Clouds Swallow The Moon

I. Welcome To The Family

“It's not about the destination. It's about the journey to the destination.”

The Moon beamed down on the world, its glory presenting itself in rays of bountiful moonlight. Rays of light rained down on the various cities of Equestria, the Moon showing its elegance to those who lay their eyes on it. Many of ponies often lay dormant to gaze at the bright star in the pitch black sky, appreciating the work their princess does to make the night as beautiful as the day.

While ponies did their most important tasks in the daylight, the night was when they could bask in the cool and mysterious light of the Moon. It was when they could forget the labor of the day and rest their weary eyes under Princess Luna’s watchful eye. They knew they earned their sleep and the princess acknowledged it with relaxing dreams and rejuvenating sleep.

When they wake back up to slave away under the warmth of the Sun, they thank her younger sister for the happy and worry-free dreams that remained uninterrupted so they could rest and carry on with their lives, in their mind, they knew that the princess is always keeping a vigil eye on them.

But lately, ponies look to the Moon and feel abandoned and alone, almost as if Princess Luna turned a blind eye to her subjects. They've been plagued by nightmares beyond imagination, and the Moon feels soulless. It's like the young princess vanished and left her subjects behind…

The halls of Canterlot Castle were dark and silent, the only sound being produced was the clip-clop of many guards patrolling the darkness. Shadows were cast over the halls as the Moon lifted into the night sky, a strange yellow glow encompassing it.

Everyone awake felt weary and fearful, for the shadows the Moon made did not feel like the Lunar Princess’ protective and watchful shadows. Needless to say, everypony that laid an eye on the Moon was overcome with dread.

Something was not right, and the guards that were stationed refused to glance up to the massive star orbiting above them. They already lost a few guards to the dreadful feeling, and they had to be dismissed to their quarters. After that incident, it was made clear to not stare at the Moon for too long.

It doesn't help that nopony saw the younger princess retire to her room. Neither has she reported in for Night Court. Princess Celestia is becoming worried and doesn't have an inkling of where her dear sister could possibly be.

The Solar Princess’ horn deactivated and she gazed up at her sister's brilliant Moon. She felt remorseful for raising the Moon, something she hasn't done since Luna returned from her banishment four years ago. But, since she hasn't seen her sister in days, she was left no choice.

She knew her dear sister will soon return, at least that's what she kept telling herself, but with each passing day the hope in her heart dwindles. It won't be long until the Princess had to take measures that she dared not to in a millenia. But, as the saying goes, drastic times call for drastic measures.

The last time she called upon the organization was when her sister was banished to the Moon. Of course, the original members have long past passed away, but even then, the new members were ones that she could trust. She always inducted new members into the service in case of a dilemma, and if this isn't one, then she doesn't know what is.

Chancing a glimpse at the Moon, she frowned and closed the curtains. Approaching her closet, she opened it and entered, the dark covering her as she crouched down. Opening the latches, she lifted the chest lid up and scowled at the contents. Sighing, her horn lit up with a yellow aura and she levitated the contents over to her bed.

Shutting the chest and re-locking it, exiting the closet and closing the twin doors behind her. Sprawled out on the bed was a firm, but comfortable black cloak. There was a zipper on the chest that led downwards, towards the belly. On the bottom of the hood were two zippers that allowed her to cover her muzzle. Her eyes found the ground for a moment before she slipped her hooves through the long sleeves. After the sleeves clenched her hooves, she put the rest of the cloak on and lifted the hood above her head, zipping it up tightly.

Turning to the bed, she levitated the holster onto her side and strapped it around her midsection and wings, checking to assure it was secured on her body. Picking up the rifle, she opened the chamber and saw there was a single shot inside. Clicking it shut, she slid it into the holster and closed it tight. Finally, she placed her hooves into the knee-high black leather boots and tied the knots, the cloak’s sleeves tucked into the boots.

Walking over to her bedside, she reached under the bed and her hoof brushed against a metal pole. Gripping it with her right hoof, she tugged on it hard and stepped back as the bed began to shift and raise up into the air, dangling above her bed frame. The floor descended into a set of stairs lit up by blue torches and twisting into a spiral staircase. As she stepped down the stairs, the bed returned to its original spot.

