“So, what did Luna want to talk to you about?” Bruiser asked Reddling, leaning in while they patrolled the skies. “You get in trouble for always getting yourself in trouble or something?”

“Security at the royal wedding, actually.” Reddling said pointedly back at his companion, who laughed.

“Oh?" Bruiser chuckled, "Why’d she pick you for that?”

“I’m the only one to deal with the venom of the monster. I also have experience with this kind of stuff prior to the night guard, so I gave advice on what to expect.” Reddling lied.

“Eh. So then what’s the status? Or’s Lunar gonna tell us all later?” Bruiser turned his view back to the ground, scanning the rows of homes and shops below.

“No, I’ll be handling this. I don’t like what I’m seeing Bruiser. I suggested everypony travel in pairs, and I’ll probably stay up on the day of the wedding so I can be on hoof if something goes wrong. They’ve been compromising security for the sake of a special day- it gives me bad vibes. Security should be tighter, not more lax.” Reddling looked harshly at the buildings, reasoning with what he said after it left his mouth. The more he considered the wedding, the more it became clear something was quite obviously wrong with the circumstances of Canterlot as of late.

“They put a big buckin’ dome over the whole city, that doesn’t seem compromised to me.” Bruiser argued, pointing up at the giant purple shield overhead. Reddling just shook his head at the dome.

“No, If there is an assassin or plot of some sort, they’re already going to be inside Canterlot.” Reddling smirked at the irony of his statement while Bruiser shrugged, then nodded in agreement.

“Alright, so what though? You’re gunna go all vigilante to protect the wedding or something?” Bruiser asked.

Reddling already had an excuse for this, which he gave robotically. “Bruiser, we get paid to keep this place safe. If something happens, they cut our pay. I will do whatever I am paid to do.”

“Yeah? I’m just here to do what I’m told too. Hopefully nuthin’ll happen and we can just sleep through the damn thing.” Bruiser said.

“Maybe. I asked Luna to let the Night Guard be in charge of interrogations. If anypony gets dragged in I want you to be ready to give them a glare harsh enough to snap their neck, and let me know if anything goes wrong. Can you rough up a few vagabonds for me?” Reddling asked, smirking at Bruiser, who returned the cruel smile.

“What do you think? Haha!” Bruiser threw his head back and gave a chuckle, looping down with Reddling as they scanned the poorer parts of the city.

Reddling found the days passing by all too quickly, and before he knew it the last Saturday before the wedding was upon them. Given that patrols would be stepped up, Lunar had decided to give them Saturday night off so they could be fresh for Sunday and Monday night. The evening had faded quickly to night as Reddling wandered into the mess hall, still stretching out his joints from a rare good night of sleep. The others were gathered around a table a small plate of fruits that had been brought out for them.

Reddling blinked slowly, wandering over to the fruit and picking up an apple. Tops looked up curiously as Reddling sniffed it, giving the fruit a careful lick in a few different places as he carefully studied its skin.

“Are you going to molest the apple or eat it?” Nightshade asked, looking up at Reddling. Removing his gaze from the fruit Reddling sat down as all eyes of his bat friends turned to the apple that had just been grossly violated.

“Just checking for poison.” Reddling said softly. “I don’t want a repeat of what happened at the training camp.” The other four exchanged glances, each one of them looking like they wanted to say something, but were unsure of how they were to word it. Reddling took a quick bite out of the apple, watching them carefully as they exchanged glances and shrugs. Finally, Midnight locked eyes with Reddling, letting out a short sigh.

“Reddling, we are concerned about your odd behavior.” Midnight said, his critically purple eyes staring like probes into Reddling’s head.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t mean to break into that guys- uh, I mean, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Reddling lied, quickly stuffing his mouth full of apple. It had been an innocent accident, but on one of his patrols he had inspected the home of an elderly griffon after they had yelled at him to stop whistling.

“Wait, you did what now?” Nightshade asked, but Bruiser cut her off.

“Reddling, that ain’t what were talkin’ about. You been acting even weirder the closer this wedding gets. We all know you’re planning to go vigilante over what might be nothin’.” Bruiser let out a sigh, leaning back as Midnight scooted forward, drawing Reddling’s gaze again.

“Reddling you are unduly worried.” Midnight said.

“If you know something, please tell us, or tell Luna.” Tops piped up, sitting forward. Again, all eyes turned in Reddling’s direction, but instead each one of them had put a pair of eyes on him instead of the now disemboweled apple resting in his hoof.

