As Princess Luna walked down the halls of the Salt Lick City garrison, her heart swelled with a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time: hope. Hope for the future, for her future. After nearly two years, she was finally on her way to complete redemption.

Yes, Ponyville had come to understand that the legends surrounding Nightmare Moon were greatly exaggerated, and that, setting aside the nigh-comical inflammation of her misdeeds over a millennia, she was not that pony anymore. But the rest of Equestria did not magically hop to the other side of the fence, as it were. Ponies were still fearful of her at best, and outright hateful of her at worst. It hadn’t surprised Luna: It would take a momentous, unprecedented occasion to instantly overturn a millennia of vilification through oral tradition. Luckily for her, a momentous, unprecedented occasion had conveniently presented itself.

It began, so her sister said, fourteen years before she had returned. The High Thaumaturgist of Salt Lick City had been wrapping up for the day when one of her apprentices discovered an anomaly on the magical scanners. An arcane singularity, in the center of the city’s commercial district. Further investigation pinpointed the location of the singularity, and just last year it was discovered that the singularity was, in fact, a portal. Three months ago the Equestrian Grand Wizard herself opened the portal to discover a mighty, alien city on the other side.

Adventurers, xenopologists, and glory-seekers all scrambled to be the first in line to be the first to greet this alien civilization. Luna saw the opportunity, and after a few words with her sister, was set to be the first pony to cross the portal. All she needed was an auxiliary guard.

After seeing the disastrous state of her sister’s E.U.P. Guard, she felt that a different approach was called for in forming her own guard. Where her sister was bright and eye-catching, she was subdued and subtle. Where her sister was open and matronly, she was guarded and direct. It was only fitting that their respective guards reflected this. She had spent the last two months scooping up guardsponies from various branches of the Equestrian military for her new organization. An organization that had finally settled on a name: The Noctis Custodes.

At last, Luna arrived in the wing of the barracks loaned to her and her custodians. The sending-off ceremony was in a mere six hours, and they all needed to be in top shape; she had an impression to make, after all.

When she opened the door into the shared quarters, she first saw the Triplets hunched over a small cylinder on the bench. Lock-and-Key, Stock-and-Key, and Barrel-and-Key. A rather unusual naming scheme, even by Equestrian standards. When Luna had asked for the background behind their names, the eldest, Lock, said it was ‘an inside joke between the family’. Apparently it had something to do with their parents: a locksmith and an alchemist.

They had collectively joined the Royal Guard nearly eight months ago, when their parent’s plans to sell a new alchemical weapon to the navy had failed due to, as Stock-and-Key so eloquently put it, ‘flank-backwards, horn-up-rump, tribalist, holier-than-thou bureaucratic horseapples perpetuated by inbred draft horses who couldn’t and wouldn’t see a good idea unless it came out of a unicorn’s horn and had Princess Celestia’s hand in marriage.’ While Luna could hardly speak for the ancestry of the current heads of the Equestrian military, she did notice some… traditional agents within the movers and shakers of Canterlot, military officers included. Her sympathy, as well as the genuine utility of their ‘bang dust’ (“The name’s a work in progress”), got all three of them a position within the Noctis Custodes.

Speaking of which, it appeared that the triplets were in the midst of last-minute testing with a new device. Luna opted to loiter in the doorframe and observe.

“Are you sure you put enough saltpeter?” Stock barked.

“Yes, of course I did. Did you thread the fuse correctly?” Barrel snapped back.

“How in Tartarus would I thread the fuse incorrectly? All you have to do is twist the cords and tie the ends together.” Stock sneered.

“Well someone had to have messed up, and I know I mixed the powder correctly! That kind of narrows down the list of suspects, doesn’t it?” Barrel accused.

“You slimy son of a catoblepas, are you saying I don’t know how to thread a Celestia-damned knott?”

“If the shoe fits, sis.”

Stock snarled, “You motherless son of a-” she lunged at him, locking the siblings in a clumsy blend of wrestling and slapping as they muttered barely-coherent obscenities at each other. The eldest, Lock, stood to the side and examined the cylinder. After a second he said, “Guys.”