As Princess Celestia passed by unlit torches, they flickered to life and burned brightly, lighting the staircase with a small, blue hue. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, there was a narrow hallway aligned with several pathways that led into the passage. On the walls were dozens of swords and shields, the weapons of past foes that dared invoke the wrath of the organization. Many swords had stained blood, others had cracks and broken tips, some even had scorch marks littered on the blade.

Paying no mind to the trophies, she trotted down the hallway into a large throne room, her eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room. There was multiple thrones all centered into a circle, with some low to the ground while others were higher up. Her hoofsteps echoed in the chamber as she spread her wings and jumped up to the main throne, settling down on it. On the hoof-rests were two small buttons. Celestia placed both her hooves on the buttons and closed her eyes, her magical aura swirling around her horn as she concentrated. Furrowing her brows and gritting her teeth, the magic ejected from her horn and down to the center of the room, a small Sun appearing.

Hopping back down onto the floor, she stepped up to the projected Sun and rested a hoof on the top of it. It expanded and revealed an image of Canterlot Castle, with several small blue dots scattered around inside. Activating her horn, she dragged a small line from the center to the various dots, the lines blinking every few seconds. Waiting a minute, she noticed three dots moving towards where her location was. She pressed her hoof on the projection and it faltered before disappearing. Climbing back to her seat, she waited patiently for the members of the secret organization that protected Equestria for many years.

Moonlight XIII.

* * * * * *

Our lips locked together, both of our breaths intercepting each other. My tongue wrestled hers for control, it occasionally flicking across her broad teeth. She shivered as she moaned in my mouth, her hooves exploring my body, finding my wings. Digging her hooves underneath my wings, I blushed as a pang of pleasure shot through my body.

Spreading my wings, she took the opportunity and pulled away from my mouth, a thin strand of saliva connecting our muzzles. She lowered herself on top of me, the rope breaking apart and dropping onto my coat. Flicking her thick tongue across my feathers, my face became hot as she grinned up at me, dragging her tongue across the underside of my wings, my body seizing up as pleasure shot through my mid section.

She lowered her head down the right side of my body to work on my wings and I grabbed the tip of her ear with my lips, nibbling on it gently. She blushed as she let out a little moan. I smiled at her with her ear in between my lips, my tongue swirling around the top of it. Calmly biting the tip with my teeth, I tugged on it slowly. She stopped and smirked, lifting her head to rest it on my chest. She planted her lips on mine for a brief moment before she kissed down the length of my body.

Just before she reached the prize between my haunches, a loud beeping noise rung out from my pendant on the dresser. A few seconds later, the same sound emanated from hers as well. Groaning, she got up off of me and walked over to the pendant, wrapping it around her neck. Sitting up, I waited for my… Well, let's just say I’m waiting for something to retreat back into the trenches.

“Sorry, cowboy. Maybe next time.” She punctuated it with a warm kiss on my lips before she winked and snuck out of the room. Hearing myself groan for the second time that night, I stood up onto my hooves and walked slowly over to my closet. I already knew what that sound was, I just wish I didn't hear it. It's almost as if I’m cockblocked all the time, this one being one of the worst. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Of course, we’ll probably be on a mission, so most likely not. Ugh.

Grabbing the signature cloak, I wiggled my way inside of it and spread my wings so they stuck out of the designated spot. Shoving my hooves inside of the black leather boots, I tied the knots tightly and made sure they were snug against the cloak’s sleeves. Pulling out the holster, I latched it onto my left side, strapping it around my chest and wings. Double checking to make sure that it was secured tightly, I pulled out my pistol.

Rifles were assigned to unicorns because they had the magical ability to actually hold it, shoot, and not drop it due to the horrendous recoil. But, for pegasi and earth ponies, they had to craft the rifles a little differently so they could still use it efficiently and safely. So, while unicorns are better for rifles, the other races can still use them; I’ve seen plenty of ponies try to use it and fail, though. I’m pretty sure that I’m the only one who prefers the pistol, but it just works for me, I learned that when I was in training.

