One to Die For

Chapters

A Big Disappearance
A Special Message
Ones Future Love
On the Royal Trail

A Big Disappearance

I am Night Runner. I am a pegasus pony that lives in the royal palace with the princesses. I am a retired Night Guard for Princess Luna. I used to be the personal bodyguard of the princess, as I had been for a few years. I had orders to follow her everywhere she went, except in her room. To us, their rooms were considered automatic expulsion from the royal guardian order. I was brought to the Night Guard order by the princess herself. She found me abandoned near the entrance to the royal castle. Princess Luna and her sister took very good care of me, however, I always had, and still have, this serious tone in my voice. Everyone took my word very seriously. Another reason was I would not talk unless I was asked to or given permission to talk. I was like this since I was a little filly. That was, till Princess Luna was asked to go on an “adventure” that our dear advisor has set up for the princess himself. She liked having fun and was usually seen walking around the palace at night, with me of course. As I walked around with her, she would put a spell on some objects in different rooms. I knew that she was just pulling more pranks. I never stopped her, why would have I stop her? She brought to where I was. Back to the “adventure”, her advisor one day comes up to us and tells the princess about some trouble in the Everfree forest. Princess Luna’s sister, Princess Celestia was not probably with that one purple unicorn that showed up every once in a while. They usually are together talking about something. Well, the advisor warned her that it might be dangerous. He then pulled me off to the side. He told me specifically what was happening. He mentioned a zebra or some type of horse and how everyone who went to see her would vanish before even getting to her house. The first thing that came to mind, was that she had been kidnapping by those ponies and lied about ever having seen them. When he finished, he bowed to the princess, as customary, and left the throne room.

I turned to Princess Luna and asked her, “Are you going to go to the Everfree Forest to investigate the disappearances?”
She sat in her seat pondering the thought. “I guess I should since this problem has been brought to the royal court.” She got off of her seat and landed on her hooves. “Come Night, you and the captain will accompany me to investigate this disturbance.”

The two of us walked out of the court and headed for the captain’s room. My captain was a unicorn and was taught by both of the princesses themselves. He choose to become a Night Guard and rose up the ranks in no time at all. The princess proceeded to knock on his door.

He opened the door saying “Night I know it’s you. What is it that you have to interrupt me now?” He was surprised to find the princess standing in front of him. I expected that he thought it was probably a new report on the princess. “Princess Luna! I am sorry for anything I have said. What is it that you need for me to?”

As customary, when he talked to the princess, he kept his pose bowing in front of the princess. However, Princess Luna stated herself that I did not have to bow to greet the princess. I always felt like I was being treated as the most liked guard out of all. The thing was that my facial expression was always so serious that no one even mentioned anything about it.
The princess stepped back and motioned for me to tell him what we had heard, “Captain, there has been a disturbance discovered in the Everfree Forest. The head advisor told us that about a zebra horse that lives there and that anypony who went to visit her had mysteriously disappeared.” I stopped there because the advisor asked for me not to say something else that he had whispered to me. I continued after pushing off the thought, “The princess has asked for just us two to accompany her to the forest to investigate the disappearances ourselves.”

He tilted his head, “Why just us, why not send the investigation team? Isn’t that what they were trained for?”
“I will have to tell you about that in private, as asked by the head advisor. However, we should leave as soon as possible.” I was about to continue…

…but Princess Luna joined in, “I agree; captain, please get suited in your armor. I shall have a chariot waiting for you and me while Night flies next to the chariot. We will stop at Ponyville to ask around about the disappearances.” She was very stern when she said this, very unlike her normal self.

“Yes princess, I will meet you at the chariot when I am suited up.” The unicorn turned into his room and closed the door leaving me and Princess Luna right outside.

We both had already started walking away from the captain’s room. We headed for the entrance to the palace. Princess Luna had said nothing at all the whole time we were walking. That was, until we arrived at the entrance.
She put her hoof around my neck and pulled my head closer to her mouth, which was about level with my ear. “Listen, I know something doesn’t seem right that the head advisor would come to us himself and tell me about this. I think there is some scheme within the palace. I would like to ask you to do me a favor and if I tell you to, please just fly away. It doesn’t matter if they kidnap me or anything; I just want you to get away as fast as possible.”

I stood there frozen as a statue. Princess Luna was already walking toward the chariot to wait for the captain. I was standing like that for a few moments until one of the other guards asked me what I was doing. I snapped out of it and told him that it was nothing. Similar thoughts kept running through my head about what the princess had told me. She asked me to abandon her when she told me to. Something about her seemed different. She was…acting differently, to me specifically. How in the world of Equestria could she ask me to abandon her? Just the thought of that made me shutter a little. Lost in my train of thought, I accidentally walked into the carriage. I could hear Princess Luna giggle to herself. I did not pay attention still. I just sat there looking at the ground. Thoughts and images of me flying away from the princess filled my mind. The clarity that I always had, even in the worst of situations, was gone just like that. Although the princess may have taken my frozen stature as an agreement, I was that she knew I couldn’t abandon her. I had made the oath to protect her till death and I planned to keep that oath. That was my determination that kicked in. I was determined to uphold the oath. The only problem with that was it also dictated that all guards must obey the princess even in times of utter disaster. This was my most changing life decision ever.

“Do I abandon the princess on her orders or do I stick with her till the end? What do I do…?” Those thoughts sped through my mind every second.

Even though I sat there, the captain was calling my name, “Night…Night!”

I snapped out of my confusion. “Sorry captain, I was lost in thought,” I said to him as I stood up.

He was already sitting in the carriage with Princess Luna. We both took a good long look at each other, the princess and I. Finally, she gave me a small, unnoticeable nod and then I knew what she meant. She wanted me to choose. She was testing to see my loyalty to her or the Royal Guard Order. The same question was still engraved into my mind, “Do I abandon or stay with the princess?” I brushed it off for only a short time. All of us took off and we headed for Ponyville where we would ask around for any information on the disappearances. My orders were to question a yellow pegasus who lives near the edge of the forest and an orange earth pony who owns an apple orchard which is near the forest as well. On the way to the town, Princess Luna was probably using her magic to talk to me. I could hear her words in my head.

“Night, I know what you are thinking. About the thing I said back at the palace. Do not dwell on the choice for now.”

“How can I not think about it? My oath dictates…”

“Please Night, for this specific question can only be answered by one thing. You will find out after you talk to the yellow and orange ponies. They will have answers for you.”

I asked her about this, but she had already ended the contact between us. “So these two ponies have answers for me? Then I must know, I must ask them about their answer for the question…”

A few moments after the conversation with the princess, we arrived at Ponyville. As we landed on the ground, all the ponies around us bowed towards the princess, as customary. The only difference, were two ponies in the crowd. One was the purple pony that I saw in the palace with Celestia often. She stepped forward to greet Princess Luna herself.

“Princess Luna, why are you here in Ponyville? You haven’t come down since that one Nightmare Night.”

“This is a matter of utmost importance, Miss Twilight Sparkle. It was brought before me to in the royal court by our advisors that some ponies have been disappearing after heading into the Everfree Forest.”

As soon as she said that out loud, the ponies around us began to murmur about it. I could faintly hear one conversation to my right. I even saw a white unicorn fleeing from the area as well.

“Is she talking about those few ponies that went to go see that zebra?”

“Probably, I always knew something was different about that horse. I always thought she was trouble from the beginning.”

Of course now, that zebra most likely kidnapped those missing ponies. I had to be ready to meet with this zebra in case if she tries to do something to the princess. I looked around again and turned to Princess Luna. Instead of seeing the princess however, there was this pink pony standing right in front of me. I stared at her with wide eyes while she stood there just staring back with a large smile on her face.

“Hi there, I know I have already said hello to Luna and the other guard pony, but you seem a bit different than those two. So I came to say hi to you myself!” The pink pony started bouncing up and down on her hooves which seemed a bit odd.

“Excuse me miss, but…”

“Please, call me Pinkie Pie. It’s always great to meet a new pony, even if she is only here for a little while. Oh, you come and meet my friends. This is Twilight; she is one of my special best friends in Ponyville. Come with me and I will take you to my other best friends.” The pink pony named Pinkie Pie took my hoof and dragged me along the ground. I managed to hold back a little to get a quick glance at the princess. She nodded towards me and I nodded back knowing what she meant. I turned around and the pink pony was giving me this stern look. “You know, if you wanted to say something to the princess you could have told me.”

“It’s ok; I’ll be fine walking on my own too.”

“Okie dokie loki, let’s go meet my favorite best friend ever. Her name is Rainbow Dash and she lives up in a cloud house.”
A pegasus? I remember that I was supposed to meet a pegasus. “Can we see a yellow pony? She lives near the Everfree forest and…”

“Are you talking about Fluttershy? She was going to be our last stop. I guess we can see her after I let you meet Dashie.”

Dashie, that’s an interesting nickname for the pegasus. The pink pony was still bouncing up and down as she moved. Was she hyper or something, I didn’t know. “Excuse me, Pinkie Pie, why are you bouncing so much? Don’t your hooves hurt?”

She kept bouncing but, she turned around bouncing backwards, “Of course not silly! I am just really happy I get to introduce a new friend to my best friends!”

Soon enough however, we arrived underneath a house made out of clouds. I stood still staring at how big the house was. It was the half the size of an actual manor in Canterlot. I heard the pink pony call for the pegasus, “Daaaashie! Rainbow Daaaaaaaaash! Come down here and meet a new pony!”

We waited a few moments of silence. It was broken by a yell coming from a cloud next to the house. “Pinkie Pie, what did I tell you about…” She stopped there. I was guessing that the pegasus saw me next to Pinkie Pie. “Who is your new friend?”

“Oh well, I didn’t exactly get her name yet, but she felt like she could be a great friend!” Pinkie never seemed to change her attitude on anything apparently. She was this happy, pink pony who was very energetic. She finally stopped bouncing and turned to me, “By the way, what is your name?”

“My name is Night Runner. I am the personal bodyguard of Princess Luna.”

“Hey, guard pony, since you stick with Princess Luna a lot, have you seen the Wonderbolts at all?!”

