Author's Note

Sabrehorns and Nightwalkers are taken from here: https://www.deviantart.com/texasuberalles/art/Night-Guard-Recruitment-Poster-481824303

Night Shadow is the OC of this channel's owner: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBYUZ514wmmh-EQcXkbexqQ

Episode 8: Night Guard

Luna shook her head in disbelief. “Another one. That makes five victims in two weeks with that method in Manehattan alone… And we still have no lead… Anything else?”

“No, your Highness.”

“Good,” Luna said before grabbing the report with her magic. “You can leave now.”

The captain gave a salute before leaving. He headed towards the lunar guard barracks just outside the castle walls.

Celestia didn’t want her students to be distracted by the commotion of dozens of guards training, sparring, and generally living right next to her school, so they had to be built somewhere else. But since the guards still had to be able to enter the castle quickly in case of an emergency, the castle wall was extended to connect both buildings via an enclosed wall walk.

A group of lower ranked lunar guards were playing cards in the common room when the captain entered.

Most of them underwent the mutations to become bat-ponies, sabrehorns, or nightwalkers, but it wasn’t a mandatory part of joining the lunar guard. So, some refused, like lieutenant Night Shadow. The black coated unicorn stallion stood out a lot from his comrades because of that.

After the assassination attempt, some ponies even accused him of being a vampire and accomplice to the imprisoned White because of his red eyes, but he proved both accusations wrong. He was the first to notice the captain and jumped into a salute immediately, shortly followed by the other guards. “Are there new orders, sir?” Nightshadow asked.

“No, we are just to remain on standby in case one of the patrols needs help,” the captain said after returning the salute. He sat down on a table in the back of the room and the others continued their game.

“Don’t envy the patrols tonight,” one of them, an earth pony said, “The weather team cooked up one heck of a storm.”

A bat-pony explained, “They just want to show off because the crystal empire just survived an arctic storm.”

“Only because of the destruction and subsequent restoration of the crystal heart,” a sabrehorn mare threw in, “I don’t see why they want to bury Canterlot under snow because of that.”

The bat-pony sighed, “Because it officially got the title of ‘strongest storm recorded by a weather team,’ which belonged to an experimental snowstorm the Canterlot team created thirty years ago before that. And now they want to show everypony that they can create storms even more powerful than that, all just to get their title back. Bunch of braggarts. I definitely know why I chose the guard over the weather control.”

Shaded ran through the old castle in the Everfree forest, following the call of the Night Guard. The sword felt that its mistress, Luna, was in danger, but it was unable to get to her, so it called for its other creator, Shaded. She herself noticed how Luna’s aura grew weaker and weaker, but she couldn’t enter her mind without her permission, so she needed to find the sword instead.

Her finding-spell led her to the castle, but she still had a hard time finding it. She galloped down a corridor, just to find it collapsed behind the next turn. Blasting her way free with magic could cause the entire thing to collapse completely. She turned around and tried another way.

Why does this place have to be a maze? she thought. And adding to her frustration was the fact that because of the massive amount of wild magic in the castle, her locating spell seemed to think the sword jumped from one end of the castle to the next. If she didn’t find it soon, Luna would die, and then hundreds of years of planning and preparation would all be in vain. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Do you think there are any nocturnals in the guard?” the earth pony guard asked.

The bat-pony folded his current hoof of cards and said, “Not really. I mean, why should they join us?”

“Same reason as anypony else,” Nightshadow said, “to serve and protect their princess.”

The sabrehorn said, “But Luna is a pony princess, not a nocturnal.”

Nightshadow didn’t look up from his cards. “She still is the Princess of the Night. I’m certain that there are some within our ranks. The more important question is, would you have a problem with that?”

The earth pony was the first to answer. “I don’t know, honestly. What if they lose control and start biting people? Or if they have to choose between saving one of them or one of us?”

“You’re too pessimistic,” the bat-pony replied, “I myself wouldn’t mind. I mean, we’re also not normal ponies anymore. We’re mutants.” He looked over to Nightshadow. “Well, most of us, at least.”

