The halls of the barracks were abuzz the next evening with talk as Reddling made his way to the mess hall, toting all of his new weapons. It seemed that the ponies had made note of his lack of a helmet, as they had taken the time to deliver a new helmet to him during the day. Putting on the helmet and armor, Reddling entered into the stream of other guards, who instantly began murmuring to themselves. Reddling couldn’t make out everything they said, but the bits and pieces of their conversation confirmed to him that they were talking about him with a mixture of curiosity, distrust, and perhaps a twinge of fear.

Reddling laughed internally to himself at their paranoia. Some of the rumors he heard as he wandered through the halls were absolutely asinine; some said you had to kill a pony and drink their blood to get into the night guard. Others said you had to sell your soul to dark powers, or even that Luna picked you out with her own hoof and then killed those who were not cut out for it.

Reddling shot a fangy grin from under his helmet to one of the smaller looking guards that was muttering, and they jumped back, trying to return the grin while stammering, “Err- Afternoon!”

“Morning for me.” Reddling replied quietly.

“Just waking up then. For the night time.” The guard pointed out, as if hoping his rather obvious knowledge would confirm he was not totally ignorant of bats.

“Yes,” Reddling replied joyfully, keeping a smooth quietness to his voice. “For night time things.”

“Right, well, I’m sure you have important night time things to do, I’ll just be going.” The guard turned and nearly ran away from Reddling, turning a corner hastily. Reddling snickered as he continued to the mess hall. Passing around the same corner, Reddling found himself across the hallway from two other guards, one of whom appeared somewhat frail. Smirking to himself, Reddling let the stories of olden times roll into his mind as he continued his torture of the dayponies.

Slipping past them and heading instead for the exit of the barracks, Reddling started mumbled to himself, “Hmm, can’t have an early night drink yet, haha," making sure he was more than loud enough for the guards to hear.

The frail looking guard grew a little pale instantly, staring at Reddling as he pushed through a set of double doors and headed for the exit, going into the streets of Canterlot. Despite the fact that he had wings, he still felt more at home trotting through the city than he did flying. Every pony that he passed turned a little, giving him looks of respect, curiosity, and again a bit of fear. In no time at all, Reddling found himself in a familiar part of town. He let the door slam quietly behind him as he looked at the familiar rows of suits and coats.

The mare from the night before looked over the shoulder of a customer she was bartering with. Reddling simply stood near the door, waiting his turn. The mare turned back to her business, talking just quietly enough to her customer that only the keen hearing of a bat would have been able to pick it up. “Please excuse me a moment, I’ll be right back.”

Reddling watched as the mare disappeared in what seemed to be a blurry flash of magic all her own, instantly popping up nearby from behind a row of suits and smiling, a parcel in her hooves.

“Welcome back! It’s so nice to see you again,” The mare said, offering the coat to Reddling, holding out the parcel. “Your overcoat, sir.”

“Thanks.” Reddling said, taking the parcel and looking around to locate some changing rooms. A pair of them marked with numbers one and two were in a back corner, and Reddling shrugged before heading over to them. The mare gleefully bounced back to her desk, continuing to talk with the customer from before.

Inside the changing room, Reddling pulled out the neatly folded coat. He found that subtle holes had been added for his wings, which left them sitting on the outside. Taking the coat off and testing the coat a few times, he found that he could keep his wings hidden under the coat and get them out with a little play, but to get them back under his coat he would need to remove the coat completely again. Reddling grinned happily to himself as he found that his wings and the slits were not even noticeable when he wore the coat correctly.

The smile died instantly as he turned to the mirror in the changing room, and he nearly jumped back at the reflection. The monster in front of him was something he could not recognize, something horrifying and alien that could not possibly be him. This was the first time he had clearly seen his changes, the effects of his transformation, and they disgusted him completely.

His face was twisted into something ugly and distasteful, a glare of hatred that was reflected back at him. Small fangs protruded from his mouth, glinting faintly in the dim light of the changing rooms. His once fiery red coat was now reduced to a dull pale red. It was not a pink so much as it was simply lifeless, as if a pale death had claimed his body and he was looking into a coffin. His amethyst mane lacked it’s stark brilliance, and instead had been replaced with a dead mop that looked like somepony had let too much black bleed into their purple watercolors.

Reddling raised a hoof to punch the mirror, but then drew back, staring at the armor under his coat and the various weapons that adorned his body. The knives and blade complimented his coat with their handles and hilts, a perfect match for a creature of the night. Reddling lowered his hoof as he drew out Ausfall, letting it shimmer brilliantly. For just a moment, Reddling felt like its shine illuminated his coat, returning the old tones and hues to his face. As quickly as it came, the flash was gone, leaving him with the same dead bat-pony staring back at him. Slamming his helmet back on, Reddling pulled away from the mirror, trying to push the reflection he had seen out of his head.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a sight that made him stop. His coat had billowed to the side, exposing part of his wing. Turning around and unfolding his wings out gently , Reddling watched the leathery membrane stretch from bone to bone. Every blood vein and every little bit of fuzzy fur on the membrane became something Reddling could not forget. The world's horrors had left him looking like he was already dead, his face twisted into a hateful stare he could no longer maintain. Reddling smiled at his reflection. Even if he did look like a monster now, he was also free.

Freedom, that's what these wings are to me. I always expected to see feathery wings, but in no lesser way are these wings symbolic. This is my freedom, to choose, to live... to avenge. To take my revenges upon the world!

“Thank you for your patronage!” The mare said as Reddling left the changing rooms. Reddling gave a nod to her as he moved to the front door.