I wondered why she would ask about the Wonderbolts. “Well, we have been going to their performances since two years ago. Sometimes, Princess Celestia would schedule a performance for just the royal family in Canterlot. I am required to go because I am the bodyguard of Princess Luna. We would even talk to them after their shows to congratulate them on another spectacular performance.”

“So you do know the Wonderbolts?”

“Yes, I do.”

The blue pony flew down in an instant. I finally got a clear view of her. She was a blue pegasus with a…rainbow colored mane? The only pony I have ever seen with a multi-colored mane was Princess Celestia. “Oh my gosh, you have to take me to one of the shows. I have wanted to try out for the Wonderbolts for so long now.”

“So why haven’t you yet, Dashie?” The pink pony seemed to get under her coat when she said that.

“It’s because…because…my stunts weren’t ready for them yet. I um…still need to practice more.” I could tell she was uneasy. She doesn’t want to try out for the Wonderbolts because she doubted herself.

“Listen Miss Rainbow Dash, if you want to I can ask the Princess to setup a session for them to meet with you. It’s the best I can come up with.”

“No, don’t do that! I am sure that um…that I would make it, but I want to perfect my moves before I start showing off.”

“If you say so, excuse um miss pink pony? Can we go to see the yellow pegasus now?”

“Sure thing and after that, I’ll take you to meet Rarity!”

“Pinkie, you do remember that Rarity isn’t in town, right? She left for some special arrangement with some fancy pony up in Canterlot.”

So that made the “tour”, as I called it, shorter which was better for me. All that I needed to do was to meet with the yellow pegasus called Fluttershy and the orange earth pony. While I was still thinking about this however, the two of them were staring at me while I stared down at the floor.

“Hey, are you feeling alright? You don’t seem too uptight as I expected from the royal guards.”

“No, it’s nothing to worry about. I need to talk to the one you call Fluttershy and an orange earth pony who owns a farm. I understood from Princess Luna that you were going to take me to them.” I hoped that they would understand and take me to them, but the pink one seemed to act differently now. She started to walk off in the direction of a small house I could see near the forest.

“Wow, let’s not end the introduction now. Let’s get you caught up with the other two that are still in town. Fluttershy and Applejack are the most trustworthy ponies I have ever met, next to Dashie here of course. Bye Rainbow Dash, I’ll see you later!”

“Pinkie, don’t wake me up unless a disaster happens or something, got it?”

“Sure thing Dashie! Well, how did you like meeting my favorite of my best friends?”

“She seemed uneasy about the whole Wonderbolt conversation. Does she really want to try out for the Wonderbolts?”

Pinkie seemed to think about this for a second. “She always been going on and on about wanting to join the Wonderbolts. One of her reasons she doesn’t actually do it was that one that you just heard. Another is when she says “Oh you guys might get into trouble without me so I would rather stay here.””

“She said that? I can see now why she is your best friend.”

“Well, onto Fluttershy’s place. Ooo, I have an idea, let’s race there. Ready, set…”

“Miss Pinkie Pie, I don’t think it is a good idea to…”

“Go!” And with that last word, she sped off at a fast rate. I was surprised an earth pony could run that fast. I just flew over to the house that I saw her run towards. “You are such a slow poke. Anyway, give me a second to get her out here. Fluttershy, it’s me and a new friend! Come on out and meet her, she is such a friendly person!”

There was a bit of silence just like last time with the rainbow colored pony. From inside the house however, I could hear some talking. It was really soft, very hard to pick up. Then we heard the pegasus call from inside, “Give me a moment to help Angel with his medicine. Once he takes it, which I hope he does, I will open the door for you.”

I barely even heard her. The way she spoke seemed calming though. It was a soft, and gentle type of voice, one that is very rare to find compared to my life time. While dwelling on the past, the door opened and there stood a yellow pegasus with a long, pink curled mane and tail. I saw her staring at me with this frightened look. I pulled up my hoof and said hello to her. The reaction I got was a door slamming in my face and a bit of really loud screaming. “Pinkie, why would you bring one of the knights of Nightmare Moon here?! You know that she is the evil princess that tried to cover Equestria in darkness?”

“Oh come on now, the pony here isn’t like that at all. I could tell from the first time I met her. What was your name again?”

“It is…”

“Night something, I don’t remember, Princess Luna told me your name, but I forgot it already.”

“My name is Night Runner, personal guard to the princess herself.”

“Are you sure she won’t do anything?” At that point, I thought she was overly cautious. I didn’t pay attention to how softly she was talking.

“Twilight already explained everything to us remember? Don’t you worry Flutters, she’s perfectly fine.” I turned to see the pink pony doing some weird chant or something. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” What in Equestria did I just see or hear? What kind of a pony says something like that? Either way, I had to push on with my investigation.

“Excuse me, Miss Fluttershy, I was actually sent here by orders of the princess to speak with you. I just need to ask you a few things at that’s all.” Trying to sounds as calmly as possible, I have to convince her to let me speak in private. “Miss Pinkie Pie…”

“Please just call me Pinkie!” She started singing a little with that last sentence. I could have sworn something was wrong with this pony. She doesn’t act like I expected the ponies here in Ponyville to act like.

I needed a way to dismiss her from here, in a nice way though. So how to put it nicely, “Do you mind if me and Fluttershy talk in private? This is a matter of an investigation that is going on.”

“Sure thing, if you want to continue meeting the rest of my friends, just head to Sugarcube Corner! I will be there waiting for you to show up and I can’t wait!” Like usual now, she turned around bouncing off towards the town. She was definitely one of the creepiest ponies I have ever met. It made me wonder if the other friends that she mentioned were like that. I shivered when I thought how the questioning would go with that orange earth pony.

“Are you going to come in? You said that we needed to talk in private about something.”

“Yes, thank you.” I still had that thought of what the second pony would act like. I shook my head slightly and walked inside. Looking around, I saw multiple animals in there. Birds were perched on their small houses on the walls, mice were moving about here and there, and there was one animal that caught my eye, it was a pure white rabbit who was laying on the couch with a blanket over it. I felt nervous around here, like all the animals were watching me. I hadn’t noticed it yet, but a bird was already perched on top of my head.

“I think she likes you.” The yellow pony was pointing on top of my head where the bird was. I didn’t mind it sitting there, but just had to focus on the interrogation.

“Listen, Miss Fluttershy, I wanted to ask you about the disappearances inside the Everfree Forest. I was told that you and another would be able to answer my questions.”

“If you mean those few ponies that went to go see Zecora and didn’t come back, I’ll answer to the best of my abilities.”

“I just need to know a few things. When was the last time you saw the ponies that headed in?”

She placed her hoof on her chin. “I think the last I saw them was when they stopped by here to ask where Zecora was. After that, I have never seen them since.”

“Can you describe them for please?”

“Um, I think one was a hot pink colored pony with a yellow mane. The second was colored a darker yellow than my coat and she had an odd colored mane. It was three colors; green, blue, and turquoise. I couldn’t tell what the last one looked like. That pony was wearing a robe and covered her face with the hood. I only saw her mouth and I think her coat color was white. I could tell she was a unicorn though. She used magic to open and close the door when they entered and left.”

“Thank you, but I still have one last question now, which came up when you mentioned a white unicorn. I remember seeing one fleeing the arrival of the princess. Could you tell me who that could be?”

“I am sorry, but the only unicorn I know that has a white coat is my friend Rarity. She left for Canterlot however. She said something about making a delivery to a customer.”

“Do you think that the white unicorn could have been your friend Rarity?”

“That was Rarity?! Oh no, why did she go into the Everfree Forest. I always warned my friends about the dangers that lurk in there. The cockatrice, manticores, timber wolves…”

“Please Miss Fluttershy, calm down. I am only asking if you thought that might have been your friend, I never said that she was.”

“Well, the magic color was very similar. I wouldn’t be able to tell; only other unicorns can tell who others are by their magic.”

“Ok then, thank you Miss Fluttershy for letting me talk to you.” I gave a royal bow, like I was taught to, to Fluttershy.

She nodded, “Anytime you want to talk again just stop by. I can see that this little on has taken a liking towards you.” She reached up with her hoof and the bird from my head hopped onto it. I was still surprised that it was still there. I think it was sleeping on my head. It was such a small creature at that too.

I looked up at the pegasus. “Could I ask you which way to go find an orange pony who runs a farm?”

“Do you mean Applejack? She is just over there,” she said pointing out the window towards a barn that I could see next to and whole bunch of apple trees. I walked towards the door after nodding to her.

Before I closed it, I looked at her again, “Do take care of that bird. It looks like such a nice little creature.” Upon finishing, I closed the door. I took off into the air heading towards the red barn Fluttershy pointed to. I also saw what was happening in the town square. I could see the mayor giving a big introduction to Princess Luna. That question from before came to mind. Do I follow my oath or do I follow orders? That question was just as hard to answer as it was the first time I thought about it. Brushing off the thought again, I flew directly towards the barn door. Even though it was kind of late at night, this interrogation was very important. Even if she says no, I had to insist that she answer my question really quickly. Upon my arrival, the lights were off. I knocked on the door waiting for a light to turn on. No lights came up, so I had to knock again. Finally one light came on and the window in the room above opened.

An orange pony popped her head out of the open window, “Who in tarnation is knockin’ on the door at this time of night?”

“I am very sorry for the intrusion, but this is a matter is of royal orders by Princess Luna.”

“Oh my, very sorry for the rude introduction, sugarcube…I just needed to get some sleep for tomorrow’s harvest. Be down there faster than a racing jackrabbit.”

I could tell just then that she was a sort of, southern type of pony. The light in the main room flipped on and the orange earth pony opened the door. “Whoa, now that I got a good look at ya, you look like one of them royal guards. Except you don’ have the same color armor from what I saw before.”

“Again, sorry for the intrusion of your sleep, but I just have a couple of questions to ask you.”

“Oh sure thing, come on in and take a seat right over there. You need anything to eat or drink? We here at Sweet Apple Acres have the best apples in all of Equestria.”

Did she say “all of Equestria”? That must be pretty big since Equestria is such a big country. “Well, I once had an apple pie that was from here. Princess Celestia had some ordered for a celebration of the guards once. I will say that was an excellent apple pie. Too bad some other pony eat a little more than we expected.”

