Lunar Guards Always Work Overtime on Nightmare Night
The full moon shone brightly over the city of Canterlot, a testament that the night of nights was already underway. The brisk cool air added a sense of appealing ambience to the starless night. The streets of the fair city currently receiving this pleasant night were filled with ponies running all about, enjoying the beloved festivities that always occurred on Nightmare Night. Foals ran from house to house, trailed by their ever-watchful parents, trying to be scary and pleading with hungry faces for residents to fill their bags with tasty candy. There were very few things foals loved more than Nightmare Night.
Still, no being in existence loved this beautiful night more than Princess Luna of Equestria. Walking along the faintly lit halls of the castle, Luna took in the rays emitted by her luminous sky orb. The Princess sighed as an ecstatic euphoria overtook her. She loved tonight! There was no other night like it. When faced with such a night there was only one thing a being such as herself could do: spend this night at a grand party! Luna chuckled, as she knew exactly the party she wanted to go to. The dark Alicorn knew there was no other Nightmare Night festival like the one held in Ponyville each year.
Turning the corner, Luna was pleased to see the faces of two of her beloved Lunar Guard standing at attention next to the door that lead out to a balcony. “Ah, hello Blackout, Storm Shiver.” The Princess gave her guards a warm smile.
The guards straightened to attention. “Ma’am!” They chorused together. The pegasus pony Storm Shiver took a step forward, his fleshy batwings vibrating a bit in the presence of his charge. “M’lady, Sergeant Fleet Hoof is preparing your chariot now. You’ll be at Ponyville faster than you can blink.”
Luna chuckled. “I highly doubt that Corporal, unless my carriers are prepared to do a sonic rainboom all the way there.” The guard deflated a little at the comment. Luna quickly realized her mistake and placed her gauntlet-covered hoof on Storm Shiver’s shoulder. “’Twas merely a jest my beloved guard, I truly enjoy your great enthusiasm. It is always a welcome thing my dear Storm Shiver.”
Storm Shiver looked up to his Princess and smiled at her words, instantly being resolute once more and saluting. “Yes Ma’am!”
Blackout jumped a bit as the large door the two had been guarding shot open, nearly running over the poor Earth pony. Out of the blackness of night stepped yet another figure. His black and dark purple armor was sleek and a snug fit on his ash grey coat and the dorsal fin on his helm glimmered. His yellow serpent eyes and fanged teeth accompanied by all Lunar Guards shone from the dim light in the hall. The guard went to Luna and bowed respectfully.
“M’lady. Your chariot is ready to carry you to Ponyville. Swift Wind and Troubleshoot are eager and ready.” The guard looked up and smirked proudly as Luna nodded in appreciation.
“Excellent as always Fleet Hoof. I shall make my way to Ponyville at once.” Luna walked outside to the chariot, Fleet Hoof, Blackout, and Storm Shiver following closely behind. Placing one hoof onto the black, spiked chariot, Luna turned to her guards once more. “Now Sergeant are you sure you and the others will be ok? It’ll be the first time neither I nor the Captain have been here to help direct the Guard.”
Fleet Hoof shook his head and made a shooing motion with his left hoof. “For the last time M’lady, we’ll be fine. Other than the twenty-six guards going with you the rest of the guard have the night off. Please ma’am, go and have some fun, you’ve earned it tenfold.” The guard did not let up on his shooing gesture until his Princess was all the way on her terrifying transport.
Luna shook her own head and chuckled. “Very well Fleet Hoof, very well. I shall return before the sun rises in the morning, do try to stay out of trouble until then.” The Princess winked playfully to her guard and turned her whole body straight. “Alright, Swift Wind, Troubleshoot, let’s fly to Ponyville posthaste!” The two bat-winged stallions stood to attention and unfolded their fleshy wings. Taking off quickly, the chariot rushed into the air towards Ponyville. Princess Luna squeed in delight, eager to see Twilight Sparkle and her friends as well as showing Miss Fluttershy how well her language lessons had been going.
~~~~
“Well it’s good you have the night off. You Lunar Guards work so hard to please Princess Luna, it’s sort of ridiculous sometimes.” Shining Armor commented as he and Fleet Hoof walked down a long hallway, both of their armors clanging slightly.
“I wouldn’t say that, you and the Solar Guard work just as hard for her Royal Benevolence Princess Celestia. The only difference between you and I is that we wear different armor… oh and of course the Lunar Guard is so much more stylish when doing our job.” Fleet Hoof chuckled at his playful bait.
Shining Armor’s eyes rolled. “I keep telling Cadence you’re a bunch of fags.”
“Ooo, low blow. Geez, my grandchildren will be feeling that one.” Fleet Hoof and Shining burst out in laughter at their inappropriate masculine jocularity.
Finally coming to the correct intersection, Shining stopped and turned to Fleet Hoof. “Well, this is where we part ways my friend. Enjoy your night off.” The Royal Guard Captain extended a hoof out for a shake.
Fleet Hoof met the hoof with his own and the two shook for a few milliseconds before breaking off. “So, last question: you and Cadence have any ‘special’ plans for tonight? Come on, I must know! The gossip in me demands it!”
“Like I’d tell you.” Shining grunted and began to walk down the hall.
“I suggest roleplaying!” Fleet Hoof called loudly to his friend. Shining stopped for a moment, as if considering Fleet’s proposal. The Captain Armor shook his head and kept on walking. Fleet Hoof chuckled one last time then turned down a darkened hall to his left, a crescent moon insignia overlooking its entrance.
Walking for all of three minutes in complete darkness, Fleet Hoof finally found himself in front of a large black door. Stepping close to the large portcullis, Fleet’s eyes shifted to a faint glow growing on the door. To many, the characters on the door would look like graffiti by some illiterate foal. To a Lunar Guard, the scribble asked the simple question Password?
Fleet Hoof scratched his chin. “Umm… lets see. Luna’s aroused teats.” The door did nothing. “Umm… is it Spelunking in our Princess’s lower caverns?” Still nothing. “Ugh… ok I got it! Luna’s been mounted by a mare!” Nothing. To many, it would seem odd that a guard force would use such vulgar passwords, especially all of them being about their charge. What one must remember however is that the first sixty-two members of the ‘New Guard’, as they were called, were male. With that in mind it’s not so strange that sex jokes would eventually pop up in the oddest of ways and now they had stuck as sort of a tradition.
Fleet Hoof started to get agitated. He hated it when they changed the password and didn’t tell him. With no other options available to him, Fleet Hoof initiated the ultimate fallback password. “Password.” The stallion stated dully.
A loud click was heard from within the door and the mechanisms began to operate. The door slowly opened to reveal a lighted staircase leading downward. Stepping into the entrance and activating a magical tripwire with his hoof, the large door creaked to life and shut behind the Sergeant. A quick check to ensure the door had completely closed and Fleet Hoof made his way down the many stairs.
Coming close to a bright light at the bottom, Fleet Hoof walked into a well-lit atrium. Just as large as the royal room that had held the royal wedding, this room was filled with tables and benches, fireplaces, a small training court, and many different hallways leading off to other parts of the Lunar Barracks. Gathered in the atrium was most of the current Lunar Guard, minus the ones that had gone with Luna. The ponies were spread all about, some were gathered around tables eating and telling tall tales, many were crowded around the atrium arena to watch two Lunar Guard Mares go at without their armor on, and finally there were few scattered about doing their own thing or going to a different part of the barracks. One unarmored mare on a nearby bench instinctively went to try and preen herself, only to be met with fleshy batwings and an embarrassed look that no other guard took heed of (all the pegasus guards that had undergone the magical surgery that applied the batwings had done the same thing at least once).
“Adamant, Adamant, Adamant!”
Fleet Hoof looked over to the arena. The Guards had already taken a favorite fighter: Adamant Aegis, one of the newest recruits. The mare was able to wrestle her opponent to the ground and finally pin her. The watching guards counted to three and cheers, as well as moans, rang out in the hallway. Adamant stood up and raised her hooves in triumph, sweaty and panting heavily from all the physical activity.
“Oi, Sergeant Fleet Hoof! Sergeant! A minute of your time sir!”
Fleet Hoof turned to see an unarmored stallion run up to him. The brown pegasus stopped in time to avoid hitting his superior and saluted, spreading his batwings in a traditional fashion. Fleet Hoof saluted back. “Hello Evident Dignity, what is it?” Using his right hoof, Fleet reached under his left shoulder plate and felt for the winged crescent moon brand on his shoulder. Touching the silvery colored mark, Fleet’s coat shifted from an ash grey to a dull orange. His serpent eyes changed to blue and widened until they were circular again. Finally his sharp fangs receded into his mouth. Feeling around with his tongue to ensure the fang removal, Fleet Hoof looked at the other guard. “Is there a problem?”
Evident shook his head. “No sir, I just wanted to know who was staying here to watch the barracks while the others take the night off.”
Fleet chuckled. “Don’t worry Evident, unlike me you’re not one of them. Go and enjoy the night, it’ll be your first time off and you should enjoy it.”
“Very well sir. Anyway, I’m heading out now. There’s a bar near the city’s limit that me and most of the other off-duty guards are going to.” Evident took out a cloak from a bag on his side and flung it over himself.
Fleet Hoof cocked an eyebrow. “Still not comfortable going out with your wings showing?”
Evident shifted his hoof back and forth on the ground. “Yeah, a little. It’s just… well I get really strange looks and…”
“I know, I know.” Fleet interjected. “It’s alright I get it. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to get a bite to eat and then start on some paperwork I’ve brushed off for too long. Corporal.” Fleet saluted once more.
“Sir.” Evident saluted back. “Have a nice night off, see you in the morning.” With that the stallions separated and went about their own businesses.
~~~~
The barracks had lost all the excitable life it had once contained now that its main occupants had cleared out. One by one or in small groups, Lunar Guards had put away their armor and left to enjoy their night off. Now the only living souls remaining were twelve Lunar Guards that needed to hold down the fort until the return of the others. The ponies were unarmored and most sported their normal colored coats, they might be stuck in the barracks all night but they would at least do it in comfort.
“Ugh, this is so boring!” The now white-coated Adamant Aegis fiddled with a pencil on the table she sat at, rolling it back and forth between her hooves.
“Quiet recruit. Muttering your annoyance isn’t going make anything happen, just try and enjoy the peace.” Sergeant Rigid Gruff grouched as he fiddled with the knitting project he’d been working on the past few days, helped with his anger management the therapist had told him.
“Don’t take it personally sir, she’s just pissed cause she’s got a stallion’s name!” A unicorn stallion chuckled as he sharpened his fangs on a whetstone.
“Shut up!” Adamant lashed out. “It’s not a ‘stallion’s name’, it’s totally unisex!”
“Uh-huh, what ever helps ya sleep at night Addie.” The stallion replied jokingly.
The mare jumped up and was ready to dash over to the stallion and give him a trashing he’d never forget, already planting her hoof on the brand imbedded in her right shoulder and transforming into the base image of a Lunar Guard. Her plans of glorious vengeance were cut short when the door to the barracks burst open to reveal a slender, fragile-looking pegasus stallion running into the atrium.
“Hel… He…. Somepony…. Sergeants! Need you… trouble… bad!” The stallion’s chest heaved and the poor thing looked like he was convulsing.
Rigid Gruff and Fleet Hoof immediately stopped their activities and rushed to the stallion’s side. “What the…? Icarus, what’s wrong, is everything ok? Hell boy, are you alright?” Rigid Gruff tried to calm the stallion as Fleet Hoof pushed against
him to keep him up.
“There’s… there’s been an incident. My father sent me here and I flew as quickly as could!” The stallion was finally calming down but the sentence was still a great strain on his weakened body.
“What?!” Fleet Hoof was shocked at this considering the fact Icarus was a very weak pegasus. His father would never risk his only son’s health as he had just done. “What’s going on? What’s happened?”
Icarus took in several nice breaths and steadied himself. “There is a unicorn stallion that’s caused thousands in property damage and already attacked several Nightmare Night goers. The Solar Guards on duty attempted to subdue the criminal but he nearly killed them! If it weren’t for the unicorns in each squad they’d be dead. Princess Celestia has requested that the Lunar Guard assemble a squad and bring this psycho down.”
Rigid Gruff grunted in annoyance. “Very well, we’ll get right on it. Lunar Guards fight better in the dark anyway.” Rigid turned to Fleet. “Fleet Hoof, stay here with Radiant Shine, Sparkling Moonshine, Iron Horseshoe, and Storm Shiver. I’ll take the others and make this crazy pay for even thinking of attacking anypony.” Fleet Hoof nodded and escorted Icarus to the barracks infirmary to let him rest.
Rigid turned to the other ten guards and prepared his drill sergeant voice. “Alright, mares and stallions! Up and at ‘em! We got ourselves a crazed son of a parasprite tearing up Canterlot and our own Solar Guard brothers. Let’s show this madpony that he stands no chance against the Lunar Guard! Radiant Shine, Sparkling Moonshine, Iron Horseshoe, Storm Shiver, you four stay here with Sergeant Fleet Hoof and watch over the barracks.” The four mentioned ponies saluted to their orders and made their way to the infirmary to receive orders from Fleet Hoof.
Adamant Aegis walked up to Rigid. “Is there anything special we should be aware of for this sir?” The mare straightened herself for her Sergeant.
“Yeah, get some of the magic wards from the armory and apply them to your armors. We’ll not be caught off guard like the others were.” Adamant nodded and left with her fellow guards to the armory. Rigid Gruff shook his head and sighed. “Ugh, this was supposed to be our night off. Instead we’re working overtime.” The Sergeant grunted neutrally and made his own way to the armory.
~~~~
The building seemed to dance as light from the flames flickered from it. The unicorn stallion Pulsating Rays smirked deviously as the destructive light engulfed the building. Ensuring the building was reduced to ash, Rays turned to his next act of arson: a new community activity center in construction (funded by the crown).
“Hmph. This is what they use my money for?! Fools, all of them! My magical research is worth a million of these stupid ‘activity centers’.” The stallion spit on the building. Charging up his magic, Pulsating Rays’ horn ignited into magic flames. Grinning sadistically, the crazed unicorn threw a huge fireball towards the defenseless building. “Bye bye you useless pile of concrete and wood!” Rays couldn’t wait to watch the building succumb to his fire.
As if one cue, a magical bolt of electricity zipped across the sky and struck the fireball. Blue sparks and red flames cascaded about in a glorious display until the attack exploded in midair, leaving the targeted building untouched. Pulsating Rays turned with a shocked face to the source of the interference. “What the hell?! Who dares?!”
Rigid Gruff appeared from the shadows, a unicorn mare with a smoking horn to his right and the other five guards behind them. “Oh you know, the usual upstanding guards of Canterlot. Now be a nice lunatic and surrender.” Rigid Gruff was well aware that this sicko wasn’t going to even consider giving up (they never did), but as a guard it was his duty to at least give the option.
“Never you impudent trash! The Princess will pay for her transgressions done upon me!” Rays charged magic and shot it at Rigid Gruff. The Lunar Guard simply stood there, not moving a muscle. The magic blast zigzagged and hit the stallion square in the chest, causing him to be pushed back a few inches. Pulsating Rays stood there in shock; the Guard was unharmed! Shaking a bit, the Lunar Sergeant then retook his original position.
“What’s wrong crazy? Having some trouble? Hmm… I guess that’s what happens when you try to use a spell on armor laced with anti-magical runes.” Rigid gave his opponent a confident smirk. Pulsating Rays couldn’t believe it. Against that kind of armor he’d have no way to fight back. The Sergeant saw the fearful look on his opponent’s face and his smirk widened. “I see you adequately understand the situation you’re in, that’s good. Now that that’s taken care of I’ll ask again: give up… please?” Pulsating Rays easily caught the sarcasm etched in the Lunar Guard’s ‘request’.
Faced with no other option, the vengeance-seeking unicorn decided to go with his back up plan. “Never!!!” He cried out dramatically. The stallion’s horn flared up and he teleported in a flash of lime green.
Rigid Gruff’s eyes rolled a whole three hundred sixty degrees. “Find him.” He stated blandly. The six Lunar Guards scattered in different directions to search for their missing loony. Adamant Aegis flew next to her Sergeant, fluttering a bit before setting down.
“So where do you think he went sir?” The recruit wasn’t sure where to start looking but didn’t want to voice it to a superior.
The Sergeant grunted. “Doesn’t matter where he went, we’ll still find him. No creature alive can outrun the Lunar Guard in the dark.” Rigid started on his way to his own searching.
Adamant nodded and flew about the city streets, keeping a sharp, Lunar Guard eye out for their missing enemy.
~~~~
“Heightened Honor, Fell at the of the battle of the Fairest Fields, Died protecting the innocent as they fled.” Radiant Shine read the commemorative plaque respectfully, the glowing characters easily read in the dimly lit room. She took a look up at the picture that accompanied the small plate of metal with interest. The stallion portrayed in it was very dashing, and as the named suggested he was as honorable as the purest of knights.
“What’s this? Dumping me for a picture? There is no greater shame than that I feel right now!”
Radiant Shine turned her head to see Fleet Hoof; all armored up in his Lunar Guard gear, walking up next to her, a smile on his face. Well there was a smile on his face; the punch Shine gave him sort of contorted it into some cross between pain and laughter. “Oh shut sir. I wouldn’t date you if you were the last stallion on Earth.” She looked at her trusted friend with a playful grin.
Fleet made sure to counter it. “Darn it! Well, there goes my plan to seduce you! I thought it was going to work too.” The stallion chuckled as he recomposed himself and went to check out more plaques around the room, the Hall of Champions was always an amazing history lesson for any creature.
Radiant followed suit, looking around the hall devoted to those Lunar Guards that died performing a task above and beyond the call of duty. Coming to a stop in the middle of the room, the mare cocked her head a little at the greyish-brown statue she now looked at.
“Wonder what this is?” She pondered. The statue in question was a big armored thing; hell if a pony wore it you’d barely see them the joints were so close together. It had a helm that covered the face completely expect for the eyes, Radiant couldn’t even see any latches to remove it. It had huge spaulders bending down over both shoulders; it would be really uncomfortable to walk in. Not that it mattered, there was no pony in existence that could wear this thing: it was huge! Radiant questioned why such a thing was created. Squinting her eyes, the mare saw inscriptions on the metal plate. Radiant leaned in to get a better look, but alas her allergies got the better of her. As soon as she breathed in the armor’s gathering dust the mare let out a grand sneeze that sent her to the ground. Other than the debris that came from her nostrils, magic decided to explode from her horn and strike the inanimate object, causing it to shutter from the force.
“Whoa! Radiant are you alright?” Fleet Hoof ran over to his fellow guard and checked to ensure her safety.
“Yeah, I’m good. The magic blast just caught me off guard.” Radiant shook her head and made her own check-up.
“Oh good. I thought your nose was trying to break the sound barrier.” Fleet Hoof tried to hold back a smirk, tried.
Radiant punched him. “Shut up. Or do I really have to remind you of what happens when you eat…” A sound suddenly broke out. It was as if metal was creaking against itself, like if old machine parts suddenly came back on after years of neglect.
Fleet looked around. “Where’s that noise coming from?”
The two guards eyes shifted around until they landed on the statue. The sound could be heard from inside it, a blue light shining inside the empty thing. Magic expanded out from the light in a zigzagging way to the armor’s four limbs. The armor shifted around, working out its body. Light appeared from its helm’s sockets and after a flash of white eyes formed, very pony-like in nature.
Radiant gaped from her spot on the ground, but quickly realized what they were dealing with. “Holy Maker, it’s a golem!”
Fleet Hoof looked at her. “A what?”
“It’s a moving piece of armor, nearly indestructible! The Princesses once used them to defend Equestria. After Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon and was defeated they stopped being used. Maker, who knows how long this thing’s been here for! Geez, I hope it wasn’t fighting when it was deactivated.” Radiant Shine got off her hooves and stared in amazement as the golem finally came to.
“That’s pretty cool… wait, what do you mean you hope it wasn’t fighting?” Fleet Hoof looked at his friend but his head turned as he heard the golem begin to move. “Huh? Oh Creation.”
“Got any threes?” Storm Shiver looked over to the armored unicorn Sparkling Moonshine from across a table in the grand atrium, cards strung about the table.
Sparkling looked at her cards as they levitated in front of her. “Umm… Go Fish.” Storm Shiver’s eyes rolled in annoyance as he went for a card…
Fleet Hoof broke through the wall separating the Hall of Champions from the atrium, flying across the room and slamming into the table. Storm Shiver and Sparkling Moonshine jumped back as their Sergeant’s weight and speed shattered the table. Cards flew up in a flurry of, well, playing cards. Fleet Hoof instantly sat up from his down position, a resolute and angered expression plastered to his face. “Oh you wanna go?! Well it is on!” Fleet Hoof’s bravado was cut short as a bench came flying at him. The stallion’s eyes widened comically and he jumped out of the way as the bench landed and exploded into splinters.
“What in the name of Luna is…” Sparkling turned to see a gigantic, pony shaped suit of armor walk out from the debris of the wall, blue magic emitting from the few cracks in its joints.
The golem noticed the Lunar Guards looking on in disillusion and charged them. Their guard training kicking in, Storm Shiver took flight as Sparkling teleported to safety. The creature skidded to a stop, searching for his opponents. It didn’t take him long to find them as Fleet Hoof jumped on its back and started pounding the back of its neck with his armored hoof. Unfazed by this pathetic assault the golem threw Fleet off with a single powerful buck of its back legs, the force sending the stallion flying.
The golem looked up to catch its enemy landing and finish him off but it was cut short. Black and blue magical flames collided against the armor, spraying out in embers all over the place. Sparkling Moonshine and Radiant Shine’s horns were alight with magic as the blasted a fire spell at the creature. After all, all metal melted eventually. They just had to keep hammering this thing with fire until it melted to nothing. After almost five whole minutes of flaming, the golem had been completely enveloped in the black and blue fire. Radiant nodded to Sparkling and the two ceased their spell. But what they saw shocked them.
The fire died down quickly, but only to reveal the golem, red hot with heat, standing completely unharmed. The golem’s armor almost instantly cooled and returned to its original color. Stomping the ground with an all-powerful hoof, the moving armor grabbed a huge chunk of the floor and tossed at the unicorns. The two mares, dumbstruck by this monster’s invulnerability, just stared at the oncoming rubble.
Fleet Hoof, having landed some time ago, yelled out to his guards. “Sparkling, Radiant! Get out of there!” The Sergeant was at no distance to provide assistance to his friends.
The thrown rubble smashed into pieces as the gigantic Earth pony Iron Horseshoe stepped in front of the projectile and took the full brunt of the force. Pebbles and pieces fell everywhere as the stallion turned his head to the mares, his forehead and front legs bleeding from the impact. The two looked at him, shook off their fear, and nodded to him resolutely. How could they have fallen apart like that? It didn’t matter now. Now they had to beat this thing.
Sparkling Moonshine and Radiant Shine took their positions next to the stallion and readied a battle stance. Fleet Hoof joined them and Storm Shiver was now hovering above them. Fleet Hoof gave all the other guards a look, signaling silent commands in case this golem was cognate enough to understand such things. Nodding to his team, they all prepared to attack. The golem too prepared an assault, grinding its metallic hoof against the ground.
“For her Royal Highness Princess Luna!” Fleet Hoof yelled out as he and the others charged the golem. The golem readily accepted the challenge and charged.
~~~~
Pulsating Rays tumbled backward from the magical blast shot at him by the Lunar Guard unicorn. Slamming into one of the many street lamps of the large Canterlot plaza they found themselves in, the mad stallion shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck to check for blood.
“Can we please end this game of cat and mouse? It’s our night off and I’d really like to go back to the barracks.” Rigid Gruff stepped out of the shadows behind his unicorn brother, an angry grimace on his face over the hour-long chase this stallion had provided for them.
Rays gritted his teeth in an angered scowl. “Never you Lunar dog! Celestia will pay for what she did to me! Calling me worthless! I’ll show her just how worthless I am once all of Canterlot burns!” The stallion returned to his hooves, not at all fazed by the other five Lunar Guards arriving on the scene.
Adamant Aegis, hovering over her Sergeant, cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Worthless? Does Princess Celestia even know that word? I don’t think history has ever even recorded her calling any pony worthless. She wouldn’t even call a pony with no legs worthless, hell she’d probably find a way to make them very productive.”
“She didn’t call me worthless you dolt!” Rays blurted out with clear annoyance. “She called my research worthless, and that’s just as bad as calling me worthless! She says there’s no need to study demonology and dark magic! ‘We don’t study dark magic and demons Pulsating Rays, we destroy them for the better of Equestria.’ Stupid whore, I’ll show just how important my research is when I summon an army of demons to destroy Canterlot!”
This monologue caught all the guards, well, off-guard. Eyes wide and unable to comprehend this stallion’s madness, Rigid’s shock turned to pure rage. “You’ll not summon a single demon as long as I breathe you insolent little fool! I’ll break you for simply having that idea!” The Sergeant stepped towards the unicorn.
Pulsating took a step back in fear. “What?! No! Stay back dog! I’ll, I’ll… prepare to face the true might of demonic power!” Pulsating Rays sat on his haunches and clapped his hooves together, chanting some random magic gibberish that not even the two unicorns present could understand. Suddenly, two runic circles with intricate inscriptions appeared on Pulsating’s legs. The stallions slammed his hooves onto the tiles of the plaza. The Lunar Guards stepped back as the same runic circle materialized on the street, about two hundred times bigger than it had been on Rays’ legs. The rune glowed red and lightning sparked about until a huge flash of red light expanded outward, blinding all the ponies in the vicinity. As light the light died down the Lunar Guards prepared to fight the darkest creatures of this world. The light dissipated and darkness of the night returned. The Lunar Guards looked towards where their enemy was supposed to be. Their eyes all widened in shock.
One of the Lunar pegasi tried to spit out a coherent sentence. “It’s… It’s…”
“It’s a chicken.” Adamant said as she drifted to the ground and landed.
Sure enough there was a chicken smack-dab in the center of what had once been the red circle. The bird looked around a bit and started to pluck at the ground repeatedly. The Lunar Guards had dumbstruck faces of utter confusion, their mouths a little agape.
Pulsating Rays face held shock and terror; unable to believe he had failed. “That… that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Rigid Gruff looked at the chicken, then to Pulsating Rays, then back down to the chicken. Rushing forward and slamming into the unicorn, Rigid hoisted Rays up, shoving him against the lamppost. “You’re gonna regret that summoning spell fluking on you, I assure you that!” Rays could feel himself choke from a lack of oxygen; this Lunar stallion was going to suffocate him if he didn’t stop. “And further more I…” Black tendrils wrapped themselves around Rigid’s midsection and tightened, preparing to toss him across the sky. Rigid Gruff grunted with an unsurprised demeanor. “Of course… Why in the hell would it be a normal chicken, that’s just a stupid thing to think.” Rigid was thrown away from Rays and sent flying backward. The pegasus Quick Wind shot up and caught his Sergeant, helping him to the ground.
“Wha… What the…?” Pulsating Rays had no idea what had just happened, unlike Rigid Gruff.
“YOU WILL NOT HARM HE WHO SUMMONED ME LUNAR MUTT! DO NOT EVEN THINK OF SUCH A THING!” The voice ran out through the empty plaza, apparently coming from the chicken, who now had a circle of complete blackness swirling underneath it, tendrils rising from the darkness.
“Holy Celestia it’s a talking chicken!” Adamant yelled out in amazement.
“WHAT?! NO! I AM NO CHICKEN! I AM THE FEARED DEMON…”
“You look like a chicken.” Adamant countered blandly, unimpressed.
The demon chicken hopped up and down in anger, flapping its wings in a way one would find adorable. “FOOL! I ONLY APPEAR AS A CHICKEN TO DECEIVE IDIOTS LIKE YOU! MY TRUE FORM IS…”
“Why a chicken?” Adamant asked.
“WHAT?” The demon replied, unsure of what the mare meant.
“Well, it’s just… why a chicken? I mean there are tons of animals you could morph into that are less menacing then a chicken. You could be a puppy or a kitten or… oh! Oh, turn into a baby turtle! Maker, that would be adorable!” Adamant giggled at the prospect.
“ARE YOU MOCKING ME LUNAR MUTT?!” The demon’s voice was filled with anger.
Adamant gave the chicken a disappointed look, her eyes half closed. “What? No, no… I was questioning why your disguise is a chicken, there’s so much better stuff you could be. Just thinking out loud.” The mare pouted a bit.
“WELL STOP IT! YOUR THOUGHTS ARE STUPID!” The demon replied.
“No they’re not! You’re stupid.” Adamant countered.
“NO YOU’RE STUPID!” The demon countered right back.
“No you are!” Adamant yelled.
“NO YOU!” The demon shouted.
“No y…”
“Adamant, SHUT UP!” Rigid Gruff shouted at the top of his lungs. “For Luna’s sake you’re arguing with a chicken!”