The three looked at the sabrehorn, waiting for her answer. She shrugged and said, “If they are fine with fighting, living and, if necessary, dying on our side, I’m fine with them, too.” She grinned, showed the others her cards and said, “Payday, my friends.”

“It’s no use!” Shaded cursed into the empty halls, “Whenever I’m getting close, it’s moving again!” She was just about to search for the next location of the sword, but she noticed something. The sword seemed to cycle between a handful of different positions. If it would have just randomly changed, Shaded would have assumed that the free magic of the forest was manipulating her spell, but this was too regular, too specific.

It was designed.

Somepony used a spell to prevent others from finding the blade. It would send her through the entire castle, but never to the Night Guard. Shaded was almost impressed. Whoever made it must have put a lot of thought and effort into it. The magical signature of the sword was perfectly imitated, even Shaded couldn’t find any flaws in that. But the caster did make two mistakes.

The locations followed an order, which is what gave it away.

And all lied at the edges of the castle, which told Shaded that the real Night Guard had to be somewhere in the centre.

She teleported into the throne room. The finding spell still guided her towards the far corner of the castle grounds, so she stopped casting it. Instead, she used her magic to search for secret passageways. Luna had told her about many of them, like the one under her throne Celestia used to prank her with, and the now empty chamber where the Elements were hidden in the past.

But one caught her attention. A compartment underneath Celestia’s old throne. She knew there had to be a mechanism of some sort to open it. A button or lever to make the throne move to the side, perhaps. But searching for it could take hours, and time was of the essence, so she simply bucked it out of the way. It shattered on the wall behind it.

There it lied, Luna’s blade, Night Guard, bound by a magical seal. With enough time, Shaded could have opened the seal without leaving a trace, but Luna was almost defeated. There was, however, another way. Any magical seal could be broken with enough effort. The downside was that it would take a considerable amount of her power to do so.

A thunder cracked over Canterlot. The bat-pony guard knew that the snowstorm was about to reach its strongest point. The weather team already broke the record fifteen minutes ago, but they just kept going. They seemed to be determined to make it as hard as possible for others to steal the title again. Night Shadow, the captain, and the sabrehorn mare all hurried towards the window with fear on their faces.

“What's the matter?” the earth pony asked, “That wasn’t louder than the others.”

The sabrehorn mare ignored him and instead turned to the other horned guards. “Did you feel that, too?”

“A strong magical surge from the Everfree? Yeah. The question is, what caused it?” the captain said.

Night Shadow swallowed noticeably. “Nightmare Moon. That was Nightmare Moon.”

“That’s impossible,” the bat-pony said, hovering behind them, “She was destroyed six years ago, by the Elements of Harmony.”

“Trust me, it’s her.” Night Shadow turned around to face the bat-pony. “I was in there when she… when she returned, in Ponyville. I would recognise her magic anywhere.”

The captain knew what to do now. Luna had recently given him orders for this very situation. They were to raise a silent alarm, securing the entry points to the castle and raising an invisible shield, and to inform Luna as soon as possible. She would take a break from the dream realm and get some food in the cantine soon. But the most important part was that nopony should learn about Nightmare Moon’s possible return except the Lunar Guard and Luna herself.

He was about to give the others the necessary orders when they saw something that looked like a shooting star coming from the castle and flying towards the Everfree. Celestia, the pony Luna specifically said should be prevented above all others from knowing about sings of Nightmare Moon’s return, had noticed the surge as well.

The captain pointed at the earth pony and bat-pony and ordered, “You and you, gather all bat-ponies and nightwalkers in the parade ground. Combat ready.”

“Yes, Sir,” both said before they galloped out of the room.

Now the captain turned to the sabrehorn. “You tell the battle-mages to join the other guards and the scholars to raise a concealed shield over the castle.”

“Affirmative.” The sabrehorn nodded and galloped away.