“So that’s why there was such a big order for apple pies then. Well thank ya kindly for the nice comment on the pies.” She left into the kitchen. I was there thinking about this new pony. She seemed somewhat different than the others I have met. A straight-forward type, the type I can get along with. She came back out with two pieces of apple pie. “Her ya are, this is one of the fresh apple pies that we just made.”

“It’s ok; you don’t need to bring me anything.”

“Nah, don’ worry none about that. It’s on the house for any new pony I meet. You did say that you had some questions for me?”

A nice and straight-forward pony, that’s a hard combination to find, especially in Canterlot. I usually see ponies who, to be honest act a little like snobs. “Thank you anyway and yes, I need to ask you about the recent incident involving the disappearance of a few ponies that went into the Everfree Forest.”

“Oh, you mean that thing again. Yaa well, a few of you royal guards came here earlier this morning. Them guards are really hard to talk to. Always ‘bout those rules and not sharing a joke or two.”

“That’s how we were trained to be. Those guards for Princess Celestia are trained harder than us Night Guards. Princess Luna attends about half of our training sessions.”

“Well, I’m just glad to have an actual conversation with one you guard ponies. So whatever you wanted to ask me, ask away.”

“Ok, did you get to meet the ponies that went into the Everfree Forest?”

“Maybe, I think they stopped by to buy some of our apples. The white one said it was for a long trip that was through that creepy place.”

“Did you see what the white pony looked like?”

“You bet I did. She had a looked just like my friend Rarity come to think of it. Only difference was her hair style. It was a blown back sort of style, you know like those Wonderbolts have.”

“Do you think that maybe that could have been Rarity?”

“Nah, she couldn’t be. Trust me, if Rarity was going somewhere, she would be wearing one of her fancy capes or dresses and I don’t think she would ever go into the forest, she probably thinks it’s to ugly for her tastes, hehehe.”

“By the way, did your friend Rarity tell you where she was heading when she left?”

“Said something ‘bout going to Canterlot to deliver some order for clothes. If ya need to know though, she left a couple of days ago. Them other ponies showed up just yesterday.”

“Hmm, that story checks out then. Thank you Applejack, it was a pleasure for you to share your hospitality.”

“Don’t think none of it. Are you gonna eat that pie I got for ya?”

“No thank you, you can eat it yourself. I just came here to ask you some questions and then head back to the princess.”

“So the princess is in town? Usually Princess Celestia only comes during the day…”

“I came with Princess Luna, not her sister.”

“Princess Luna is here? I should head out there and go meet her.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she will be fine.”

“Well, if you say so. It was great to talk to ya.”

After the long conversation, she walked me out. We said our goodbyes and I departed flying for Ponyville to give the princess the information I gathered. While flying through the air, I noticed multiple ponies still gathered in the town square. I didn’t see Princess Luna though. Something was different, where could she be? I flew down to the crowd to get a closer look. I still couldn’t find her anywhere. I did see the Pinkie Pie and Twilight in the front of the crowd. I landed next to them and Pinkie gave me an angry look.

“I thought you were going to come back here for me to take you to meet Applejack. How come you went straight there instead of coming back here first?”

“Well, I had questions to…”

“Doesn’t matter now, you should listen to Mayor Mare. She said she was waiting on somepony to arrive back here for something.”

“Thank you for gathering here everypony. We have a big problem and I have no idea how to say it lightly…”
She paused for a moment. I wondered what she was thinking. That was when she looked directly at me. “Oh hold on for just a minute, I need to tell somepony something before I continue.” She stepped down from the podium and walked towards me.

“Excuse me, are you Night Runner?”

“Yes, I came here to find Princess Luna. Do you know where she is?”

“Follow me this way for a minute.” The two of us walked away from the crowd behind the building that she was announcing from. She stopped and looked around to make sure that nopony would notice us. “The “problem” that I mentioned before, was that Princess Luna disappeared…”

“What do you mean she disappeared?!”

“Please, keep your voice down. I know you may not like this, but we have been unable to find her. The few search parties I gathered returned with no information about her whereabouts. The only I found, was this note nailed to my door.”
She handed me the note and I took it from her hoof. I quickly read the letter.

Miss Mayor Mare,

I will not be around Ponyville for much longer. I would like for you to tell my guard, Night Runner, about this as soon as she comes back from her interrogations. I cannot say where I will be going because I know that this letter will end up being read by Night. All I can say is to please not let her chase after me. This is the choice that I made for her after I asked her a question back in Canterlot. I only want you to tell her…

“You cannot go looking for the princess, Night.”

“No…this can’t be happening now…why does it have to happen now? I have to go get her, I just have to.”

“I cannot let you leave this town. Further in the letter, she asked me to lock you in a house if need be, but you cannot leave Ponyville until tomorrow.”

“I don’t care what the letter says, I am going to get her this instant! If your search parties could not find her, I will find her even if I have to die trying!”

Clouded with emotion, I flew off. I began to cry for the first time in my life. I have been through so many tough times and rarely have I shed a tear. I felt as the watery substance dripped down my cheek. Not knowing where I was going at first, I just flew up to one of the first clouds I saw. I landed on top of it and began to stomp on it with my hooves, yelling at the top of my lungs. “No! Why did you make the choice yourself?! You told me it was for me to decide, not you! Princess Luna!” I could bet that when I yelled her name, anypony in Ponyville or in Canterlot could have heard me, probably even Princess Celestia. I kept beating at the cloud until I finally broke it in half. I fell through not caring what happened. I fell, not saving myself with my wings, I just fell. I was falling head first towards the crowd of ponies. I could hear them yelling as they probably saw me falling from the cloud. I could hear other pegasi taking off to come and save me. I didn’t care what happened, but the last thought in my mind said, 'You have failed your duty to protect the princess. Therefore, you are no longer a guard.'

I had my eyes open for a few seconds. A pegasus was so close to grabbing my tail, but before he could, I something hit my head. I didn't feel pain, all I felt, was something touching the back of my head. It was soft at first, then it became something solid and very dense. It all went black, no sound, no light, just nothing. It was like I had died.

A Special Message

I awoke to find myself in a hospital. I looked around seeing that I was alone in the room. I also noticed my back right hoof was in a cast. I still don’t remember what happened other than falling from a cloud. I laid my head back down against the pillow. I heard some ponies outside the door to my room. The voices were faint so I couldn’t tell who was talking at first.

“Are you sure she will be okay?”

“Yea I hope so. I don’t want her to miss my party that I’m throwing just for her!”

I knew that one…that was Pinkie Pie. She’s throwing a party for me, why would she do that? Who was she talking to though?

“Yea Pinks, no one ever misses your parties.”

“Don’t you be talkin’ like that to Pinkie Pie, I’m sure it was a good thing that she is throwing one just fer her.”

That accent sounds like Applejack. Who was that other pony that spoke just before her?

“Listen Applejack, that wasn't sarcasm, no one ever misses her parties, literally!”

Now I know who that was, it was Rainbow Dash. But what are they all doing here? Are they here just for me? No, that can’t be it, it must be something else. It just has to be for some other reason. Why would anyone care about someone who almost killed herself?

“Quiet down you three, you might as well just start yelling and wake her up.”

Who in Equestria was that? It sounded like something only Princess Celestia would say; everything except that last part. Come to think of it, whoever that was, she sounded like her. Did she actually come down to meet me?

The intercom noise sounded followed by an announcement, “Nurse Redheart, please report to room four. I repeat, Nurse Redheart, please report to room four.”

I wonder who could be in room four. I turned my head around to see a white board on the wall.

Patient: Night Runner

Doctor: Nurse Redheart

Diagnosis: Fractured right hind leg, fractured right shoulder blade

Room: #4

So I was in room number four. Just at that moment, that doctor opened to door. “Good morning Night Runner, how are you feeling today?”

“I think I am good. What is happened yesterday? Last I remember I was falling from a cloud.”

“Your friends here can explain that. They brought you here during the announcement from Mayor Mare.”

The pink pony burst into the room and dashed straight to the side of the bed. “Oh my gosh are you ok? I was wondering why you were falling from the cloud! It was a good thing that Twilight slowed you down with her magic! If she hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened!” She spoke so fast I could barely make out anything she said. A violet colored pony walked into the room next to the pink pony.

“Hello there, I believe we have already met. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I remember seeing you in the Canterlot palace before. How are your leg and your shoulder?”

“You’re Lady Twilight Sparkle? I was expecting a more regal mare, most likely somepony from another royal family since I usually see you with Princess Celestia.”

“Oh no no no, I am just a simple unicorn. I was her student in magic school, which is probably why you see us two talking together. Still, how are your leg and shoulder?”

She kept referring to my shoulder, but I didn’t see a bandage there. “I feel just fine. This is the worst position for me to be in now. I’m supposed to be looking for her and now I’m stuck in a hospital bed. I need to find a way out of here to go look for her.” I knew they probably wouldn't know who I was talking about, but I said it anyway. I still needed to go find Princess Luna before anything drastic happens.

“Who are you looking for?”

I sighed before saying “Princess Luna” in an inaudible voice.

“I didn't catch what you…”

“I need to go searching for the missing Princess Luna!” It came out louder that I had thought it would. I had my head turned away from the two ponies standing there. I knew they would be surprised and shocked at the same time. When is that last time you heard a guard say that a princess was missing?

“None of us were expecting to hear that…” The orange earth pony, followed by the rainbow colored pegasus and the yellow pegasus came in, all with shocked faces.

“Yes, Lady Twilight, do you remember when Mayor Mare escorted me away from the crowd last night?”

“I do recall that happening.”

“She brought me behind the building and told me that Princess Luna had gone missing. From what she said, the search parties that she sent out had no success in finding any clues that could lead to her current actions.” My voice was shaky explaining all this to them. “Listen, I need your help to get out of this hospital. I am required by my promise to find and protect the princess. So can you any of you help me get out of this bed?” I sat up in bed only to have my shoulder burst into pain. I fell backwards onto the bed, grasping my shoulder with my left hoof.

“Nurse! Nurse! Come in quickly!” I heard the orange pony yell.