“If you want to come along or something, say it.” Reddling mumbled. “I’m not going to decline some help checking the wedding security. With all the issues with security I saw, Luna told me to do what I felt was needed. So I’ll do it.

Of course, Reddling had no such permission to begin commanding the royal guard around. Indeed, he knew that Shining Armor had specifically ordered them to stay totally out of sight during any of the wedding proceedings. However, Reddling was sure now that he knew exactly what he wanted to do to get at Cadence- That was, if his friends didn’t complicate matters too much.

“I’d expect nothing less of you than to speak to your companions and friends about what ails you, Reddling.” Midnight said. Reddling looked up, and then after a bit, nodded to Midnight, talking more directly to him than the group at large.

“I have an uneasy feeling about the wedding. Many choices they are making regarding the security are nonsensical and leave blatant openings.” Reddling pointed up the ceiling. “They’re inconsistent. Why are we worried about a shield over Canterlot when we know that Diamond Dogs have been tunneling under it?”

“Perhaps the shield also extends under the city?” Midnight offered. Reddling simply waved a hoof, continuing on his tirade.

“On top of that, they’ve asked the only guards to have dealt with a new monstrous threat to not just stand down while the wedding happens, but to also make sure that we are completely out of the way. A monster that can change its shape, and could be anypony in Canterlot right now.”

Reddling paused to take a breath, and Midnight extend a hoof forward. “That is somewhat troubling, now that you mention it. I am sure they have their reasons though, Reddling.”

Reddling shook his head, desperate for his friends to understand. The more and more he thought about this, the more and more likely it seemed to him that something else was up. His senses were beginning to make him believe that perhaps he was not the only assassin in Canterlot right now. “They also haven’t had any of the guards traveling in pairs, only patrolling in pairs. This is after they knew the monster could shapeshift. If it was going to attack somepony and steal their identity, they would do it when they’re alone, not during a patrol.”

Reddling stopped, looking at his companions determinedly. There was silence for a few moments between them as they studied their meals.

“Perhaps we should take these concerns to Captain Lunar, or Shining Armor.” Midnight said quietly.

“I’m not done.” Reddling said as he swallowed a bit of apple. “The bride has asked that several security concerns be overlooked or not used because it’s her special day. While that’s understandable, that doesn’t seem like the prudent judgment I’d expect from a princess.” Actually, that’s exactly what I’d expect from some spoiled Canterlot princesses, living here in their wealth and comfort.

Letting out a sigh, Reddling peeled at his apple, looking for words. “Luna agreed that this is all alarming, and told me to be alert.”

“Aye, I have no plans of being caught unprepared by trouble during the wedding. I will defer to my superiors, and not interfere with things if the situation does not call for it.” Midnight said, leaning back in his chair.

“There may not be time for that Midnight.” Reddling hissed at him. “We’re trusted as guards and soldiers to follow orders, but also use our best judgment in following said orders… an our orders are to make sure everypony is safe.”

“So you would suggest.” Midnight said idly.

“I’d suggest that we be ready before the hat drops. I know daytime isn’t our forte, but a surprise inspection just to double check can’t hurt anypony. No harm, no foul. If it’s all good, then everything is fine and we leave. If there is something amiss, we’ll be able to catch the hat as it is dropping.” Reddling rubbed his hooves together, looking to Tops, who to his surprise gave him an encouraging nod.

“A surprise inspection… What do you mean by this?” Midnight asked. Nightshade had leaned in closer to him, and was now piercing him with her dirty grey pupils. Although she had said nothing to object, Reddling could feel some argument forming from her. Tops and Bruiser seemed to be quite enjoying watching Midnight and Reddling argue against each other, a red pony ranting while a blue pony continued to drag him on. To Bruiser this seemed like it was little more than a subtle beer or sports game.

“I’m suggesting that we follow all of our orders to a tee.” Reddling looked at Nightshade and Tops now. “Lunar ordered us to be ready for anything, and Captain Shining Armor told us to stay out of sight. That means that double checking security posts and making sure they’re all manned, making sure nopony is snooping around. Bruiser, Midnight, you’re too big and would stand out, but the three of us? We won’t be seen, and we can double check everything to hopefully fill in some flaws in the plans I just laid out.”

Nightshade looked at Tops, and then turned and opened her mouth before Tops put a hoof over it. “We’ll help you out, Reddling, even if this does all seem a bit paranoid.” Tops seemed to simply be pleased that Reddling wanted to do something that included him, and had brightened up considerably.