“Come again!” She called, turning back to her business and coercing her customer, “See how well it fits him, how well it matches his coat and fits his wings? I could do something just as nice for you… even Luna’s guard has time to shop at my store… …”

About an hour later, Reddling found himself sitting in the mess hall. He had stopped to pick up a snazzy pair of sunglasses on his way back, and wore them along with his coat back to the barracks. At least with sunglassses on and a coat, and anything else that could cover his body, he'd look more like the pony he remembered... and maybe less like a bat if he needed to do an sneaking around in the daytime to take out royalty.

Reddling had folded up his coat and his sunglasses before Midnight and Bruiser got out of bed, and it did not take long before everypony was armored up and ready to go. Tops and Nightshade had helped each other put their armor on, beating Midnight and Bruiser to the mess hall. Reddling had stayed behind, not wanting to have anything to do with their company.

The food here was not the typical fare Reddling had gotten used to, and lacked the reversed breakfast and dinner routine. Still, there were enough mangos and apples for him to order that everything was smooth. Stopping by the table with his other bats, Reddling smirked as he looked over at a gaggle of daylickers having their evening meal.

“Hey,” Reddling nudged Midnight, “Wanna go sit with the sunponies over there?”

Midnight looked over at the sunponies quickly, then back to his food. “Nay, I have no kinship with them.” Midnight said. Reddling shrugged and went to go sit by the dayponies, who were an assortment of earth, unicorn, and Pegasus ponies. They tried to avert their looks, but the air around them grew instantly uncomfortable the moment Reddling took his seat. All of them tried to give him space, scooting away and trying to continue talking about casual things; training, current events, sports…

Reddling put an apple on his fangs and pieced its cute flesh, beginning to slurp the juices out of it loudly. One by one, as a small pile of drained apples slices began to stack up on his tray, the guard ponies worked increasingly harder to pretend that they were not completely put off by the behavior. Most were staring out windows or looking straight down at their laps to avoid clearly and obviously staring at the scene before them. Reddling snickered inside, removing another husk of an apple from his mouth and dropping it on his tray.

“Doesn’t hold up to other drinks, but yum. You guys okay? You seem a little… well, a little pale!” Reddling laughed to himself as a guard turned to him, the color draining slowly from their face.

“Uh, yeah.” The guard’s voice betrayed an obvious lie. “Yeah, we’re fine, just going to bed.”

“Right, you don’t stay up all night like us, shame.” Reddling snickered, ripping into a mango and tearing at the soft inner flesh as a few pieces of the aforementioned fruit flew across the table.

“Well uh, have a good night… uhm…” the guard’s voice died in his throat as he stood up, hurrying quickly out of the room. The other guards followed suit, eventually leaving only the bats in the room as the sun finished setting.

When Reddling and his company arrived outside, he instantly jumped at what appeared to be a giant dome put over the top of Canterlot. Midnight and Bruiser were also staring at it as they approached Lunar and a white unicorn with a tired expression on his face.

“It’s a magic shield, and a big one too.” Nightshade hissed at them as she trotted past, snapping to attention in front of Lunar and the large unicorn stallion next to him. White coat, blue mane, and tired looking eyes.

“Of course, you know all about magic, Nightshade.” Reddling hissed back at her, snapping to attention at the end of the line.

“Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard.” Lunar introduced the pony. All five of them gave a quick salute to the pony, who did not seem to actually be paying attention to what was going on around him.

“I’ll keep this short." Shining Armor said pointedly. "We appreciate the work you do patrolling Canterlot, but you are not to be participating in the upcoming wedding. You’ll be staying indoors, out of sight. Am I understood?” Tops, Bruiser, and Nightshade gave quick nods, but Midnight lowered his head slightly in disappointment.

Looks like I’ll need my disguise of a coat and glassed after all. Reddling thought as he gave a simple nod of his head to Shining Armor.

“Good.” Shining Armor said, turning and departing instantly from the field. Lunar shot Shining Armor a dirty look when the unicorn’s back was turned before turning back to his recruits.

“During the day of the wedding, you will be ready at the drop of a hat to respond to any trouble, regardless of what he says, am I understood?” Lunar asked.

“Make sure everything goes right, stop any trouble, and never be seen. We’ll be just like the shadows sir.” Reddling responded. Lunar nodded grimly.

“Good, your armor should be ready before the Wedding. Now on with our planned speech, without… interruptions..”

“Night Guard!” Lunar called to the recruits robotically, who all snapped up a little straighter. “Given the incident with that shapeshifting monster, we’re increasing security around the city. You’ll be doing your part at night, while the Royal Guard watches over the day. Additionally, we’ve decided to seal the city. Nothing is getting in, or out, without permission.” Lunar looked up at the sky as it was the last time he’d ever see the night sky. “Normally we would never resort to these extreme measures, but next week there is to be a Royal Wedding, and we have reason to believe these events may be related.”

So you let one of our best fighters, Web, run off to hunt that creature and leave recruits like us to check out the city? Reddling couldn't help but think that Equestrians were completely useless when it came to organization.

“Web has been sent to deal with the one that you encountered in the field.” Lunar said, but Reddling was no longer listening. His mind was thinking about the royal wedding, and all of the things that could possibly go wrong. There was a good chance that this would provide him a special chance to eliminate whatever royalty was being married, although the circumstances were making it seem like a quick and clean hit might be difficult. He also had thoughts about the bug creature and if it did decided to pull something; in all the chaos no pony would see a knife fly into the heart of some pretty princess attendee.

“You will divide yourselves up and patrol the night. There are others on the guard watching as well, and so you not need to be on patrol the entire time. You will continue with your training in your spare time.” Lunar continued.

It’ll have to look like an accident though, otherwise I might not get a chance to hit either of the other princesses. Oh well, I’ll have plenty of time to think this out while I’m on patrol.