“What seems to be…oh no, did she tried to sit up in bed? Give me a moment. Listen Miss Night Runner, I need you to calm down. Please take your hoof away from you shoulder. I need a needle filled with anesthetic stat!”

Another nurse came in holding a tray in her mouth. Nurse Redheart took the needle and carefully injected my shoulder with it. I felt the pain slowly go away, along with my consciousness. Soon enough, I was back asleep.

I woke up later to see that it was night time now. My head sideways on the pillow and I was lying down on my stomach. My right hind leg was hanging in a cloth that was elevated above the bed. I saw a couple of tails from the corner of my eye. One was pink and the other was purple with a pink stripe through it. I tried to move my head, but it was very difficult for me.

“Twilight, she’s awake again.”

“Oh, hey Night, are you feeling any better?”

“Of course I’m not feeling better. I won’t be able to feel better unless I am standing next to Princess Luna again.”

“Can you put that off for just a minute and pay attention to yourself? Geez you guard ponies are stubborn.”

“Who said that? To you information, we have to be. It is the only way for us to be good enough guards for the princess. She may not want it, but it is for her own interests.”

The rainbow colored pony stepped in front of my line of sight blocking all the others. “Listen to yourself, you sound more stubborn then Trixie. Can’t you see that you have to take care of yourself or else you won’t be able to leave the hospital to go search for the princess, can’t you see what is happening now?”

She was right, I had to get heal so I could go searching for the princess. But of course, my stubbornness got the best of me. “I don’t care about myself! All I care about is Princess Luna’s safety! She saved my life already and this is was the only way I could think of to repay my debt to her! So I must get out of this bed this instant to go looking for her!” When I finished my rant, my shoulder began to hurt again. It wasn’t as serious as before, but bad enough.

“Listen to this mare; she can’t even take good advice when it is thrown on the ground in front of her. Fluttershy, can you talk some sense into her? Not that you’re better at talking to ponies like I am, but you just have a quieter tone than I do.” She stepped out of my sight and pushed the yellow pegasus into view.

She was shaking a bit. I could tell she was nervous. Did my yelling make her scared? I am supposed to care for the well-being of fellow ponies. I just gave a big sigh again. “Listen, I am sorry for yelling before. It’s just that I owe her my life for taking me in. Even though I was raised by the night guards, she always seemed to find a way to make time to talk to me, even if she was “banished” again.”

““Banished”, what do you mean by that?”

“She somehow pulls some pranks or jokes on the residents in the palace and Princess Celestia banishes her to her room. Every guard knows this cause it happens quite often.”

“Oh, well um…I hope you don’t mind me saying it but, you really should stay here until your leg and shoulder heal. I know you may not want it to be like this, but it is the only way for you to get better.” The way the pegasus said that made it seem more calming than the rainbow pony put it. I felt more relaxed talking to her. It was almost like I was talking to Princess Luna again. Soon as that thought came to mind, I turned it away from the other ponies. I heard a little gasp from the yellow pegasus. “Well, I hope you do get better soon. If you ever need someone to talk to, I guess you could have Nurse Redheart send me a letter for you.”

“Thank you all for being here. Is it alright if I ask to be alone for the rest of the night?”

“Sure, no problem. Come on girls; let’s let her have some time alone.”

I turned my head again and saw the pink pony pushing the others outside of the room. She had a lot of strength for such a small mare. At last, I was alone in the room. I still felt weird after talking with the pegasus, Fluttershy. Her tone was just like Princess Luna’s. It reminded me of my life with her before I became a Night Guard. It was relaxing to me, having her to talk to. She would bring me into her room just so we could talk about anything that came to mind. She even told me about a few of her pranks that she had thought up for the next day. All these thoughts of the past came to me then.

I remembered the first time I saw somepony die for the sake of the princess. I was brought along on a casual stroll to Ponyville one day. We walked around the shops, after having a greeting line which last like half an hour. Our main idea was to go to Sweet Apple Acres and Sugarcube Corner to buy some food a celebration that was coming up. It was a birthday for one of the Wonderbolts. He asked me to talk to the princesses about having it setup there. Then, there was the first kiss. It was from that same Wonderbolt who asked me about the celebration. Near the end of the party, he brought me out to the garden from the party room. He began to thank me for setting up the party for him. That was when he hugged and kissed me. My first kiss was something I would never forget. I was standing out there blushing for a while when Princess Luna came out and snapped me out of it. She saw what had happened and congratulated me.

I was then back to the hospital. Nurse Redheart was in dropping off a food plate. “Listen dear, if you have trouble eating your food because of your shoulder just press the red button on the other side of the bed. Also you should listen to your friends. They usually know what is best for another friend in need.” With that said, she walked out. Again, I was alone in the room, lying on the bed. I just had to wait till after my leg and shoulder healed then I could go back out and search for Princess Luna, how long could that take? I was in for a surprise. I called the medical pony back into my room with the button.

“Are you having trouble eating your food?”

“Can you tell me something Nurse Redheart…how long do you think I will be in the hospital?”

“We are not sure about that. Seeing as how bad your shoulder and leg are, I would say about a week or so, nothing serious.”

My eyes widened. Oh, was I in for a surprise. A week, I had to stay in this bed for a week or so? This sent my thoughts into terror. I kept it inside, but I knew it would come out eventually. “Thank you, also, can you help me with the food, it does seem like a problem not being able to use my right hoof.”

“Of course, anything for patient of this hospital.”

I took the final bites from my dinner and Nurse Redheart left me after wishing a good night. Before the door closed however, the yellow pegasus came walking in thanking the nurse. She turned to me to see me giving a stern expression. “I hope you don’t mind, but I came to visit you, just to check on how you were doing.”

“I don’t mind it at all. You know, you remind me of how Princess Luna used to talk to me. She always had this soft tone. Lately she has been speaking with a more professional tone. Is it okay if I tell you something? You cannot tell anypony else about it ok?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Do you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” The same gesture from the pink pony; I was starting to understand what it meant now.

“A while ago before Princess Luna brought me and the Night Guard captain to Ponyville, she asked me a favor. She asked me to abandon her when she got into trouble during the investigation.” I paused for a moment to look at the pegasus. Her pupils shrank to small circles. She had her hoof covering her mouth and she was trembling a little. “I didn’t know what to say to her when she asked me this. The oath that we Night Guards swear to states that we cannot leave the princess’s side during any time of danger. It also says that we cannot disobey anything told to us from the princess herself. It was a complete contradiction. To this moment, I still have no idea what I am supposed to do. Should I go save her and follow the first part of the oath or should I follow her orders and abandon the princess at her time of need? Can you help me answer this question?”

The yellow pony was sitting in front of me with a blank expression. She stared at me which made me feel a little awkward. She shook her head a little and gave me a calm look that I only saw Princess Luna give me whenever she saw that I was stressed or troubled by something. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what to say. However, this sounds like a personal problem. I think that the best way to answer it is follow what you want to do."

I dwelled on her answer for a minute before looking up to her eyes. She does have Luna's eyes, which gave a sincere and calming atmosphere every time I looked into them. She reminded too much of Luna and the whole "disappearance" thing was getting to me again. "Miss Fluttershy, can I ask a favor of you?"

She looked at me in confusion. "What kind of favor are you talking about?"

I peered down to the floor for a second. I thought about whether I should ask her to or not, but it subsided by the look from her eyes. "Can you delivery a message to Princess Celestia?"

"I guess I can. I will have one sent right away and..."

"No, I want you to go there yourself, for me. I want you to delivery the letter by your hoof to Princess Celestia's hoof. Even if the guards tell you to stop, just keep walking to her. I am sure that the princess will understand who sent you."

"Well um...I will have to make sure that my animals are taken care of. But, isn't the trip there scary? I-I'm not sure if I c-can do it..."

"Don't worry Miss Fluttershy, I am positive that you will have enough courage to go there."

"W-why not ask Rainbow Dash to do it? I'm sure that she is way faster than I am."

"That's another reason to send you. I don't want Miss Rainbow to go there because she will give the guards the wrong idea. Just give Princess Celestia the same look as you gave me when you answered my question. That is how I know that she will know who sent you. After all, only us two ever got that look from Princess Luna..." My eyes began to drift away. Back into memories of the princess and I pulling pranks on some of the guards-stallions that were watching the halls during the day. When we got caught, she always gave a sad look to the guard or whoever caught us. But when she turned to me, she gave me that same look with her eyes. So sincere, so calming, made me feel like nothing could go wrong. Until she was then banished to her room by her sister. I shook my head to brush off those memories for a bit longer. "Miss Fluttershy, you must do what I told you. I want Princess Celestia to hear it from me instead of somepony else. Write this down...

Dear Princess Celestia,

Miss Fluttershy has been sent to you by me to explain that Princess Luna has gone missing. Please do not take this information too seriously. I would ask of you to remain calm for the time being. I also wish for you to send for me and have a few guards take me to Canterlot for a quick treatment for my injuries. The rest of the information will given to you by me. Also I will have a favor to ask of you when I am fully recovered. It must be discussed in private.

Guards-mare,

Night Runner of the Royal Night Guards

...did you get all of that down?"

"I think so, can you read it and see if I missed anything?"

She held the paper in front of me so that I could read it. As I skimmed through, I did not see anything left out. "Yes, you got everything written down. Please head off either tonight or tomorrow morning to delivery this message to Princess Celestia. And about your animals, go ask Twilight if she can help tend to your animal friends." After saying that, a bird popped its head out her mane.

"Oh um, yes she wanted to say hello to you as well. Go on little Snowball, go say hello to Night Runner."

The bird flew out of her hair and landed on my cheek. This bird did seem to love me. I wondered why she gave it the name Snowball. When I looked at it, it was scrunched up into a white ball, it did look like a snowball. I stared as it just sat there and looked at me. It shook its whole body and then fell asleep.

"I guess she wanted to be with you after all. I think she may want to be your pet. It's always common for anypony to have a pet. I just never saw you guards with one. Also, when I had any animal with me, they usually hid behind my mane when they saw you guards. You must be different than the others. Animals have a way of telling that."

I laughed a little to myself. "Thank you Miss Fluttershy. Can you please make sure that the letter gets to Princess Celestia by tomorrow. It is imperative that she receive this message from you."