“This seems prudent, although I do question your ability to remain unseen in the day. Amongst guards no doubt quite paranoid and looking for anything out of the ordinary.” Midnight quipped.

“We don’t need to remain unseen by the guards, just by the guests. As long as the bride, groom, and guests don’t know we’re there, we’re okay. The wedding will probably be confined to a few rooms near the hall, so that leaves the rest of the castle for us to maneuver around in and check up on.” Reddling nodded to himself, making sure it all sounded correct.

“I- I suppose that makes sense. Although, perhaps Lunar will have plans in his own mind for us.” Midnight was clearly trying to think of anything he could that threw a wrench in this plan, but Reddling was ready for this statement.

“It’ll be a double shift. We’re expected to be asleep during the day, and we can’t rely on our commanders to do all the thinking for us.” Reddling said.

“You do not trust Lunar’s judgment?” Midnight said incredulously. Reddling shook his head no slightly, amazed.

“I don’t trust anypony right now. That thing… It fooled all of us, only me and Web saw through its disguise before it revealed itself. Any of us could be a walking clone blending in at this table. We’ll follow orders, but we also have to think for ourselves. That seems prudent, right?" Reddling stood up and walked to another table, picking up a pitcher of water and returning with it. After filling up his glass, he pulled up his canteen and began to fill it as well.

“What’re you doing, Reddling?” Tops asked, looking down at the canteen.

“We should stock up on food and water today. I’m not taking a chance with poison again.” Reddling topped off his canteen and then sealed it, shifting it back down to his side and looking back up at his friends.

“I would feel more comfortable if we discussed this with Lunar before we took any extreme action.” Midnight said huffily.

“Don’t take extreme action, just be ready and keep your eyes peeled. One of those things could take us down on their own for sure, and if you get bit, you’re done. If we see something, we report it.” Reddling returned to his halfeaten meal, finally giving Midnight a chance to say his piece in full.

“Of course… given how dangerous they seem to be, we might be well suited to stick together as much as possible. That thing did not seem eager to face us directly, and instead only ran. I doubt they’d stand up in a close quarters engagement.” Midnight sat his hooves on the table and looked around for some similar signs of approval.

“That was a six on one fight. If it’s pulling something here, it’ll bring some friends.” Reddling said. The sage nods went his direction instead of Midnights’ this round.

“All the more reason to stick together.” Midnight frowned.

“Might want some sunglasses then.” Reddling said, trying to think of how he’d look in sunglasses. For a quick moment, he saw himself walking down the street in a richly flowing longcoat with an Equestrian suit under it. A red tie around his neck with gold lining and sunglasses over his eyes as he strode into Canterlot castle, turning the eyes of everypony he walked past.

“I’m sure our armor will come equipped with necessities.” Midnight said. Reddling’s ears laid down a bit as he looked down, the image imploding sadly in his mind. Bruiser, Midnight, and Nightshade all stood up, looking at their mostly empty trays. Everybat exchanged glances quickly, then shrugged. There was a nonverbal agreement between them of what had to be done, and they trickled out of the room together, leaving only Tops and Reddling alone now.

Reddling looked down now. This was the first time he’d been alone with Tops since his enlightenment, and he was unsure of what to say.

“Hey, Reddling…” Tops started.

“Hello Tops.” Reddling cut of the trailing sentence, turning to face him. “We’re patrol partners tonight. Let’s talk and fly, shall we?”

Tops opened his mouth, but then shut it quickly and nodded. The two hurried outside and took off into the air, gliding towards their route. Reddling felt his insides bite as he killed his pride and prepared to swallow his honor and admit something he’d really been meaning to say for some time.

“I made a lot of misjudgments about things I didn’t understand over the last few weeks I-“ Reddling looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry.”

Tops was silent for a few moments and they enjoyed the late fall wind. “Thanks. That means a lot, Reddling.” Tops’ acceptance sounded sincere, but at the same time it felt a little cold.

Reddling found that he couldn’t meet Tops’ eyes. His chest was hurting really badly, and his organs felt really tight as he coughed out his words. “I was concerned about you and Nightshade, then fearful, I still am fearful, just… smarter.”

“You’re afraid?” Tops asked.

“Based on what I’ve seen and learned, yes. I respect it, but a healthy fear is good too.” Reddling said.