I held the wooden grip in my hoof, the trigger on the top of the gun. See, what you do is, you hold the gun normally but you pull the trigger back on the top and it’ll shoot. Of course, it only holds two shots while the rifles can hold four, but you can honestly reload them in about three seconds if you know how; it took me awhile for me to reload that quick, however. I fumbled around with it in training, that's for damn sure. I kind of handicapped myself using the pistol, though. Whenever I need to shoot, I have to stand up on my hind legs to fire, and balance myself enough to make a precision shot.

I've heard of pegasi taking advantage of their wings and using that to pull the trigger, but the damage they sustained from a single mishap swore me off of ever attempting it. I saw a pegasus in training attempt to do it that way, I think her name was Starsky, and she messed her wings up for awhile; she couldn't use it for months! Unicorns are the lucky ones when it comes to both guns, as they can aim, shoot, and run all without a hitch. Although, guns are exclusive to our organization and are unheard of and do not exist to the general public. I’m surprised we have kept it a secret for this long.

I know much of the roots of Moonlight XIII, my great-grandfather was Captain. He led the organization to hold the line against the Changelings, before the time of Queen Chrysalis. Instead, the Queen was Nefastus. She was ruthless, stopping at nothing to conquer Equestria and put us all into slavery. Supposedly, it was her idea to infiltrate Shining Armor’s wedding and Chrysalis advised against it, instead wanting peace. Well, we know how that turned out… If I only tried harder to convince her...

My family has a deep connection with Moonlight XIII, my ancestors being one of the first leaders to command. He fought in the Lunar Rebellion himself, even dueling with a General! Sadly, he died in that war, leaving his son by himself; he, however, grew up just fine, I've been told. I know that when I have a foal myself, he, or her, will be destined to protect Equestria under the moonlight, just as my great grandfather and ancestors have before me. It may not be the ideal life I have in mind for my child, but… I know they'll be able to defend themselves.

Members of this service are the deadliest soldiers to ever walk this planet. We’re trained in dealing with things that are an anomaly, matters that are borderline supernatural. Eclipse, Moth, and I were once tasked to defend the Element Bearers against King Sombra, and needless to say, we did our job; if you can call getting our asses handed to us on a pristine silver platter ‘doing our job’. Of course, Spike retrieved the Crystal Heart, not to diminish his role in it. And Twilight Sparkle insisted to tag along with us.

Shaking my head, I got back to the task at hoof. Pulling the hood over my head, I zipped it up and approached my bed. Crouching down, I pulled the lever underneath and the bed lifted up and out of the way, the ground shifting and lowering until it transformed into a spiral staircase, blue torches revealing the path. I descended down and the bed returned to its original spot, surely appearing as if nothing ever happened.

Already knowing the way, I trotted down the hallway and into the main chamber, my eyes adjusting to the original bright aura the room is giving off. Inside, mostly everypony was on their seats, a few of them being empty. Paying no mind to their stares, I spread my wings and took flight to my throne, landing safely. Tucking my wings back in, I sat down on my haunches and waited patiently for the last remaining members. Of course, it doesn't help when I have Cheesecake sitting next to me.

“Psst! Hey! Dusk!” She whispered loudly, leaning over so I could hear better. I looked forward and remained silent, ignoring her to the best of my ability. I don't hate any of my fellow comrades, neither do I intend to harm them anytime soon, but Cheesecake is a special exception. To put it into retrospect, she’s another Pinkie Pie; except she is capable of shooting you from miles away with a rifle. That is a very huge difference, if I say so myself. “Hey! Do you know why we’re here? Huh? Do ya’?” She said sporadically.

“No, Cheesecake. I do not. Now, please, shut. Up.” I muttered through gritted teeth, refusing to even glance at her. Although, it was difficult, when her horn is as long as it is. Her horn was longer than a normal Unicorn’s horn, but it was just short a few inches of being as long as Princess Celestia’s horn. That's why Cheesecake is a good shot, but not to say she's incapable of doing it, but she isn't that well trained at close quarters combat.

I hate to admit it, but she has a point. What are we doing here? Surely, with the Elements of Harmony being so close by and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna always keeping an eye on things, there's no way something could have happened. Not to mention that we doubled our security and patrols because of the Changeling attack, so there's no way that they could slip past us. Fluttershy reformed Discord as well. So really, what happened?