His siblings did not take notice of his attempt to draw their attention.

“Guys!”

Again he went unnoticed. Lock sighed, rolled his eyes, and picked up another long match from the box. He struck it, placed the tube on the table, and held the match to the hole where the fuse had burned away. After a short few seconds, there was a loud *POP* as the device detonated.

The quarreling siblings jumped, as did all the other custodians. Swift Wind in particular yelped and cradled her arms into her chest. Luna winced internally. That would require some damage control.

“It was my bad,” Lock explained tiredly, “I didn’t link the fuse and the powder properly.”

The siblings stood there, slightly dumbfounded. In perfect synchronization, they mumbled, “Oh. Okay. Sorry about that,” to each other.

This seemed like a good moment for Luna to chime in. "And what purpose exactly does this device serve?"

The triplets yelped and scrambled to attention, as did the rest of the custodians. "Your Highness! We didn't notice you enter!"

"Yes, I gathered. At ease." The triplets relaxed, slightly. "Now then, my custodians, I asked you a question."

Lock stammered, “W-well, your Highness, we figured it could be used as a distraction in espionage operations, or in asymmetrical warfare."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Explain, please."

Stock jumped in, "Well, the idea is that you would put this somewhere you want a group of enemy soldiers to go to. Then you light the fuse and vacate the area."

Barrel interjected, "And then, when the soldiers go to investigate the noise, you can sneak past them…"

"Or set up an ambush," Luna finished. "Very clever, Custodians."

They quietly beamed from the praise.

"However, I would request that, in the future, you would test these devices in private." Luna gently reprimanded, gesturing to the other, somewhat miffed custodians in the room.

Lock grimaced and giggled sheepishly. "Sorry your High-" He stopped, realizing his mistake. He then turned to the room, "Sorry everypony! Won't happen again!"

Everypony grumbled, but seemed to accept the apology.

After an awkward silence, Stock nudged Barrel in the side and whispered in his ear, “Hey, that explosion was pretty impressive. Did you up the sulfur percentage?”

“Yeah, I tried a few more grams to see if we would get a bigger boom. And that fuse burned really well, too.”

“Thanks, I had to stir for an extra few minutes to get the consistency of the ignition fluid consistent.”

Lock shook his head wryly. Luna laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke gently, “May I ask a rather unprofessional question, my custodian?”

“O-of course, your highness.”

“How do you manage them?”

Lock cracked a gentle smile, “They just need a nudge here and there to stay on track. You’ll be surprised what they can do together when they can keep their focus on it.”

“I certainly hope to be. Dismissed.” said Luna.

She left the triplets to sort themselves out. Hopefully they would manage themselves better once they were in the field. Next on her mental checklist (not a physical checklist, despite the glowing endorsements that Celestia’s protégé constantly espoused on their behalf) was Swift Wind. She was by far the most experienced of her custodians, having served three tours of duty in the Navy before being honorably discharged and retiring to her hometown, Cloudsdale. Unfortunately, her experiences in her final tour, and the attack on Dōkutsu City, left her soul damaged in a way not even the finest doctors could heal. Luna knew of at least three veteran’s therapists who resigned after trying to help her. And her nightmares…

Luna felt a shiver run down her spine at just the shadow of the memory. To experience such violence and terror nightly… she had thought it unthinkable that anypony could endure such brutality and survive. Swift was strong, even after all she had been through. But she needed help, and Luna was dedicated to giving it to her.

Swift was quietly shaking in place, trying not to hyperventilate. Luna knelt down to her, speaking quietly, gently, “Remember what we talked about. Deep breaths.”

She obeyed. Slowly, gently, the shakes began to subside as her breathing steadied. She looked up and into Luna’s eyes. “Sorry, your highness. I didn’t mean to-”

Luna held up a finger, “Not one word, custodian. You have nothing to apologise for.” Swift still looked guilty, and opened her mouth to apologize again. “Nothing, Swift. I mean it.” Swift huffed and smiled wryly.

“Thank you, your highness.”

Luna sighed. "Listen, Swift. I know I said you needed to go on this expedition, and I stand by that. But if you are absolutely uncomfortable with going, just say the word. I will understand completely."

