Clouds Swallow The Moon

II. Alpha

“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?!”

We all yelled, surprised at the mare's reveal of her identity. All of our jaws were wide open as we flopped our mouths open like fishes, trying to form words. This line of work doesn't really seem like Twilight’s thing, considering every once in awhile you have to kill something. It isn't an if, it's a when. Everybody in Moonlight XIII has killed something at least once on a mission, and while we swear to never harm anypony, we still kill things that are sentient. I once had to assassinate a Gryphon, but I… No, let's not think about it, that's a story another time.

In one way, this made some sense and I should have been tipped off that it was her from the beginning, but I guess it didn't pass through my mind. I guess I was too focused on the fact that Princess Luna is missing, and I didn't pay much attention to her at first. But, now that I think about it, maybe it was a little easy to figure out. Of course, she could have been your regular mare, but all the signs were there, right in front of us. I’m sure somepony in that room figured it out, but I was not in the right mindset.

She was offered a throne right next to Princess Celestia, one that nopony has been offered before and is usually where Princess Luna sits. Not mention the fact that she asked for her identity to not be revealed, something that nopony has done before in the whole history of Moonlight XIII. And, well, Twilight's middle name is Violet too, so there's that small little tidbit. Oh, and who else to replace Shining Armor’s position than his own little sister? We were fooled, fair and square.

“I’m sorry for keeping this from you all, but I didn't want the extra attention on top of joining the organization. My brother already didn't want me to join, and all of my friends said it was dangerous.” Twilight finally broke the silence, tapping her hoof on the ground shyly. I guess that makes sense, but the word was going to get out anyway. Moonlight XIII doesn't seem to be much of a secret in Equestria anymore, it seems like the only people that don't know of our existence is our enemies. And honestly, that's all that really matters.

We had no choice in the matter when it came to keeping it a secret. It was either sit back in the shadows and watch the Changelings overtake Canterlot and murder everypony in their sight, or jump in and ward them off long enough for Shining Armor and Princess Cadence to defeat Queen Chrysalis. But, sometimes I regret joining the battle. We lost a lot of good ponies, one of them being Sithiis, a Gryphon and a close friend to me… There's still times when I think about if I could have saved her.

After that, Moonlight XIII was shown to the public as an organization that dealt with supernatural anomalies. While not exactly wrong, we deal with other things, one of them being assassinations. Changeling officers, Gryphon ambassadors, Minotaur captains, point is that if you name it, we've most likely had to kill it. While most of Moonlight XIII is used to killing at this point, I still find myself freaking over it. I don't let it hinder my ability to complete the mission, but I find myself staying up at night, the events playing over and over in mind like a broken record.

I know eventually I will stumble across a situation where I’ll have no choice but to kill a pony, and I've accepted it. It's not a matter of if, but when. The day that I end another pony's life is the day I’ll break, my mind is a little too fragile enough as of now. While I don't want to get into it, years of abuse and one traumatic event have etched themselves into the corners of my mind and refuse to leave. It’s going to take a very long time for me to get it over it, and if I have to endure one more horrific act, I’m going to snap more than I ever have before; it won't be pretty, to say the least.

Twilight won't fare that well, either. She's used to using the Elements of Harmony to dispel villains that don't harm anypony or kill. They want to achieve goals that hoal them, which usually involve them using magic and not really hurting anypony. Discord only messed the world up, Nightmare Moon just wanted eternal night, Tirek just stole everypony’s magic but didn't harm them, King Sombra enslaved ponies but didn't kill them. Queen Chrysalis, well, I could tell she didn't want to harm anypony, so she seduced them and harvested their love. She only attacked Canterlot because she would invoke the wrath of her superior, the supreme overlord of the Hive, Queen Nafastus.

