//-------------------------------------------------------// Guardians of Chaos I - Brewing Storm -by Eclipse Monsoon- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 Discord arrived on the surface of the moon in no time. Upon landing he immediately caught sight of two alicorns. One with a white coat and the other with a dark blue coat. "Oh hello there Luna, Celestia," Discord bows as he mentions their names, "It's so great to see you again!" "Likewise," Celestia says in a angry tone. "Oh would you stop being so sad and angry all the time Celly," Discord says. He walks forward and sits down in front of her. "It won't be long before we leave this place and overthrow you and your tyranny!" Celestia says angrily. "Me? A tyrant? Now that's funny. Maybe you should go ask the ponies on Equis," Discord says as he walks over towards Luna. "Oh wait you can't," Discord laughs. "Because you're stuck here on the moon. Besides I'm sure you couldn't have run Equestria that well," "Really now? I think we could've done better than you. Besides we won't be here for much longer, mind you," Luna says as she looks up towards Discord. "Oh that's right, it's almost been five thousand years. A year more, I think" Discord says as he pulls out a glass of water out of nowhere. "Might as well prepare, I guess I'll be seeing you two much sooner than anticipated. Oh and don't think that the ponies down there have forgotten about you," Discord then jumps up into the air and floats. He creates a pink cloud that constantly rains chocolate milk. "Hasta la vista my little ponies," Discord says as he teleports away from the moon, leaving only the cotton candy cloud. "Well those five thousand years have gone by quicker than I anticipated," Celestia says as she stands up. "We too should start preparing" Luna says. She also stands up to follow her sister. Both of the alicorns walk up towards a large hill on one side of the moon. The hill overlooked most of the moon and one could also clearly see the planet of Equis from the top of the hill. As both sisters stood on the hill, both of them contemplating on preparations for when they return. "Luna have you practiced the spell yet?" Celestia asks her sister, while still looking at Equis. "Yes I've been sister, what about you?" Luna asks. "I've been able to do it. But like they say practice makes perfect" Celestia replies. ********** Canterlot, Equuestria. 4999 years after the banishment of the alicorn sisters. Discord arrived at the Canterlot castle and made his way towards the throne room. It was somewhere between 12 p.m. and 1p.m., hence the lack of guards around the halls. After a short walk, Discord arrived at the throne room. The room itself is relatively bare, only containing the main throne and the stained glass windows containing a visual record of events that happened within the last 4999 years. Discord breathes in. "Ahh, the castle smell shall be one that will be relished forever and never forgotten," Discord walks up to the massive obsidian and gold throne that stays on the farthest side of the room from the door. He takes a seat and snaps his fingers. A scroll appears in front of him and so does a quill. He starts writing on the quill. These ponies are to report immediately to the Canterlot Royal Castle Twilight Sparkle Rarity Rainbow Dash Fluttershy Applejack Pinkie Pie Sunburst Dark Night "Sombra get over here!" Discord shouts across the room. Sombra quickly enters the throne room and approaches the side of Discord. "What is it that you need King Discord?" Discord hands Sombra the paper. "Please contact the ponies on this list and send them here. Tell them I sent for them," "At once King Discord," Sombra then walks out of the room. "Now I play the waiting game," ********** Ponyville, Equestria. Some time past 7 a.m. The sound of a hoof knocking at the door was the wake up call to the pony who lived in the house. The knocking would continue non-stop and would get louder each time. Eventually the owner had enough. "WAIT! I'M COMING DOWN!" The owner shouted from the top of the stairs. He descended down the stairs and went through the living room. Just before reaching the door, he uses his magic to light a match and light the several candles around the room. Once he was done with this he approached the door and opened it. He immediately recoiled at the brightness that entered his home. "Damn sun, why'd it have to be so bright," he muttered under his breath. "Yes?" the owner of the house asked the pony outside, "What's so urgent that you had to wake me up this early?" "Are you Dark Night?" the pony outside asks. "Yes I am, who's asking?" Dark Night replies. After recovering from the sudden brightness shift, he looked up to see who had been disturbing him. He was surprised at who he saw. On his front door stood a unicorn, slightly taller than him. He had a dark grey coat and a black mane. He could easily tell who this pony was from a mile away. "I am Sombra and King Discord has requested for your presence," Sombra says. "What!? The king himself asks for my presence? Did he say why?" he asks to Sombra. "No he did not, but you should report to the Ponyville train station as soon as you are ready," Sombra tells him. "Okay then, I guess I'll be seeing you there," Night says as Sombra walks away. As soon as he is out of sight, he closes the door and lets out the breath he was holding. He immediately went to the bathroom to freshen up. He looked at the mirror as he styles his red and blue mane. He turns around and looks at his cutie mark. A cutie mark of a sword in front of a moon. "Heh, to this day I wonder why this is my cutie mark," he then uses his magic to grab a pair of scissors. He uses the scissors to cut the long and stray hairs that adorn his dark blue coat. "This coat too makes me wonder. It's similar to that of somepony that tried to overthrow Discord nearly five thousand years ago. Luna I think was her name," Night makes his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. There he quickly assembles a dandelion and hay sandwich before hastily heading out the door and making his way towards the Ponyville train station. Once he arrived there he immediately saw Sombra standing on the train platform. "You sure did take your time," Sombra says "Well you did wake me up," Night replies "It doesn't matter, here's your