Swift Wind frowned. “Your highness, the others need me. I can’t just drop out at the last second because I’m uncomfortable.”

“Yes you can,” said Luna, firmly. “There are times when you must put the wellbeing of others before your own, and there are times when you must do the opposite. You have sacrificed enough in the name of your siblings in arms, and that’s the last I’ll hear of it. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Princess.”

Luna laid a hand on Swift’s shoulder gently. “Good. Now rest up. We have a long day ahead of us.”

As Luna walked away she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she had been too harsh with her. Ponies were much easier to console when they were dreaming, and diurnal stressors of ponies had always been her sister’s speciality.

Moving on, she stopped at Night Sentinel’s bunk. A relatively young thestral stallion, he was the child of an arranged marriage intended to unite the two largest noble houses in his native city-state, Dōkutsu City. He had won the proverbial lottery of thestral genetics: the strength and speed of his mother’s bloodline combined with his father’s heightened senses and echolocative abilities made him an invaluable asset to any outfit which took him in. She had been lucky the solar guard barred thestrals from enrolling.

Night was currently hunched over his footlocker, slowly penning a letter with a subte scowl on his face. Luna craned her head to read the first lines.

Rock Solid,

I apologize for my inability to write to you after my graduation, but I’m happy to say I’m now a fully fledged Custodian in the ward of Princess Luna herself. The other custodians and I are about to embark on our first deployment together. Apparently, we are to escort the Princess on a diplomatic probe into an alien civilization. The civies are calling it ‘The Greatest Event in Equestrian History’, but personally I think they're exaggerating. We've met other species before, and I doubt this one will be that much different.

Ah, yes, Luna thought, Commander Solid. The acting commander of all Equestrian ground forces in Dōkutsu City during that fateful day. He had risked his career getting Night out of a jail cell and into the guard, if the personal correspondence of his contemporaries was to be believed. Luna skimmed towards the end of the page, reading as Night wrote.

My only concern is with my fellow custodians. The Key Triplets, while undeniably ingenious, are undisciplined at the best of times. Our medical officer, First Response, is more concerned with exchanging biology notes with the aliens than safeguarding the Princess. And I am beginning to suspect Luna’s favored officer, Swift Wind, may be suffering from some sort of psychosis. She is withdrawn, and flinches at the slightest noise. This may make me a heretic in the eyes of the Diotheists, but I have serious doubts about the Princess’ choice of companions on this journey.

At this, Luna decided to speak up. “While I would be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate the second opinion, Custodian Sentinel, I would appreciate it if you brought these concerns to me before writing about them behind my back.”

Night looked up, not perturbed in the slightest. “Your Highness, this is me bringing my concerns to you.”

Luna scoffed and rolled her eyes. You can take the tomcat out of the street… “Your concerns are noted, Sentinel. However, I must ask that you trust my judgment on this matter. If not faith, then at least have a measure of confidence in my decision.”

Night shrugged, “Very well, your highness. I’ll trust your decision on this matter. But don’t expect me to be happy about working with them. Especially the triplets.”

“Do you have a problem working with them?”

“I’m sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you over this constant ringing in my ears.”

Luna tsked. “Sarcasm is considered poor form in the presence of royalty, custodian. That sort of insolence could get you in serious trouble.”

Night cocked an eyebrow, “Would you rather I worshipped the ground you walked on like the Solars do your sister?”

She cringed. “You make an excellent point. Continue with your impudent recalcitrance until further notice. Dismissed.”

Night barked a laugh as Luna walked off. As shocking as it may have been to the general public, Luna much preferred Night’s cavalier disregard for decorum to the idolatry the masses showered upon her sister. Though, at the end of the day, blind worship and prostration were still slightly preferable to widespread fear and contempt. Just slightly.

Finally, Luna reached the end of the room, where the final Custodian, a young unicorn mare named First Response, poured over a stack of textbooks. A prodigy in every sense of the word, First had gotten her cutie mark several years before average, after organizing a search party for her foal brother’s lost puppy. Blazing through medical academy, she enrolled in the Guard after a brief internship, in order to focus on saving lives out in the field rather than from behind a desk. She was reclining on her bed, flipping through a medical journal on… minotaur biology?