“There is nothing to be afraid of…” Tops reassured him. “I mean, that arrow thing that Lunar had us do… we were doing magic there. Everything came out just fine.”

“I do not fear your magic.” Reddling reassure him. “I fear what you fight.”

“Well, it’s not like we actively fight it, we just stay vigilant and in control of ourselves. We use it if we need it.” Tops said. “Cobalt explained it really well. Nightshade has the hang of using it much better than I. I don’t use it much if I can help it.”

“You two seem pretty close.” Reddling said, trying to push the conversation away from the topic of The Nightmare.

“…I was pretty bummed out when you were ignoring me. She helped me through it.” Tops said, blushing slightly.

Oh, so she is fond of him. And I was mean to him, so she doesn’t like me. It all makes sense now. “It was never my intention to bum you out, simply to keep myself safe. Paranoia can be crippling.” Reddling said quietly.

“Well, there’s nothing dangerous about me, so there’s no need to be paranoid.” Tops said.

There is something dangerous about me though. You just won’t know it until it’s too late. “As I said, I misjudged the two of you in haste.” Reddling said.

“Do… you want me to talk to Nightshade? I know she can be kind of harsh sometimes, and you don’t get along, but maybe if I talk to her…” Reddling waved a hoof at Tops’ offer.

“No, I prefer to handle things like this on my own…” Reddling looked forward again, thinking about what to say next. He felt like he owed Tops, but didn’t have much to share with him to make up for being so insufferable for weeks on weeks. After a few moments, a thought popped in his head.

“After the wedding, Luna asked me about a special mission. Can I trust you to keep it secret?” Reddling asked, flying a bit closer to Tops now.

“Of course!” Tops said, looking over at him.

“Luna talked about possibly going to my country, and my hometown. It would be on a diplomatic mission, and I’m concerned about it.” Reddling said, looking over at Tops.

“How so?” Tops asked, returning a curious look to him.

“Because nine out of every ten ponies there would kill you or run you out of town on sight for being an Equestrian, and they can tell the difference.” Reddling said vehemently

“Eh, that does not sound good…” Tops replied.

“No, it’s not good at all, and I’m really concerned about the possibility of such a mission.” Reddling was indeed concerned about going to Silverfield with Princess Luna, but not for the reasons he was letting on. What if my friends learn my secret? They’d hate me!

“Why does she want to go to Silverfield?” Tops asked after a minute or so of silence.

“My country was wronged by Equestria a long time ago. There is bad blood between my people and Equestria, something that Luna wishes to solve, and I wish to see resolved too.” Reddling replied. Yes, I want to see it resolved. Resolved with payment, and the only payment I accept is blood.

“Well, how would you suggest we mend ties?” Tops asked.

“Mass genocide, systematically wiping out every single citizen of my hometown and surrounding villages, because that worked last time.” Reddling joked.

“That- That is a joke, right?” Tops said. Reddling laughed, and Tops also let out an uneasy laugh as Reddling nodded.

“I have family there Tops, I’d rather they didn’t die. Still, the only other method I can think of would be convincing the church to agree that Equestria is good instead of using it as a scapegoat for their problems.”

“How would we do that? I mean, I guess some of us could visit in a … goodwill mission or something.” Tops offered. Reddling burst out laughing at the idea of seeing batponies fix up cobblestone roads on the edges of town.

“Ha, uh, no, that’s the problem. If anypony shows up that has wings, bats or pegasi, then they’re going to start shooting arrows and drawing swords on sight.”

“Ah- Wait, what? Why?” Tops shook his head, clearly caught off guard by that detail.

Reddling breathed in deeply. He had nearly revealed his secret to Tops, and he trusted him most to understand. “Do you remember when I asked you about odd back aches?”

“Yeah?” Tops said, nodding his head and waiting for more details. Reddling raised both of his hooves, then moved them together towards his chest, trying to make a snipping noise by clicking his tongue against his teeth twice, chopping his forelegs against each other.

“Never met a Pegasus before I moved to Equestria.” Reddling laughed. It was an empty laugh, bitter, icy, and devoid of any good emotion. “We’d be like demon pegasi mark twos.”

“What?” Tops said blankly. The idea of what Reddling was trying to relate was so absolutely foreign and incomprehensible to him that he could not even consider the point that was being made.