"Don't worry, I will deliver it." She nodded her head a little and walked to the door.

Before she could walk out, I called to her. "Miss Fluttershy!"

"What is it Night?"

"If anypony asks where you are going, tell them that you have a letter to delivery to nopony special. No one must know of this letter unless the princess says so." My eyes had that determined look that I usually have. It was the look that usually makes the other guards back away from me. Miss Fluttershy didn't even move when she looked back at me. There was something about her that kept reminding me of Princess Luna.

"Don't worry Night Runner, I will deliver the letter right away."

Miss Fluttershy walked out the door and closed it. I turned my eyes to the bird that sat on my cheek. It was fast asleep. All I could do was smile and hope that she delivers the letter as quick as possible to Princess Celestia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I do hope that I can delivery this letter to the princess... she thought as she left the hospital entrance. Yes, I will deliver this letter. If it's for one of my friends, no matter how new she is, I must deliver this letter. I just hope that I don't get scared and fly back home. Fluttershy began to take off with the letter in mouth when a familiar voice called to her.

"Hey Fluttershy! Where are you going?" It was Rainbow Dash who flew right next to her. She stayed hovering there waiting for an answer.

"Well um..." She had no idea what to do now. The one thing she knew was that she couldn't tell Rainbow about what the letter said. "I am just going to deliver this letter to a friend of mine." her voice grew softer as she began to hide behind her mane.

"Oh okay. Do you want me to go with you? I am sure that your friend would be happy to see the fastest flyer in all of Equestria." Rainbow did a pose like she usually did when talking about herself. Fluttershy never minded the way she would do that. In fact, she was always interested in how Rainbow could do all the tricks that she showed her. "So hows about I go with you to meet your friend." Rainbow put her hoof around Fluttershy's neck and began to fly forward.

"Listen um..."

"I can't wait to meet your new friend. Does your she know the Wonderbolts? Oh that would be awesome if that pony did. I could ask her if she could get a meeting setup with them."

"But..."

"Although I haven't quite perfected my moves yet so maybe that will have to wait till later."

"But Rainbow I..."

"I guess I can still impress them with my awesome looks too."

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy finally got the rainbow pony's attention, only to shy away a little once again.

"What is it Flutters?"

She didn't know how to say what she was thinking without it seeming insulting to Rainbow. "Um...it was a letter from Night Runner. I have to go deliver it by myself. She said that nopony is supposed to go with me."

"Well, now your taking orders from her?! No one gives Fluttershy orders, not while I say so! Wait here for me."

"Wait Rainbow Dash..." But she was already inside the hospital. "Oh Fluttershy, you are such a loudmouth. I guess I better deliver the letter for now. Don't want to keep her waiting. I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash." she said as she flew off towards Canterlot castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a moment, I was just falling asleep with the bird on my cheek. At that moment, the rainbow colored pony came barging in. She had an angry or a similar type face.

"So, you're giving orders to Fluttershy just because you think you're better than her, huh?!"

I raised an eyebrow to her question. "What do you mean? I never gave orders to the yellow pegasus..."

"Then why is she delivering a letter for you and why does she have to do it "alone"?"

"I thought I asked her not to tell anypony about that...doesn't matter."

The rainbow pegasus flew up next to me. I could feel wind blowing on my face from her wings. I also saw the little bird fly up and land in my mane. It began to crawl into it. I knew it was a bit scared. "You're scaring the bird..." I said with a straight face.

"The bird isn't part of the conversation. What is in that letter that you gave to Fluttershy that is so private that she has to deliver it by herself."

"That is for the two of us to know and for you not to know. If you don't mind now, I need to get some sleep and so does little Snowball here."

"Don't try to change the argument!"

"I'm not trying to change it, I was trying to end it so I can sleep. You should head back home too. You should get some sleep after racing here just to talk to me."

I watched as she got angrier with me. Her frustration was building up as she tensed her entire body. These types of interrogations are things I trained myself for. 'Do not ever give information about any promises that you kept.' Those words that me and Princess Luna said to each other echo in my head. I closed my eyes and saw her. My mind created an image of her to remind me of what happened yesterday. I opened my eyes to a sharp pain in my right shoulder. The rainbow pegasus grasped my body picking me up forward. "Listen here you...you...I don't even know what to call you. You do not tell Fluttershy what to do and send her off alone. Didn't you think that something might happen to her?!"

"Ahhhhhh!" All I could do was yell my heart out from the pain. Nurse Redheart came in and yelled at Rainbow Dash to let go of me. I opened my eyes for a quick look at hers. I saw that anger change to confusion and then to sorrow. She let go of me and I was lying on the bed again. As the other nurses began to do the needle thing again, Nurse Redheart was asking for Rainbow to leave. Before she could finish, I got a few words out. "Don't leave Rainbow Dash, I need to-to-to..."

Ones Future Love

When I came to again, it was already day time, probably early in the day. I stared out the window for a few moments to take in the sunlight hitting my face. I felt the bird, Snowball, move around a little in my mane. My eyes turned forward again to see Rainbow Dash sitting in a chair asleep. She was covered with a blanket and she was snoring a tiny bit. I giggled a little from hearing this. Snowball woke up too giving a small chirp, which I guessed was a yawn. I heard Rainbow yawn right after. I turned my eyes and watched as she stretched her body and flapped her wings a couple of times. She turned to see that I was awake. Her eyes had a glare that couldn't understand.

"Listen um, about yesterday. I'm sorry about the whole thing. I'm always so worried about Flutters and she might get hurt or something..."

Just then, the yellow pegasus walked in, but didn't say a word.

"...and I just wanted to tell you that I care a lot about her. That was why I came into here all angry-like. She is one of my oldest and closest friends. If something were to happen to her, I don't know what I would do."

"I guess you won't have to be telling her that same thing again."

She gave me a confused look with one eye half closed. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," She flew over and hugged her, lifting Rainbow up into the air. "I didn't know that you care so much about me. Well, I guess you may have hinted at it before, but now that I heard it all, I am so happy that you care so much about me." Even when she was excited and happy, her voice still sounded like Princess Luna's. I began to think that she was the princess, just that she used a spell to make herself look like Fluttershy.

"Whoa, when did you...how did...huh?"

"It's OK Rainbow, I know that you do care a lot about your friends, even if you don't show it that often."

"Hey Fluttershy, were you able to deliver the letter to her?"

"It took a bit longer than I thought. Sorry but, I am easily scared when outside at night. So many shadows from the moonlight really scared me, but yes, I did give her the letter."

"At least now I can rest easier. If something happened to you, I would have to go looking for you too. I am just glad to see that you're safe."

"Wait, hold on just one minute. Fluttershy, why were you delivering a letter? What was written on it?"

"That is what I wanted to tell you before I passed out. Fluttershy, you can head back home if you want to. I just going to explain what the letter was about to Rainbow."

She shook her head gently. "It's OK, I want to stay here and make sure that you get better."

I nodded to her in return. "The letter she was carrying was from me to Princess Celestia. It said that I wanted her not to be alarmed at the current situation and that I needed to be brought to the Canterlot Medical Facility. I had to be healed quickly so that I can head off to go look for Princess Luna. I couldn't tell you before because Fluttershy and I made a promise not to tell anypony about who it was for or what was in the letter."

"Why wouldn't you let her best friend know what was in it?"

"Nopony could know what was in the letter or who it was for. That literally meant nopony, including you and the other four." I was hoping that she would understand everything and just move on, but it seems that she still cared a lot about the yellow pegasus.

"So what? If it concerns her well-being, her best friends should know what was going on. What if the something were to happen to her? What would you have done then?"

I thought about that for a moment. My eyes wandered around to Snowball. She was sitting on my cheek again. I smiled and looked at Rainbow. "I would have gotten out of this bed and gotten her myself."

She watched my face closely as it stay in its usual stern expression. She smiled and nodded at me. "I believe you. You guards don't leave any friend hanging. That is why I like you guys, you remind me of...me."

My eyes wandered around a bit again. They came to rest on the sleeping Fluttershy. Rainbow was going on about herself and how the guards were basically just copies of herself. I was feeling tired again, but I didn't want to be insulting to Rainbow about asking her to leave. "Listen Miss Rainbow Dash, I appreciate your concern for your friend, but I think you should take her to her house. She fell asleep, probably because she was up all night."

The rainbow pegasus looked over and saw the sleeping pony. "Yea, you're probably right. Hey um, I guess I'll come by later and talk to you. Not about the letter, but you know, just talk. I'll fill you in on some of the news that's going on about Ponyville. You won't believe these crazy stories that I hear." She picked up the other pegasus and placed Fluttershy on her back.

A moment later, I was alone in the room, well, except for the bird, Snowball. I looked at the bird for a while. She did nothing but sit on my cheek while I lay down on the bed. "Snowball, can you understand me?" The bird looked at me and nodded her head. I was surprised to see that she was actually reacting to me. "Can you do me a favor and fly off to Princess Celestia. I would like for you to lead her to me. If possible, make her follow you. I am sure that she is on her way right now, but you and those other ponies know where I am. Can you lead her directly to me?" Again she nodded her head and flew out the open window. I couldn't wait for her to return with the princess so that I can explain everything in person. For the moment, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, awaiting the arrival of Snowball and Princess Celestia.

A few minutes later (or a few hours later), I felt a small fluffy ball land on my cheek again. My eyes opened slowly to the sight of the beautiful Princess Celestia, with a couple of guards as well.

"So this is where you were this whole time. I was beginning to think that you disappeared along with my sister." I couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was being serious. "Anyway, thank you for your letter. Miss Fluttershy delivered it with some resemblance to Luna. Did you tell her to act that way when she delivered your letter?"

"Yes princess."

She gave a long sigh. "At least I now know what is currently happening. Thank you for informing me. You did say that you had something to ask of me however, what is it that you needed?"

"As mentioned in the letter, I will ask you when I am completely healed. As for now, can you please take me to the Canterlot Medical Facility?"

"Of course my dear, just make sure you tell me everything that you know what happened two nights ago."

"I shall, Princess Celestia."

"Captain Aquilinus, please have your guard carefully take Night to the chariot for transport." At that moment, the captain of Celestia's royal guard walked in. He seemed a bit more muscular than the captain of the night guards.