“Custodian Response,” Luna said, “that’s a rather unorthodox choice of light reading. Might I ask why this textbook in particular?”

“Well, your highness, I’ve already finished the books on Griffons, as well as the few journals on dragons and changelings that’ve been published.” She gestured to the pile of books and papers next to her bunk, as if that explained everything.

“Um… yes, but, why are you studying xenobiology to begin with?”

“Oh! Well, you see, whatever is on the other side of the portal, they’ve got to be at least as advanced as us, right? Those elevated train tracks and high-rises don't build themselves! So I figured that, if we were to have an exchange of ideas, we needed as much scientific information at our fingertips as possible. So I asked the quartermaster to order as many up-to-date publications on the biological science of non-ponies! That way, when the exchange of ideas and knowledge opens between us and them, we’ll have something to give them beyond our own biology, and whatever odds and ends of general knowledge we can scrape together between us.”

Luna opened her mouth, then closed it. “...That is… a surprising level of foresight, custodian.”

First beamed, “Thank you, your Highness!”

“However, did you consider that, after we have made contact, the entire nation’s worth of doctors, mages, and physicians will be right behind us to facilitate this exchange of knowledge?”

Just as it had come, First’s smile melted off her face. “Well…” she stammered, “mmmaybe we’ll get cut off from Equestria, like if the portal closes after we go through it? Then we’ll have to wait for everyone else to follow us.”

“Let me assure you, custodian, that my sister’s thaumaturgists have done numerous tests on the portal. There is no indication that we will be trapped on the other side.”

“‘The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’!”

Luna replied smoothly, “And the absence of evidence for absence is not evidence for presence.”

First opened her mouth to respond, but slumped down, admitting defeat. “You’re right. But I’m finishing this article, your highness.”

Luna nodded, “As long as your preparations for the voyage are completed, I permit this wholeheartedly. Dismissed.”

Sighing with confident satisfaction, Luna left the room and trotted to the commander’s office at the end of the hall. As she entered she paused in front of the full-body mirror mounted on the wall. Her dark blue trench coat was immaculately pressed, her silver buttons shined and buffered perfectly. The crescent sigils on her bosom and shoulders glowed lightly, coating her body in a subtle, but powerful shield spell.

As she fussed over her ponytail and muzzle fur, she felt a presence behind her. A powerful, ancient being, mighty and terrible, was creeping up behind her, ready to leap onto her and ruin everything she had accomplished. Luna tensed, waiting for the horrifying, abdominous creature to pounce, right until-

“EEEEEEE!! LUNA YOU LOOK SO HANDSOME!!!!!”

In hindsight, it was really more of a glomp than a pounce.

Luna squawked as she tried, and failed, to untangle herself from Celestia’s impliable grasp. “Sister, please! You’ll dissarainge my habillement!”

Celestia giggled, squeezing tighter. “Sister, what have we said about using the archaic tongues in this day and age?”

“I will use whatever lexicon I wish outside the company of our subjects, you bedraggled crone! Now unhand me!”

Finally, reluctantly, Celestia let go, and Luna quickly set about fixing her outfit. Her magic ran up and down her coats, smoothing wrinkles and fixing buttons. When she was eventually satisfied, Luna faced her sister with a huff, who didn’t even have the common courtesy to pretend to be remorseful.

“Oh, look at you, sister!” Celestia squeed; there was no other word to describe the noises she made, “You look so elegant! So regal! I'm so proud of you!”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Sister, please. This is a momentous occasion, perhaps the most significant event in Equestrian history since the Founding. Please, at least try to take this more seriously.”

Celestia’s face fell slightly. She sighed, almost sadly, and nodded. “Oh, very well then. I suppose you’re right.”

Luna kept fussing over her appearance. Everything would be perfect for the ceremony, and then her subjects would truly see her. Not Nightmare Moon, or some upstart faux-princess, but Luna. Princess Luna. They would all finally love her.

Celestia cleared her throat and sheepishly asked, “Um… how are your guards doing, sister?”