“Night Shadow, you go and get the Princess. Don’t let anypony know what’s going on, and don’t let anypony stop you.”

“Right away, Sir.” Night Shadow galloped out of the common room and over the wall walk as fast as he could, but he had to slow down considerably after reaching the main castle. The storm had covered the sound of his hooves until now, but in the castle, it would have been too suspicious to gallop at top speed. He came across a few castle guard patrols, but they didn’t bother him. As a royal guard, he was higher in rank than them anyway.

The same wasn’t true, however, for the two celestial guards in front of the door to the watchtower. Night Shadow approached them and said, “Let me through, I have an important message for Princess Luna.”

“We have orders from Princess Celestia to let nopony disturb the Princess tonight,” one of them stated.

“Maybe I haven’t made myself clear.” He stepped closer, almost forcing himself between the two. “I’m here on Princess Luna’s order, and you have to let me pass.”

“We won’t,” the other celestial guard said.

“Well, then this is on you two.” With that, Night Shadows eyes became black, he placed one front hoof on each of the guards' heads and let magic flow from his horn through his legs into the guards. Both tensed up, their faces contorted from pain, but they were unable to scream. Night Shadow took his hooves away and both celestial guards collapsed. The perks of being an Umbrum, he thought before he opened the door to the watchtower and levitated both guards inside before he entered himself and closed the door. Two missing guards would cause less suspicion than two knocked out ones.

Luna stood in the middle of the room, her eyes faintly glowing white. She carried a sword Night Shadow didn’t recognize on her back. He put a curse on the celestial guards to prevent them from waking up anytime soon and a spell on the door to keep more from entering. Then he approached Luna. On her insistence, the scholars of the guard created a way to contact her in the dream realm if necessary. The result was an enchantment placed on the crystal in her necklace. He placed a hoof on the moon shaped crystal and said, “Periculi signum,” which caused it to glow.

Night Shadow stepped back and waited. Luna’s eyes stopped glowing, but she still stared at an imaginary point in the distance. A few moments later, she started to blink and shook her head. She looked at Night Shadow and asked in a commanding tone, “Why did you call me?”

“We noticed a surge if magic in the Everfree Forest, and we are certain that the source was Nightmare Moon, your Highness. The captain is already gathering the troops, and we are..”

“And what’s the meaning of this?” Luna pointed at the unconscious guards.

“I’m afraid that Celestia noticed her appearance as well and already left for the forest. These two wanted to prevent me from telling you. They said Celestia ordered that nopony was allowed to disturb you, so I had to knock them out.”

What is she intending to do now? Luna thought, and why doesn’t she want me to know?

Night Shadow asked, “What are your orders, your Highness?”

“Keep the silent alarm raised until I, and only I, give the all-clear. Protect the barracks. And my chambers in the castle. They contain knowledge that could cause serious damage in the wrong hooves. Tell the scholars to keep the portals on standby in case I need support in the field.” She used a spell and suddenly stood in front of Night Shadow in full body armour of a similar fashion the guards wore themselves. “I will leave for the Everfree at once.”

Luna created a portal in front of her. Before stepping through, she pointed at the two celestial guards at the ground and said, “And make sure those two aren’t alarming their comrades. The last thing we need now is a fight between mine and Celestia’s guards.”

“Understood, your Highness.” Night Shadow saluted and Luna vanished through the portal.

Shaded sat on Luna’s throne. It had been the closest chair and breaking the seal had cost her a lot of energy, but since the castle was built on a well of magic, she would just need an hour or so to regain her full strength.

Of course she had felt Celestia approaching the castle, that was the reason Shaded didn’t just return home to rest. If Celestia would arrive and find nothing but traces of Shaded’s magic, she would turn the whole Everfree Forest upside down to find her. Shaded wasn’t afraid of her though, and so she didn’t even flinch when the Princess landed halfway across the throne room. Instead, she said, “What brings you here, Celestia?”

“It was a mistake to return here, Nightmare Moon,” Celestia answered.