“An EVIL chicken!” Adamant yelled as she pointed a hoof towards the demon.
“YOU KNOW WHAT, FINE! IF MY CHICKEN FORM ANNOYS YOU SO MUCH THAN LET ME SHOW YOU MY TRUE POWER!” The swirling black circle suddenly receded and enveloped the demonic chicken. Now completely black with evil, the demon’s form began to shift and morph. The demon’s height rose to surpass even Celestia. It’s wings receded than burst out again in the form of arms, five sharpened claws forming at the end of each hand. It’s feet shifted from that of a chicken to a more wolf-like paws. Finally it’s beak morphed into a snout, finishing the transformation and making the demon look much like a werewolf made up of black, shifting shadows. The demon’s eyes opened, they were completely white with no pupils or anything of the like. The same could be said of the creature’s mouth, white contrasted against its dark snout to create the silhouette of sharp teeth. Howling into the sky with it’s morphing completed; the demonic werewolf faced the Lunar Guard. “NOW WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOOL?!”
Adamant scratched her chin. “Personally I’d have been more afraid if you had entered like that and I didn’t have the whole chicken imagery stuck in my head.”
The demon stood there, flabbergasted at this mare’s idiocy. “I HATE PONIES.” It stated. “WHICH WILL MAKE THIS ALL THE MORE ENJOYABLE!” The demon thrust its arms forward, causing tendrils to sprout from its back and go after the Lunar Guard.
“Whoa! Everyone scatter!” Rigid Gruff yelled the order just as a tendril wrapped around him and thrust him into the air.
The other guards quickly made for evasive maneuvers, but it useless. Adamant, Quick Wind, and the other two Lunar pegasi were caught in the air as they tried to fall back. The Lunar unicorns fired shots at the tendrils, destroying them. Their victory was short-lived as the black appendages regenerated instantly and snatched them up. The demon now held all the Lunar Guards in midair around him in a semicircle.
Pulsating Rays, who had been watching the whole scene in utter shock, now found himself laughing. “Ahahaha! Amazing! The powerful and mighty Lunar Guard, incapacitated in mere seconds by one demon! Just think of what an army could do! The destruction of Canterlot will show the Princess just how important the study of demons is! First things first though, demon: kill these Lunar fools! Their deaths and the destruction of Canterlot are small prices to pay for demonology to get the attention it deserves! By the end of this I’ll be the leading researcher of demons, revered for my knowledge!” Pulsating broke out in laughter once more, certain his plans could not be ended now.
The demon nodded. “VERY WELL.” He scoffed, bringing the tendril that held Adamant Aegis close to him. “I WILL CRUSH THIS ONE FIRST FOR HER INSOLENCE.” The demon’s tendril tightened around Adamant, squeezing her painfully. The Lunar mare cried out as she could hear the bones in her body being crushed ever so slightly. The demon laughed sadistically at the prospect of crushing this mare to death slowly and painfully.
The lance flew through the air with precision and propose. Colliding with the tendril, the demon screamed in pain as the lance went through his limb and caused it to disintegrate, releasing Adamant from its crushing grip. The mare fell to the ground with a thud and a grunt.
“One night.”
The demon looked at what was left of the tendril, but despite all the demon’s effort it could not regenerate its severed limb. The demon screamed out. “WHO DARES ATTACK ME?!” It turned to the direction of where the lance came from. The Lunar Guard looked as well and instantly a shock look appeared on their faces.
Adamant, the only one release from the tendrils and able to talk, couldn’t believe it, there was just no way. “C-Captain?”
“One night, it’s not asking for much. I just wanted one night to relax and not worry about anything.” A pegasi stallion emerged from the darkness. He was tall and slender, only a few inches shorter than Luna. His silted eyes were a dark teal and his coat was ash-grey like most Lunar Guards. Unlike most Lunar pegasi however his wings were still feathered and how a pegasus wing should look like. His armor was unique; instead of the dorsal fin that most guards had he instead had two bat wings spread in flight on the side making up the opening of his helm. Gauntlets that went all the way up to his knees and were inscribed with patterns had replaced the normal guard hoof wear. The scowl on his face easily showed that he had no fangs like the rest of his fellows.
The Lunar Captain stepped towards the demon. “Instead, some annoying freak of a demon decides to rampage through the streets. I’m sure you can guess this has caused me quite some distress.”
The demon growled. “SO THIS IS THE PRESTIGIOUS CAPTAIN OF THE LUNAR GUARDS? HMPH, YOU SEEM MORE BARK THAN BITE TO ME.”
The Lunar Captain grunted. “Is that so? Well, ignorance is bliss I suppose. So, how about introductions? I am the leader of her Royal Highness Princess Luna’s Guard Force, Captain Fading Moonlight, pleased to make your acquaintance.”
The demon grimaced slightly. “AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I GIVE TWO BITS ABOUT YOUR NAME IDIOT!” More tendrils exploded from the demon’s back and, arching over their owner, dashed for Fading Moonlight. The tendrils slammed into the Captain’s position, throwing rubble and dust everywhere and leaving a sizable dust cloud. The demon smirked at this easy victory.
“See the thing is…” The demon eyes widened and it turned its head to see the Fading standing directly behind it, unharmed. “The thing is that I am not like my other fellows. I just wanted you to know the name of the stallion that’s going to kill you.” The Captain’s face was unbearably neutral.
“THAT’S BIG TALK FOR SUCH A LITTLE CREATURE!!!” The demon’s tendrils broke out of the rubble and charged at Fading Moonlight, once again slamming into the ground and causing the same effect as last time. “HA! STUPID PONY…”
“Says you.”
The demon looked up just in time to see Fading Moonlight collide his right hind hoof with the demon’s face, bringing all of the Captain’s weight down on the creature and sending it to the ground. The tiles broke and shattered as the stallion crushed the demon. The demon’s body started to have spasms and the tendrils holding the other Lunar Guards shook and dissipated, dropping the guards on the ground.
Pulsating Rays backpedalled at this spectacle and decided enough was enough. Like any true self-righteous coward, with his last barrier of protection broken the stallion turned tail and ran.
“Adamant Aegis, Quick Wind, follow and apprehend him… now.” The Captain was still looking at the flattened demon as he spoke.
“Yes sir!” The two pegasi said in unison. Quick Wind jumped into the air after the unicorn, Adamant shook off her soreness and followed suit.
Fading Moonlight watched their exit then prepared to end this demonic threat. The Captain was too late however. He turned to his guards. “All of you fall back!” The Lunar Guards did as they were told, retreating to a safe distance just as tendrils formed on the demon’s chest and shot out at Fading Moonlight. Flapping his wings hard, the Captain made a desperate attempt to escape the attacking appendages. Flying high into the sky, the other guards eventually lost sight of their Captain. Suddenly the tendrils stopped and the demon started laughing.
“I’LL ADMIT, YOU CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD CAPTAIN. IT MATTERS NOT; I HAVE ALREADY WON THIS FIGHT!” The demon’s eyes widened as it realized the pony had not been impaled on its tendrils. The creature became angered. “AGAIN YOU ESCAPE! WHERE ARE YOU YOU STUPID LITTLE PONY?!”
“Like I’d tell you.” The Captain’s voice ran out in the plaza, not really coming from one place. “But if you’re so interested I guess I can be generous this one time.” A small, unexplainable sound came from the demon’s left. Turning to investigate the noise, the demon took a step back at what he saw.