I shot a glance over to Eclipse, who somehow must have noticed me looking. She waved halfheartedly at me, and I waved back. Turning her attention to Princess Celestia, I noticed that everypony else arrived. Rolling my head to crack my neck, I gave the princess my full attention; I just hope that whatever is going on isn't too bad.

“Well, everypony has arrived, so we may begin. But, we have a new member among us. Her name is Violet. She has requested that I refrain from revealing her true identity. If you want to know her fully, I suggest you ask her yourself. She will be joining Alpha Squad.” Princess Celestia announced, lifting a hoof to point near me. Cheesecake, Moth, and I were in Alpha Squad. I guess we'll be getting a new member today. Let's just hope she knows what she's doing.

“You all may be wondering why you've been summoned… It’s with a heavy heart that I inform you all of my sister's disappearance. She has been missing for several days, and so far, there has yet to be a clue to be found pertaining to her location. I, however, know of one small piece that may help in deciphering her location. She is not on Equiis. Still, I suggest that you search the land for before taking more… Extreme measures.” She announced before turning to look at me for some reason. What's that supposed to mean? Do I take too many extreme measures or something?

This is a lot of information to take in at once, honestly. A few days have past and she decides to tell us now that the co-ruler of Equestria is missing and hasn't been found, nor has she returned? I wish she told us earlier, maybe we could have stopped it or something… But, what's so important that she had to pick up and leave without informing anypony of it? And that's even if she left of her own accord, she could have been foalnapped for all we know! Celestia, I wish I stayed a normal Royal Guard sometimes.

“Hard Slinger, Imperial March, and Rokë. Prepare to depart. And be careful, my little ponies.” Princess Celestia ordered, saluting to the three ponies that take up Charlie Squad, who saluted in response. Rokë is a changeling, believe it or not, but he enlisted months before the changelings attacked Canterlot. And he fought against them himself. Sure, he still feels conflicted about the incident, but it's the prospect of it. A changeling that is so loyal to Equestria that he decided to fight against his own kind, even though he didn't want to. Good thing we have him on our side; I would hate for his skills in manipulation to be against us.

March is the second member of Charlie Squad, and she is a very hardened mare, one that isn't that from Equestria. She hails from Griffinstone, surprisingly enough, and she grew up fighting in the streets for food. And funnily enough, that's her specialty. She is damned good at close-quarters-combat, and nopony is even close to dethroning her. Princess Luna once challenged her to a wrestling match, and she was lost to March. Princess. Luna. The pony that is known for her prowess in war. Needless to say, Luna is still a little pissed at losing the match, but she appreciates her skill.

Slinger is the final member of Charlie Squad, and he is the leader of it. He is, without a doubt, the single best shot out of all of us, even Cheesecake; who is a pretty amazing shot, if I say so myself. He, unlike March, hails from Stalliongrad, but unlike the stereotype, is very quiet and keeps to himself mostly. I remember he or March or Cheesecake, somepony did, told me that Slinger was being followed by a sniper called the Viper, a crossbow shooting sniper that was from Zebrica. He knew about her and decided it was entertaining, so he kept her alive. Eventually, he grew tired of it and shot her from a mile away right through the scope of her binoculars.

The three ponies, or should I say two ponies and one changeling, hopped down from their pedestals and approached the illuminating sun in the middle of the room, extending their hooves out to touch the glowing projection. Soon enough, white tendrils of the Sun itself protruded out of the ground and snaked around them until it wrapped around the three of them, sections of their bodies flickering until it disappeared. The last thing we see of them is their hoods nodding to each other before they vanished, leaving only Alpha and Bravo Squad in the chamber.

“Solar Eclipse, Midnight Blossom, Starsky Steps, and Forgetful Not. Prepare to depart. And be careful, my little ponies.” Princess Celestia repeated herself, a reassuring smile forming on her muzzle. I turned to look at Forgetful, unable to see his expression under his hood. Forgetful is a stallion that has a very odd profession; he’s capable of torturing ponies to gain information exceptionally well. He’s often sent to the dungeons a lot to interrogate prisoners and find out why they did what they did. And despite the name he has, he has an excellent memory. I found that out myself when he brought up an old conversation we had, word for word.