ticket," Sombra levitates a ticket towards Night, "Now get on the train, it's about to leave," Sombra points at the train. "Oh, I'll just meet you outside the castle, wait for me there," Night nods and quickly gets on the train and finds a room on the third car from the engine. Before he gets into the room, the conductor approaches him and collects his ticket. He got into a two pony room. He settles into one of the beds and falls asleep immediately. Night woke up sometime later when he heard the door open. He immediately shoots up and looks at the pony. The pony had a cyan coat and a rainbow mane. By the way she looked, he assumed she was a mare. Her cutie mark was that of a cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt. "Who are you?" He immediately asks the mare "Name's Rainbow Dash and I'm the fastest flier in Equestria!" she proclaims loudly. Night cringes slightly due to the loudness, but doesn't make it seem obvious. He stretches out his hoof towards her. "Nice meeting you Rainbow Dash," she approaches and shakes his hoof, "I am Dark Night if you're wondering," "It's nice meeting you too Dark Night. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some sleep to catch up on," Rainbow Dash says as she walks over to the bed and gets in, falling asleep immediately. 'I guess I'm not the only one lacking sleep,' Night thinks to himself before going back to sleep //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 Dark Night groggily opens his eyes and gets up from the bed. Only to undo all of that and bury himself further into the blankets. "Damn sun, no wonder I always prefer the night," Night says softly. He soon gets out of bed and looks at the small watch he left next to his bed. The watch read 7:00 a.m., "Seven in the morning and it's already this damn bright," Night says slightly louder this time. Then he looks over to the other bed in the room. On the bed lay a cyan mare with rainbow hued hair. "Oh right she's my roommate," Night then heads off towards the bathroom and cleans himself up. After a bath he heads out and bumps into Rainbow Dash. Both of them tumble around for a while until neither can move. In the end both were stuck in a rather embarrassing position. Night's face was right in front of Dash's plot and Dash's face lay on Night's stomach. He was so stunned by the situation that he accidentally poked her marehood with his nose. She immediately blushes and lets out a short yelp before quickly shutting her mouth. Before anypony could do anything, the door opened and somepony walked into the room. Because Night's view was mostly blocked by Dash's flank, he didn't see who this pony was. The pony spoke in a southern accent. "Ah know ya like things fast Dash, but don't you think that ya'll go in a bit too fast?" Rainbow Dash spoke up. "This isn't what it looks like! I can explain!" "Ya don't need no explanation," the pony said. With that the pony left the room and closed the door Night immediately removed himself from under Rainbow Dash. "Argh, AJ better not tell everypony!" "AJ?" Night asks as he gets up, "Oh and sorry about bumping into you, wasn't expecting you outside the door," "Eh it's nothing. AJ on the other hand..." she ponders for a moment, "AJ or should I say, Applejack is a apple farmer. Part of the Apple family and helps in maintaing Sweet Apple Acres right outside of Ponyville," "Ahh ok," Night looks out the window, "I guess I'll be headed out now, see you whenever," Night says as he approaches the door "See ya later too. Oh and don't forget I live in Ponyville," "I'll take note," Night heads out the door and into the hallways. He walks through several cars and finally arrives at the dining area. He takes a seat in one of the booths closest to the bar. A waiter pony walks up to him and offers him a menu. Night spends a minute looking at the menu. He hands it back to the waiter. "Pasta alfredo and a hayburger please," the waiter nods and heads off into one of the other cars. Night notices a table on the opposite end of the train. On the table were five mares, two unicorns, two earth ponies and one pegasus. All five of them were looking at him and giggling slightly. One of the earth ponies, she had a blonde mane with hat on top of her hair and had an orange coat, whispered towards her group of friends. They all continue to giggle for reasons unknown to Night. The door on the other side of the car opens and Rainbow Dash walks in and the five mares look at her, then towards Night and back and forth. They all start laughing as Dash sits on one of the open seats of the table. They all talk amongst one another and a blush appears on Rainbow Dash's face. They all turn and look at him for a few more seconds before they continue on with their conversation. The waiter comes back with Night's food, he places it on the table as he buries his face in his hooves. Night looked up after a while when he heard hoofsteps headed towards him. Dash takes a seat on the chair in front of him. "They aren't going to let you live this down won't they?" "Yeah, for once in my life I felt powerless to do anything," she says sadly. She then lays her head on the table. Night moves his hoof towards hers and holds it. "Don't worry, as your friend, I'm not going to make you feel powerless," "Thanks," she wipes a single tear from her eye before sitting straight once again. "Can I have some?" "Sure," he says. "Actually here you can have this, I'm not really that hungry," he hands her the hayburger. "Really? Well thanks," she says. Both of them sit in silence as they eat their food. The other five mares from earlier just look over towards them. After they finish their food, they just peacefully wait for the train to arrive at Canterlot station. "Hey Night?" "Yes?" "Please be more careful," "Huh what?" then he realises. He blushes slightly, "Sorry about that," "It's fine, we all make mistakes anyway," Both Night and Dash just watch the scenery roll by as they travel through the plains. After an hour the train finally arrives at the station. "Hey Rainbow Dash, where you headed?" "Oh me and my friends are going to the Canterlot castle because we were apparently called by Discord," "Same here," "Really?" "Yeah, I wonder why he called us though..." Night, Rainbow and her five friends all walk through Canterlot towards the castle. The walk was mostly in silence up until Rainbow's friends decided it would be okay to ask about Night before they got to the castle. "So what's your name?" the purple unicorn asked Night. "My name's Dark Night," "How'd you meet Dashie?" the pink earth pony asked. "We shared the same room on the train," "Oh no..." the purple unicorn said. "Relax we didn't do anything! I swear!" "Really now? Cuz last time ah saw ya, it looked as if..." AJ said "First of all, don't go jumping to conclusions. Second, you need to get your head out of the gutter. Besides we really should get going, wouldn't want to keep the king of Equestria and the god of chaos waiting would we?" They all nod and head straight to the castle. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 The castle was an absolute sight to behold. Most of the castle wasn't uniform due to King Discord's chaotic nature. But some parts were "normal". The group of six mares and one stallion arrived outside the castle. When they tried to approach the gates, they were cut off by the Royal Guard. "We need to get through!" Rainbow Dash said to the guard. "No can do ma'am, you and your friends aren't allowed inside unless we've been notified to let you in," one of the guards say "Let them through," somepony said. To Night that voice was very distinct. "Sombra..." Night said under his breath. Him and the six mares all get past the gate and walk towards the main hall. "Sorry about that, the guards are on heightened alert," Sombra said as he came out of a hallway directly in front of them. "Gee, I wonder why," Night says blandly. "Very funny. It's actually because somepony important is coming, according to King Discord," Sombra says as he leads the group through the halls and towards the throne room. "But what would he need the presence of us seven commoners?" the unicorn with a white coat said. "I wouldn't know, he didn't disclose as to why," Sombra says. "Oh we're here. Wait right here please," With that Sombra went inside the throne room leaving the seven ponies outside. "So you all know me, I'm Dark Night. But I still don't know what your names are," Night said as he turned to look at the six mares. "I'm Applejack, but you can call me AJ," the orange pony with a brown Stetson hat said. "Nice meeting you AJ," Night says, he offers his hoof for a hoofshake. Applejack reaches in and shakes hooves. Night pulls her close and whispers into her ear. "Everything you saw in that room was an accident," "Sure it was," Applejack laughs lightly, but stops once she notices Night glaring at her. "Hi I'm PinkiePie!" the pink earth pony said enthusiastically as she tackles Night to the ground. "Have I seen you in Ponyville before? Because I know everyone in Ponyville and am friends with them," "All except one apparently. Yes I live in Ponyville, but I mostly stick to my own in my house," Night says. "Well when we get back to Ponyville, I'll be throwing you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!" "That won't be necessary," Night gets out from under Pinkie and stands up. "I'm Rarity and I am Ponyville's premier clothier," the white unicorn said. Night bows, "It's nice meeting you miss Rarity," "Why thank you," Rarity said "Well you already know me," "Yes I do Dash," Night notices the pegasus beside Rainbow, "What about you, what's your name?" She whimpers softly, "I-I'm F-Fluttershy," the yellow pegasus whispered. So soft that the wind blowing through the castle is actually louder. "Sorry what, can you repeat that, albeit louder this time please," Night said. "I'm Fluttershy," she said loud enough for everypony to hear, but just barely loud enough. "It's good to meet you Fluttershy," Night said. He turns to the lavender coloured unicorn. "And you..." Pinkie rushes up to Dash and whispers into her ear, "Why does he make it sound like he has a bone to pick with her?" Dash just shrugs in response. "I'm Twilight Sparkle," she stops and ponders for a while, "And I'm sorry about earlier," she sheepishly "It's all good Twilight. No harm, no foul, right?" Night says. "I guess so," Twilight said. "Hey it's time to go," Sombra says while poking his head out of the door. The seven ponies walk inside of the throne room. Upon seeing Discord, they all bow immediately. "Rise my subjects, there is no need to be formal in such a casual meeting," Discord says. The group of seven stand up. The door of the room opens once again to reveal a stallion with an orange coat. "Ahh now that we're all here, might as well start explaining," Discord says. He gets up from his throne and walks over to a wall adorned with a picture made out of stained glass. The picture was of five ponies standing atop a mountain, Discord right behind them. "I've called you all here for a very important matter. It is a matter of national security," At the mention of this, the eight ponies in the room start to show signs of worry. "In Equestria, there is a secret group of ponies that count as the highest order in the military. These ponies are referred to as 'Watchers'. Every one hundred years, the Watchers get changed. It's actually about time for that. I've called you all here because you eight are the next generation of watchers," Night was awestruck, for once he had something to do with his life. Everypony else was surprised at the announcement of their roles. "Oh and all the Watchers have Mentors," Discord says. He claps his hands and the door once again opens. This time revealing three unicorns. "These will be your Mentors, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer and Trixie Lulamoon," ********** After several hours of introductions, Discord sent the Watchers to their rooms, they'll return to Ponyville tomorrow and start their duties and training next month. Discord assigned Starlight to be the Mentor of Twilight and Night, Sunset would be the Mentor for Sunburst, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Then Trixie was assigned to Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie. Night walks through the halls of the castle towards his room. "Damn, life just got ten times more interesting," Night goes to the balcony of the room and looks towards the moon. "I wish, just one day, that I'll figure out my family lineage," Night thinks to himself. He walks back into his room and goes to bed. "Life is starting tomorrow," was Night's last thought before