Specks. That's all they were. Little specks of darkness, of shadow. But the specks started to connect and join together. Soon the black outline of a stallion could be seen. The shadow receded from the outline and forth stepped Fading Moonlight, his neutral glare still present on his face. “Did you really think that this armor was simply for show? It does much more than protect us from an arrow or being bitten. It gives many more abilities; I can’t explain them for security reasons you understand. Luna objects us using the armor abilities because of the strain they place on our bodies. I, however, am the most senior member of the new guard and therefore have quite a bit of experience using them. So… shall we end this?”
“YES, LET’S END THIS, DIE!” Tendrils shot from the demon towards Fading. The stallion’s wings spread and he jutted upward, the tendrils missing by inches. Flying up to a good height, the Captain reached behind himself and under his wing, pulling out a huge lance from out of nowhere. Positioning the lance the right way, the Captain threw the lance at the demon.
“NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” The demon dodged the lance easily, smirking. Captain Moonlight lifted up a gauntlet up parallel to his face, a rune in the shape of a winged crescent moon beginning to glow. The demon looked at the Captain, then the lance, which had started to glow with runes. The demon jumped back just in time to escape from the moon silver colored flames emitted by the lance in a wide circle.
“THE HELL?!” The demon had never seen such weaponry.
“Surprised? Don’t be. The Solar Guard are the Princesses’ shield, my guards are their swords.” Fading Moonlight grabbed yet another lance from nowhere and tossed it at the demon, then another, then another and, you guessed it, another.
Desperately dodging each lance and the accompanying fire circle, the demon was on the defensive with this stallion. “WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GETTING ALL THESE WEAPONS?!”
Fading Moonlight gave the creature a bland stare. “Once again. Armor. Enchanted. Put two and two together.”
The demon grimaced at this stallion’s neutral smugness. “OH YEAH? WELL PUT THIS AND THIS TOGETHER!” The demon shot tendrils at Fading Moonlight. The stallion easily dodged the appendages, but it was soon clear he wasn’t their target. The tendrils attacked one of the Lunar unicorns, wrapping her up and pulling her towards the demon. One tendril wrapped around the mare’s horn to block any attempts at magic. “HA! WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW THAT ONE OF YOUR OWN IS MY PERSONAL MEATSHIELD!?” The demon moved the mare in front of him, preventing any attacks from hitting him without killing her.
The Lunar Captain twitched a bit, but kept his composure. “What will I do? Kill you, even if she is in the way.” Fading’s stare was ice.
The demon was taken aback by the Captain’s coldness. “WHAT?! YOU WOULD KILL YOUR OWN TEAMMATE, JUST LIKE THAT, TO END ME?!” Sure the demon would do it in a heartbeat, but to hear an Equestrian pony, the purest of creatures in the world, would do something that cold was unthinkable.
“Yeah,” Fading Moonlight stated coldly. “Unicorns are a dime a dozen, shouldn’t be too hard to find another just like her that can do her job just as well, if not better.” Fading Moonlight pulled another lance out and prepared to throw it, cocking his leg back into position.
“FINE THEN!” The demon bellowed. “LET YOU HAVE THE BLOOD OF YOUR FRIEND UPON YOUR HOOVES!”
Fading Moonlight didn’t flinch. “I’m ok with that.”
The Captain threw the lance as hard as he could, flinging it through the air at pegasus speeds. The demon, adamant in his threat, held the unicorn mare right in the lance’s path. The other Lunar Guards stared in utter shock, wanting to save their friend but quite sure that the demon was too strong to attempt such a rescue. The lance was now only a foot away from piecing the poor mare’s chest. Time stilled, and every living creature held his or her breaths, waiting to hear the shrill cry of a dying pony.
“Dusk Twinkle, if you’d please.”
The captive mare Dusk Twinkle nodded and instantly degraded into a shadowy outline that soon fell about into small black specks. The demon’s eyes widened in surprise as the mare escaped its grasp completely, leaving it wide open for the lance and no time to escape. The lance pieced the demon’s chest with great force, slicing into the black form. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” The demon screamed from the shock and pain, taking a few steps back. His attention shifted however, when he heard chuckling.
“Did you honestly think that when I spoke about our armor being enchanted that I was only talking about my armor?” Fading Moonlight hovered in midair, shaking his head and sporting an amused smirk.
“THAT’S CHEATING…” The demon countered.
Fading Moonlight looked at him with a cold stare. “Yeah, probably.” The Captain raised his gauntlet and the winged crescent moon glowed silver once more. The runes on the lance glowed and spit out the silver fire. The demon screamed out as the flames burned him into nothingness, by the end not even ashes remained.
Fading Moonlight smiled at the victory, scanning around the plaza. Once the Captain found what he was looking for he flew down to Dusk Twinkle, who was heavily breathing some ways off. “You ok Dusk? I made you do quite the instant disappear.” The Captain knelt down to inspect his guard.
“I’m… I’m fine sir, just… just a little sore is all.” The mare tried to stand but couldn’t find the strength for it. The mare yelped in surprised when her Captain went underneath her and hoisted her onto his back. The guard blushed in embarrassment at the need for her Captain to help her like this.
Turning to the others, Fading Moonlight tapped a fore hoof on the ground, causing all the lances he had thrown to dissipate into thin air. “Alright, now that that’s over with let’s go find Adamant and Quick Wind.”
“No need sir!”
The guards turned to see the two pegasi walking towards them, Pulsating Rays in magical hoof cuffs and a magic inhibitor on his horn. “Caught him trying to leave the city through the front gates.” Quick Wind reported. “Luckily, we had a few extra Solar Guards to help us out.”
“Yeah, they were real anxious to help when they found out this bum was the one attacking their fellows, he didn’t stand a chance.” Adamant Aegis gave a wide smile and whacked Pulsating Rays on the backside, who yelped at the physical contact.
Fading Moonlight smiled at the two. “Very good you two, credits to the uniform, no doubt.” The Captain glared at the criminal unicorn. “Come on, lets get this trash to prison, then we can head back to the barracks. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to know everything’s quiet again.”
~~~~
Shining Armor trotted down the dark hall of Canterlot Castle, just a little peeved. The Captain of the Royal Guard didn’t really know why he was making this trip but if it was for Cadence he really didn’t care, anything for his love. Well, this love at least. Shining shivered in disgust while thinking about that bug that impersonated his fiancée, still gave him nightmares. Going back to concentrating on where he was going, Shining could help but be irritated about his attire.
“Ugh, how do they walk in these things? I’ll never understand the p-…”
The wall to Shining’s right exploded into rubble and dust, sending a screaming Fleet Hoof though the air and smacking into the adjacent wall. The Lunar Guard comically slid down from his position and slumped to the tiled floor. The stallion rubbed the back of his head. “Oww… what is with that bloody thing and throwing me through walls?! I swear it has a weird fetish or… oh hey Shining Armor.” The stallion turned his head to the Solar Guard. Fleet Hoof’s head went back a little and he cocked an eyebrow when he saw what Shining was wearing. “Uhh… Shining, why are you wearing Princess Cadence’s royal attire?”
Shining Armor pupils shifted about, it was true: atop the Captain’s head was the Cadence’s tiny crown, her gauntlets and chest piece magically grown to fit the stallion’s chest and hooves. Shining thought of a good explanation for this odd situation they found themselves in. “Umm… Reasons… Why did you just come crashing through a wall?”