Point is, Twilight and her friends have never had to deal with enemies that want to end your life, and when she does eventually get dragged into a situation like that, she will become a killer. Her friends may never have to lay a hoof on anything, but once this mission is over and if she had to kill, she will change. After all, it’s not as if she is the Element of Kindness, she won't just lie down and take it. She will strike back. She just won't be able to deal with the repercussions that comes with ending another pony’s or thing’s life. She’ll break, sadly.

We all had to deal with it. Ending another sentient creature’s life, I mean. None of us have killed a pony, and we all hope it never comes to that. Cheesecake is still broken up over killing a Gryphon, she lost some of her happiness. She used to be perkier more than Pinkie Pie, hard to believe it I know, but she was. Since then, I sometimes notice she stares blankly at nothing and even occasionally see her tear up some. She was an innocent pony that shouldn't have subjected herself to joining, but there isn't much one could do when everything's said and done. She will just have to live with it, even if it tears her up inside.

Moth is different, though. She joined Moonlight XIII to redeem herself for all the crimes she committed. She was a convicted felon, and she acted as much. She played every crime in the book, arson, theft, assault, battery, you name it, she's done it. Of course, when she joined, I didn't have any knowledge of such things and thought I could rut. Needless to say, she threatened to castrate me and I was afraid to even look her way after that. Well, I didn't have much choice when she was assigned to Alpha Squad. I kind of had to talk with her, and I’m glad I did, I found a good friend in her.

Eclipse was, well, love at first sight to me. She's beautiful, funny, kind, generous, she's one whole package of amazingness. When she joined, I have never felt that way towards a mare in my life. Funny thing is, she didn't pay me much attention until one year after she joined when I found her drinking her flank off at a bar. After that, we kind of did a friends-with-benefit thing. I don't know if she shares her love for me, but I’m still going to confess it to her one of these days. I just have to find the time, when the time is right and everything is perfect.

And me? Well, I was the first to join Alpha Squad, the second member after Captain Shining Armor. Then Moth, who was already in Moonlight XIII long before me or Cheesecake joined. Cheesecake joined last and that was Alpha Squad as a whole. I was the last to join Moonlight XIII out of all three of us, I was assigned to Delta Squad at first. Which, was where I met Sithiis, a beautiful Gryphon, who… Not now. She and I shared Delta Squad with two others, one being Eclipse, and Daring. No, not Daring Do, if that's what you are thinking; even if it would be cool to have her working with us.

Daring was a very ambitious stallion, and had not an ounce of shame. He’d say whatever came to his mouth, and most of the time he was thinking about sex. So, we had to endure his stories of how he rutted several mares, stallions, changelings, whatever. Turns out he was daring in the bedroom as well, because he wasn't afraid to have sex with anything. As to what role he had in Moonlight XIII; he was an explosives expert. He was so crazy he would laugh as he blew up things, the stallion was out of his mind! It doesn't mean I don't miss him, though. We lost him in the battle for Canterlot when the changelings attacked.

Eclipse is, well, she's still alive, obviously. She and I are the last remaining members of the original Delta Squad, and we both bare the scars of its downfall. She is very good at persuading ponies, which is actually not her main profession. Although, she sure uses me a lot and I fall for it. It's funny because I know she does, yet I allow myself to let her do it anyway. Maybe it's because I love her, but it could also be that I can't resist her. She's got such mesmerizing eyes and when I gaze into them for too long, I feel myself succumbing to her charm. It's hard to explain, really.

Sithiis, well, she used to be my marefriend. Er, gryphonfriend? I don't know. Regardless, I loved her and even was preparing to propose to her after a while of dating her. Three years, to be precise. She was perfect, and I’m still heartbroken after her death, at the hooves of… Hmm. I don't remember much of what happened after she fell, but Eclipse told me that I preceded to go on a killing spree, mowing down every changeling in my sight. She said it took Princess Luna to subdue me. I still find myself thinking about her, thinking about if I could have done something differently to save her. Sad thing is, I can't turn back time.

