The moment was a little tense as Midnight walked paced in front of his friends, glad that each of them had already summoned their sword. They stood in the meadow behind the Castle of Friendship, where there was plenty of room and it was harder for the locals to see them.

Midnight moved at the steady and dutiful gait of the guardsponies his father once led as Captain of the Royal Guard, the same kind of gait he'd drilled into Midnight's head during his alicorn training years. It rubbed him the wrong way when his father's training regarding the guard came in handy, but for this occasion it was necessary.

"It's been over six months since the incident in Canterlot when Buck Cheap conspired against the throne and Equestria itself," he began, his voice firm yet solemn, "and we all remember what we experienced both prior and during that crisis."

He looked to them and saw them share looks of hesitant bewilderment, so Midnight carried on, "We were appointed a noble and mighty office by the Champion of Faust Himself. By His guidance and words, we finally came to understand why Harmony bestowed these swords upon us. Though no disasters have threatened the peace or well-being of this nation since then, I have come to the realization that just because all appears to be well that we cannot lower our guard. We must be ready for when the next Buck Cheap rises up to threaten Equestria and all of her little ponies.

"Even before we were given these swords and called upon by Lord Stormbreaker, we, along with our girls, have accomplished many incredible things. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, as well as plenty of other threats and emergencies, minor and significant, that endangered our fellow pony and the peace and prosperity of Equestria. However... in light of recent events, I believe the time has come for us to truly embrace the honor and duty bestowed upon us by Stormbreaker."

He looked to his friends again, and though he saw a little bit of doubt in their eyes, they each gave off a stance and emanation of resolve and courage.

"Gentlecolts, my friends, my brothers... say the oath!" Midnight bade.

"For Harmony, we stand united..." Soarin drew his sword, blue like the sky yet shimmered like a rainbow.

"For Harmony, we inspire!" Cheese Sandwich drew his sword, orange like melted cheese yet bright like a party.

"For Harmony, we will be true." Blueblood drew his sword, white like a diamond, regal as gold.

"For Harmony, we believe in each other!" Thunderlane drew his sword, dark gray like a thundercloud yet glimmered like a flash of lightning.

"For Harmony, we never give up." Big Macintosh drew his sword, red as a shiny apple while gleaming like a crystal clear pond.

"For Harmony, we vanquish evil!" Midnight Blaze drew his sword, black as night yet glowing like the silvery blue of a full moon.

They raised their swords high above their heads and declared, "So we swear, as the Knights of Harmony!!!"

The swords each gave off a bright and glimmering glow as energies emanated from them before swirling around their wielders, and one by one each was clad in their Harmonic Armor and Helms, before the glowing swords and armor dulled, and the guys checked themselves out, admiring their armor and commenting on each other's swords-

"Ateeeennnn.... SHUN!!!" Midnight snapped like a drill sergeant, the knights all quickly resuming a stance very similar to the Royal Guardsponies in Canterlot. Again, Midnight began pacing in front of them after sheathing his sword.
"We are a Knighthood. We are sworn to stand together, to inspire, to be true, to believe in each other, to never give up, and to vanquish evil. That means we are protectors of the innocent and of those who cannot protect themselves. We answer the call when others need help. But in order to do that, we must be ready and able. In other words...

"TRAINING."

Although they maintained their poises, Midnight's sharp ears heard the stifled groans and mumbles of his friends and so added, "However, that's not to say we're gonna dive right into some hard training. Just a moment..."

Midnight lit up his horn and conjured six training dummies before them, along with some books, and explained, "Each of you will take one of these dummies and books home with you. You are to read the books and learn as much as you can on your own time but be sure to make it a priority. The books will give you basic instruction of armed and unarmed combat. The dummies are for you to practice on, and they are enchanted to repair themselves, so don't worry about breaking them.

"What I want for you all to do is devote at least one hour a day to training and study, and from now on we will meet here in this field once a week in the afternoon to train together. We will train in combat, strategy, teamwork, sparring, weight-training, and anything else we can in order to become an effective fighting unit. We owe it to ourselves as well as our friends, our families, and to Equestria to become the best we can be. At ease."