falling asleep //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4 Night woke up feeling light headed. He opens his eyes and immediately freaks out "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Night shouts, "WHERE IN TARTARUS AM I?" He looks around, he's floating in what seems to be the night sky. The area is completely barren and the only things that can be seen are the thousands of beautiful stars and a full moon. He starts flailing his hooves around in panic as he continues to float through the open area. His flailing is stopped as he is held in a cobalt blue aura. "Huh?" Night looks around, looking for the source of the magic. "Wha-?" Night says as he turns his head and spots the source of magic. There he saw an alicorn with a dark blue coat and a flowing sapphire colored mane. She was also adorned with silver and black regalia. Her horn was glowing with the same aura that held him in place. She was also beating her wings at a constant pace to keep her aloft. She flew towards him and went in front of him. Her eyes went up and down his body, seemingly inspecting every inch of him. "Uh... Hello?" Night managed to say softly. This immediately got the alicorn's attention. "Who are you?" "Who am I? I am Princess Luna!" the alicorn proclaims loudly. Upon hearing this, Night was immediately filled with fear. "O-oh um... Hello," Night said in a very soft voice. "Is there a problem young one?" "No no no. There isn't any!" Confusion and fear are the two things that are filling Night's body. "What is this place?" "Oh this place. This place is the dreamscape or land of dreams. Either way, it is where your dreams manifest," "What're you doing here?" "I guard and monitor ponies dreams. Especially when they're having nightmares," "That makes sense," Night getting less and less scared with every second spent talking to Luna. Night noticed that like him, Luna also had a similar colored coat and a moon based cutie mark. "Could it be... No it can't..." Night thought to himself. Luna noticed the silence coming from Night. "Anything disturbing you?" Night snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh what? Oh whoops sorry about that," "It is alright. Do you mind telling me what got you so perplexed? "It's nothing," Night thought for a second. "Oh yeah! Almost forgot to introduce myself. My name's Dark Night!" "Oh it's nice meeting you. But I'm afraid out time together is over," "What do you mean?" "The dream's ending. You're about to wake up," "I guess this is goodbye. 'Till next time Princess Luna!" "Farewell to you too Dark Night," Night felt a tugging force. Then he was flung away from Luna then hit an invisible wall. ********** Night shot up from his bed. His hoof immediately finding its way to his back. He didn't feel anything. "Guess that was my wake-up call," he thought to himself. He got up from bed and went straight to the bathroom. There he did his usual morning routine. As soon as he was done with that he headed out and tried looking for the dining room. After asking around some of the guards and castle staff, he found his way towards the dining room. The dining room is mostly a large hall with one long table along the center of the room, chairs placed alongside the table. On the table are several candle holders with lit candles. Also on the table is food. Several different kinds, including fish, flowers, salads, sandwiches, pasta and more. Night approaches one of the chairs and takes a seat. As soon as he sits down Discord teleports into the room, landing on the chair on the head of the table. "Good morning Dark Night," Discord says with a large smile on his face. "Good morning to you too King Discord," Night says, a sense of nervousness entering his body. "Oh no need for formalities Night, this is just a casual meeting after all," a plate filled with food floats by Night and heads towards Discord. "Don't wait for me, go on ahead!" Night uses his telekinesis to grab a plate and utensils. He also fills the plate with a smoked salmon and a daisy sandwich. He floats it back over to him and starts eating. "So how was your sleep Night?" Discord asks, taking Night off guard. Night regains his composure. "It was interesting to say the least," "May I ask why?" Discord asked, taking great interest as to why Night considered his dream as such. "I met Princess Luna and-" Discord drops the fork he was holding and looked at Night. After a minute of full silence Discord picked up the fork and continued eating. "Continue," Night begins to explain what happened in his dream. Waking up in the dreamscape, meeting Princess Luna and his wake-up call. "And that's all she wrote," "I guess good 'ole Moonbutt still has it," Discord mutters under his breath. The rest of the meal was had in silence. Until everypony else came in. When all the Watchers and Mentors filed into the room, the room was immediately filled with chatter. The only people keeping silent was Rainbow Dash, Dark Night and Discord. Even Fluttershy was interacting with the other ponies "Hey Dash, you're being awfully quiet. Anything wrong?" "No, it's fine. I'm okay," Rainbow Dash says while looking down at her empty plate. Deciding not to push it, Night veers away from the topic. "So how was last night?" "It was okay, I guess..." she replies. After most of the talking stopped, everypony ate silently. Just the occasional murmur every now and then. After everypony was done eating, they all started to exit until only Dark Night and Discord were left in the room. "First in, last out eh?" Night says "Surely," Discord replies. He gets off his chair and walks towards Night. "I have something important to tell you," "Go on ahead," "Right you've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out your heritage?" "Yes, so?" "Luna may or may not be your ancestor," Night stops. "I kinda figured but that's just a guess," "Yeah, just like what I said; may or may not," "I'll be heading off now," Night gets off his chair and bows. After bowing he stands up. "Goodbye King Discord," "To you too Dark Night," Night heads out of the room and directly to the Canterlot train station. There he boards a train back to Ponyville. Once again he picks the same room as before and so does Rainbow Dash. Both of them mostly kept to themselves during the train ride. Night spent most of it staring out the window, taking note of the lush forest, rolling hills and vast plains. The time spent looking at the surroundings felt just like a few minutes to Night. He didn't even notice when they stopped at the Ponyville train station. "Hey!" Dash shouted, knocking Night out of his trance and scaring the ever living daylights out of him. Once Night steadied himself he saw Rainbow Dash rolling on the floor and laughing. Always looking to outdo others, Night levitated Rainbow and walked out of the train. The five mares from earlier started giggling ar her predicament. Night went over to a near fence and fabricated some magical rope. He tied the rope around Dash and tied the rest on the fence, trapping her there. "See ya in an hour!" Night says, while laughing. The other mares following suit too. Night walks off leaving Dash and her friends there. It was a short walk between the train station and his house. Once he arrives on his doorstep, he gets his key from under his doormat and opens his door. "I'M HOME!" Night shouts as he enters his house. The sound of small hooves making contact with the wooden floor fills the room as a small unicorn filly makes her way towards Night. She jumps up and hugs him. "I'm so glad you're home daddy!" the little filly says. She jumps down, full of energy, waiting for Night's next move. "I missed you too Sweetie Belle," Night says as he makes his way towards the couch. He sits down and grabs a book from a nearby bookshelf. Sweetie follows and sits on the couch with her father. Night thinks back to roughly 5 years ago, when he first adopted Sweetie Belle. He met her at the nearby Ponyville Orphanage and she was one of the last kids to be left there. He felt so sorry for her and decided to adopt her. Since then he's been taking care of her. He's even been trying to find any family members but he had no luck with that. Over the next few hours, both Night and Sweetie just bonded. It was around 9 p.m. when Night set Sweetie to sleep. After that he spent the next few hours on his balcony, gazing out to the stars. Some time past midnight Night went back into his house and settled in for the evening. Author's Note Merry Christmas guys! Hopefully you enjoy(ed) it with your family and friends! Also interesting to note: I wrote this with one of the worst hangovers I've had in months so please don't mind any mistakes in it. Once I'm back to full condition and not drunk, I'll go back to this and re-edit it. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5 I lay on my living room couch, staring up at the ceiling. The ceiling fan being the only thing I see as my thoughts wander. But all of it was broken as I heard the voice of a filly. More specifically Sweetie Belle’s voice. “Daaaaad,” her cute little voice said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Huh?” was the only thing I could say as I was brought back to the world around me. Her mouth curling up into a small smile as I think she saw what I assumed to be my dazed, silly looking expression. “Let's go out!” she said happily, my mood somewhat starting to mirror her cheery spirit. I nod my head as I get up from the couch and walk towards the bathroom. As I walk I hear Sweetie Belle ask “Where are you going? Outside is this way,” I just roll my eyes and chuckle lightly to myself as I shake my head. As I reach the door, my white colored aura surrounds the knob, pulling it open. I walk into the bathroom, not forgetting to close the door behind me. I look towards the mirror slightly above the sink. I continue to look at the mess of a reflection that I call myself as I rummage through the cabinets, using my magic, in search of a mane brush. I was finally able to find it, but not before making an absolute mess of my bathroom. Eh, I'll just clean that up later I thought to myself as I start to straighten out my blue and red mane. I then brush it off slightly to the side. After that I spend some time styling my mane to make it the same way that I usually fix it. Once done I leave the brush on the countertop and walk out of the bathroom. What I did not realize was Sweetie Belle sitting in front of the door, waiting for me get out. As I stumble over her, she miraculously doesn't move at all. But I do regain my balance through carrying myself in my magic. My vision suddenly filled with a white-ish tint. But once I straighten myself up, I lower myself on to the floor. My head pounding heavily from the amount of effort spent on levitating myself. I end up nearly tripping over every step I took. Eventually I had to resort to propping myself against the wall to just be able to stand up. Once Sweetie Belle recovered from nearly getting stepped on, she immediately rushes to my side. “Dad are you alright?” she asks, clearly sounding worried as to my current state. “Yeah, just a little headache,” I lied. I felt as if somepony smacked the upside of my head with a 2x4. *** Clearly overexerting oneself through magic usage is a a very dangerous thing. Once I could finally walk straight, me and Sweetie made haste towards Ponyville Medical. After getting checked up on by the doctor, I was told to hold off from using the magic as I was extremely close to a magic burnout. And that would’ve been absolutely deadly. Near death moments aside, I was also recommended to not do much physical activity, to which Sweetie Belle pouted sadly. Which was probably what I could consider my “Sweetie Belle face of the week”. After getting my ear talked off by the doctor, me and Sweetie Belle went out to a bakery. A bakery that seemed very out of place with it’s gingerbread house design. It was rather famous one, although I never visited. Now that I think about it, all I did most of time while I was here in Ponyville was just stay at home, never really socializing with anypony. Usually it’d be Sweetie going out with her friends trying to get their cutie mark, while I’d be left at home maintaining it. I guess there’s time for everything I thought to myself as I push in the door. When me and Sweetie enter, the whole area seems unoccupied. We both go near the counter and behind me, I swear that I heard a creaking floorboard. As we both stand less than a feet away from the counter, I ring the bell on the counter. No reply. I ring it once more and still nothing. I look over to the display to my left. In it are several brightly colored