I've spent most of my life, which is twenty-six years for your information, thinking about things I could have done. And since I did that, I missed a lot of important events of my life that I’ll never get the chance to redo. Like missing my father’s funeral, or my friend Vinyl’s wedding. It's a bad habit that I find myself falling into every once in awhile, and old habits die hard, I guess. Eclipse helps me with that problem, but I can't help but feel that I've wasted my life thinking about my life. Anyway, I’m rambling on and on, so I’m going to stop.

“It's okay, Twilight, we understand.” I consoled her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to me and smiled, and I returned the smile. I get it, I really do. Sometimes you just want some space, and if I've been in a spot of my life like that. It's actually not that long ago, now that I think about it. Hmm. Seems just like yesterday.

“I don't. What was the point of hiding your identity if you were going to tell us anyway?” Moth voiced her opinion, staring at the purple mare. Moth really is something else, sometimes. A little too much, honestly. But, she does have a point, so I can't really say anything. Well, I can tease her, that always helps.

“Don't mind her, she's a little slow.” I teased with my lips curved upwards, tapping Moth on her shaggy white mane. It really is fun to mess with her, because eventually her muzzle will scrunch up and she’ll start doing these cute moth noises.

“Hey! That’s not fair, I’m not the one that was the last to figure out that Cheesecake was a unicorn.” I shut up instantly. I hate to admit it, but it took me almost a full year to figure out that Cheesecake was a unicorn. I really thought she was just an earth pony, most likely because I didn't see her use any magic until the changelings attacked. Now that I think about, a lot of things revolve around that fight. Odd.

“It’s okay Dusky, Moth is just mad that she can't get a stallion.” Cheesecake softly said, the most innocent smile I've ever seen graced upon her lips. Moth was laughing so hard that when Cheesecake said that, she immediately began to choke. I swear, her blush could scorch you if you were to lay a hoof on her cheeks. Cake’s child-like smile combined with Moth’s face really made me lose it, I had to hold my sides I was laughing so hard. Oh Celestia, that's the funniest thing I've ever seen. I wish I had a camera on me, that would be framed and hung up on my wall.

“A-Alright, heh, alright. I think we spent too much time here. Why don't we actually do our job.” I calmed down from outburst and made my way to my hooves, pulling my hood over my head, concealing my mane and face. Honestly, the cloak could be more armored, but then again, there's no real use. What we fight most of the time can just break through armor, so why not sacrifice defense for agility? They can't hit us if we’re being agile. Funny thing is, when Moonlight XIII was created, the armor was just regular guard armor but painted black. It slowed them down and eventually decided to switch to cloaks. It’s been the organization’s signature uniform ever since.

“How do you propose we start? Princess Celestia didn't give us any leads. Princess Luna could be anywhere!” Moth exclaimed, waving her hooves sporadically to drive her point her home. She was right. Where are we going to start, considering that she wasn't as kind to give us any clues or leads or anything. We are going to be out here for months, if we don't find anything indicating the location of the princess. Watch; I bet you she's on the damn Moon.

“Easy: Split up. I’ll go with Dusk, and you can go with Cheesecake.” Twilight piped up, taking her place by her side. Moth proceeded to groan as she stood up and used her antennas to pull her hood down. Unstrapping her rifle, she slung it over her shoulder and held it with her left hoof as she looked over to Cheesecake, who was staring at a butterfly, her eyes darting all over the place as they followed the majestic creature’s flight around her body.

“How come I have to go with Cheese?” She complained, pointing a hoof at the unicorn, who was oblivious to Moth’s disdain towards her. You gotta’ hand it to the mare; she really didn't care about anything or anypony. I sometimes wish I could be like her, innocent, well, somewhat innocent. And full of life. She doesn't let her work bring her down, and that's admirable. She may be annoying at times, but I wouldn't have anypony else replace her.