The guys all sighed and relaxed a bit before Midnight asked, "Any questions?"

"I've got one!" Cheese raised his hoof. "You, Thunder, and Mac, your guys' swords can become new weapons. Does that mean mine, Blue's, and Soarin's can, too?"

"I don't see why not," Midnight shrugged, "I didn't unlock my sword's dual gauntlet form of Nightfall until our battle with Cheap."

"My sword became a bow called Skystrike when I helped stop a crime boss from framing an innocent Dog," Thunderlane brought up.

"Mahn became a sword an' shield called Stone Edge when Ah helped a troupe o' performers from bein' framed by some outlaws," Big Mac nodded.

"So it stands to reason our own swords have alternate forms as well," Blueblood examined his sword closely, "Interesting..."

"I guess it took fighting against some bad guys to bring your swords' alternate forms out, right?" guessed Soarin.

"I'd say it was more like..." Midnight conjectured, "when we were standing up to unjust individuals."

"I have a question as well," Blueblood sheathed his sword. "As a Knighthood, will we only be comprised of the six of us? Or do you think we might add others to our ranks?"

"That's a good question," Midnight considered it, "I think it would be a good idea, provided we find the right individuals who could join us. On a side-note, I think it's fair to say that our swords' alternate forms have special powers. So, make that another priority during your training; practice not simply your swordsmanship but try to determine exactly what sort of hidden powers your swords have and learn to wield them.

"I cannot be certain what this knighthood of ours will come up against. I cannot be certain if we'll always be victorious. But I believe as long as we stand by our oath and each other, that we will become true defenders of Equestria in time."

Time

Time....

Time?! Midnight suddenly remembered something before asking, "The time! Does anypony have the time?!"

"Well, judging by the position of the sun in the sky," Blueblood gathered, "I'd say it's just about noon."

"Class dismissed! I have to meet Twilight and Spike at the train station!" Midnight hurried off, his armor turning back into energy that was sucked up into his sword, which was absorbed back into his body, before he took flight.

Arriving just in time to see the Friendship Express pull in, Midnight smiled as he waited for the travelers to disembark, peering over to look for his wife and her assistant. He didn't look for long as he saw them step off the train and waved to them.

"Midnight!" Twilight hurried up to her husband, and they embraced each other warmly before sharing a kiss and an adorable snoot-nuzzle. "You're a welcome sight after a long train ride."

"You're a welcome sight anytime," Midnight retorted, spurring a laugh between them.

"Hi Midnight, anything exciting happen while we were away?" asked Spike as he walked up to them.

"Eh, not really," Midnight replied as he led them off the train platform, "Though I am interested to hear about how the lecture went at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

"I'll tell you about it on the way home," Twilight said as they started on the path to the castle.

"Heheheh! Spike fell asleep during the presentation?!" Midnight stifled a guffaw, trying not to upset the dragon, though it didn't work as Spike moaned in embarrassment.

"Twilight took a long time rehearsing, I got tired!" he griped.

"Oh don't worry about it, Spike," Twilight assured, "at least Moondancer was there to help."

"So the lecture went well, then? Nothing unusual happened?" asked Midnight... and was met with a solemn silence from Twilight who showed a troubled look. "Twily? Is everything okay?"

"It's... Well, Midnight," Twilight took a deep breath, "during the lecture, I'm pretty sure I saw somepony."

"Who?" asked Midnight, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"I saw her as I was scanning the audience, but when I looked back she was gone," Twilight explained, "Midnight... I'm certain I saw Starlight Glimmer!"

"That's... not good," Midnight was stunned before he considered, "But wait... Starlight Glimmer was taken away from us by Catrina. If you really saw her in Canterlot, what could that mean?"

"I don't know," Twilight sighed, "there's no telling what she could be up to."

"Nothing good, I'll bet," Spike commented, "From what you guys told me, she wasn't very friendly the last time you guys saw her."

"Forcing everypony in her village to have the same cutie-mark wasn't right," Twilight responded, "we had to do something."