“Any questions? No? Good. You will all divide into groups then, all except you, Reddling. Luna wishes to speak with you.” Reddling felt his heart skip multiple beats as Lunar turned to look at him.

“Y-Yes Sir!” Reddling’s voice came out as shriller than normal.

“Good. You are dismissed. Reddling, come with me.” Lunar turned to leave, and Reddling followed. Soon they were in the mildly familiar halls of Canterlot Palace. The white marble floors and vaunted ceilings were decorated with plush crimson carpets or silken tapestries. Each window was arching and contained stained glass, depicting various heroic deeds by the heroic guardians of Equestria. Everything was uncomfortably bright as gilded chandeliers reflected the light from many candles across the rooms.

Reddling shook his head as he passed a servant carrying a platter of small puffy cakes topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Lunar took a turn down another wing of the castle. This part of the castle was barren compared to the formerly well-lit and marbled floors from before. Despite his improved eyesight, Reddling could not help but blink at the decrease in lighting as he raised the visor on his helmet.

Eventually Lunar halted at a set of double doors that were guarded by two imposing guards that wore the heavy sets of armor that he had seen hanging before in the armory. The thick, overlapping plates had been combined with very functional looking spines and spikes on the shoulders, chest, and chin.

“Your majesty, Reddling has arrived.” Lunar raised his voice and called to the door.

“Please, let him in.” came Luna’s voice from inside the room. The doors to her quarters opened on their own as Reddling stepped inside. Reddling wrapped his coat around himself and hoped it was hiding how visibly he was shaking. His chest was very tight now, as if somepony had filled his lungs with cotton and then put a hoof over his mouth.

Luna’s quarters were dark, although they also cast a faint purple glow on everything, which seemed to be illuminating the room despite the lack of any obvious light sources. Indeed, the outlines of many objects simply glowed purple without seeming to cast any light on their surroundings at all. Reddling stepped into the circular room, scanning the blue-black marble floors that reflected the roomlike a mirror, revealing the vaunted dome ceiling above. The ceiling itself had been emblazoned with tiny pinpricks of stars and constellations. Had Reddling not known he was inside, he would have misjudged the ceiling as the actual night sky.

I am a good pony. I am a normal, good pony, think positive thoughts. Positive things, happy things. I am a good pony. Reddling told himself over and over.

Luna herself rose from a large circular four post bed with purple sheets, moving aside curtains that stretched from one post to the other. Her tail brushed past a rich looking dresser as she pulled out some incense and lit it without even making a fire, letting a pleasant smell soak the room as she reached a desk, which she sat behind and conjured up a cushion from nowhere, nodding for Reddling to take a seat. Reddling sat, staring at the walls that were lined with bookshelves composed of a billion different trinkets and tombs that he did not recognize. In the middle of the room on left side, Reddling found his eyes averted to a set of purple armor with a short sword on a stand below it. Luna sank herself into a cushion behind her desk, her face remaining stoic and peaceful, but with a noble flair as Reddling turned back to her.

“Tea?” Luna offered, pulling a tea kettle and two cups from seemingly nowhere again and pouring herself a steaming cup with magic.

Tea, why is it always tea in Equestria? “I’d be honored to try some, your Highness.” Reddling said. Luna poured him a cup and sat them both down on the table, looking at him with her calculating eyes.

“I wished to know how you were doing, since you had such troubles when your training began. “ Luna stated, taking a sip from her tea, the steam rolling against her face as her eyes remained unwavering.

“Oh!- oh,” Reddling almost sighed in relief. “It’s been a learning experience, in a lot more ways than I expected.”

“I understand you and Web have become a pair?” Luna asked, setting her tea down carefully. Reddling bit his lip, but found that once again he could control his composure and adapted back to his cool indifference to the topic.

“I’m not sure if one date makes us a pair, but I do consider her close to me, yes.” Reddling kept his tone low, but still loud enough that Luna would be able to hear him.

“She is quite an untamed spirit. Perhaps you will be able to keep her in check. You had quite the encounter with the beast as well, Web spoke to Lunar, and he spoke to myself, but I have not heard a first hoof experience.” Luna’s gaze remained as penetrating as ever as she chose every word with care. Reddling simply nodded to her, not saying anything, so Luna continued, clearing her throat. “Do you have any insight into that creature that you wish to share?”

Reddling looked down, then rose his head up determinedly, nodding again. “Yes your Highness. I’ve dealt with some monsters in the past, but nothing like this exactly.” Luna leaned forward as Reddling cleared his throat; “these things can pass as any one of us. They could be you or me, right now, and we wouldn’t have any way of knowing it. They’re clever, and they’re smart fighters. The only thing that is deadlier than their venom is their magic. If you’re not defeated by their magical powers, then the fast acting venom will quickly drop you.” Reddling paused, putting a hoof to his chin. “If there is more than one of that creature, and I am certain that there is more than one of whatever it was, then they’re going to be hard to defeat. Killing any mass number of them may even be impossible with their natural armorlike skin that I observed. We might be able to cut at soft spots, but anypony who cannot use a thrusting action to pierce their armor or smash it with a blunt weapon may find themselves disadvantaged greatly.”

Reddling coughed as he finished his monologue report, looking at Luna. Luna seriously nodded, taking another sip from her tea. “I see, thank you for your insight. Have you fought beasts like this in the past?”

“No, I’ve never seen a monster quite like the one that attacked us. This thing could shapeshift into other ponies perfectly, and I’ve never seen anything like that.” Reddling said, thinking back to the various creatures that he had hunted. Nothing had ever fit the monster that he had seen, although various small rumors of dark monsters that took the shapes of ponies had been used as old mares tales in his homeland.