Starsky is the second member of Bravo Squad and is what I would like to call an excellent scout. She is crucial when our two squads are sent on a search-and-rescue, and she has amazing eyesight and perception. She helped me find Eclipse when I wanted to talk to her for the first time, and I can't even begin to thank her. She's Eclipse’s best friend and talks to her everyday. After she pointed out Eclipse's location for me, I only ever talked to her a few more times, despite Eclipse's wishes for me to talk to her more. What's with marefriends and pushing stallions to talk to ponies?

Midnight is the third member of Bravo Squad and is a vesper, which is the scientific term for ‘bat-pony’, which makes her an excellent choice for stealth missions. However, there's a slight problem with her… She's batshit-insane, pun definitely intended. She has no shame whatsoever and I found myself being molested and groped by her a few more times than I’m comfortable with, despite my anger towards her for her not to rub my balls and cock with her leathery wings. I don't hate her, per say, but I don't really like her that much either. She's really neutral, honestly. But I’ll definitely hate her if she molests me one more time… That's happened enough as it is.

And finally Eclipse, the fourth and final member of Bravo Squad, who also is the leader. Her tactical profession and skill is pyromancy, despite her being a pegasus. I guess everypony has a magical core, and Eclipse and I are examples of that. While she is my marefriend, has been for a few years now, I love her, honestly. Of course, she doesn't know that, but I would love to confess to her eventually… And if she says she loves me back, maybe I should start thinking about proposing to her. I can tell she's the one for me… Hopefully, she thinks the same way.

The four of them leaped off of their respective thrones, walking over the center where the means of their departure awaits. I watched silently as they all formed a circle, all of them reaching out with their hooves to grasp the image of the bright Sun. Once again, the white tendrils slithered out of the ground and snaked around the four of them, wrapping around their hooves until they disappeared, then moving onto their bodies and finally their heads. The last thing I saw of the beautiful white pegasus with her flowing black mane and gorgeous cyan eyes is her head turning towards me and nodding before it vanished.

“Dusk Storms, Moon Cheesecake, Night Moth, and Violet Halo. Prepare to depart. And be careful, my little ponies.” The four of us saluted at her before jumping off of our seats and approaching the middle of the chamber tentatively, my hooves shuffling towards it at a slow pace. I arrive and we form a circle, the four of us nodding to each other. With a little hesitation, and some unknown fear, I extend my right hoof and hold it there until everypony else follows my lead, brushing across the surface of the Sun. Soon enough, I noticed out of the corner of my eye the tentacles reaching out and dragging across my hooves and eventually reaching my body. I shut my eyes tightly as I felt some disorientation and sickness.

I’ll never grow used to teleportation.

* * * * * *

I chanced lifting my eyelids and under the darkness of my hood constricting my vision somewhat, I narrowed my eyes and saw that I was extremely close to the other three members of my squad. Seemingly reading my mind, the four of us coughed awkwardly and shuffled away from each other silently, turning to look at our new surroundings that we arrived inside of. Of course, it was difficult because of the way our hoods strain our vision and that it's dark out because it's night-time, but I digress.

I twisted my body around as I glanced around, my eyes scanning the small clearing that we happened to land in. All around us are trees so tall that they touch the sky, their leaves reminding me that it's the middle of the Fall season. It won't be soon until the annual Running of the Leaves event, which I've never seen. Supposedly, Twilight Sparkle has been winning the past few events, surprisingly enough. I never took her for an athlete, although it could just be dumb luck.

I turned back around and saw Violet walking away from us and going to the opposite side of the clearing we’re in, Cheesecake following her, despite the Rookie’s protests. She tried to ignite a conversation with the new member, but Violet seemed to backpedal away and make up excuses. I chuckled as the Rookie finally surrenders and accepts her fate, sighing as the peculiar unicorn began talking her ears off. Somethings never change, I guess. That's almost exactly like how Cheesecake introduced herself to me, but I suppose I was a little more lenient.

