you are ready."

Flare put on a blindfold and picked up two swords, holding a defensive stance.

"I'm ready, Hard Master."

"Very well. Equinox, your task. Test her abilities. Gather a single orange strand of Flare's coat."

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Equinox sprung into action, and landed without a sound inches from Flare. She reached out with her magic, but had to back away when Flare swung at her. Equinox, completely defenseless, had to dodge left and right. It was hard for Equinox because she was larger and less agile on her hooves.

Flare swung low, and Equinox had to jump. Holding onto a tree branch desperately, she dodged the attacks. Feeling as though she was loosing Equinox, Flare stopped. Equinox took the chance to try to get the hair again.

Of course, Flare swung around and cut Equinox's arm twice.

"Doubleyou tee eff, sister."

"Yes, you must be nimble like a cat, but ferocious like a tiger."

The fight continued. Gradually losing ground again, Equinox found herself backed into a corner. Flare threw a sword in the general direction of where Equinox stood, and that made her jump into a small pond at the center of the little garden.

The warm colored alicorn retrieved her sword and went into the pond as well. Equinox drew closer and closer. Inches away, she threw some of her blood opposite to where she was standing.

Flare stabbed at where the *plit* was, and that allowed Equinox to pluck the hair.

The Hard Master chuckled. "Equinox wins."

Flare took off her blindfold and shot Equinox a hateful glance, then stormed off.

"Equinox." She went over to the Hard Master. "You have earned the Blades of Harmony." He hoofed over the two swords still in their sheaths. She opened one slightly, revealing a black blade.

"So, the little crazy bastard decides to chase me down."

"How does that make him crazy?"

"Well, um..."

"Flare, wait up!" Glave barreled down the hallway to meet up with the incredibly angry alicorn.

Finally acknowledging the suicidal colt, Flare sighed and turned around. "What?!"

"That wasn't exactly sportsponylike behavior."

"If that was a joke, it's not funny." Flare turned around and continued to stomp to her bedroom.

"Still, that was amazing. You were so graceful, so beautiful, so powerful..."

"Ugh. It runs in the alicorn bloodlines. Now can you please fuck off?"

"No. I want to get to the very bottom of this."

"So, you aren't sorry for nosing into my business?"

"I just wanted to help."

"Well. Good job." In a flash, she pinned Glaive against a wall and ground a hoof into his neck. She began to crush his throat, but was cut off by a servant mare's high pitched scream.

"What's wrong?" Flare asked as she followed Wardusk, her personal bodyguard.

"The mare found the guard in a terrible condition, and he's been spewing random nonsense after the doctors revived him." Dusk answered. "Can't get a heads or tails of any of it."

He opened the door to the medical ward revealing a skinned day guard. "...Everything was the beginning before the beginning...the base inside of a pinnacle...the flower that goes through it's parent and it's child..."

"What...?"

"I told you."

"...she will have vengeance and push everything into paste into strings into paste again and only she uses time to make time to make time to make time..."

"I wonder who 'she' is. It could be that Luna pony..."

"...and when she stops time is an illusion that we create at free will....Six Battles, and yet we are countless in the bodies we dwell in...our parents and most infinite children in perfect copies..."

"I don't like the sound of this. At. All. Get mom."

"Very well, Princess Flare."

"...the makers before the makers fall before the child...love outlasts death...what never was was never again...everything has happened before..."

"Do you know anything of it now?" Rarity asked.

"Some has proven to be true, but we still haven't figured out the "Six Battles" part. Nightmare Moon still hasn't had her true vengeance, and the base in the pinnacle hasn't been found yet."

"Ooh! A mystery!"

"Yeah. A mystery with no answer in sight."

"I have a feeling I heard of this before..." Twilight mused.

"Maybe we're taking things to literal here."

"Maybe you want her to finish her story and worry about the millennium old prophecy in the other sequel?" Pinkie asked.

"Eh...no idea what she's talking about, but you probably should just listen to my story first..."