As if to echo his thoughts of home, Luna hummed to herself for a moment and proceeded to pour herself another cup of tea.

“What is Silverfield’s view of Equestria?” Luna asked. Reddling felt something in his chest spasm as he looked sadly at her. Telling her the truth might be dangerous to him, but he had a feeling she already knew the answer to her question, minus the firsthoof details.

“Permission to speak freely, your Highness?” Reddling asked quietly.

“Of course.” Luna nodded.

Reddling drew in a sharp breath as memories of home came flooding back into his mind. “Merchants and travelers are fine with Equestria and Equestrians, but only because they have to be. The ponies of Silverfield despise Equestria. The religious leaders use Equestria as a scapegoat for all problems. I never actually lived in any villages or towns, so I didn’t get to sit in often for their speeches,”

“Anypony not of Silverfieldian blood is distasteful, and half Silverfieldians are treated like second class citizens. It’s the Equestrian pegasi that they hate the most though, for reasons… we’ve been over. Don’t even know what they’d think of bats, I never heard of them except in storybooks…” Reddling cut himself off and blushed at his rambling, averting his eyes to his still steaming cup of tea. “Uh, sorry. I rambled a bit there.”

“How do you think they would react to seeing you, as you are now?” Luna asked critically.

Reddling shrugged, returning his eyes to hers. “That depends on who I am seeing. The religious leaders would label me as unnatural and show me off as a ‘Sin of Equestria’. Anypony who knew me might tolerate me, but the others would all avoid me.”

Luna leaned back, looking troubled as she sipped her tea again.

“Is something wrong, your Highness?” Reddling asked, blinking at her. Luna’s troubled expression ran away as she gave him a half smile, setting her tea down.

“You have very astute judgment, Reddling. There has been animosity between our countries in the past. Dwelling in the past… it can be dangerous. Perhaps that is why your fellows have taken to such poisonous, barbaric customs…” Luna said.

Poisonous, barbaric? ...Like removing my feathery, soft wings. Those wings should have been mine!

“… I wish to end it. The ties between our kin should be mended. I wish to send a diplomatic mission to Silverfield, and I wish to go myself.” Luna concluded, sipping her tea.

Reddling face betrayed his surprise as he nearly knocked over his yet untouched tea. “I cannot lie to you, it is likely to be dangerous. They may react violently to your presence.”

“Given what you said, I would agree with you. That is why I was so troubled.” Luna said. “Regardless, nothing will proceed until after the wedding, so there is plenty of time to plan for the future. I will consult with Celestia and we will find an appropriate course of action.”

“About the wedding,” Redding said, “The Captain of the Royal Guard does know of the situation with the monster that attacked us?”

Luna nodded. “He does. He is personally very invested in keeping the wedding secure, and Celestia trusts his judgment.”

“Today he told us that he doesn’t want us to help with the Wedding at all. To stay out of sight, out of mind. This is despite the fact that my comrades and myself are the only ones here to have seen the creature or dealt with it. This is a troubling mistake in judgment, your Highness.” Reddling said callously. Luna responded;

“However, the wedding will be held during the day, which will limit your effectiveness- and Cadance has made some special requests for the wedding itself. As it is her special day, we do not feel it is unreasonable to make some concessions to her, despite the security concerns."

“I don’t see why security cannot meld with her desires. Sometimes the best security is that which we cannot see.” Reddling stated.

“What would you suggest?” Luna said. Her voice was not annoyed, but moreso curious, as if she was testing Reddling.

“Normally patrols move in pairs right? From now on all day guards and night guards should travel in pairs everywhere, not just when they are on patrol. When the monster took one of us out, it’s because they were alone and isolated. Also, if anypony is behaving oddly or seems very out of place, doing something they would not normally do, then I would like for the Night Guard to personally be looking into it, no matter the hour. The monster disguised as one of our comrades, and the only tip off was that they were smiling instead of frowning like normal. It is better to be safe than sorry.”

Luna mulled over the thoughts for a moment before sipping her tea. “Very intelligent suggestions. You’re correct that patrols are done in pairs as is. You and your comrades should be making patrols in pairs as well, as the rest of the Night Guard is. If we feel it is appropriate, we will investigate suspicious behavior. Since they can change their shapes, we are keeping an eye out for just that.” Reddling simply nodded to Princess Luna’s verdict. “Do you have any other concerns or questions, Reddling?”

Reddling thought about his nightmares, and decided to pose a short question. “Just one. I’m concerned about this... The Nightmare. Is it common for bats to see it after they deny the Nightmare the first time?”

Luna froze, setting her tea down. Her face tightened as she looked at Reddling with a critical expression that seemed to have some rawer emotion behind it. “No, that is uncommon, although not unheard of.”

Reddling felt his chest squirm in panic at this confirmation. “Is there a technique to induce the Nightmare? It promised to visit me once more, for a third time.” Reddling had dropped his façade and now was leaning forward hungrily, starving for an answer.

“No, nor should there be." Luna said sternly. "Reddling, I urge you to take caution with this. These are forces that should not be trifled with. “ She stood up, and Reddling did the same.

“I’m sorry, your Highness. I did not mean to overextend with my curiosities.” Reddling said apologetically.

“No, do not be sorry, curiosity is natural. If you have questions about the Nightmare, I would suggest that you talk to Nightshade. I understand she has become very well versed in the usage of the Nightmare for practical applications.” Luna suggested. Reddling bowed.

“I shall do just that. At your leave?” Reddling asked. Luna nodded, and Reddling turned without another word, leaving his cup of tea untouched. Before the doors closed, he saw Luna pick up the still full cup of tea. The look on her face was sad, as if she had been significantly hurt by Reddling shunning her offer.