Deciding to let the Rookie suffer for a few more minutes, I turned to Moth and approached her as she plopped down on the ground against a particularly thick tree, a cigar in her mouth. I shot a glance to her antennas sticking out of her hood through the slits that are designed for them. They swayed slightly in the cool, night breeze and looked fuzzy. I kind of wanted to touch them, but thought that would be incredibly stupid considering the pony's infamous temper and cynicism. Removing my focus from her extra appendages, I sat down next to her on the crisp, bright green grass and turned to her as she lit her cigar with a wooden match, inhaling a bout of smoke before letting it escape from her mouth.

“Y’know, those are hazardous to your health. Glad to see you are still attempting to kill yourself.” I joked, pointing to the lit cigar in her mouth with my hoof. I always loved messing with Moth, she is the only one I can share my dark humor and cynical remarks with because most ponies find my kind of humor repulsive. Oh well, I’m not changing to fit your criteria, you're just going to have to deal with it. But, sadly enough, most ponies don't understand that sentiment. Moth is cool, though. Mostly, anyways.

She scoffed loudly, smoke seeping out of the corners of her lips as they curved upwards into a small, playful smirk. “You are hazardous to my health, Dusky Boy. As well as anypony who decides to talk to you. You're aneurysm inducing. A fate so cruel, don't you agree?” She finished as she pulled the cigar out of her mouth, studying it in her hoof as she shifted her hoof around to look at the cigar in a new angle. She chuckled slightly before bringing it to her muzzle and wrapping her lips around it, puffing on it quietly.

“You must not be so fond of fate yourself considering you're ugly as shit,” I replied, not missing a beat. I stretched my hoof out and swiftly snatched the cigar out of her mouth, placing it in my own. “Such a shame. Honestly. If you weren't such an unlikeable bastard, I would pity you.” I finished, inhaling some smoke out of the slowly degrading cigar. I parted my lips slightly and blew the smoke out of my mouth, watching it weave through the air at an agonizingly slow pace. I chuckled darkly at her, crossing my hooves.

“Give me that!” She declared before she stole it right out of my muzzle, snorting as she returned it to her mouth and took another hit. “I actually thought you weren't stupid enough to steal shit from me. Thought being the key word here.” Moth jabbed at me with one of her antennas comically. I suppressed an urge to laugh out loud at the sight and covered my mouth with my hoof, my shoulders shaking violently as I silently guffawed. She must have noticed my shoulders convulsing, though. “What's so funny?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. I just realized how pathetic you really are.” I said in between short laughs, my chest heaving and my sides aching from laughing so hard. Moth replied by punching me in the shoulder with hoof, scoffing at me as she turned away from me and ignored me. I managed to calm myself down some, but I still found myself giggling at it from time to time. I sighed, a small smile gracing my lips as I crossed my hooves, happy that I managed to win our little fake argument this time.

“You know, I would think you would treat me a little better considering you tried to rut me the first time you met me, no?” Moth finally broke the silence, turning to face me. Despite knowing that she highly exaggerated what actually happened between us, I found my cheeks heating up as I blushed like a small colt. Damnit, and I thought I had her this time. This always happens somehow. She finds someway to win by embarrassing me, even if she lies or uses hyperbole. “Oh come on, Dusky Boy, why don't you let me see your precious face?” She teased, yanking my hood down with her hoof sneakily.

My long, smooth cobalt blue mane fell out of the hood and cascaded down the back of my neck and covered a majority of my face as I fumed silently over the fact that she found out I’m blushing. “Yeeeaah, those right there are some high quality blushes. Looks like I win again, Dusky Boy.” She adopted a teasing smirk and flicked my ear with her hoof, chuckling slightly as she neared the halfway mark of her thick cigar. I reprimanded myself mentally for allowing myself to fall for some weak bait.

“Yeah, yeah, you weirdo felon.” I muttered, waving a hoof at her lazily, sighing as I slumped downwards, crossing my hooves and pouting. I turned to and locked my eyes on her cigar, watching as the cherry of it neared the little band wrapped around the girth of it. “Let me get a cigar, Moth.” I requested timidly, sitting up and fixing my posture. Instead of answering me directly, she just reached into her cloak and retrieved a single cigar and a pack of paper matches. She held them out for me to grab, never bothering to look my way.