Again, Reddling felt himself grow cold and dark, almost like the Nightmare was speaking for him for a few moments. “Snip Snip, there are no pegasi where I come from.” Reddling leaned his head in to make the snipping sound again. The words rolled over his tongue like freezerburn, making the air outside colder with each syllable. It was much easier to talk about this to Tops than Luna, but Reddling could still feel tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

“Why- Why aren’t there pegasi?” Tops asked, utterly lost and confused.

Reddling sighed. “You… I hate saying this. You don’t understand what I’m saying though.” Reddling breathed in deeply. “Alright, Straight out? Slice’m off. All wings.”

Tops nearly fell out of the air. He stumbled and backpedalled in the air, clumsily going down and landing awkwardly on the street below. Reddling landed more gracefully next to him. Tops turned his face, a look of complete and total horror on his face.

“You- please tell me you’re kidding. You have to be kidding, Please tell me you’re kidding.” Tops begged.

“If I didn’t have these wings now, I’d show you the scars.” Reddling said bitterly. Tops hugged his wings to his chest, bringing his legs together as if he was standing on his tippy toes.

“That- That’s horrifying! Absolutely disgusting! We can’t allow that to keep happening! We have to do something!” Tops cried out, suddenly stopping as his eyes grew wider and he understood fully what Reddling had told him. “And you- You! They-! Sun and stars, Reddling…"

I don’t… understand? How are you concerned about Silverfield? An Equestrian actually concerned about Silverfieldian problems? I don’t get it. I don’t understand.

Before Reddling had time to sort anything out, he felt himself being pulled into a full hug by Tops. The bat had wrapped his hooves and wings around him, and was holding them closely together. Reddling didn’t try to hug back, or really rip away, but just prayed the moment would end quickly as he let out a pathetic squeak.

“Not good at… hugs. Uh, Please, don’t touch me…” Reddling said as gently as he could manage. Tops let go, looking sheepish for a moment before his drive returned.

“We have to do something. I don’t care what it takes, that can’t keep happening.” Tops voice was one of strength and cold determination as he stared at Reddling directly in the eyes. It was an uncomfortable look, to have a pony taller than him looking down and meeting him with a gaze full of drive to help someponies he'd never met when he had nothing to gain.

“Huh?” Reddling asked, still trying to make sense of the world around him. Everything seemed to have been flipped upside down in the last few minutes. Tops face continued to be one of hard, cold resolve.

“Only a sick, terrible monster could do something so horrible to another pony. Something needs to be done!” Tops cried. Reddling looked down as each word stung into him.

“A terrible monster?” Reddling whispered. “Now you understand why I feared you and Nightshade. That was a taste of what my nightmare asked of me.”

Tops’ mouth dropped for a moment. It took a few seconds for the green bat to recover, slowly closing his mouth and opening it again. “Reddling… I- It’s alright Reddling, I understand. As soon as this wedding business is done, whatever it takes to fix Silverfield, it needs to happen.”

“I think there are more important things to handle. Equestria is important for one reason even the church can’t deny- If something were to happen to Equestria, everypony I know or knew is in danger.” Reddling waved a hoof at his own comment, not sure he fully cared.

“Then as soon as we’re sure everything is safe.” Tops promised. The two of them flew off now, discussing their plans for the next few days and nights. Safe places to stock up on food and how to obtain some flasks that Reddling intend to fill with “liquids”. Reddling argued it was much more likely that the water supply would be poisoned than food when Canterlot was so big.

“I wonder though, if Web has caught up with that one that attacked us.” Reddling questioned aloud. “It had a name for her- Black Widow. They knew each other Tops, I don’t like any of this. It’s got weird stamped all over it.”

“Web creeps me out a little, no offense.” Tops said.

“Yeah? Well Nightshade doesn’t like me.” Reddling stuck his tongue out at Tops, who blinked and nodded.

“Fair enough… I’m sure she’s doing alright. She was downright ferocious after that thing got away, I almost feel sorry for it when I think about what she’s going to do to it.” Tops mumbled.

“Web’s scary, but hey, at least she’s on our side.” Reddling grinned. “And about Nightshade, can you make sure she’ll actually patrol as well? If we do get ambushed I don’t want it to be the two of us and ending up like… what’s his name back at camp. Did you ever catch that earth pony’s name?”

“Uh- No, not really…” Tops mumbled again. “What ever happened to him?”

“I kind of hope he died… Because if he’s alive right now, I imagine his life sucks even more than it used too…” Reddling looked down grimly as the two of them began to trot into the darkness of Canterlot, eventually gliding back into the sky silently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfMYKSdZdAY