I like to think I'm not a monster. I mean, monsters don't fall in love, right?
I awoke in a cold sweat, gasping, breathing heavily. It was that dream again. I'd be in a dark room, the walls bare, making me as uncomfortable as possible. I'd hear the door open with a creak. What would come through it was a mystery, as I would wake up before I saw who it was.
But now, I was safe in my room. My walls were littered with posters of our glorious Princess Luna, keeping a watchful eye on me. It always brought me peace when I looked at them. I scrambled out of my warm bed to greet the night and took one last glance at my posters.
"Praise the moon," I whispered.
I suppose you're wondering why I don't get up during the day. It's because the sun is always so bright, and we, the thestrals, came from the dark caverns in the mountains. Our eyes could never handle the shining sun. Sometimes, though, when the night was over, I'd stay awake as long as I could to see the sunrise. I had always found it to be so beautiful.
My room wasn't very big, about the size of a walk-in closet. When you're a thestral, you don't get to enjoy the finer things in life without ponies complaining. You see, we don't get to shop in regular pony shops. Most of them are too afraid to even give us the time of day.
The only way we could even keep a job is if that job were to serve Princess Luna in some way. She had always been so kind to us, allowing us to live in her half of the castle. She was one of the few ponies to ever care about us. Sure, Princess Celestia was nice to us, but Luna understood the night. She WAS the night. She knew how it felt to hide in the shadows.
I made my way through the cramped space and trotted out into the dark hallways, making sure not to wake my parents. As I walked down the halls, my eyes skimmed over family photos on the wall. They work so hard, I thought to myself.
My father was in the night division of the Royal Guard, and he was very devoted. Wherever Luna went, he'd be there to keep a protectful eye on her. When I was little, my mother would stay at home and watch over me while he was away, and when he returned, he'd play whatever silly game I wanted to play no matter how tired he was.
I eventually reached the living room. We could never afford a couch, so my mother made us use secondhand couch cushions instead. They littered the floor, making it look so messy. I never really understood what the purpose was in having them if we could just as easily sit on the floor. I guess my mother's mind was on comfort more than functionality.
I went up to the front door and opened it fast to avoid a loud creaking noise. As I stepped out into the cool night, I closed the door behind me, making sure not to let it squeak. Success! Now I had to make it to the castle gardens for my first lesson.
That's right, my first lesson. It was my turn to take the torch from my father and carry the family legacy. I, Serene Night, felt pride in myself. I could imagine myself being Luna's right-hoof pony, defending her in battle, fighting for thestrals and all of Equestria! The mere thought of it made my fur stand on end!
I travelled to the castle gardens. It was always so beautiful, its richly-colored flowers surrounding a pedestal with a statue of our great princess of the night on top, in battle stance of course. She was to be both feared and respected.
All around me were other thestrals and ponies, chatting excitedly to each other, probably about the lessons they would learn today. I felt like a giddy schoolfilly, imagining all the friends I'd make. Maybe they had Luna posters, too? We could swap with each other!
"Settle down, please," a voice said. I turned to see a jet-black griffon with red eyes, and he looked like he could move a bulldozer with his muscular body. I wouldn't want to be in a fight with him.
"I am Sergeant Gusto, and I'm here to mold you into proper guards!" The large griffon walked over to the pedestal and looked up at the statue. "Any questions before we start today's lesson?"
Nopony answered. I guessed they were too excited for the lesson to ask anything. I, however, raised a hoof.
"Little missy?" he called upon me.
I kept my cool as best as I could. "Will we be going on missions with real guards as training exercises? I heard from my father that he went on such sessions."
"Little missy," the griffon replied, "We haven't had those exercises is years ever since we lost an entire class."
Lost an entire class? To what? I wondered. Perhaps some things were best left unsaid. I didn't want to pry into it too much.
"You will all be put into pairs of two!" he shouted instructingly. "A coin has two halves! Together, you will be that coin! Neither half is better than the other! You will be paired with that pony until you graduate! If one of you fails, you both fail!"
My mind raced as he spoke. A partner? Would it be a colt or a filly? Would it be a thestral? Would we become best friends and trade posters?! I could barely contain the excitement bubbling up inside me!
"I have a scroll with your names on it! If I call out the two of your names, you will be paired with each other!" The griffon looked over his scroll with a grin on his beak. I don't know how griffons smiled with beaks, but he did.
"Gizmo Twister and Neon Flame!" I heard him shout, and immediately after, I saw two ponies hoofbumping. It was so exciting, just thinking about it, having a friend!
"Tinselshade and Caramel Blissful!" Another pair of friends!
"Sparksail and Perfect Knot!" When would it be my turn?
"And finally, Serene Night and Peachy Love!"