Back at practice, Reddling found himself paired with Midnight and a senior bat for his patrols. The city of Canterlot was thankfully quiet at night, although here and there a pony lurked in the shadows, watching them fly over the city. Tops and Nightshade had formed a second pair, leaving Bruiser the odd pony out to continue training at camp. The night dragged by before the sun finally began to rise, leaving Reddling alone outside with Tops and Nightshade. Bruiser and Midnight had been “volunteered” for the extra patrol of the night.

Tops and Nightshade sparred in the distance as Reddling practiced throwing his knives at a target. He had often practiced throwing his knife when he was younger, but these weapons were far different. His knives were better balanced for throwing, and certainly not something to be trifled with.

Tops shot a look across the training yard and whispered something to Nightshade. Nightshade shook her head disapprovingly, but after a short discussion broke off to the bleachers as tops trotted over to Reddling’s side. Reddling had taken to sitting on the ground, throwing his knives carefully at the target in the distance. Six of them were sitting in the center of the board with a seventh only slightly off its mark as he raised the eighth, sighing.

“Hey Redding.” Tops said joyfully. Reddling ignored him for a few moments, then let his knife lose, slamming it cleanly between his other six hits.

“Hi, Tops.” Reddling said coldly, getting up and trotting to his target and beginning to pull out the knives and sheathe them.

“Uh, would you like to spar again?” Tops asked. His voice reflected his nervousness, and Reddling quickly recalled breaking the stallion’s leg the last time they dueled.

“I don’t care either way.” Reddling said, going back to his position, ready to continue throwing his knives. Tops said nothing, but just stood there with a sad, almost tearful look on his face. “Why not spar with Nightshade? You two seem to get along well.”

Tops turned bitterly, trotting back with a hurt expression on his face. Midnight and Bruiser did not return to the training yard as Tops trotted coldly into the barracks. Reddling smirked secretly to himself as he raised another knife and threw it at the target board, landing another ten points for himself as he drew another knife.

I hope Tops doesn’t get the wrong idea. I don’t hate him, I just hate the monster that he is.

“What is your issue with him, Reddling?” Nightshade’s voice made Reddling to jump up, his knife flying erratically and bouncing off the target board, landing in the dirt.

Slipping off his helmet, Reddling just smiled as the night drew to a close. The sun was beginning to come up, but the false dawn was not enough to harm his eyes. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Nightshade."

“Ponyfeathers Reddling. That’s a crap excuse.” Nightshade replied.

Reddling felt a laugh rise in his chest, and he giggled. “ehehehe, I suppose so.” The giggling continued for a bit, and then mid laugh Reddling cut it off, turning to face her. “It’s no different from what I’m holding against you. It’s both of you. I’m actually really fond of Tops.”

“Are you jealous?” Nightshade accused. “Can’t stand to see somepony do something better than you, like how you pretended to be concerned for me until you saw I was winning that idiotic rock game?”

Reddling gritted his teeth, turning away from her. “You’re way off base, crazy bat. I helped you because I wanted too, I didn’t care about winning or losing.”

“So what is it then, what is your issue?” Nightshade’s questions were unrelenting. Reddling felt his mouth twitch, then his ear give a echoing twitch as Nightshade’s eyes burned holes into his back.

“It was that cave. It’s the Nightmare, thing.” Reddling said quietly. Nightshade made no response, but let her eyes stare at Reddling as she listened intently. Turning angrily to her, Reddling felt something horrible and savage rise up in his chest as his face twisted with anger and madness.

“All of us saw things in there, terrible things, horrible things! Such horrible things! I was concerned about you two! Going off with Cobalt like that!” Reddling raised a hoof angrily, and shook it at the surprised mare. “I went after you, and asked Bruiser and Midnight to help. Bruiser did, and some horrible, some monster, undead thing bit both of us!”

Reddling advanced towards the bleachers, his rage growing as every painful memory of that day echoed again in his head, replying itself like a cinema. “He ran back, and I went through all this terrible black mist to get to you two. I faced the Nightmare again, and got to you. I threatened Cobalt, told her to stand down and I was bringing you two back with me because I was worried!” Reddling could now feel tears ready to leak from his eyes as he stepped onto the bleachers, Nightshade standing up in alarm at his deep breaths that rolled across the metal.

“I don’t know what you or Tops saw, but I know what I saw in that cave, and I know what attacked us in that forest.” Reddling swung his hoof in anger at the air, falling backwards and sitting on in the leg area of the bleachers, crawling back by pushing himself away with his hind hooves. He looked up with a slight blush of anger and embarrassment at the confused bat in front of him.

“Now go on and laugh. Get it over with.” Reddling said, gazing away from Nightshade.

There was silence for a few minutes as Nighthade stared at the false dawn, a cool breeze sweeping through the practice field. Finally, she broke the silence with a low tone.

“You came after us because you were worried…? You don’t know how it works, do you? This… thing.” Nightshade asked.

“Thing? That power?” Reddling questioned her, not bothering to get up or dust himself off. She nodded and he scoffed, “That monstrous stuff? I’m not sure I want to know, but I can’t just ignore it.”

“Batponies are more in tune with it. We can… take it in, use it, control it- and if we don’t, it’ll find other ponies to use instead. It starts small. Nightmares, bad dreams.” Reddling’s head snapped towards Nightshade in fear as she continued. “Then, they start coming true. During the daytime…”

Reddling nearly fell off the bleachers as he backed up more, his back half slamming into a metal rail as his breathing became quick, chest heaving at the thoughts of what he had seen in his nightmares ever since becoming a bat pony. He had always suffered nightmares in Silverfield, but ever since he’d become a child of the night they had been stronger and somehow, realer.