“Different reasons.” The Lunar Guard responded calmly.
“Well,” Shining Armor replied. “It seems we are at an impasse of information.”
“So it would seem.” Fleet Hoof agreed. “Shall we go back to our respective activities that we were doing before this conversation?”
Shining nodded. “Yes, lets. Never speak of this again?”
“Not a word.” Fleet replied, hopping up. Nodding respectively to Shining Armor, the stallion charged back into the hole from wince he came, screaming a wordless battle cry.
Shining Armor watched him leave, then shook his head. “I’ll never understand Loonies.” The Captain stepped over the rubble and continued his way to the kitchen. “I am not cleaning that up.”
Inside the now ruined barracks Iron Horseshoe was trying his best to hold off the golem, to no avail. The golem broke free of the wrestling and, bringing its hooves upward, slammed Iron hard into the ground. Bringing up another hoof to finish off the stallion, the creature was just about to crush the guard’s head and send it splattering everywhere. Before it could start it’s descent two magical auras wrapped around the raised metallic hoof, stopping it in place.
“Leave him alone you big, moving frying pan!” Radiant Shine and Sparkling Moonshine’s horns were alight with magic, trying desperately to halt the golem’s crushing of their friend. The golem’s hoof struggled against the magic, apparently winning as its hoof was still shaking and causing the unicorns a lot of strain.
“Storm Shiver,” Sparkling Moonshine tried to talk over the strain and headache. “G-Get Iron out of there, NOW!”
“Right!” Storm Shiver flew over to the unconscious stallion. The pegasus tried to pull his companion away but it was extremely hard, Iron was big and heavy! “Geez why do you have to weigh so much?!” Storm struggled, moving his fellow stallion by inches.
“Storm Shiver, hurry!” Sparkling Moonshine could feel her concentration breaking under the pure physical might of the golem.
Summoning up all his strength, Storm Shiver gripped his friend tightly. Flapping his wings frantically, the guard was finally able to pull Iron away from the golem’s strike zone, pulling a good few meters backward. Unable to hold the stress any more, the unicorn’s concentration broke and the golem was freed. Turning its attention to the fleeing stallions, the golem charged them. Storm Shiver saw the attacking golem and let instincts take hold, using all his strength to push Iron Horseshoe out of the way.
The golem slammed into Storm Shiver and carried him across the room until it rammed him into the nearby wall. Storm Shiver spit out salvia as the wind was knocked out of him and he slid to the ground. The golem for its part backed up, and readied its next attack. The golem raised its hoof for a final blow, prompting Storm Shiver to look up when he noticed the shadow. The stallion’s eyes widened at the attack that was almost certain to crush his head like a grape if it connected. With the wind knocked out of him, Storm Shiver knew he wasn’t getting out of this one. Like anyone about to be killed, Storm Shiver closed his eyes so as not to witness his death approach him.
“Storm Shiver run, NOW!”
The guard’s eyes opened to see Fleet Hoof riding the golem’s hoof as the creature shook it all about to throw off the grasping pony. Without thinking, Storm Shiver crawled away from the scene. The golem was too distracted with Fleet Hoof to notice, right with accordance to the Sergeant's plan. Tiring of trying to fling the stallion off, the golem took its hoof and slammed on the wall, wedging Fleet Hoof in-between. The guard coughed out, but didn’t let go. The golem slammed against the wall again, and again, and again, as many times as necessary to get the pony off. Slowly, Fleet Hoof’s eyes closed as he lost more consciousness with each hit. Finally, the golem was certain the stallion was gone and so it flung his limp body across the room, causing Fleet Hoof to crash into a column and topple it.
“Sergeant Fleet Hoof!” Storm Shiver called out to the seemingly lifeless body of his companion. The pegasus stood their wide-eyed. It was his fault. Fleet Hoof was trying to save him and it may have very well cost the Sergeant his life. Rage built up in the guard and he turned to the golem, picking up a spear that had been misplaced from its rack in the fighting. “You… You… You’re going to pay for that!” Storm Shiver charged with his spear. Iron Horseshoe rushed up from behind and caught Storm before he could get any further to the golem. “What, what are you doing?! Let me go! That thing needs to die!” Iron Horseshoe gave Storm an angered, but knowing glare. The pegasus knew what it meant. “Alright fine… you’re right. I wouldn’t make a dent in that thing with this spear… But still, how do we kill this thing?!”
“I am may know.” All the guards looked towards Radiant Shine. “I remember reading about them in a history book. They’re magical constructs of some kind, they book wasn't really specific about what kind, it’s like the book didn’t want ponies to know how golems were made.”
“Yeah? Well I can see why, if the past few hours are anything to consider.” Sparkling Moonshine sent a magical blast at the golem, pushing it back and keeping it at bay.
“Right, well anyway. The book said that all golems have a central point were the magic controls it. All we need to do is destroy that point and the golem dies. The book said the point was real fragile so it should only take a single hit to do the job.” Radiant Shine smiled confidently.
“Alright great.” Storm Shiver lifted up his spear in preparation. “Where is the central point?”
Radiant Shine deflated in realization. “Underneath the chest plate, the hardest part of the golem’s armor.” The other guards felt pangs in their insides. There was no way they’d be able to break through that golem’s armor.
Storm Shiver tried to think, what could they do? Then, like a bowling ball, it hit him. “That’s it! Radiant, Sparkling, I need you guys to use your fire spells again, the best and hottest you’ve got!”
“What? Why? That didn’t work last time.” Sparkling fired off another keep away shot at the golem. “The thing just magically cools and repairs itself.”
“Yeah you’re right. But if you looked at the repair closely, you’d notice that it doesn’t all repair at the same time. It starts at the bottom and makes its way up.” Storm Shiver’s observation interested the other four greatly, could this be it? “If we can set it on fire and make it hot enough for a spear to be run through then I think there’s a split second where I can do it before it repairs itself. It’s not a great plan, but it’s all we have. So, shall we?”
The other guards nodded and took position. Radiant Shine and Sparkling Moonshine charged up their magic, preparing for a fire spell stronger than most unicorns could handle. Iron Horseshoe began to pick up random objects and tossed them at the golem to prevent it from interfering. Storm Shiver flew into the air, spear in hoof, and waited for the right moment. Radiant and Sparkling’s horns were fully charged and, nodded to each other, sent out a huge blast of black and blue flame. The spell collided with the golem and made it take some steps back. Once again the unicorns shot fire at the creature for almost five whole minutes. Storm Shiver squinted at the struggling golem and finally made his decision, using all his strength to propel himself from the very top of the atrium (it was a very high ceiling) into a straight dive-bomb against the golem. Storm Shiver fell closer and closer to the rampaging red-hot golem, now only a few feet away. Storm Shiver waited for just the moment to…
“Ok, cut the spells!” Storm shouted.
The unicorns stopped their flow of magic and the last bit of magical flame collided against the hard metal. Storm Shiver held out his spear and screamed as it neared its target. For Storm Shiver, time seemed to stop, leaving only his spear and the golem’s healing moving. The stallion could see the repairs centimeter by centimeter as the golem’s hide cooled itself. The tip of the spear rammed into the hot metal, the repairs only centimeters away. The spear continued inward, parting the softened metal with each nanometer. The repairs weren’t even a tenth of a tenth of a second a way from the spear when a loud clunk could be heard from inside the golem. The golem cried out, the sound was like the stress of bending metal as it broke and cracked. The blue light that made up the golem’s inner form began to spark and dazzle outward, bathing the room in bright blue.