Before I could realize my name had been called out, I was tackled from behind, somehow ending up on my back. I opened my eyes to see a pink pony with blue eyes and a white mane with red tips. She looked like she was a spokespony for some candy shop.
"Ohmigosh! I'm sooo sorry! I was just so excited to meet my new partner!" she exclaimed.
"How did you even know who I was?" I asked.
"Cuz you're the only one left, silly!" She giggled and gave me a once-over. "Heeeeeey. You're a thestral, aren't you?"
"Yeah?" I felt a little uncomfortable right then and there.
"So cool! We have so much in common!" she exclaimed, and that made my eyes widen. I suddenly remembered why I was so excited in the first place!
"Do you collect Luna posters, too?!" I asked, very hopeful of the answer.
"Nope!" she replied, dashing one of my hopes.
"Do you like Luna or Celestia better?" Hopefully she'd be leaning toward--
"Cadance is best princess!" she answered. It didn't seem like we had much in common like she had said.
"Do you like daytime or nighttime?" I hoped with all my might for her to answer--
"I like both!" she giddily replied.
"Will you let me up?" I asked, my wings squished up against my back.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I was so excited I forgot!" She held out her hoof, which I accepted, and I was pulled onto my hooves. I looked around at other ponies who were staring at me. I couldn't feel any more embarrassed, but at least I had made a new friend.
I looked at her and smiled sincerely. "I'm sorry, what did you mean when you said we had a lot in common?"
"Because we're both ponies, silly!" She patted me on the head as if I was a puppy. It made me feel weird, but I wasn't going to question it.
Suddenly, our conversation was cut short by a screeching griffon sergeant.
"For tonight, there won't be any lessons. It's just a pairing night. Feel free to use the rest of this time to get familiar with your partner!" After he had finished speaking, Gusto took to the skies majestically, without even making a sound, leaving us to chatter amongst ourselves.
I turned back to my partner, who was looking up at the flying griffon. Her eyes seemed to be full of wonder, as if she had never seen anything fly before. It was like she was a little foal.
"You ok?" I asked.
She snapped out of her trance and looked back at me. "Yeah! Hey, you wanna go somewhere? I know a great ice cream shop!"
I blushed. No one had ever asked me to go anywhere before. "Um... Sure! I'd love to!"
When you're a thestral, you don't normally make any friends outside of your own kind. When I was growing up, I was picked on by other colts and fillies. They'd call me Bloodsucker, and Batty McBat. It's true... I used to rely on blood when I was little, but I never really took it from anyone. My parents would provide me with little blood bags for lunch.
You see, young thestrals grow through a phase of "excessive thirsts." The extra blood was needed to keep them growing, and if they didn't get enough, they'd get sick. My parents were caring enough to send me to school with a blood bag, but other fillies would tease me for it.
"Are you ok?" I was brought back to reality by Peachy's voice. I nodded and looked at my surroundings. I was inside an ice cream shop. I must have been on autopilot, I thought.
"Whaddya want?" She brought me over to a glass case displaying dozens of different flavors. There were so many! Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and many more! I pressed my nose against the glass, looking around before I saw an old childhood favorite.
"There!" I said, pointing to the blueberry ice cream. When I was sad, my mother used to get me that flavor, saying that nothing could be as blue as blueberries. It would always make me feel better.
Peachy pointed to the blueberries and ordered for me as I sat down at a round table in the corner of the shop. I looked all the pink tiles, counting each one. I always had a habit of counting things when I waited. It helped to keep my nerves calm.
Eventually I was joined by Peachy, who brought two bowls of ice cream. One was blueberry, like I had asked, and hers seemed to be strawberry.
"Why do you look so down?" she asked, looking me over.
"I'm not so much as down as I am apathetic," I admitted. "I thought... making a friend would be easier. We don't really have anything in common. We don't like the same princess, the same flavors of ice cream, nor do we collect the same kind of posters."
"You're so funny!" She commented before taking a spoonful of cold delight into her mouth. After swallowing, she resumed speaking. "Friendship isn't about what's the same! It's about celebrating what's different, and looking past those differences!"
I was hit with bricks of realization. She was completely right. Friendship shouldn't have to be about liking the same thing. I was stung by guilt.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know... You've just be so happy while I've been so gloomy. I'll try to look past our differences!"
"That's the spirit!" she cheered.
I have finally found my first friend, and she's so different from me. In fact, she's different from everypony else I know.
I awoke to the sound of something tapping against my window. At first, I chose to ignore it and try to go back to sleep, but as the tapping grew louder, I couldn't even think about resting. I raised my head up from my pillow to see what was causing the ruckus.
It was Peachy Love, staring through the window into my room like a starry-eyed filly at the zoo, with me as the source of entertainment. Her eyes scanned the room.