Nightshade gave a shudder before continuing. “They used to think that ponies like that were cursed and evil. They’d send them away, or cut off their horns, or kill them.” Reddling stood up, grabbing at his helmet and holding the railing for support, staring wide eyed at the mare before him. He didn’t want to hear what she had to say, but he was now too terrified for her to simply stop. His mask of coldness laid shattered on the ground at his forehooves, Nightshade continuing to push the subject forward even as she looked down at Reddling, beginning to advance forward on him.

“The Night Guard isn’t just about doing guard work in the dark. Sometimes it’s about actually protecting ponies from the Night.” She looked away from Reddling, staring at the tip of the sun casting harsh shadows over the practice field. “Controlling this isn’t easy, and you’ve been pushing Tops away. He thought you were his friend, and you’ve been treating him like a sack of molded Pegasus droppings.”

Reddling was not quite sure how he managed his next movement, but it was gloriously theatrical. He somehow managed to throw his helmet up in the air. Under him, his hind legs lost their balance and strength, sending him toppling down the the metal bleacher stairs. After landing hard on his side, Reddling wrapped his wings and coat around himself. A terrified, high pitched yell of fright, panic and animal fear came out of Reddling's mouth before he ducked behind the stands. Reddling pulled his coat over his head and cowered in the dark area between the ground and the bleachers, his mind racing. Everything Luna and everything Nightshade had said... made undeniable sense.

And it also means that one of the only friends I've ever had... I've wronged. During the best days of my life, I took someone who welcomed me with open hooves and shunned them why? Why did I do it? It was for no reason, I just did it because

“Reddling? Reddling!” Nightshade’s voice searched for him as she trotted down the stairs. Reddling couldn’t call out to her, his breaths had been reduced to short gasps. No longer could he think or talk, for he had forgotten his languages. The only thing that seemed to be real was the internal combustion of his brain as it quickly melted itself into a thick goop that sloshed around inside his skull, moving his thoughts around like vegetable bits in a thin soup. This left only his shining grey eyes to stare out at the world with no understanding. Nightshade bent to her knees and looked under the coat, staring at the panicked pony before her. She had his helmet in her mouth, and made very slow movements.

Maybe, if I don’t move, she can’t see me! Reddling’s shattered brain echoed broken bits of thoughts to his nervous heart as Nightshade offered him his helmet.

“The sun’s going to be up soon. We should get back inside.” Nightshade said. Reddling drew in a harsh breath that raped his cotton lungs. He made no attempt to take the helmet, but struggled to form a word for her.

“Sorry!” Reddling squeaked. The word came out in a weak, horrible little murmur. Tears were dripping down his cheeks now as he drew himself more sharply against the underside of the bleachers. “I’m… I’m so, sorry! J-Just… go…”

Nightshade turned her face sideways, scrunching it up for a moment in confusion. “Are you afraid of something?”

Reddling shook under his coat, curling up more and reaching out quickly to pull his helmet under the blue shield covering his body, giving her a blank and weak nod, staring right at Nightshade, who backed away slightly.

“I don’t want…” Nightshade tried. “… I don’t want anypony to be afraid of me…” She looked down pitifully at her tortured subject, holding out her hooves for an embrace. “Reddling, come here.”

Reddling made no move to go to her, and simply stared as the sun rose more, casting dawn’s rays on the field.

“S-Sun. You should go.” Reddling said weakly, remaining hidden in his coat. Nightshade waited for a moment, then let out a disappointed sigh, turning to leave. With a small hop she flew back towards the barracks as other guard ponies started to make their way out into the daylight. Reddling was unsure how long it took him to recover, but eventually he slammed his helmet on and crawled out into the sunlight, pulling himself onto the bleachers and resting there lamely.

It was not until the sun was high in the sky and Reddling felt it’s scorching heat nearly melting him that he finally felt enough understandable feeling to head inside. Dayponies stared at him as he drunkenly crashed past them, moving right past his barracks until he found a nice closet. It was filled with mops, brooms, and the smell of soap. The clean smell was a welcoming difference to the smell of the salty tears staining themselves to his fur coat and longcoat. Throwing himself inside the darkness, Reddling shut the closet door and leaned back, falling asleep almost instantly next to a mop and bucket.

Summer had been turning to fall in Silverfield. The seasons always changed on their own, and this year a cold breeze had swept leaves to the ground early. The ground now found itself with drifting piles browns and reds that swam over the silver grass. The church had assured them that it would probably be a warm winter, and indeed even a single warm draft from the badlands would be enough to kill this cool weather.

However, that did not stop ponies from hating the cool weather in Silverfield as they struggled to harvest all the crops they could. Blankets had been pulled over gardens to keep them warm from any cool air in hopes that they would be able to survive until the ground froze.

Rainy was not angry about the cool weather unlike his fellow twonsponies. He had bundled a scarf and one of Reddling's old purple shirts that was still too big for him around his body before heading out for breakfast- Which was exactly the problem today. The shop was closed today, and he was quite unhappy with the owners. While he had maintained good relationships with them, the wife, who also served as the waitress, had been gaining more and more weight in the last few months, and growing more and more moody and lazy. Rainy had been patiently waiting outside for the store to open for nearly an hour before he finally had had enough and looped around to the yard behind the cafe, slipping towards a window of the small house that existed behind the building.

Although the sun was beginning to shine, Rainy was sure that with the darkness inside the room somepony would have lit a candle. Illuminating his horn, he pushed his face against the window and then gasped in surprise. Here and there were blood smeers, and in a few spots on the floor small pools of blood. There had obviously been a violent struggle here, and Rainy wasted no time in drawing his weapon and rushing to the back door. as he kicked it, the unlocked door flew open. Looking around inside, Rainy let his blade lead him as it began to give off it's unnatural light, keeping things faintly illuminated.

"H-Hello? Anypony in here? D-Don't move, I'll attack!" Rainy's voice quivered as he called into the darkness. Nothing in the house moved, and the only noise in the home was his own deep breathing and the steady drip of blood leaking from the ceiling and forming a pool on the ground. Testing the ground carefully and scanning all sides of the room, Rainy continued to make his way through the house. He found that parts of it seemed to be covered in some black mist that his light could not penetrate. Avoiding those areas, he eventually looped his way back to the door he had broken in from. He backed his way outside until he felt himself bump into something hard.

"Ah!" Rainy let out a yelp and jumped around, swinging his sword blindly. Another sword caught his blade and threw it back as Rainy looked up at a fair haired stallion with a dull coat. He had on what would appear to be priest robes, but over that he wore some steel plates to guard his legs, chest, and shoulders. Rainy instantly bowed, sheepishly sheathing his sword.

"What has happened here, child?" The stallion asked gruffly. Rainy quickly stood up, giving a Silverfieldian salute. He drew his hoof up to cover one eye as he payed his respect to the church-knight in front of him.

"Sir! Some manner of accident! I found pools of blood but no bodies, as well as some unnatural mist in there! I know not-"

The knight raised his hoof to silence Rainy as he peered in, grimacing. "It's called Seether Instant Blackness. Some Equestrians make it for operations to blind ponies when they come to harm them in the dark... which also means that Serquines have gotten ahold of them too. One of the two groups is behind his, surely." The pony looked down at Rainy. There was no smile and no reassurance as he appraised the foal. "Get out of here. I'll conduct an investigation."

"But the ponies that lived there were my friends! They ran the cafe- I want breakfast!" Rainy whined. The knight stomped a steel clad hoof angrily, staring down at the foal who was backing up quickly now.

"Put this out of your mind. Forget about it. Find a new place in town to eat at. You saw nothing, you did nothing, and you're leaving now. Understood?" The knight commanded. Rainy shook his head quickly before scampering back into town, looking for any other cafe or place that he could hide in and get some food- anyplace to make him forget the horrors of what he was sure had been the blood of his friends in their home.

“I can’t believe it.” Bruiser said, sitting in the corner of the bar. He had three flagons of beer in front of him, two of which had been fully drained. The other members of the bat brigade also rested against their seats, staring blankly at their drink. Web had nothing front of her, but was simply staring at the scene.

“I blame myself for not catching on sooner.” She said. Midnight shook his head.

“I misjudged him.” The child of the night said, lifting a glass of brandy to his mouth.

“No, he was just never on our side.” Nightshade hissed at her drink. Tops stood up at this and kicked Bruiser’s last flagon across the room. It slammed into a wall with a crash, which echoed in a way that was much louder than it should have been.

“I tried to be his friend!” Tops cried. “But he wouldn’t let me. He was cold, callous, and totally unable to understand or enjoy basic creature emotions! Why?” In spite of himself, Reddling felt himself being drawn into the darkness of yet another dream. He was back in the enclave’s bar, but there was now a coldness in this place that made Reddling shiver.

“Tops?” Reddling asked. Tops did not look at him for a moment, but when he did, Reddling fell back, horrified. Tops eyes glowed with a red mist, his pupils now consuming his eyes completely. His teeth had all become lengthy fangs that filled his snarling mouth.

“Reddling, I never got to tell you how much I hate you.” There was a blinding flash as Tops giggled in Web’s voice, his claws digging with real pain into Reddling’s gut. The green bat ripped the claw upwards and dragged Reddling by his neck and shoulders to the door, throwing the heavily bleeding carcass of Reddling out into a greyness of a warped world outside.

“Out brief candle, your hour on stage is over.” Tops said, turning away and trotting with splashes through the smear of blood Reddling had left on the ground. Reddling turned and slammed his hoof angrily into a mop, which broke in two as his dream shifted into a new form, the tables resetting.

Reddling strapped on the last of his leather armor, tightening the shin guard to his foreleg as he slung his knife over his shoulder. His left shoulder bore the crest of a knife and sword crossed with each other behind a moon setting on a field. His right shoulder held a field of silver grass on it surrounding a ruined castle. Reddling turned from a mirror, grinning to his young earth pony self before racing down the steps of the castle, speeding into a field where six ponies in hoods and cloaks were waiting.

Reddling screeched to a halt in front of the tallest of them, who had part of a grey beard showing from under his hood. They cut dark and imposing figures in the mist of Castle Celes, leaving a hole in the world around them.

“Don’t say anything!” The young Reddling said happily, bouncing on his hooves. “I’m ready for this, I’m ready for my quest!” There was a glint of a smile from under the hood as the beared cloak nodded, speaking in a happy voice.

“We worried about you growing up, spending almost all of your time away from othersand hunting monsters, but it seems it was all part of earning your mark. The violence and hate in your youth has given you the energy to walk this path. Your countryponies will wait for you as you trot the hardest path alone.”

Robotically, Reddling nodded and replied, “But no matter what path we may choose, there is no path we may trot that does not lead home.”

The other five hooded figures nod and rise, bowing as Reddling knees. One by one, they pull out various small items; a small bag of money, a whetstone, two books, and finally a medium sized saddlebag, which the items are magically placed in. If only Reddling had wings, he’d be flying with his excitement.

“Money, as you will need it in Equestria. A whetstone for keeping any other weapons you may need sharp, even if a true blade never dulls. Two books, one for knowledge, one for your legacy.” The hood said, extending the saddlebag to Reddling, who buckled it on happily. A large case was produced from nothing, and the leader of the hooded ponies produced a sword that would be much too large for combat due to its size and weight.