"As you wish princess. You two come in here!" Immediately, two other guards-stallions hurried right inside. "Take Miss Night Runner to the chariot and prepare to depart for Canterlot!"

The two of them responded in unison, "Yes sir!" They gave their salute and with Nurse Redheart behind them, they carefully placed me on top of one of them. I turned my head to Nurse Redheart.

"Nurse, do you know where my armor may be?"

"If I remember correctly, I believe the pony known as Twilight Sparkle should have it."

"Do not worry about your armor, she had it delivered the day after you arrived at Ponyville. The only thing she mentioned in her letter, was how you fell from a cloud and didn't use your wings to save yourself. Was it because of what had happened?"

"I am so sorry for letting her disappear like that. I had no idea what was going on. The pink pony took me and Luna had asked me to go with her..."

"There is no need to continue. I am sure that we will find some trace of her and be able to track her down."

"Actually, can I ask you that favor now?"

"Of course my dear, what is your favor?"

The sentence was to soft for her to hear. The only audible words were "...search...myself."

"Can you repeat that please, you were speaking a little to softly."

"I would like to search for Princess Luna by myself."

The princess gave me her stern look that she would give her sister after she had been caught for one of her pranks. Before she could say anything, the pink pony appeared right in between us. "Hi there, where ya going Night? Are you going back to Canterlot?"

I was too scared to answer at first. When I focused more, she was doing her usual bouncing thing. "Yes I am heading back to Canterlot. Are you sure that bouncing doesn't hurt your hooves?"

"Don't worry about me silly, worry about yourself! I mean look at you, you are being carried by another guard with a broken shoulder and a broken hind leg! You should be worrying about yourself instead of me!" Finally somepony, other than Princess Luna, was telling me to take care of myself instead of helping others. I couldn't respond to her with anything. The two ponies, Pinkie and Fluttershy, reminding me too much of Luna. Then there was the rainbow one. She stood up against me. The only one to have ever stand up against a decision I made were the princesses. The three of them brought back tons of memories of Luna and I. As I relived those memories in my mind, my eyes closed and began to tear up. A few second later, tears were streaming down my face. There was also a comforting type of smile as well. I felt like I was with Luna every time I got close to those three ponies. By the time I opened my eyes and returned to the world around me for a moment, we were on the chariot flying back to Canterlot. I was still on the back of the royal guard. I flipped my head around to see the pink pony and Princess Celestia beside me. I said nothing except wondered why she was coming with us. I just closed my eyes and returned to the memories of Luna and me. We were flying around the castle giggling at one another. We arrived at the garden just before the sunset. We sat there staring at the sky as it turned from orange to a deep, deep blue. The moon began to rise and Luna decided to fill the night sky with stars.Her horn was glowing and suddenly, these white spots appeared in the sky forming some sort of picture. She described it as a constellation just for the two of us. It showed both of of cutie marks next to one another. I was hugging her out of joy when Princess Celestia came to us. She saw the constellation that Luna had created and smiled, at it and the both of us. Every night since then, I have always gone to the garden to look at the constellation.

After being lost in those memories for a while, I opened my eyes and found myself in the Canterlot Medical Facility. There were a couple of unicorns around me using magic to heal my wounds. I looked at the third unicorn who was writing on a notepad held up by her magic. "Excuse me, do you know where a pink pony might be that came in with me?"

She turned to me with a smiling expression. "I believe she is with her highness at the moment. She said that she would come back later and have a celebration for waiting for you after we were doing healing your injuries."

I looked down at my body. My leg was out of the cast and it looked just fine. The unicorn that was healing shoulder was done and told the doctor. She turned and asked me to move my shoulder. I did and it felt like it was brand new. The other unicorn used her magic to heal my leg. "Excuse me nurse, when will my leg be healed? I have an important task ahead of me."

She stopped the healing process, probably to take a break. "We will be finished healing it by tomorrow. Until then, you must stay in bed and get a good night's sleep. Your task will have to wait until then." All of the nurses walked out of the large room. I laid my head back against the pillow and stared up at the roof. My shoulder was now healed while my leg remain unusable until tomorrow. That was the probably the worst news to tell me. I looked around the room and saw a couple of other guards in two other beds. I recognized one of them. He was one of the recruits that I taught. The stallion there was a pegasus, like myself. He was staring at the roof. The other one was probably one of Princess Celestia's guards. He was fast asleep. I looked at the other one who was still awake. "Are you a Night Guard by any chance?"

He looked over at the other guard, then at me. As soon as he saw me, he sat up. His eyes were peering at me awkwardly. "Yes ma'am, I recognize you to be my mentor when I was a new recruit." So my memory was right, he was one of those ponies. "Is there something you need?"

"No, just asking a question." It was just then that I noticed he had a sling for his right front leg. "What happened to you to get that?"

He looked down at his hoof in the sling. "Oh this...I had problems with one of the other guards. We were doing a practice run and he tripped me during one of the turns. I flew off the course and landed right against a tree. My shoulder was dislocated so I came here to have it fixed. Might I ask why you are here, ma'am?"

I peered down at my leg. "I was sent to investigate the disappearances in Ponyville. I left the palace with Princess Luna and the captain. I was separated by one of the locals and when I got back to the town square, I learned of horrible news. After that, I don't remember what happened other than waking up in the town's hospital." Even though that was a lie, it was also the truth. I did learn of horrible news, but I do remember what happened during the time in between.

"I am sorry to hear that. Permission to ask you another question?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you know where Princess Luna and the Night Guard captain are? I haven't seen them around for a couple of days and the other guards are getting worried and confused."

I wish he hadn't asked that question. What lie should I make up to answer back? Should I lie or tell him the truth? I was never one for hard decisions like that. Since he was a fellow Night Guard, he deserved to know what was happening. "Well, what I said before was partially a lie. I do remember what the horrible news was and how I really got my leg and shoulder broken. When i arrived at the town square, the mayor of the town called me off to the side. She told me of how Princess Luna had "disappeared"." I looked up at the guard to see his reaction. of course his eyes were dilated and his mouth was hanging open. "Can I tell you something?"

He shook his head, probably to clear his thoughts and snap from his confusion. "Anything you want ma'am."

"My past with Princess Luna is long so I will tell you in a short version. I am here in this palace because of her. I was abandoned at the doorstep of this place and she brought me in. I have lived here with her and her sister. Heh, she was always fun to be with. So from that you can tell that we had a close connection. When I learned of her disappearance, I went on an emotional rampage. The only thing I did was tear a cloud in half, but I got my anger out. I fell from the cloud and straight to the ground. According to some, I was almost saved by a unicorn who slowed down my fall. My leg still broke and my shoulder was fractured." Finally getting that off my chest, I felt more relieved. I looked at the guard on the other bed and he was staring at his arm.

"Is it alright if I speak freely ma'am?"

"Anything is permitted when not in public, almost anything."

"I don't know what to make of this. Just seeing you in here had me worried enough as it was. I thought you were attacked and beaten in battle. When you told me about Princess Luna's disappearance, I just don't know what else to do anymore. Are you going to go search for the princess when tomorrow? I heard the nurses say that you were going to be released then."

"Yes, I will be. I am heading to Ponyville tomorrow to go find clues to find her. I will ask Princess Celestia if she can spare a few guards, but once we find where she went, I was going to send them back. I plan on doing this alone. It is my responsibility to protect her at all times. If I mess up, then I make us look bad. Do not offer to help me in your condition. Thank you for letting me talk to you though. I must get some sleep for tomorrow, lot of important things to do."

"Good night ma'am." He laid back down on his bed.

I placed my head back down on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling. Why did I tell him everything I knew? That's not normal of me. What changed? What made me change? Those questions now left in my thoughts to ponder on. Without any further hesitation, I closed my eyes and was asleep.

I opened my eyes to the sun shining in through the window. I lifted my head to see that the nurses had already begun to work again. Two were beside me; one was healing my hind leg again while the other was writing on her clipboard using her magic. She took notice to me waking up. "I see you are awake Miss, Night. How is your shoulder?"

I rolled my right shoulder around a bit. "It's doing just fine."

"Great, we will be finished with you leg in about an hour. Until then, please stay still so we may continue working." She went back to her clipboard reading and writing a few things here and there. I looked over at the other night guard. A nurse was using her magic to heal his shoulder. Everything was quiet, other than the sound of magic being used. I just laid my head back down on the pillow. I was closing my eyes when I heard a noise; one ear twitched. I popped my head back up looking around for where the sound was coming from. No one else noticed it seemed. They were still doing their own thing. I heard it again, this time it sounded like a chirp. Seconds later, I felt something land on my head. I looked up to see Snowball. The nurse with the clipboard turned and saw the bird. "That bird always seems to fly to you. We have a policy against animals being in here. Your bird keeps getting in somehow. Since it only seems to stay on your head, I just let it be."

Staring at the bird on my head, I could hear it chirping. "Nurse, do you hear her chirping?"

"Hmm? Is that bird chirping? I don't hear anything, sorry. It has been so quiet every time I saw it."

"Never mind then, I guess it was my imagination." I knew Snowball was chirping. I was witnessing it. It's beak moved and I heard the sound. Why wasn't anyone else hearing it? I just ignored it. I laid my head back down and Snowball jumped onto the pillow next to me. I closed my eyes and fell asleep once again.

I was woken up by the nurse. "Excuse me? Excuse me Miss Night?"

"Yes, what is the problem?"

"We have finished our treatment. You are free to leave at any time. However, you must take it easy. Your leg may be healed, but it is still a bit more fragile than your others."

"Don't worry about me, I will be sure not to do anything rash." I got off the bed and onto my hooves. My leg felt brand new, just like my shoulder. "May I test how strong my leg is still?"

"What is you method of testing? It cannot be serious enough to break somepony's leg. Bucking a tree is fine, but you cannot do anything with a lot of risks."

"Don't worry, my tests are not as hard as many think they are." I was giving her that smile I always gave my new recruits when they were assigned to me for training.

"Yes it is! It was definitely worth it in the end though. Without your training, I probably would have had my whole arm broken." I turned and looked at the guard and gave him that straight-faced look I always have. "Oh come on, you know it is that hard."