pastries. Something’s not right I thought to myself. As I look around the bakery, the whole area seems unoccupied and it seems to be a bit to dark for this time of day. Then a blinding light engulfs my vision. Natural instinct kicking in, I did what I thought was a good idea at the time. “ARGHHHH!” I shouted as I flail my hooves blindly, several times I felt it connect with something hard. But I didn't stop until I felt constricted. Fear and anxiety overcoming me. It wasn't until my vision started to clear up when I began to calm down. In front of me was the other Watchers. The only one I knew though was Rainbow Dash due to us sharing a train car. But yet, I didn't really even know who she was. “Uh, hi?” I say in a skittish and confused manner. Everypony there just continues to look at me like I was a madpony. Especially considering what I just did, which in their eyes, probably made me look like one. As I was held there in place, a pink mare comes up to me and looks me in the eye, “Say, have I met you before? Or have I even seen you around Ponyville for that matter?” “I, uh, don't think so,” I say nervously. Sweat starting to collect on my forehead and slowly sliding down my face. “Well, well,” she says, rather mischievously. This does not help me settle my mood, it actually just makes it worse. Especially considering the reputation that this mare had around town. She slung her arm around my shoulder and grins widely, “I guess it’s time for that thing,” The orange mare whose name I think was Applejack spoke up, “what thang are ya talkin’ about Pinkie?” Pinkie she was called. Makes sense considering the color of both her mane and coat. Anywho I realized that she talked once more. “You know, that thing,” Everypony in the room all had a collective “ahh”. I was left there completely lost and confused. “What even is this thing she’s planning,” I said to myself quietly, hoping that they didn’t hear me. “Oh since I’ve never seen you before, I’m going to throw you a PARTY!” she says excitedly. I have a feeling that this won’t end well. At all. Author's Note It's ALIVE! Yes, I have finally updated. Only reason for the delays would be school and lack of inspiration. Explaining aside, it's almost summer so I'll have much more time to write //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 6 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 6 “Oh since I’ve never seen you before, I’m going to throw you a PARTY!” she says excitedly. I have a feeling that this won’t end well. At all. Pinkie then started bouncing… Wait what!? Bouncing? I thought to myself as I saw her bounce like a spring going towards her friends. I saw one of the mares; one with a lavender coat, a unicorn was the one holding me in place with her magic. “Umm, can you let me down please?” I ask, and then I was gently placed on one of the nearby seats. That unicorn in particular then goes up to me, sputtering apologies. “Sorry, sorry, sorry…” she said repeatedly and to her, my response was: “Why’re you saying sorry to me miss, you haven’t wronged me… I think,” I tell her, muttering the last part and putting a hoof up to my chin as I think for any instance, but none come to mind. “I just held you up in my magic and forgot to let you down,” she says, her head slightly low “Hey,” I say as I use a hoof to lift her chin up, “Nothing to be worried about, I didn’t get hurt so it’s alright,” I say as I look into her somewhat sad looking violet eyes. “If you say so,” she says before brightening up. Well, that was quick I thought to myself as she motions for her friends to come over. But Pinkie shook her head and instead went through a door. The orange mare with a cowpony hat just shrugs before making her way over to the table, the other 4 mares following not too far. I felt something touch my side. Wondering what it was I look over to that side and Sweetie Belle was there after seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Her sudden appearance nearly made me jump out of my seat, “Holy smokes Sweetie, you spooked me…” I say as I clutch my chest, “At least warn me next time,” “Oh… sorry dad…” she says, her expression becoming downcast too. I pick her up and hug her, to which she lets out a surprised yelp, “Hey don’t worry, it’s okay,” I whisper into her ear as I stroke her mane. “Aww, how sweet,” I hear a voice behind me say, I turn around and come face to face with a white unicorn. “Hello there, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” she says extending out her hoof. “Umm, I think it’d be better and more convenient if I introduced myself to you all at the same time, so take a seat,” I say, using my free hoof to motion to the other chairs around me. They all take a seat and they all eye me with curiosity. “Actually now, I think would be the best time for introductions. Because I do remember all of you saying your names to me a few days ago, but so much was going through my mind that I had mostly forgotten…” I say nervously, embarrassed at the fact that I forget their names… Except Rainbow Dash’s. But that’s beyond the point, I had also been fearing their responses. There was a silence surrounding us and that silence felt like an eternity. But finally one of them spoke up. “Oh it’s alright darling, we can’t just expect you to remember everything,” the white unicorn who approached me just a moment ago says and I let out a nervous chuckle. “So anyways, my name’s Rarity and I make clothes for a living,” she continues to say. A clothier eh? Interesting… beautiful mare too I thought to myself. The pony beside her then speaks up, the orange mare. Applejack. “Mah name’s Applejack, or AJ fer short. Ah just buck apples over at Sweet Apple Acres just outside ah town,” she says, a grin then come up on her face, “head on over some time, freshest apples you’ll ever taste!” she proudly proclaims. An apple farmer, hardworking by the sound of it. Next up, the same purple unicorn from earlier. “Hi there, I’m Twilight Sparkle, just the local librarian,” she says in a gleeful mood and a large smile. “I don’t really do much but stay in the library or go out with my friends,” she adds. Librarian, kinda nerdy and cute. And to her side, a mare I’d probably never forget and her- “Name’s Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in all of Equestria!” she proclaims loudly, cutting me off. There