"Ooooh look at all the Luna posters!" she exclaimed, breathing heavily on the glass and fogging it up. I flung my blanket off of me, embracing the cool air it protected me from and I got out of bed. I trotted to the window and opened it up so I could hear Peachy more clearly.
"What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?" I questioned. Partner or not, she knew a little too much.
"Oh, I just asked Sargeant Gusto! He has a list of addresses!" she replied excitedly. "We need to know where our partner is at all times if we wanna pass the class!"
She was right. If I wanted to pass, I needed to know everything about my partner. I motioned for her to come in with a wave of my hoof before trotting back to my bed.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I sat down on plush comfort. Peachy looked at my posters, a smile on her face. I felt pride in the fact that she seemed to enjoyed my collection.
"I wanted to give you a heads-up on our first assignment tonight! It's a real doozy!" she replied excitedly as she turned to face me.
"A doozy? Whaddya mean?" I couldn't contain my curiosity to save my life. If she had information on the first assignment, I wanted to know.
"Well," she started, "With the start of each new class, Sargeant Gusto likes to pairs against each other! Supposedly it's supposed to teach teamwork!"
"W-Wait, we have to fight each other on the very first trial?!" I couldn't believe it! I hadn't even gotten any practice, let alone with my partner!
"Yeah! Won't it be fun?!" Peachy climbed up onto my bed and jumped on it excitedly. How could she be so happy about this? I needed to prepare!
"When is the trial?" I asked fearfully.
"It's at midnight!" She replied happily. I looked over to my clock. It read 7:00 PM.
"I only have five hours to get ready! Peachy, can you help me?!" I didn't have a moment to waste!
"Alrighty! How though? I don't have any weapons we can train with." Peachy hopped off the bed and looked back at me with a smile.
I smiled back at her.
After climbing out the window with Peachy, I had led us both to an old shed in the castle gardens. It was hidden away behind some overgrown vines, making it an ideal place to hide things. I cleared away some of the vines and turned the handle, opening the rotting door.
"Ooh! Spooky!" Peachy commented. She trotted into the darkness of the shed. I could hear her rummaging around inside. "It smells musty in here!"
"My father used to store weapons in here," I explained as I stepped into the shed, my thestral eyes easily adjusting to the low light. On the walls in the back of the shed were shelves, and upon said shelves were weapons of all varieties. Peachy grabbed an old flail, a weapon with a spiked ball attached to a wooden handle thanks to its sturdy chain.
"Looky looky!" Peachy exclaimed, spinning the flail around like a toy. I ignored her though, my eyes focusing on the shelf. Upon it were two iron-tipped spears. They were perfect! Taking the spears, I led Peachy outside with me where we could have more room to practice.
We thrusted our spears in sync with each other, fighting invisible foes with coordinated strikes. We did this for hours, slashing and jabbing at the air, and for a while, I didn't hear a word from Peachy. She took it seriously, as if her life, or mine, depended on it.
When I was a little filly, I would practice like this all the time with my dad, using branches instead of real spears. He had taught me everything I knew about both offense and defense. He had even shown me forbidden techniques, techniques that would assure me a position as Luna's personal guard.
After we had finished, we put the spears back in the old shed, covering it back up with the vines. It would only be 30 minutes before the trial started. I turned to look at Peachy with a smile. I was impressed by how acted during training. She was like a completely different pony. Peachy smiled back at me, and we waited.
It wasn't long before one pair showed up, then another, and another after that. Soon, the whole class was present. We all chatted with each other as we waited for Gusto. I didn't even notice him until he actually spoke in a booming voice.
"Alright, ya spineless fillies! Line up!" He shouted. We all lined up next to our partners, looking forward like real guards. His voice was so intimidating, it made me tense up.
"Tonight, you will learn coordination with your partners. A guard needs to trust his partner to stay in formation." He went back and forth, eyeing us all one by one as he spoke.
"I'm going to pit one pair against another to test your ability to predict your partner's movements and to stay in sync!" I had this. I had to have this, or I would risk failing.
"For this exercise, you will be using spears with the tips removed for yours and your opponents' safety." He looked me in the eyes before setting his sights on Peachy. "This is not a game. We will be grading you on your performance."
"Any questions?" He asked. No one dared speak. This griffon had a certain aura about him that made us all silent and stiff like stone.
"Good! Serene Night and Peachy Love!" He called out, making me almost jump. "You will be facing Gizmo Twister and Neon Flame!"
I was ready.
Author's Note
Ok, guys. This chapter is gonna be a 2 parter, with the second part being at least 2000 words. Get ready for some intense fighting.
Peachy Love and I stood on one side of the garden, with Gizmo Twister and Neon Flame on the other. We were prepared to win no matter what.
"Alright, maggots!" Gusto said from the sidelines. "The spears are enchanted with a spell that will notify us when a pony is 'wounded.' Now obviously, these weapons are fake, but when they touch somepony, a sound will ring out and the loser will be enveloped in a blue light."