“Night—”Shaded tilted her head for a moment“—Oh, I see. Luna didn’t tell you yet, did she?”

Celestia charged her horn, ready to fire. “What did you want to do to her this time?”

“Nothing, of course. I would never harm her.”

“Liar!” Celestia shot a blast of magic at Shaded, which she blocked by creating a pitch black shield of magic around her. “You corrupted her all those years ago! Put lies and jealousy in her head, forced her to attack me!”

“Now, we both know that that isn’t true”—Shaded opened the shield, stood up and stepped down the steps leading up to the throne—“You were the one leading her into the darkness. You ignored her struggles, even when she asked you for help.”

Celestia clenched her teeth. Shaded continued, “Decade after decade, ever since Sombra was defeated. He was the last big threat the two of you faced together, and after him, the ponies of Equestria started preferring you over Luna. And you just loved their admiration, right?”

“You’re wrong,” Celestia said with a weak voice.

“Even you don’t believe that. Just admit that you relished their love so much that you didn’t care about Luna anymore, as long as she fulfilled her duty and maintained the status-quo.”

“LIES!” Celestia shot another bolt of magic at Shaded and forced her to jump back. “You may have been able to deceive my sister, but I won’t fall for your tricks!” Shot after shot she fired at Shaded, but everything she threw at her either missed the mark or failed to break through Shaded’s shield.

Celestia realized that she wouldn’t be able to win this way. She had to switch tactics, so she used her magic to create a flash of light. As expected, Shaded had to cover her eyes, allowing Celestia to retreat to the entrance of the throne room. She summoned a weapon, a spear of similar fashion to the ones her guards used, but longer to accommodate her size and with a yellow crystal embedded in the head. Shaded summoned her own weapon, a war scythe with a black blade. She took a defensive stance, waiting for Celestia to make the first move.

Celestia bolted forward, aiming for Shaded’s heart. Shaded pushed the spear upwards with the shaft of her scythe and rammed her shoulder into Celestia’s chest, forcing her on her back hooves. She swung her scythe at Celestia, but she used the force of the push to backflip out of the way.

“There is no need for a fight,” Shaded said, “Noctris doesn’t want a war with Equestria, and neither do I!”

“If the vampires are on your side, then they are monsters just like you,” Celestia shouted back. She thrust her spear forward again, the tip spraying sparks when it scraped over the flat side of the scythe.“And I will send them all to Tartarus!” She increased the speed of her attacks.

“Every.”

Steel hit steel.

“Single.”

Sparks rained down.

“One!”

Celestia’s spear scraped over the floor before trying to impale Shaded’s chest. Shaded jumped to the side, flapping her wings to escape the attack. She landed a few meters away from Celestia, breaking the flow of her attacks.

“If that’s what it takes to save Luna!”

Celestia charged the spearhead with her magic.

“But first, I will destroy you!”

She released the solar magic concentrated in her spear. Shaded teleported out of the way and reappeared a meter to the left. Celestia’s magic had burned itself through the massive stone wall of the throne room she had stood before mere moments prior.

Celestia prepared another shot, her eyes had an awfully familiar shimmer for a moment. Shaded shouted, “Is that Celestia or Daybreaker talking?”

“That monster will never exist again, but you won’t either!” The next bolt came flying towards Shaded. She teleported beside Celestia, broke her spear with a kick, hit her in the face with the shaft of her scythe and teleported back in front of Luna’s throne. A thin line of blood ran out of Celestia’s nose.

Looking down on her the same way she did one thousand years ago. She said, “Do you really think you could beat me?”

“No,” Celestia said and grinned at Shaded, “but I can keep you busy.” As if they had just been waiting for their cue, the bearers of the elements of harmony stormed into the room. They all wore their respective element around their necks or on their head.

Twilight activated the Elements. Shaded knew instinctively that she couldn't teleport out of the way, the Elements created too many magical interferences.

And she wouldn’t be strong enough to block the attack with a shield on her own.

The Elements shot, their energy flying towards Shaded. It was too late to dodge the attack. She could only hope that it wouldn’t destroy her this time, or else...

