The sun rose as the moon set in a sky changing from indigo to orange. The guards shifted duties from lunar guard, to solar guard, to allow the lunar guard to rest during the sunlit hours. Most of the lunar guard were nocturnal anyway, their eyes better suited to the low light of the moonlit hours.
White pegasi and grey unicorns picked up their gold armor and took up where their nocturnal solders left their post. Very rarely would an earth pony ever think of taking a task so dangerous.
But one guard stayed on duty, her red and blue eyes following the moon setting below the mountains in the distance. Her blue armor dimly reflected off the early morning sun as it rose upon the sky, turning the thin clouds a pale pink, the sky a rosy blue fading into a dull orange.
She gave off a throaty purr and stretched as the sunlight began to warm her purple fur. For the night may of been beautiful, but the moon and stars did not give off the same warmth the sun did.
As she licked a paw, she thought of the week of how it went so far.
She thought of Greythorn's birthday party, of how surprised the overweight grey unicorn was, and how happy he was that somepony remembered his birthday. He had thought everyone had forgotten.
For a solar guard, he was rather nice in Rusty's opinion.... Even if he was really overweight.... To the point where he needed help putting on his armor.
She thought back to where she had needed LightArrow to help her out her prosthetic front leg back on after it had come off during a vigorous training exercise, and how well he treated the situation. She had forgotten the one winged alicorn guard had a prosthetic leg of his own. Sure he hid it well, but if you looked closely, you'd see the place where the prosthetic met the rest of his body. Being an Alicorn, one would expect him to be royalty. But things were never what they seemed..... For the one winged Alicorn named LightArrow. He was a mystery Rusty wanted to figure out, from Alicorn status to mysterious cutie mark, his being a white crescent with a red slash through it.
And that one day where she had helped round up a changeling who was intent on overthrowing both princesses, and taking the crown of power for himself, causing so much unneeded drama. She had remembered she had used quite a lot of energy chasing the little bugger, and the exercise had made her lungs ache. At least that's what she thought when she felt a sharp ache in her chest. She didn't think it was serious, as the pain went away after several moments. It may of only happened a few days ago, but she could still feel the satisfaction of tackling the rogue changeling to the ground, her claws out and adrenaline pumping from her run. She especially liked his horrified expression when his compound eyes met hers..... Although she was not sure why.
She came back to reality as she walked to her post, a small smile on her furry face. For today, she had a bet she wanted to win against another guard.... And thinking about that day with the changeling was making her uncomfortable in ways she couldn't explain.
A bet that involved whoever could round up one of the most wanted criminals in ponyville.... A wolf dragonpony by the name of ThrillKill.
She was wanted because she would set random things on fire, and then proceed to terrify the nearby ponies with her own form of demented torture--- she would tickle them untill they passed out.
To Rusty, tickling didn't seem dangerous. Rather it sounded kinda fun. But she had to agree that lighting things on fire was simply unexceptional. Not only did the fire damage things, but it could hurt others if left to burn out of control. She knew firsthand how dangerous fire could be. A dim remembrance of her childhood fight with Xaos went through her head, and she gave an involuntary shudder. She didn't want to remember the day she got her scar over her blue eye, nor the day she nearly lost her life to the huge dragon.
The solar guard known as Turtle Shell cast a raised eyebrow in her direction, a skeptical green eye looking her over carefully. She wore a bit and brittle over her pale gold armor, marking her as a war horse, one ridden into battles. The grey Pegasus preened a wing and gave a small twitch of her blond tail before she broke the silence.
"So, you think you have what it takes to round up ThrillKill huh? Let me warn you, she's not like that pesky changeling you dealt with a few days ago."
Rusty gave the Pegasus an amused glare.
"Turtle Shell, do you think I can't handle my job? I've been on the force longer than you've been alive. I've seen some things that would curl your feathers and scar you for life."
For the first time, Turtle Shell was silent, choosing her words wisely.
"That may be true Ace, but it doesn't make you better than everypony." Her tone turned ice cold. "Doesn't mean we should take ThrillKill lightly. She's half wolf and half dragon pony.... An unpredictable hybrid bent on destruction and misery."
Rusty rolled her eyes.
"Tell me something I don't know Turtle." Her tone turned harsh. "Did you forget I carry Wolf and Dragon in my bloodline?"
Turtle Shell flinched, before her stern green and blue eyes met Rusty's red and blue eyes dead on.
"Did you ever once think of why she hasn't been captured if you think she's so easy to arrest?"