Storm Shiver’s eyes widened. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” The pegasus’s batwings pumped furiously as he backed off to escape the golem’s death.
The golem threw its head all about and it stomped on the ground, the bright light growing. Finally, a bright blue flash engulfed the room, blinding all the staring guards. When the light dissipated, the golem was left standing, smoke billowing out from its empty eye sockets and any other spaces in its armor. The guards waited with bated breath to see if they had truly won. Suddenly a large creak was heard, and the golem’s head tilted and fell to the ground. The rest of the armor followed suit and soon the golem was nothing but a pile of metal in the middle of a ruined atrium.
Storm Shiver didn’t wait another second and dashed over to where Fleet Hoof had been thrown by the golem. Skidding down into a kneeling position, Storm shook his Sergeant. “Fleet Hoof, Fleet Hoof are you ok?! C’mon on Fleet answer me!” Storm could feel tears forming.
Fleet Hoof coughed. “Aaaah… ow, that was painful. Stupid piece of sheet metal.” The Sergeant shifted around a bit, trying to make sure everything was still attached.
Radiant Shine moved Storm Shiver out of the way and lit up her horn. “Move aside Storm, I know healing spells.” A black and blue aura enveloped Fleet Hoof. “Hmm… Well, other than an ungodly amount of bruises and a few minor broken bones you’re all right sir. Let me just mend those bones, you’ll be up in no time.”
Storm Shiver walked past Radiant to look at his Sergeant. “Fleet Hoof I am… I am so sorry that I abandoned you like that I… I was a coward.”
Fleet Hoof laughed. “It’s alright Storm, I can’t blame you for following instincts, it’s only natural to want self-preservation. Besides you mad up for it by kicking that golem’s butt all the way to the moon and back.”
“Maybe, but I didn’t make it up to you! I left you to die, I… I should be punished or something! Creation, I’m so sorry sir.” The bowed down in regret to his Sergeant.
Fleet’s eyes rolled. “Very well, you wanna be punished? Fine, you can start cleaning up the barracks, we’ll need her spotless for tomorrow night.”
Storm Shiver brought his head up and spun it around to look behind him at the barracks, its tables broken and in pieces all over, the walls and floor smashed and holey, things scattered all about. The stallion looked at the scene with a saddened expression, and then drooped his head down with a heavy sigh. “Oh… yes sir.”
Fleet Hoof and the others chuckled at Storm Shiver. The pegasus soon joined in with their laughter, just happy that this crazy night was finally over.
~~~~
Fleet Hoof, Storm Shiver, and Adamant Aegis trotted down the dimly lit hallways of Canterlot Castle towards the balcony their Princess would be landing at. Fleet Hoof, though still sore, had told the Princess he’d be there when she returned and all of the guards, Captain Fading Moonlight included, believed it was important to keep up appearances. Their Princess already had much to do after tonight and was no doubt tired from her joyous partying; she didn’t need to know about all the craziness that had happened tonight, heck the Lunar Guards only learned the full extent of that madness a few minutes ago.
“Well, this has been a real interesting night, wouldn’t you agree sir?” Adamant Aegis looked towards Fleet Hoof, a tiny expression of surprise on her face.
“It certainly has been recruit.” The Sergeant replied. “A golem activating and attacking the barracks, a madpony trying to summon a demon army to destroy Canterlot…”
“Let’s not forget what happened to the others.” Storm Shiver interjected. “A bar fight that turned into an all out riot against our off-duty fellows in lower Canterlot and a pack of Cockatrices almost invading Ponyville! Good thing the guards there were able to keep them away from the citizens without Ponyville, or the Princess, knowing.” The stallion shook his head at the fact that what was supposed to be the Lunar Guards night off turned out to be one of its most challenging adversities. “We’d better get overtime for this.”
“No.” Fleet Hoof stated blandly. “Like the Captain said, Princess Luna can not know that any of this happened. She’s got enough on her plate without worrying about her guards.” Storm Shiver grunted a little in protest, but nodded understandingly.
The guards continued on and reached the large door leading to the balcony. Pushing it open they arrived just in time to see Princess Luna’s chariot touch down. The dark Alicorn flexed a bit and yawned loudly as she stepped off her mode of transportation. Spotting the three approaching Lunar Guards Luna took on a wide smile.
“Hello Fleet Hoof, Adamant Aegis, Storm Shiver, nice to see all of you.” The Princess of the night walked up to her guards.
“Same to you M’lady.” Fleet Hoof said while bowing respectfully. “How was your time in Ponyville?”
“Oh it was amazing Fleet Hoof!” The Princess giggled like a foal at the memories she had earned this night. “There were so many games and ponies to talk to. I finally got to know Miss Rarity and Rainbow Dash and so many others! Oh it makes me so angry that Nightmare Night is only once a year!” Luna let out a sigh. “Oh well, I suppose that makes it all the more special. So Fleet Hoof, did anything exciting happen around here?” The Princess leaned in very closely, a little too enthusiastic to hear about the guards’ night.
His Princess’ earnest prodding made Fleet Hoof a little uncomfortable but he straightened up quickly. “ Uh… No ma’am, nothing happened. It was quite the dull night. Personally, I can’t wait to get back to all of the Guards regular duties.” Fleet tried to give the most convincing smile he could.
Luna blinked a little in surprise. “Really, nothing at all? Huh, and here I was expecting some crazy stuff to… umm… how do they say it? Oh yes! I was expecting some crazy stuff to ‘go down’. I guess I was wrong.” The Princess shrugged a bit.
Fleet Hoof shook his head. “Wait, you expected something to go wrong Princess? How could you possibly think that?”
Luna’s cheeks reddened as she thought of the answer. “Well you see Fleet Hoof, in a foolish act of anger I may have… put a curse on the Lunar Guard.”
Fleet Hoof’s eyes were wide and twitched a bit. “A curse?” The stallion tried to remain calm; he was kind of failing.
The blush on the Alicorn’s cheeks got worse. “Yes, when I was defeated as Nightmare Moon I cursed my Lunar Guard for their incompetence at not being able to help me win against my sister. I picked a night that every year would cause the Lunar Guard to work extra hard for their foolery and that night just so happened to become Nightmare Night… go figure. What a stupid act of arrogance it was.” Luna’s head slumped a little, thinking back to the time she was still a monster. The Princess let out a sigh. “Well, I suppose it does nopony any good to mope around like this. Besides, you guards confirmed that the curse must have degenerated over the years. I am so relieved! I’d hate for my guards to have to worry about Nightmare Night every single year!” The Princess laughed to herself and then gave a nod to the three guards, all of whom stood there with dumbstruck faces. “Well good night to all of you, I must say I am very pooped. See you all tomorrow!” The Princess walked past her guards and headed for the door.
Fleet Hoof and the others just stood there flabbergasted. Finally, Fleet Hoof shook off his confusion and turned to his leaving Princess. “Umm… M’lady, please wait!” Fleet Hoof ran after Princess Luna, already well on her way to her bedroom. Adamant and Storm shook off their own stupor and ran after their Sergeant. “M’lady! Princess! Princess wait! Princess! LUNA!”
~~End~~