“Don’t hurt yourself, you big foal.” She lazily declared, her head remaining forward and never straying to look at me. I glared at her before snatching the cigar and matches out of her hoof, mumbling a whitty insult that she's likely to never hear. “I would appreciate it to never call me ‘boner-biting-uncle-fucker’ again, thanks.” I rolled my eyes at her request and ignored her for the moment as I gingerly placed the long and thick cigar in my mouth, wrapping my lips around it as I fumbled with the matches until I finally light one, setting fire to the cigar.

“Bite me, bitch.” I mutter playfully as I sucked on the cigar, my muzzle filling up with smoke as I inhale out of the filter, the cherry at the end forming and disintegrating the tobacco and wrapping around it. I watched as smoke left the cherry and drifted through the air, leaving behind an unfamiliar scent as I opened my mouth at the corners, allowing the gathered smoke to escape from my maw and join the already floating smoke in the night time breeze. I turned to look at Moth, a thought forming in my mind. “Who do you Violet really is?” I asked, motioning to the pony who is being tortured by Cheesecake.

“Honestly? I don't know. There isn't much to go on.” She replied, taking one more puff of her cigar before glancing at it, studying it like she did before. She proceeded to throw it over her head, and it landed in a small puddle, distinguishing itself immediately with a small hissing sound. I watched as she her antennas suddenly retracted from the small slits and bent forwards underneath of her hood, gripping the front of it with them. They both lurched forward before they quickly pushed backwards, letting go of the hood as it folded back behind her head. Huh. So, I guess that's how a moth-pony pulls hoods down. What useless information.

Now, Moth is a very different and unique kind of pony, a subrace from usual Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn ponies. Much like Vespers, the Moth-ponies live far away from most towns. If I remember correctly, Vespers reside in caves in the Badlands, and Moth-ponies live in the many forests of Sleepy Hollow, much to disdain of everypony living there. Moth actually broke away from her family and moved to Canterlot, causing a lot of ruckus and just basically being an overall nuisance to everypony. She was offered a position as a member of Moonlight XIII because of her swift and fearless nature.

I turned to take in her features, only really seeing her appearance a few times and not really able to take in the details of the way she looks. Her mane was an egg white color and was short and shaggy, her bangs ending directly above her eyes and the rest of her mane stopping an inch below her ears; her ears had tufts at the tip, much like the vespers, and were generally more thicker with fur than normal pony’s ears. Now, the color of her fur was a dark grey and much like her hair, it was shaggy and unkempt. Around her shoulders is a kind of like a fuzzy scarf, except it's a part of her fur, and it's colored exactly like her mane.

Similar to her ears, her chest has a large tuft that runs straight across from the base of her hooves until right below her chin and gullet. My eyes darted to her eyes, which were half-lidded and tired-looking. Unlike normal ponies’ eyes, Moth-ponies’ eyes were just one large pupil and were always colored the same color their mane and tail is. Also, her eyes appear glossy and glazed over, like the way somepony’s eyes look when they pass away. I looked from her eyes to her wings, which were similar to changelings’ wings save for the fact that they don't look horrible. Moth’s wings look exquisite and beautiful, as much as I hate to say it. I turned away suddenly when Moth catches me looking at her.

“Aw, is the little Dusky-Wusky checking out the Moth like he’s never seen one before?” She ogled at me like a foal, making kissing motions at me as I rolled my eyes and took another drag of the cigar, the cherry reaching about one quarter in of the cigar. Wew lad.

“Fuck off.” I replied lazily, turning my attention to the Rookie and our friendly neighborhood lunatic. Violet seemed defeated as she held her head on her left hoof, her loud sigh filling the air. Cheesecake, Celestia bless her, continues to spout out every word that happens to come to mind. I smirked at the sight, smoke seeping from the cracks of my mouth, and filling the air with its unique, putrid stench. Violet must have seen us staring at her and Cheesecake, because she perked up and looked to us, expectantly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Moth wave her over as she slumped back down, hed carefree attitude once taking over.