The leader rested the sword three times on both of Reddling’s shoulders, chanting under their breath before backing away, putting the toward back in its case. Reddling rose and gave one last look at his home, thinking of his nephew, his life, and how he would one day return a hero. The crisp morning greeted him with a rush of air as he ran out of the gates headed northward, shaking his mane as the moon began to rise in the distance.

Reddling wandered into the mess hall when the sun had set. Mangos, apples, and an orange filled his plate as he sat next to Midnight and Bruiser at the table. Tops and Nightshade had not yet joined them.

“Good evening, Reddling.” Midnight said, turning to him.

“Hi, Midnight.” Reddling replied. His coat still smelled pretty strongly of soap, and the memories of his disgrace in front of Nightshade were still fresh in his mind.

“Are you alright? You did not return to the barracks last night.” Midnight’s voice harbored mild concern, although Reddling could not help but feel it was dulled slightly by his constant odd talking.

“I’ll be right soon enough. Last day, is that what you call it? The morning was difficult. I don’t really want to say much more.” Reddling said, ripping into his mango.

“I see.” Midnight said, turning to his hay. “Nightshade seemed somewhat upset when she returned last night, and would not speak of it… But when does she not seem slightly upset?”

“When she’s around Tops.” Reddling said bitterly before he wrenched his head back in disgust. With a cough, he spat out the mango and stood up. Somewhat alarmed, Midnight also rose while Bruiser watched the two of them march over to the counter where a small earth pony stood behind a sneeze guard.

“Reddling?” Midnight asked. Reddling paid him no heed and tossed what remained of the mango over the sneeze guard, letting it drop right in front of the startled looking earth pony.

“What is the meaning of this?” Reddling demanded. There was a bitter taste in his mouth still from the mango, which obviously was not fresh. In fact, noting most of the food here, none of it seemed to be very fresh today. “Do you have anything good on the menu at all?”

“Well, we have fresh fruits…” the earth pony stammered, staring with frightened eyes at the two bats. Reddling’s nose twitched as he scanned the other food, which looked either dry or simply not appetizing at all.

“You should really get some fresh mangos in here, and cut the generic crap out. You’re going to poison us with this crap.” Reddling turned away with a sneer as the earth pony backed away in fear, Midnight nodding sagely before returning to the table himself. Back at the table, Midnight tried to eat a few good parts of his apples while Reddling singled out one of his and simply stared at it with glowering anger.

Maybe if I stare at it hard enough, it will melt into goo and I can have applesauce. Reddling thought, not looking up as the doors opened for Tops and Nightshade to trot in. After getting their food and sitting down, Tops looking at Reddling hopefully for a few moments, as if waiting for him to say something.

Reddling continued to try and brutalize his apple with a terrific cold glare of hatred before finally sighing. “Good evening, Bruiser… Tops, and Nightshade.”

“Reddling, before you give that apple freezerburn, do you want to tell us where the hell you went last night?” Bruiser asked.

The apple did indeed look quite chilly, and Reddling almost thought he could see frost forming on its skin as he started to make up an excuse. Before any words got out of his mouth however, he lifted his coat and gave it a sniff. It still reeked of cleaning agents and at least three different kinds of soap.

“A closet. Soap smells good and I wanted to smell like soap, then I would smell good.” Reddling said blankly before putting his hoof on the apple, pushing it into the tray carefully.

“Man, sometimes you make me wonder about you.” Bruiser said, turning back to his hay.

Sometimes I wonder about me too. Reddling thought, slowly pushing the apple into a crushed position, the skin on the doomed fruit cracking a bit as little drops of juice leaked from the inside. “Don’t you like smelling nice?”

“I guess, but I don’t roll around in closets for it. I use cologne or take a bubble bath or whatever.” Bruiser said halfheartedly. Reddling just gave a shrug, continuing to give his icy stare to the horrified apple as it began to slowly fall apart, spurting more juices across the tray.

Nightshade had seen something ugly, a side Reddling did not share with anypony. It was the pain, despair, and fear in the heart of every Silverfieldian. Whether they liked it or not, below their masks he knew all of them were panicky fools, and he wasn’t any different- Nightshade and the others didn’t need to know that though.

Again that night Reddling found himself alone, Nightshade and Midnight sparing in the distance while Tops and Bruiser patrolled. He had decided over the past while that he might never get another chance like the current wedding. He didn’t like the idea of killing somepony on their special day, but he figured that it was better than the alternative of waiting years before he got another shot. Unfortunately, since Shining Armor would be marrying her and therefore might be able to take the throne after all the princesses were eliminated; Reddling had to make plans to eliminate him too.

Despite all the plans that Reddling came up with, they all came back to relying on key catalyst: Something had to disrupt the wedding. His intuition told him that if he wanted to pull a move against Equestria, the wedding was exactly where he would do it, indeed, he had been planning for this. Reddling tossed another knife at the target board down range as Midnight cleverly disarmed Nightshade, sending her sword flying to the side.

Pulling this off won’t be easy, and if those monsters have something planned, I might have to be ready to engage against the bigger threat. Reddling thought. The creature I had encountered was far better prepared to carry out a silent operation than I'll ever would be. If they manage to pull something off at the wedding, and it seems that the princesses expect something might happen, I’ll deal with that thing before I deal with Princess Cadance. If they pose such a threat to Equestria, I cannot imagine how Silverfield would last more than five days against any large number of them. Equestria is only one head of our enemies, and none of my actions are to condemn innocents- only to make someone pay for the past.

There was some debate over ... pacing, primarily. This chapter was skipped as a second draft, and thus I went back and redrafted it then had it proofread. I apologize to anyone reading for the wait. It's 7AM now, night night.