"That pony needs to be locked up," Midnight stated firmly, "Her power to remove cutie-marks makes her dangerous... and I fear that power may not be hers alone anymore. Twilight, we've never discussed this, but perhaps the time has come we formed our guard."

"Our own guard?" echoed Twilight.

"Celestia has the Royal Guard, Luna has the Lunar Guard," Midnight elaborated, "and Shining Armor and Cadance have the Crystal Praetorian Guard up in the Crystal Empire. Even Sombra has begun organizing a guard of his own. Me and the guys have formed the Knights of Harmony, so maybe you and I should have a guard of our own to protect Ponyville and our castle."

"Midnight, I agree that Starlight needs to be taken care of," Twilight replied patiently as they neared the castle, "but I don't think having a guard of own in Ponyville is necessary. To be honest... I'm not entirely sure of what I saw. Besides, Ponyville is such a small and quiet town. There's no crime here, everypony's friendly and neighborly, and as long as we have our friends I know everything will be alright."

They entered the castle, Twilight and Spike setting their bags aside, as Twilight added, "Maybe I was just more stressed about that speech than I thought."

"Yeah," Spike laughed in an offhanded way, "That sounds better than Starlight Glimmer coming back with an evil plot for revenge."

"Maybe you guys are right," sighed Midnight, "but I still think a guard wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"Midnight, relax," Twilight assured as they opened the doors to the Map Room, "Ponyville is the friendliest place in Equestia. There is no need for a guard to protect it."

"Or maybe there is...!" Spike said in an uneasy voice as he pointed forward and they looked and gasped!

There she was, sitting in one of the thrones at the Map as Starlight sneered, her horn alit with mana, "Welcome home, Your Majesties!"

*SHHHHZAP*

A bolt of magic flew from Starlight's horn, striking Midnight in the chest, knocking him back and out with an groaning kerplump!

"Midnight!" Twilight cried out in alarm as she looked to her husband.

"Twilight, she's up to something!" Spike pointed again and Twilight watched in stunned horror of whatever.

Starlight's horn lit up and levitated a parchment written with archaic words, letters and glyphs before she cast some kind of magic upon it. The parchment rose up higher, swirls of mana gathering around it before it struck the Map with a bolt of magic, causing the Map to activate and reveal the holographic display of Equestria!

Twilight and Spike hurried up to it, Twilight demanding, "What are you doing, Starlight, and what did you do to Midnight?!"

"Oh worry not about your hubby, Twilight," Starlight assured mockingly, "He's only stunned. As for what's about to happen? Well, I'd hate to spoil the surprise..."

She then crumpled the parchment in her aura, "Won't be needing that anymore," before throwing it aside. Twilight lit up her horn, prepared to fight, only for Starlight to cackle menacingly as rings of magic rose up around the Map! Twilight tried to zap it with a Flux Spell to disrupt whatever was going on, only for the rings to deflect it, and an unnatural wind picked up, almost blowing Spike away until Twilight held him protectively under her wing.

They watched as an orb of light formed at the apex of the rising rings before the orb expanded, showing arcane symbols and magic circles surrounding what appeared to be a portal!

Then, before they could stop her, Starlight levitated herself, giving them one more wicked smile before she vanished into the portal, and it vanished behind her in a blink of light.

"Where'd she go?" Spike asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better find out," Twilight declared. She paused and looked back to Midnight and was relieved to see him coming to-

"Well, I guess we can start with this."

!!!

Twilight looked and saw Spike reaching down to pick up the crumpled parchment, "Spike, no! Don't touch that!"

But Spike's claws had already clenched the paper... and they looked on as the same magical process began again! The rings rose up around the Map, the portal opened, and as the wind picked up, Midnight groaned as he lifted his head and saw his Twilight and Spike watching this strange phenomenon... before it began to suck them up!

"AAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!!" Spike and Twilight cried in alarm as they flew towards the portal.

"TWILIGHT!!!"

"MIDNIGHT....!!!"

And in a blink of light, they were gone, leaving Midnight stunned, horrified, and uncertain.

Next Chapter: 325. The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2 Estimated time remaining: 31 Hours, 44 Minutes