The Rookie took notice and stood up quickly, trotting over to meet us eagerly. Cheesecake didn't seem to notice at first that Violet left her, and continued to speak as if someone is still in front of her. I rolled my eyes at the peculiar unicorn’s antics as I inhaled more smoke, killing myself the agonizingly slow. I let the smoke stay dormant in my muzzle before parting my lips, the whole of it drifting into the air and dissipating at a snail’s pace. Violet arrived in front of us, and sat down, rubbing her hoof with her other hoof. Ugh, I hate awkward silences, so I broke it by introducing Moth and I.

“I’m Dusk and this weirdo is Moth.” I announced, managing to sneak an insult into our introduction. Instead of trying to argue with me, she just rolled her weird eyes and pulled out another cigar from her inside of her black cloak. She lit it with one of wooden matches, which begs the question as to why she gave me paper matches. Oh wait, it's to mess with me. I don't know how I forgot about that small, simple fact. Honestly, sometimes I don't know what to do with myself. I motioned to Cheesecake, who seemingly finally realized that she was abandoned. “And that mare over there who has been torturing you for the past few minutes is Cheesecake. She might get on your nerves now, but you'll grow used to her.” I finished, flashing a warm and welcoming smile.

“I’m… V-Violet. Nice to m-meet you.” She shyly greeted us, scuffing her hoof on the grass as I looked to Moth, who just shrugged her shoulders as she smoked more of her newly lit cigar. Speaking of mine, the cherry was quickly reaching the filter, so I took one last puff before chucking it over my shoulder, wondering if it landed in the puddle that Moth’s did. A couple seconds later I was rewarded with a small hiss sounding out from behind us. I guess that answers that. Violet turns to look at Cheesecake, deciding to reply what I said earlier.

“No… I’m used to it honestly, she reminds me of my… Friend.” She stutters out, causing me to raise my eyebrow. Moth seems to pick up on it as well, turning to look at me with a curious expression. I choose to just shrug my shoulders slowly before turning back to Violet, who seems to be fidgeting a lot. What the Tartarus is her problem? Cheesecake finally decides to join us, standing up and approaching us in a cheery manner, plopping down on the grass in front of us. Violet glances at her sudden arrival before staring at the ground again. Okay, no, I will not accept this kind of behavior in my team. Hiding things aren't going to get you in anywhere, because we’ll find out anyway.

“What's wrong with you? Spit it out.” Moth suddenly piped up, stealing the words right out of my mouth. Well, I wasn't going to be so forward about it, but she technically did what I was going to do. I guess that's one thing I like about Moth that nopony else does. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, and tell you something. Or insult you. That reminds me of how she rejected me when I asked her out the day I met her. Most mares would just politely decline, but not Moth. Nope. She told me to ‘fuck off before I castrate you in front of your whore of a mother’. After that, I really don't know how we became friends.

I guess that's what gets me, though. Before I even began talking to Eclipse, I never took hold of the fact that I only ever dated one mare; said mare ruined my life and broke my mind, scarring me for life, but I digress. Even if I knew of Moth’s dark past and the things she's done, I was desperate to have somepony to be by my side and comfort me, console me, and basically be there to build me back up. At the time, my mind and psyche was very fragile, and my emotions were uncontrollable. I guess I could say I became a little bi-polar. And so, I searched for what seemed like ages for that something to pick up the pieces and build me back up to health. Turns out that was Eclipse, after Moth so graciously turned me down… If you can call threatening to rip my balls off ‘turning me down’, anyway.

The Rookie fidgeted even more, rubbing her hoof as she gazed at the ground in silence before she spoke up. “I-I haven't been entirely truthful. T-This…” She trailed off before speaking back up, with more emotion and with a louder voice.

“This is bothering me, I don't like lying.” Violet muttered, her horn lighting up a purple aura and enveloping around her hood. She lifted it down to reveal herself. She had a magenta colored mane with pink strips that flowed downwards, but never curled. Her coat was a light purple, and she had dark purple pupils. My jaw dropped to the ground, as well as Cheesecake and Moth’s, at the sight bestowed before us.

“Twilight Sparkle?!”