Prepare your shield, a voice said in Shaded’s head, together we can withstand it! A moment later, Luna dived down through the ceiling and landed by her side. She created a shield in front of them that kept the elements at bay, but it already started to break as soon as the blast hit it. Shaded quickly sent all the magic she had left into it, stabilising the shield for a few more moments.

“Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed. She stopped the elements’ attack.

“What do you think you are doing, sister?” Luna asked harshly.

“Saving you from that monster,” Celestia replied.

“Oh, really? It looked more like starting a war to me. You had no right to attack her.”

“Sister, please, whatever she told you was a lie. Please step aside and let us deal with her.”

“And how would you know if she lied?” Luna asked.

“I can feel it,” Celestia replied confidently.

“You can’t be serious, sister. You want to start a war and kill somepony I once considered a good friend, all while you keep me locked up in Canterlot, because of a gut feeling?”

Celestia grit her teeth but didn’t answer. Twilight stepped in front of her old teacher and said, “Luna, do you really trust her more than Celestia?”

“Well, Shaded Moon gave us evidence, didn’t she? What do you think I did every day since the attempt on Celestia’s life?” She looked at Twilight, but she avoided looking back at her. All of the Six did. “I investigated, gathered information, interrogated every vampire I could find, followed every clue I came across, all in an attempt to make an informed decision. You yourself said that we should wait until we know more about her and her allies, but it seems I underestimated the blind loyalty you have towards my sisters.”

“But what if Celestia is right,” Twilight asked, “What if Shaded is evil? Do you really want to risk it? Wouldn’t it be better if we sent her to the moon until we know everything?”

“You have no idea how being banished to the moon feels like, or you wouldn’t even think about suggesting that,” Luna said coldly.

Shaded knew Luna well enough to notice that she was on the verge of tears, so she asked, “And what did I do to warrant such treatment, anyway?”

“You corrupted my sister and turned her against me!” Celestia shouted.

“I didn’t, as I already said, but even if I did, wasn’t I banished to the moon for one thousand years for exactly that?”

“And may I remind you, sister,” Luna added, having gained back her composure, “that you officially pardoned me for the crimes? And I was the one who wanted to attacked you, Shaded just lended me her strength. If you want to punish her and all her allies for a crime I am responsible for, then I will share their punishment.”

“Sister,” Celestia said with doubt in her voice, “do you really trust her?”

“Enough to give her a second chance,” Luna replied.

Celestia sighed. “Then I shall give her one as well,” Celestia said.

“Thank you, sister. I will tell you everything I learned once I return to Canterlot. But remember, I am the Princess of the Night, and they are creatures of the night and, because of that, my responsibility, not yours. I will make the decisions in this case, not you.”

“I… understand.” Celestia looked at Shaded. “Remember, Shaded Moon, or however you call yourself now, if you give me any reason to believe that you only want to use Luna to fulfil your own selfish desires, I won’t hesitate to send you to the moon forever.” Having said that, Celestia opened her wings and flew back to Canterlot.

“Well, that went as good as expected,” Shaded said.

Luna let her armour disappear. “My sister always means well, and normally she can keep her emotions in check. You shouldn’t think bad about her because of that.”

“I don’t,” Shaded said, “I can understand why it must be hard for her. She probably kept telling herself that I forced you to attack her to ease her conscience ever since it happened, and it can be difficult to be honest with yourself after such a long time.”

“I just hope that she calms down.”

Shaded nodded, stepped down the stairs and stopped in front of the six. “It is an honour to meet you all again, but I'm afraid I have to leave now. Celestia will soon raise the sun and I need to return home before that.” She turned to Luna. “Until we meet again.”

“Goodbye,” Luna said.

Shaded opened her wings and was just about to fly away when Twilight asked, “Why is it so important for you to return before dawn?”

Shaded looked at Twilight and smiled sadly. “Sunlight is lethal to my kind. I would die if the sun was ever to shine on me."