"Like I said, nothing I can't handle myself." I turned back to the nurse who was giving me a glare. "I promise that nothing will happen to my leg. I won't do anything bad enough to break it again."

"That's more I like it. You may leave whenever your ready, we have more patients coming in soon." She turned and walked out of the room. I walked over to the guard who was having his shoulder healed.

"Did you really think it was that hard of a course?" I didn't have my normal straight-faced look. It was an expression of confusion and question. He raised his eyebrow at me which signaled that he never saw me like this before.

"Well of course. Comparing what we went through to what the other guards did, their tasks are like a walk in the park. You kept pushing us to our limits and over them. That is what we benefited from. Me and my fellow recruits are always having an easy time beating all the other guards." He was blushing a bit. He seemed embarrassed and also nervous. Apparently I was the worst teacher, but also the best. "Personally, ma'am, I wish you would train us more. Your course was really hard yes, but at least we get assigned to more missions every so often. It's like being trained by you was an automatic recommendation for any mission no matter how difficult."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment. I never got your name recruit, care to share what it is?"

"My name? Oh right, my name is Private Silver Stars ma'am." He gave me a salute with his hoof that wasn't in a sling.

"Thank you for actually telling me what the others thought of my course. I always asked, they kept telling me it was fine and that they could handle it, which was why I always made it harder each time. I will see you later on the training grounds. Maybe I could go through the course with you." I turned around and walked towards the door.

"Ma'am?" I stopped and turned my head a bit so that I could see him out of the corner of my eye. "Does that mean you are going to train us again?" I just gave him a smirk and a single chuckle. "Then we will see each other on the training grounds again." I just turned forward again and walked out.

I headed for my room, which was somewhere down the hall. I was relocated twice because something never went the way I planned and usually got hurt somehow. I built a tolerance for injury thanks to all those times I got sent back to the medical ward. Thank Celestia that I never actually got killed at any of my attempts to "practice", as they would call it. I called it "hard training", they probably just thought I was suicidal or something similar. I arrived at the door to my room.

Night Runner's Room

Room 6

I always liked that number. It has been my lucky number for most of my life. I remember how I would only get about six recruits every time I wanted to train some. It was just the way I liked things, done in sixes. I walked into my room and immediately spotted my armor on its stand. I closed the door behind me and walked over to it. I was surprised there wasn't a dent or a scratch in the armor. I placed all of my armor on except the helmet. I sat on my bed looking at my helmet. Something clicked for me then. I could see Nightmare Moon's face in my helmet. Why I did, I had no idea. I just planned on find Luna and that was it. But like a disease, the question that Princess Luna asked me came up again. Are you going to follow your oath and help the princess, or are you going to leave her by her orders? This question will never escape my thoughts until I answered it myself. The newest question was, which answer do I pick? I let that question drift away into my memory. I put my helmet on. It felt different. Something didn't fit right? Was my helmet accidentally switched with someone else's? No, it was mine. The way it fit around my head began to feel familiar. I realized that maybe the bird was still in my mane. I quickly pulled my helmet off and flew over to the mirror. I search around my mane, but couldn't find her. Where could she be? I heard another chirp from behind me. Turning around, I saw Snowball perched on my armor stand. I sighed of relief and put my helmet back on. She flew over and land on my back this time. Again, I smiled at the bird and walked towards the door.

Before I could get close, it slammed open. Next thing I knew, there were all the recruits I had trained last time standing there. "Sorry for intruding on you like this, but we got worried about you. All of us came to check up on how you were."

"Don't worry about me, I am doing just fine. By the way, when I asked you before how my training course was, what were you really thinking?" They weren't looking at me anymore. They were actually looking at the bird on my back. I turned sideways putting my side towards the recruits. "Oh, this is Snowball. For some reason this bird keeps following me. The good thing is, it always listens to what I say. I kinda like her, she is persistent like I am." I giggled a little after saying that. The others just stared at me awkwardly. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all ma'am. We just..."

"We have never seen you laugh before." He came straight out with his answer. I like that about a few others. They were straight-forward, no beating around the hay.

"Don't say it out loud like that, she may get mad at us or something."

Again, I giggled again. "You have a big imagination. I was always waiting for one of you to be candid with me. Why do you think I always asked how each of my courses were? Thanks to your other friend, Silver Stars, I guess I should make them a bit lighter than I used to." They were muttering to themselves. It would annoy me when they did that. "Attention!" Immediately they stopped and stood straight up. "You five, are going to help me with something. Have you heard the news of what happened in Ponyville?"

"No ma'am!" Speaking in unison. It would be funny if they jinxed each other.

"Then I will get you caught up. When Princess Luna, the captain, and I arrived at Ponyville, I was separated from them by one of the locals who lead me to the ponies I was to interrogate. Upon my arrival to the town square, I was given horrible news. Our beloved princess has gone missing." I instantly heard all of the gasp. They lost their posture which was kind of important for a guard pony. "I was going to search for her, but the mayor gave me a letter from the princess. It asked the mayor not to let me chase after her. I don't know the reason to why she would send this letter. All I can say for now, is that you will return with me to Ponyville and collect clues to search for our princess. Is everything I said clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" They had regained their posture and were back to normal, straight-up positions.

"Go get yourselves ready for the search. Ponyville is only a half an hours travel from the palace. When you are ready, meet me right outside the entrance of the palace. Dismissed." Upon saying that last word, they left. I sat down and sighed. "How will I explain the situation later on? They will listen anyway, at least I hope they do. Ugh, now isn't the time to worry about anything, I'll just go wait at the entrance." I walked out of my room closing the door. I thought of the guard who was still in the medical ward. I thought of it to be a good idea to go and visit him. I walked up to the door and greeted one of the nurses. "Good afternoon nurse, may I visit Silver Stars?"

"Go right in Miss Night. He was telling some of us about his times during his training. You really shouldn't put them in those tough positions. It would make anypony go crazy. However, he seemed to enjoy talking about it. Oh hehehe, sorry for keeping you here long enough. Go right in." I held open the door for me to go in.

"Thank you." I said with a nod. I walked past all the empty beds focusing on Silver. As I approached, I started with a greeting. "Good afternoon Private Silver. How is your shoulder doing?"

"I wish it would heal faster. The nurses are doing all they can, but they say I won't be out of here tomorrow. I wish I could somehow heal faster and help you."

"Don't worry, it's better to take your time than to hurry and have something bad happen again. My new friends taught me a few things while I was away. Appreciate that you didn't hit you head on the tree. Who knows what would have happened."

"Yea, I guess you're right, like usual. Permission to ask a question?"

"I said yesterday that you could speak freely anytime."

"Again, sorry, I forgot. My memory isn't a great as other stallions. May I ask how a big change in your attitude came from?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You were always a little, serious, for lack of a better word. Never showed a smile, never laughed, never wanted to talk, and now you are willing to speak freely with one of your recruits. What made you change so much?"

I had to think for a moment. I didn't realize that I had change at all. When he mentioned it, I realized I wasn't acting like my old, serious self. I was more open to others. "Well, I guess I learned more than I thought from my new friends in Ponyville."

He rose his eyebrow again. "In Ponyville, ma'am?"

I giggled at that a little of course. "Not all pony folk are like we thought. The ones I have met in Ponyville were much nicer and not snobbish like the ones here in Canterlot. I just wish all ponies acted like that. Do you know who the owner's of the Elements of Harmony are?"

"According to the stain-glass windows, six ponies are the owners. One was a purple unicorn, one was a pink earth pony, one was a orange earth pony, another was a white unicorn, one was a light blue pegasus, and the last was a yellow pegasus. I only know that the purple one represents the Element of Magic, but they all look just like regular ponies. I heard a rumor that they were all from Ponyville and the purple unicorn was Princess Celestia's protege in the magic school.

"Did you say Princess Celestia's student was the Element of Magic? I know who that is, do you know a pony by the name of Miss Twilight Sparkle?"

"She is the Element of Magic? I never knew, she would usually talk just like every other pony I met."

I scratched my head a little. "Well, I really came in here to inform you that I was going to be heading to search for Princess Luna with the other five recruits. But thank you for telling me who the Element of Magic is, I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I meet her next time." He looked at me with wide eyes for a few seconds, then turned his head a sighed. "Something a matter?"

"I never thought that the princess would go missing. No matter how many times I thought that maybe once she would, but I always doubted it. Now I know not to doubt everything I think of."

"Well, I know you may have more to say, but I must get to the palace entrance. The others should be waiting there by now. I will tell you the whole story when I get back, you have my word on it." I held out my left hoof to shake his. He shook mine and I left for the entrance.

As I walked, I felt like Princess Luna was walking right beside me. The only thing I knew that was with me at the moment, was Snowball who sat on my back. Why could I feel Luna walking right beside me? Then, as I reached the entrance, I stopped. I felt her presence come next to my ear. I could hear those words from days ago. The one's Luna had told me before we left for Ponyville. This time, I didn't let it get to my head. I focused on the current situation and went outside to greet the rest of the team. "Are you ready to head out?"

"Yes ma'am, we are all ready."

"Then let's get to Ponyville and search before nightfall." The recruits took off towards Ponyville. I stayed behind for a moment looking at the ground. What is this feeling that I am leaving someone behind? Now isn't the time, I must focus on finding the princess. I took off of the ground, holding onto this new feeling. I will come back later to find out what it is.

On the Royal Trail

The sky was clear today. A few scattered clouds here and there, but none the less, it was bright and the sun shone like blinding ball, as usual. The recruits and I were nearing Ponyville now, the place where this started. This horrific occurance is the only thing I can think about.

"Ma'am?"

Luna, I will find you no matter what happens. Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will protect her.

"Ma'am!"

"Hmm? Oh yes, what is it Lightning?" Lightning Chaser. He was one of the best recruits I have trained. Finished top of his group every time. In my honest perspective, I never looked for a pony who could do better than the rest. I wanted one who could work well with others. I passed my whole group either way; they were all qualified under my supervision.

"We are nearing Ponyville. Is there any place in particular you would like us to start our search ma'am?"