I looked at the tip of my so-called spear. On the tip was a cylinder made from black rubber foam. Gusto was right in saying that no one would get hurt from this. It meant I didn't have to hold back.
"You must be in perfect sync with your partner. This is crucial for points, and if you fall out of coordination with each other, it's a deduction!"
Peachy went out of her way to tell me this. If she hadn't, I wouldn't be ready. I owe it to her to win. If I lost, then I'd be letting her down. I felt my right foreleg tighten around the spear.
"However, this doesn't mean you both have to do the same thing. You may use attacks that compliment each other. If one were to distract the enemy while the other attacks, that is fine, but if I see so much as a hint of you doing something your partner doesn't know about, that's a deduction!"
So we didn't have to do the exact same thing as each other? That meant I could use Peachy as a distraction while I attacked.
"If one of you falls, you both fail! You are responsible for protecting your partner! Don't buck this up! If you do, you'll be given an F and will have to make up for it later! Now, without further ado..."
Here we go.
"Three!"
I will win.
"Two!"
I have to.
"One!"
"For the night, and for Peachy!"
"Fight!"
Peachy and I marched forward, our spears pointing forward. Both Gizmo and Neon did the same. It wouldn't take too long 'til we met each other. I looked to Peachy and she looked back, and somehow she knew what I was going to say before I said it. We quickened our pace and rushed forward, catching the opposite team off guard. Their eyes widened and the forest green pony, Gizmo stumbled and moved to his right, breaking formation with his light blue companion, Neon.
A shrill whistle rang through the air, the source being Gusto. "I saw that stumbling, you maggots! Don't make me come over there and knock you senseless!"
That made Gizmo march back next to his partner. We had this in the bag. At least, that's what I thought. Neon appeared to whisper to his partner, and both of them rushed in our direction. Now we were all charging. It wasn't long before we both reached the statue.
I looked to Peachy, and once again, she appeared to understand. I broke formation and went to the side of the two colts, with Neon closest to me. Peachy thrust her spear forward in Neon's direction, making him stumble back, and I took the opportunity to swing my spear horizontally at him, hitting him in the--spear?!
Of course it was too easy! While Peachy had distracted Neon, Gizmo was on the lookout for other attacks! He had jumped over Neon and had parried my spear with his!
"Filthy thestral!" Gizmo said through teeth clenched around his weapon. He turned his head, swinging the spear and I jumped back, barely avoiding the spear tip. I ignored his insult and looked to Peachy for help. She rushed forward at Neon to try and hit him with her spear tip, but Neon swiftly brought up his spear to parry it.
I slid to Gizmo's side and attempted to jab the spear into his ribs. Another block by the swift enemy prevented me from doing so, almost knocking my weapon from my foreleg. How do I get him off guard?
Meanwhile, Peachy had been parrying attacks from Neon with her spear. We seemed to have met our match, and on the first trial, too. How was I supposed to protect Luna if I couldn't even take down a single pony?
I then remembered something my father once taught me. A technique only learned by thestrals: The Forbidden Walk. If I used it now, I could easily intimidate them and take them by surprise. The only problem was that it was exclusive to my kind only. I couldn't show it to anyone else.
I was about to decide against it when I heard a cry from my partner. Peachy had been blocking every single hit from Neon's repeated jabbing, just barely able to keep the spear tip from reaching her. It wouldn't be long before she screwed up. I know I'd have the same problem too. That was it. I had to help her. If I didn't, we'd lose.
I took my spear into my mouth and mustered up all the strength I had in my forelegs before pushing myself up onto my back legs, making me stand upright. This made Gizmo widen his eyes in shock. I then dropped the spear into my hooves and began to twirl it around like a cheerleader's baton, gracefully using gravity and motion to my advantage. I took a step forward using my back legs, and Gizmo moved back until he bumped into Neon's flank.
This made Neon turn to look at me. Surprised faces from him and all my classmates were looking at me. Even Gusto's beak was hanging open as I moved forward on my hind legs. It wasn't long before I closed the distance and whapped the scared Gizmo on the flank.
A loud ping rang out from the spear tip, and Gizmo was covered with a blue aura of light. "You're out!" Gusto shouted. "Peachy Love and Serene Night have passed the trial!"
All of the watching classmates cheered, and I blushed, flustered that I would get such praise. I looked at Peachy, who was dancing around in joy, shaking her flank in celebration. I had done it. I passed the trial, but I had also revealed The Forbidden Walk to regular ponies.
I had won, but at what cost?
Author's Note
Sorry this chapter wasn't 2000 words like I promised. I've just been a little busy and I wanted to make the deadline. Next time though. I PINKIE promise! 