it was, what I’d never forget about her. A brash and wild personality… And I loved it Finally, at the edge of the table, hiding behind her large pink mane. “M-My name’s Fluttershy…” she says, softly. So soft that a pin dropping would be even louder, but I was able to hear it at least. Shy and reserved… eh, not my thing “Well now that you’ve all introduced yourself, time to for me to introduce myself,” I say, moving my mane slightly to the side. “Dark Night, unicorn,” I say as I point to my very obvious dark blue horn, “loner extraordinaire and father of Sweetie Belle,” I continue to say as I motion to Sweetie who was still in my grip. They let out several small giggles as I said the earlier part. “Also I’m sorry about having you reintroduce yourselves. I have a bad case transient global amnesia…” I say as I rub the back of my neck. “Oh darling never mind that, it’s alright,” Rarity says as as she reaches over to place a hoof on my shoulder, “We all have our imperfections, so don’t worry,” she continues to say. But then I was knocked down by something. But luckily I managed to let go of Sweetie before I fell. “Ah! Hey what the heck!?” I say, somewhat dazed as I land on the cold floor of Sugarcube Corner. But any attempt to talk was immediately stopped as a pink blur flashed by my eyes and shoved something into my mouth. Something delicious… Yet too sweet for my liking, but I swallowed it down anyway. As I finish swallowing it I let out a few short coughs, “What was that for?” I ask as I get up, only to see Pinkie standing less than an inch from face, giggling, causing me to rear up and knock over a chair. “Oh that, I just needed somepony to taste my sample, it was a new recipe I had,” she says approaching me and extending a hoof out to help me up. I take hold of it and get up, offering her my thanks. “By the way, I’m Pinkie Pie and I love parties,” “Thanks for that Pinkie, the cupcake and all,” I say as I dust myself up from the fall. When I stand up, I see Sweetie in my seat and the other mares looking at Pinkie with wide eyes. “Pinkie!” they all say in unison, in a somewhat scolding manner. “What?” she asks, sounding a little annoyed. “Anyways, now that we’re all here, we can finally start the party!” she says and all of a sudden the lights go out… … the lights come back on and all I could do was stand there, mouth agape as I stare at the surroundings. The lights were off for the better part of three seconds, and in those three seconds, the whole place got… party-fied, for lack of better words. “H-how?” was all I could say and me repeating it made me sound like a broken record. I look over to the side to see everypony else’s reactions. However, it was not what I expected. They were their sitting in their seats, acting indifferently. “You’re not surprised!?” I nearly shout and they reply with a shake of the head, “Not even in the slightest?” I continue to ask, and once again, they respond with a shake of the head. “Ugh..” I say woozily, then all I saw was darkness yet again *** “Oww… my head…” I say as I bring a hoof up to my head and slowly open my eyes. My sight was greeted to a bunch of fuzzy colors. Shaking my head a little and rubbing my eyes with my hooves cleared up my vision. Once I could see straight I see a pair of magenta eyes looking down on me. There was a ringing in my ears and I could see Rainbow Dash above me, trying to speak, but none of her words were getting through to me. “Huh? What?” was all my mind was trying to tell me to say, but even I couldn’t hear my own words. I could feel Dash trying to shake me to my senses, and soon enough it did work… But only after I felt her kiss me. As she did, my eyes shot open and I tried to get up, but I then remembered I was pinned down under her. “Mmph!” was all I could say, she quickly breaks the kiss once she heard it. She pulls me up, a massive blush on her face. Rarity then spoke up “Such brash techniques Dash,” she says teasingly, “You know we aren’t going to try to steal your stallion,” she continues to tease, which made me blush too. “H-hey! Take that back!” Dash says, “Night’s definitely not my stallion!” Dash adds, which only adds to my embarrassment. “I’m not anypony’s stallion!” I say loudly to catch everypony’s attention, which also made them quiet down. I was about to open my mouth again to speak but Pinkie cuts me off. “Now that we’re all here, we can finally get this party started!” she says using a megaphone, which she managed to get out of nowhere. The sheer volume of her voice as she says that makes me wince in pain as I cover my ears. But just as quick as it came, it left and I hastily turned to scold Pinkie but she was gone. How does she do that? I end up thinking to myself as I slowly walk over to a long table with foods and drinks. “Mmm, come to daddy!” I say softly, licking my lips as I say so. But then for some reason, I heard a mare say very softly, “Sure thing,”. I quickly whip my head around and nopony was right behind me, except of course the six mares and Sweetie Belle. “Hmm, guess that was nothing,” I say as I turn back around, facing the table once more. I look over all the contents of the table. There was a lot of cupcakes, and I mean a lot of cupcakes. There were also several bowls of punch, each one probably different from the last. As I was about to start eating some cupcakes, I feel a hoof poke at my side. I turn my head to see Sweetie Belle looking at me, “Wanna eat some with your dad?” I ask and she then nods happily. I start going through the cupcakes that were on the table. Several different shapes, sizes, colors, everything! The first one I saw was this one that was pink, like really pink and I decided to grab two, one for me and one for my daughter. I took a small bite and immediately didn’t want to eat it; it was the one that Pinkie shoved into my mouth… The really sweet one. I took another small bite of it before turning to Sweetie. Well, she finished it and she had the frosting all over her mouth. “Want some more?” I ask, putting my hoof forward which held the cupcake. “Don’t want it anymore? Well, more for me then!” she says gleefully. I grab the cupcake with my magic but then cancel it out quickly, Shit, that’s right, can’t use magic… I thought as I extended my hoof out more so that she could reach it. As soon as it was within reach, in one