The only place I could think of was the center of town where she first disappeared. The first pony to come to mind was Mayor Mare. She was the one who found the note that Princess Luna had left for her, so she was definitely our best bet. "I want you and Flare to go to the center of town. Ask around for a pony known as Mayor Mare. She what she knows about this note and then report back to me." It would be difficult for a pegasus to fly and hand things off to another mid-flight, but practice helped.

He took the letter Princess Luna wrote and saluted me before flying over to Bright Flare. That was a stallion who had guts. Even against Lightning, he would keep trying his best, even if the others would quit. I have my own admiration for his persistence. Now, two of the four had their orders. But where would I send the other two? Where would they go without causing much attention?

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Who could they talk to without being a guard? "Um, ma'am?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Spark." Cloud Spark. The first mare recruit I trained. In my eyes she is still in training, but I know her just like I know the rest. She is my group's safe zone. Whenever one of my guys wouldn't keep up, she would stop and help them. She treats all of them like they are her brothers and sisters. Without her, I'm pretty sure most of them would have dropped out. "What is it you need?"

"Thunder is already at Ponyville waiting by Sugar Cube Corner. What do you want us to do?"

"I think it would be better if you two accompany me while we go and talk to a couple other ponies who live in this town. I believe that the missing ponies from before and the disappearance of our princess is tied together."

"Yes, ma'am."

All of them had their orders. It's hard to lead when under stress and pressure. If it was for Fyran, I don't know how I would have made it as far as I have now. I think he might be one of the captains now. Him and Shining Armor usually acted like old friends, but that was probably just showing respect.

Spark and I stopped for a moment on a nearby cloud that was directly above a giant tree that was in Ponyville. All I could think about was two things. Finding Princess Luna and figuring out what this weird feeling is. It has been haunting me since I walked outside of the castle. Come to think of it, it seemed to start soon after meeting with Silver Star. I'll need to head back once I'm done here. I'll have to ask him about this.

"Ma'am?"

"Yes Spark?"

"No offense, but are we waiting for something to happen ma'am."

Not everyday one of your recruits have to remind you what you were doing. "No, we aren't. I was just held up with my thoughts. Nothing to worry about, I'll sort it out later. Come on, we need to go get Thunder so we start with our rounds. You said he was at the place called Sugar Cube Corner?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then lead the way."

"But um..."

"Is something the matter?" My trainees rarely ever questioned something. Spark was the exception though. She always made sure that all of them were in their best condition. However, this one seemed off. Her face doesn't seem right. It doesn't look like the Cloud Spark I know.

"Well, the problem is that I um...I don't know where Sugar Cube Corner is. This is my first time in Ponyville."

Well, now, there are still things I need to learn about them after all. So she is a Canterlot pony through and through eh? Who am I to argue? I am too. At least I think I am. I remember the streets of Canterlot. Waking up in that one alley night after night, all the other ponies passing me. They never stopped to even look at me. Every week or so, a guard would walk by and stop in front of the alley. I remember the first time I saw him. His brown face staring down at me. He was smiling. Every week I looked forward to seeing his smile. He even bought me some food when he would visit me. That pony was Fyran. He did get caught once; another guard walked by us in the alley and pulled him away. He came back later that night though. It is rare for me to share any sort of connection like that. He is the only one that I ever considered close.

Wait a minute, no. Stop remembering the past Night, focus on what is happening now. Okay, Princess Luna was kidnapped. I am on a cloud above Ponyville with Cloud Spark next to me. Yes, we were on our way to find Thunder Charm at Sugar Cube Corner. Okay, stand up Night, we need to get through this and find the princess. "Alright, come on Spark. I have been here before with Princess Luna. I think I can find whatever this place is." The two of us took off and headed for the giant tree.

It was only a moment later that we arrived in front of it. Wait, this was no tree. Well, it was, but the tree was a house. It has a door, windows, lights, and a doormat. What kind of pony would want to live in a tree? The door is opening, maybe whoever this is can tell us where Sugar Cube Corner is. "Spark, I'm going to ask this pony where Thunder is. Stay here for a moment."

"Yes ma'am." Please don't salute, please don't...and she did. I get tired of that. I know it's considered necessary, but we aren't supposed to draw attention to ourselves.

Ah here comes the pony. "Ehem, hello there. My name is Night Runner and I am..." This pony in front of me. I have seen her before. What was her name? Twilit? Twilight?

"Oh hey there, I almost didn't recognize you without your armor. I don't think I properly introduced myself when we first met, I'm Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia." Oh dammit. This is going to be a problem. She's Celestia's student? Even worse. This will not end well at all. "So Night Runner, what are you doing here again? Is it about Princess Luna? I don't really know how it feels yet to have Princess Luna disappear, but I have tried to organize a few ponies to go search for her."

"Did you have any luck finding her?" My voice, it's wavering, stuttering. This isn't good, why am I doing this? I am afraid? Nervous? What is it?

"No, I'm afraid not. Mayor Mare will not allow anypony to form a search party to locate the princess. She told us that Princess Luna doesn't want anypony looking for her and that if YOU showed up to look..." A pause? Pauses are rarely ever good news. "Well, we are to tell you to head back to Canterlot and let this play out on its own."

"But I can't let it play out!" No, stop shouting you idiot. "She doesn't know what it's like to lose somepony like her." Stop it Night, just stop you can't let your emotions control you, not now. Ugh, why does every single thing have its complications. "It doesn't matter what Mayor Mare said, I'm still going to look for her. I will just stay out of her way while I gather what I need to know. Alright, can you tell me where this place is? It's called um..."

"It's called Sugar Cube Corner ma'am." Spark, why do you have to come up now? "We need to know where Sugar Cube Corner is." I think she understood my look when I wanted to be casual.

"Oh Cake's place? It just over there, that house that looks like a gingerbread house. It isn't edible of course, but I suppose it still looks rather delicious." Well, a house that looks like candy. Somethings I never want to know how they were made. "Do you need anything else while you are here? I'm sure I have a couple books around..."

I put my hoof in front of her. "No, no thank you. We'll be fine for now. Thank you for giving us directions. Come on Spark, we need to go find Thunder." We turned around and began walking to the candy-looking building. Wait a minute, candy house? Why does it remind me of...no, it can't be her. At least, I hope it isn't.

"So, why didn't you say that you wanted us to act casual?" I looked over to see Spark's face holding a smug expression. "It probably would have been best to have told us before we split up. The other two are going to have a problem talking with Mayor Mare when they think they are still on duty."

"I'm sure they'll figure it out. I would not have split us up otherwise." I do hope they figure it out. I can't say whether or not they are that quick at figuring things out, but I'm sure Spark has that ability. "Come on, we need to get Thunder and find out what he learned. He has been here since Luna went missing, so I am sure he heard some things at best."

"I'll just follow you, ma'am."

I'm glad they still call me ma'am and all, but I prefer casual talk. Hated this stupid 'Yes, ma'am!' or 'No, ma'am!' stuff. It just seems too weird. Back to reality, again, the short walk took longer that thought. At least we got there with nopony asking anything. Now where is Thunder Spark. Oh right, I almost forgot his last name, Spark. Thunder and Cloud are brother and sister. How could I forget that?

"Hey ma'am, you alright?"

"Thunder!" I looked up from the dirt to witness a three day reunion between two siblings. "I missed you so much!"

"It has only been what, three days? You missed me already? Guess I shouldn't leave you alone at all, maybe even stay in the same room with you."

Spark shoved Thunder away and he landed on his back with a thud. "Now that's just disgusting. You're my brother, why would you even...wait, oh, you were being sarcastic. He he, whoops, my bad." Spark, sometimes you are just plain weird.

"Sorry if I am interrupting anything between you two, but we still have a job to do." I needed to butt in there. Most likely if I didn't they would have gone again into their back-and-forth jokes. "So Thunder, heard anything about her here in Ponyville?" I walked over to the table and sat down placing my hooves on the table.

Thunder got up and retook his seat next to me, but didn't make any eye contact. "Well, I'm not sure if what I heard would be something you would like to hear."

"Trust me Thunder, anything is good, no matter how bad it may sound." Best option, reassurance. Not going to get anything out of somepony without making them somewhat comfortable at first. Or at least bribe them with something.

"Okay, please don't kill me for saying this, but one pony was talking in the park. She was just talking a normal walk and Mayor Mare showed up. They were talking about Princess Luna. The mayor told her about Fluttershy and she said that Fluttershy saw her go into the Everfree Forest alone. Before they could say anything else, Mayor Mare stopped the other one and told the pony to go to her office with her." And he said his information was something I don't want to hear. I swear, my subordinates hold back a bit too much.

"I guess there is something weird going on. Princess Luna wouldn't go there without some plan or idea of where she was going or what she was doing. She doesn't like to go somewhere without knowing what will happen." I turn around and motion for all of them to follow me. "Come on, we have somewhere to be." Man, I hope we get there and get her to talk to us. What was that? A bird? Oh right, the bird in my mane, Snowball. I'm still surprised no one can hear it. I was sure that one of them would point out the bird chirping and say something about it.

"So ma'am, where are we going? Mayor Mare's office again or the other place?" Too many question Cloud, too many questions.

"We are going somewhere. You will be updated on a need-to-know basis. Same goes for all of you."

"Yes ma'am!"

Time to find out exactly what is going on, I just hope I get there in time. I get this feeling that something is happening right now, but I just can't tell what it is. Is it that feeling from back in Canterlot? Did something happen to Luna? Dammit, I need to find out. Organize your priorities Night: rescue the princess, ask Silver what this weird feeling is, and then....well, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'll figure it out sooner or later.

I looked at Snowball who was sitting under my mane on the back of my neck. Looking at the other guards, they were following me, but looking around like they were sightseeing. I leaned in close to Snowball and whispered, "Hey Snowball, I need you to do something." It's head perked up like it was ready for anything. "I need you to go to Fluttershy's cottage. Make sure that she stays there." The bird took off quickly. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as it flew away. I looked back at the others and they were looking at me with surprised faces. "Something wrong?"

Of course the first ones to say anything was either Thunder and Cloud Spark. "Were you just laughing?"

"Yea, something wrong with me laughing?"

"No ma'am."

"Then off we go. Don't want to be late for anything."