“Dusk and I make a good team.” Twilight left it at that as she began to walk the opposite way from Moth and Cake. Shooting a glance towards Moth, I followed after Twilight deeper into the woods. The unicorn wasn't wrong; we do make a good team. I found that out at the Crystal Empire, when we fought against King Sombra. Believe it or not, when it comes to fighting, we are both very well coordinated and connected with each other. It's funny, considering I never even saw her before that event, except for the Changeling attack. I guess we'll see if we really do make a good team or if it was just luck.

Catching up to Twilight, she had her hood cast over her head and her rifle suspended in the air next to her as she walked. That reminded me that I should have my weapon ready. Slipping my pistol out of its holster, I held it in my right hoof as I walked, one of my hooves not being used for walking not really hindering me in any way. I’m used to walking like this, not to mention being used to walking on my hind legs. If I wanted to, I could walk around all day being almost as tall as Princess Celestia. Wouldn't that be funny.

“Where do you think we are?” I asked in a whisper, scanning my surroundings for any signs of hostiles. Twilight and I couldn't really walk right next to each other due to a vast amount of thick trees. My hooves crunched on the ground, multicolored leaves crackling under the weight of my hooves. Moonlight peered through the various cracks of the openings in between trees, no matter how small the rays of light were. There was only the sound of our hoofsteps and heavy breathing. It really seemed like we were alone; I don't even have that feeling of having somepony watching over me when the Moon is out.

That brought me to the thought; where is Princess Luna actually at? It doesn't feel as if she just left, like taking a walk or something of that manner, it feels as though she actually left. The Moon fills me with dread whenever I gaze upon it instead of making me feel protected and secure. My dreams have been getting progressively more violent and vivid, to the point I can barely sleep. For Celestia’s sake, she even had to raise the Moon! Something she hasn't dared do since her sister returned from her banishment. She has only been gone for a few days, but I can already tell that something bigger is going on and we’re right in the middle of it.

In situations like this, when somepony goes missing, Princess Celestia usually just assigns the regular royal guard to investigate and bring the pony back home. But, no, she sent us out here; with no leads, might I add. That means that this is big, and could possibly borderline the supernatural. Honestly, what would we do if she really is on the Moon? And what if she doesn't want to come back down? We will be searching for a very long time, and what if we never find her? Princess Celestia will have to rule over Equestria by herself, something none of us want.

“Telling by the way the trees are, we're most likely in the Whitetail Woods. We keep heading South, we will eventually hit the line to the Badlands.” Twilight said as she turned to the left to avoid a tree, me doing the same thing. Badlands actually isn't that bad of a place to start. Might as well see if our enemies have her, but I highly doubt Princess Luna would just let herself be captured by them. Still… we would have to cover it eventually.

“Which way are Cheesecake and Moth going, then?” I inquired as I stepped onto a fallen tree trunk and hopped down onto the ground again, continuing my walk.

“If they headed the opposite direction of us? Towards the Crystal Empire, and before that, Vanhoover. Trust me, we're all going to be walking for a while.” Twilight and I made it to another clearing. The Moon’s glow lit up the area and for the first time this night, I glanced up to the Moon. And I immediately regretted it. Yup, still makes you depressed. Celestia, this sucks. I’d rather deal with another King Sombra than a missing princess.

“Yeah. I just wish we had something pertaining to where she is. Princess Celestia sent us in blind and she knows it.” I muttered, scratching the back of my neck through my hood, the gun in my hoof slapping against the back of my head. Twilight scanned around with her rifle before continuing on, stepping right back into the bushes. After looking around, I followed her deeper into the forest, the grass almost up to my knees.

“That's why we should see if the Changelings or even the dragons have her. If not, we will just return here and regroup with Moth and Cheesecake.” She explained, her rifle swinging around in the air, checking for any potential threats. I mimicked her and looked around with my pistol, happy that there's no enemies around. Twilight… Is right. Nothing is a bad idea in this situation, even if we're technically doing the bad idea in any normal circumstance.