Luna sighed, “They are well enough, I suppose. ‘Getting their ducks in a row’, to borrow the nomenclature of our subjects.”

“Forgive me if I overstep my station, sister, but are you sure it’s wise to take along somepony so… damaged?”

Luna scoffed. As if Celestia of all ponies could overstep her station. “Your concern is warranted, but Officer Swift must bond with her fellow custodians, and she won’t approach them without being pushed. Ponies form friendships best through shared adversity; I believe it was your student that demonstrated that best.”

Celestia giggled, “Well, I can’t deny that, can I?”

“Besides, in the unlikely event we do meet some unsavory company, myself and my other custodians are more than capable of handling it. Though I wish to avoid any violent confrontation if at all possible. She has seen too much bloodshed already.”

Luna could tell Celestia still had her doubts. She could read it on her face as if it were written in flaming red letters. Still, Celestia swallowed her objections and smiled. “As long as you’re certain, I trust your judgment, sister.”

Luna smiled and nodded, “I am certain. Now then, you have preparations of your own for the ceremony, do you not?”

Celestia nodded, and Luna turned away to the mirror. Celestia lingered, as if she had more to say. But instead she quietly shrunk back and walked away. Luna felt a small pang of something in her chest, but brushed it aside. Today was going to be perfect, and then everything would be the way it should be.

Several hours later, Luna stood with impeccable regality on the hastily erected stage in downtown Salt Lick. Celestia was hip-deep in a heartfelt, animated speech espousing the ‘Equestrian spirit’ and the ‘drive for discovery and friendship in all ponies’, or something along those lines. Luna found it hard to pay attention, to be honest. A hundred years of standing politely while her sister gave variations on the same speech to the masses made the rhetoric bleed together like watercolors in a monsoon.

"And now, it is with great pleasure that I bid our gallant explorers farewell! May their expedition be bountiful and glorious!" Celestia threw her arms out theatrically, and the crowd went ballistic; just like they always had, and likely always would, for Celestia’s speeches. She had a knack for public speaking that Luna could never approach.

Celestia turned, still waving to the crowd and strolled to Luna’s place on the stage. They clasped each other’s hands and Celestia whispered in her ear. “Be safe, sister.”

Luna rolled her eyes, “Of course, sister. Do not worry yourself over the 'what ifs' and the 'what coulds'. Nothing will go wrong; nothing can go wrong.”

The sisters shared a brief embrace which sparked another, smaller surge of cheers from the crowd. Luna smiled, and broke away to her guards. The six of them stood ahead of her, three on each side. Ahead lay the swirling portal; swaying, almost beckoning to her to step through it to another world, to her salvation.

Luna took a deep breath, exhaled, and stepped forward into her destiny.

And then everything went wrong.

The portal began to emit a high, piercing humming as the image on the other side began to warp and twist, like a funhouse mirror. Luna heard her sister demand an explanation, and heard the Grand Wizard offer only confusion. Her fur ruffled around her shoulders and her wings fluttered, but she held fast.

Suddenly, the high pitched humming started to distort. It warped deeper and deeper, louder and louder. The scene across the portal changed for a split second. Beautiful skyscrapers became warped girders caked with rust. Lush parks became desolate, lifeless wastelands.

The portal’s event horizon suddenly, rapidly bulged forward. The custodians didn’t have time to scream before they were overtaken. Luna looked back, tried to reach out to Celestia, tried to call out to her. But the portal swallowed her before the air could escape her lips.

Luna disappeared, and the portal snapped flat as quick as it had risen. The air around the stage was sucked in as the portal imploded with a powerful crack of magical energy. The whole thing took less than ten seconds.

As the ponies in the audience gathered their wits, and the quickest among them began to panic, Princess Celestia shivered. Her voice nearly cracked as she whispered,

“Luna?”

Author's Note

I believe that too many crossovers, especially crossovers with Friendship is Magic, devolve into self-copulatory fanservice with no deeper meaning or goal. I hope to avoid those mistakes, and I hope you find that I have.

Thank you to my old readers, for giving me your patience.
Thank you to my new readers, for giving me a chance.