swift motion, she swipes it and eats it. I was left dumbfounded as to how she was able to do that. I think I was left there, standing probably standing with a puerile expression on my face which made her double over and fall, making her laugh hysterically. “H-how… Just how…” was all I could say once I recomposed myself. But this just continued to make her giggle more. I then pick up another cupcake, with a somewhat yellowish color. Like earlier, I got another and handed it to Sweetie. I took a bite… and well, tastes like a lemon cupcake. Main difference being that it tasted way better than anything I had ever tasted. “Wow,” being my only response as I ate through the cupcake. I look over to my daughter and she’s nowhere to be seen. Wait, nowhere. I start frantically looking around for my daughter, checking under the table and behind it. “Damn it,” I mutter under my breath as my grab a cup of fruit punch before starting to walk around. I down it quickly, my eyes beginning to dart all over the place. Up until I heard very familiar giggling not too far away from me. “Sweetie…” I groan as I facehoof. I then hear the pitter-patter of hooves coming from behind me. I turn and see her snacking on more cupcakes. “Sweetie will you be a dear and stay here?” I ask her. “Sure thing dad!” she says, continuing her enthusiastic attitude, which was one thing I admired about her. Even with all the stuff we’ve been through ever since she was a foal, she’s kept that attitude up constantly. Something that I wish I could do… But kids will be kids. “I’ll just go and talk to some of the other Watchers,” I tell her as I slowly walk towards the center of the room. Who to talk to first? I ask myself, raising my hoof to my chin again as I think. My view swerves to the rightmost corner of the room and I see Fluttershy sitting down on a purple beanbag, holding a cup and drinking what I assumed to be the fruit punch. I slowly make my towards that corner of the room, the seemingly timid mare not noticing my approach as she seems preoccupied with her thoughts. Even if most of the party was relatively silent, most noises only coming from small chit-chat or Pinkie, the silence surrounding Fluttershy was like no other. Besides the silence it felt... calming, like I was at peace. But I broke the silence as soon as I was near her. “Hi there Fluttershy,” I say softly, not wanting to disturb stillness that much. She lets out a surprised yelp as she hears my voice, jumping and cowering behind the beanbag. She then slowly peeks her head out and looks at me with her large turquoise eyes of hers. “Oh, um hi there Night,” she says in the same hushed voice from earlier, still hiding behind the beanbag. “So I just swung by, wanting to know more about you,” I declare. She slowly starts to come out from behind the beanbag and gets back into her seat. “Soft spoken aren’t you?” “Y-yeah… But why would you want to talk to me when you know, you could be talking to Rarity or maybe even Rainbow Dash,” she says while looking down at her hooves, fiddling with them a little. “Well I could be talking to them instead of you, but I chose you,” I tell her and she blushes a light red. “Because I’d like to get to know you better,” I then decided to take a seat in the blue beanbag right beside hers. “I didn’t even get to know what you do around here,” I continue to say, moving a bit in the beanbag, trying to get the perfect position. “I just take care of animals most of the time... “ she says, becoming less coy, “But that’s probably not interesting…” “Not interesting? Far from it actually. Heck, I actually think that’s really cool,” I tell her, still trying to find the perfect spot in the beanbag. “R-really?” she says, her shy personality melting away, and being replaced by pure joy. But then she backs down quickly, her previous demeanor returning. “That’s the first time anypony has told me that…” she says, blushing even harder. “Well I am honored to be the first to say,” I say before getting off the seat and stretching. “Well I’d like to stay more and chat, but I’m tired,” I say and her slight smile soon becomes a slight frown. “Hey don’t worry, I think we’ll meet again soon, especially considering our duty to King Discord,” “Well yeah, I guess you’re right…” she says, still sounding somewhat down. “Until next time then,” she adds, taking one last sip of her drink before putting it on a nearby table. I turn tails and head back towards the center table. As I approach I feel my head beginning to pound lightly and my body aching slightly, but I remain on my path. There I see Sweetie Belle licking her hooves. “Hey Sweets, we’re heading home!” I tell here as I put a hoof on her shoulder. She turns her head towards my direction. “Already? But it’s like we just got here…” she says, pouting again. Hmm, to please my daughter or to cater to my needs… I think for a good long minute. “Sorry Sweets, but your dad’s battered, I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Now come on, let’s go,” I tell her as I help her down from the table. Pinkie trots up to me, a slight frown on her face too. “Leaving already? How come?” she asks, her facial expression so sad it made me want to stay more just to make her happy. But I came out with the truth. “I’m sorry Pinkie, but I’m really tired…” I say slowly walking towards the door. “See you all next time!” I declare, nearly shouting before heading out of the door. I walk the path that led up to where most of the houses in Ponyville were. And near the edge of that area was where my house lay. All throughout the trip, Sweetie stays by my side, not saying much. The sun was slowly dipping down the horizon as I pass through the houses whose lights were turning on. Not to long before reaching my home, the path in front of me was just dark blue, lights coming from the windows illuminating the path. As I stop outside my door, a light breeze passes by, making my body shiver slightly. I push the door, walking in and hitting the light switch with my hoof as I pass by. Once completely inside, I make haste towards the couch and collapse on it. My view completely black as I bury my head under the pillows that I left there. I faintly hear the sound of hooves, my door closing and locking. These were the last sounds I heard before slowly drifting off to a what I thought to be, well-deserved sleep.