“I wonder where Bravo and Charlie got sent to… What if one of them was already in the Badlands?” I would like to see Eclipse and know she's alright, but I have a very small chance of seeing her until this mission is over. We are all basically traveling the whole of Equestria, and most likely won't even lay eyes on one another ‘till we find the princess… No matter how long it takes.

“Then we get reinforcements. As much as I hate to say it, we can't attack the Changelings… We're going to have to try and talk to them.” She uttered the last part, but I heard it well enough. And while I agree with her, what's stopping them from attacking us? They have a whole Hive, there's no way even us can take out that many of them. So, we kind of are depending on running into Bravo Squad or Charlie Squad. Rokë would be extremely useful in that situation, even if he’s exiled. I hate to say it, but we are going to talk to the damn Changelings.

Just then I heard a rustling sound, coming from our right. I motioned to Twilight to take cover behind one of the trees and she nodded, slamming her back against one of the thick trees. Assured that she's in cover, I began walking slowly towards the source of the noise, my pistol held tightly in my grip. Glancing back to Twilight for a split second, she had her head peering around the tree with her rifle ready to fire. I thought I told her to take cover… Whatever, it's not as if I don't appreciate the support. For all I know, I can die in a minute.

The noise sounded out once again as I was nearing the source. Using my wings, I cocked the pistol and ripped the bush open, glancing inside. Wait, what? Inside the bush was Midnight Blossom, but she was badly injured, but thank Celestia she's alive. I waved my hoof to Twilight to get her flank over here, turning back to the Vesper on the ground. Holstering my pistol, I attempted moving her, but then she slapped my hoof away.

“What, you trying to cop a feel, Dusk?” She whispered, a goofy smile on her muzzle, showing off her sharp fangs. Twilight arrived and put her gun to the side, her horn activating and lighting up around the areas that she was injured. Her wings were torn to Tartarus and back, and it looks like she has a broken hind leg. Twilight got to work healing her and I sat there with her, holding her in my hooves.

“What are you doing here? Where's the rest of Bravo Squad?” I asked the vesper, who was clenching her hooves on mine due to Twilight healing her wings and hoof. She looked up to me and pointed to the right, where Twilight and I were heading.

“We got attacked. By what, we don't know. It was something fierce though. Just like vesper sex. Regardless, I got hurt and they hid me in this bush until they could ward the beast away from me. They should be back any minute now. Also, I was counting, you fucked up my counting, Dusk!” Midnight moaned in pain when Twilight snapped her bones back into place, but then she grinned at being able to move it. “Aren't you Violet? Well, howdy, I’m Midnight Blossom.” She held out a hoof to Twilight, although only the rest of Alpha Squad know that.

“Nice to meet you, now don't get up yet. You're gonna need one of us to help you walk… Not it!” Twilight almost yelled the last part, and I groaned loudly. Great. As to why I don't like being too close to Midnight, is because she is very grabby. She will not hesitate to molest you and blame it on nearby tree branch, might I add that may or may not be higher than you. Trust me, it's happened before. And I don't like it. Not one bit. It brings up bad memories. Twilight helped Midnight to her hooves and she guided her to me, where she instead just jumped on my back and laid down. Fine. Sure. Lovely.

“Y’know, Dusk, you have a very comfortable back. If you ever decided to get funky with a stallion, their hooves would be mighty cozy.” She muttered, making me glare at Twilight under my hood. Wait, speaking of hood, where the hell is Midnight’s cloak? Was it torn up when she was attacked and left behind? I hate to say it, but she was abandoned. One of the first rules when it comes to Moonlight XIII is never leave a fellow member behind! And they did anyway. Sad part is, Eclipse is a part of Bravo Squad. I just hope she wasn't the one to decide to leave Midnight. I don't know if I could love a mare who leaves others behind.

“Contact! Contact! Open fire!”