As we neared the deserted, almost destroyed castle, I felt something change. It felt like a presence of evil. The closer that we got, the worse it became. I had no idea about the others, but I knew I could feel it. It was a lure for those who live for the night. That points to the Night Guards, our lives are dedicated to the nights of Equestria, more specifically, Princess Luna. I heard a voice call in my head, 'Come and join me to rise against your tyrant.' It was a rally call for us. Something wanted to remove this so called 'tyrant'. I knew who was saying all this, I just didn't know how the other three would understand it.

"Hey, let's fly in from that hole in the roof. We could use the element of surprise to get the upper hoof." Before we even go past the entrance, I seized up and fell to the ground. My fall was broken by a tree branch that broke upon impact. Luckily, It slowed me down enough so that nothing bad happened. There was this horrible feeling, it kept wanting me to kill anypony I saw. It's voice was all to recognizable. The more I fought against it, the more pain I was in. I had to push through, not for me, not for Celestia, not even for Equestria, I had to do it for Princess Luna. I stood on my hooves and marched forward. Fluttershy was walking next to me.

"Are you okay Night? I hope you're not hurt, would like some help?" The kindness of her voice was soothing, but it felt like pain to me. When she put her hoof out in front of me, that was when it happened. I slapped her hoof away and pinned her to the ground. I had a maniacal expression spread across my face. "Rainbow...help!"

I was pulled off her by Rainbow Dash. "Calm down Night, what's gotten into you?" I struggled violently and broke free of her grasp. I flapped my wings a few times to stop myself from falling onto the stone ground and was standing at the doorway to the castle. "Night, what's going on with you, you're acting crazy. What's happening to you?"

The pain went away for a while when I looked at the closed doors to the castle. I was able to think clearly, the voice was gone, the urge to kill was gone. I turned to my friends looking at them with sadness. "I am sorry that you saw me act like that. The reason I was acting like this is because of who is in there with Princess Luna. She was always trying to convince us to stand up to Princess Celestia and overthrow her. I was the one who barely knew a thing about it. Not until I became a Night Guard years ago, back when I was a small filly with Princess Luna...

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We were in the royal dining hall for lunch. A lot of the guards were already leaving.The captain of the Night Guards walked up to me directly. "Good afternoon Miss Night Runner, may I have a word with you?"

"Sure, what is it you need guard captain?" I could see his face clearly, even with the helmet on. His eyes had this sad and worried feeling. "Did something happen to another one of the guards?"

"No no, that's not what I am here for. I am here for you specifically." Princess Luna casually walked in with Princess Celestia behind her. Both of the them looked so regal, even if they were acting casual.

"Luna!" I yelled as I galloped over and hugged her. "I was looking for you earlier today, where were you?"

She had the same expression that the captain had. "Listen Night, I don't know how to explain this lightly."

"Would you like for me to tell her sister?" Princess Celestia walked up to us. She was so tall, I was basically looking up at the sky just to see her face. "I think she would be better off if I told her." I looked at Princess Luna with my confusion.

"Luna, what is your sister talking about? Is it a surprise? I love surprises!" I gleefully hopped behind Princess Celestia who was walking into the hallway. We went further down without a word. I had stopped hopping and was now confused. I could see in her eyes this tone of worriment. "Hey Celestia, why are you three so worried? You, Luna, and the Night Guard captain looked worried about something." All she did was give me a smile. She had stopped moving and sat down facing the window to our left.

"Listen to me little Night, this was a very tough decision for her to make. Did you ever realize that you and my sister have been separated for a couple of days now?"

"Yes, why is that? Was Luna not feeling well?" I tilted my head when she gave s single chuckle.

"No my little pony, she was in her room all day yesterday and today. She was thinking of a way to tell you the news that has been spreading around the palace." I did remember a few of the other guards talking about how the Night Guards were getting a new recruit. They never mentioned who it was. "She was so worried about how you would react to her choice."

"Well, what did she say? Is there going to be a celebration for the moon and she is having trouble planning it?"

"Not at all. Actually, she was making a decision for you." A decision for me? What could she possibly choose for me? The princess gave out a soft sigh. "She was thinking of having you join her Night Guard." Me be a Night Guard, that could never work. I just stared at her confusingly.

"What are you talking about Tia? What do you mean by "join her Night Guard"?"

"She was always thinking of a way for you to always be by her side. Before, she felt like she was drifting away from you. She didn't know what to do if you two may have been separated completely. So she had filled out a form and signed in your name as a candidate to become a guard of the Royal Order."

Since then, I was meeting with the Night Guard captain every night. He trained me to become as strict as he was. I quickly learned that expressionless face. The only time I ever showed any other form of expression was when I was with Luna. We would talk about anything and smile and laugh. It was like nothing bad could go wrong. I happened to be wrong.

One night I was with Luna and we were taking a stroll through the royal garden.

"My dear friend, is something troubling you?"

"No, it's nothing Luna. It's just that lately, I have been getting this headache every so often. It feels weird. Whenever I go to sleep, I keep getting this nightmare. I was surrounded by total darkness, no light anywhere. I dared not to move from the spot I was in. I could hear a voice calling my name, but that was all I could hear. Do you know what this dream means?"

"There is no need to fret over such a nightmare. Just always realize that whenever you feel alone, remember that I am always here with you." We turned to each other a smiled. Almost immediately, I felt this rush of pain fill my head. I was on the grass rolling around holding my head. The pain just wouldn't stop. Luna was standing next to me, scared at what was happening. The guards that were behind us were also scared. Again, I could hear a voice in my head. It was telling me that the Luna I saw in front of me wasn't real. It was saying that the real Luna was imprisoned inside of the one that I saw in front of me. I looked up at her with my eyes filled with tears. I began to hear laughing inside my head, an evil laugh. Luna had placed her hoof on my chest. "Night, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

Then everything snapped. I couldn't see, I couldn't feel my entire body. My consciousness was gone. When it came back, I found myself, standing over Luna. I had her pinned against the floor. The guards were knocked out. Luna was screaming every now and then. The only other sound, was the evil laugh that came from my own mouth. I stopped realizing what had happened. My eyes began to tear up again. I looked at the guards and then back at Luna's fearful eyes.

"Luna, what...what happened?" Just then, I was slapped in the face by somepony. I fell of of Luna and looked up at the captain standing over me.

"Princess Luna, I think we need to separate you two for a while. I will keep a close eye on her." He picked me up and was carrying me on his back. "I will be sure that she gets through this like we have before."

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I remember how a later, when I was still a Night Guard in training, Princess Luna would show up to a lot of the sessions. Occasionally, I listened as her and the captain talked about me.

"Do you think she will do fine in the next session?"

"Of course your majesty, I will see to it that she does not get harmed."

All I could do was listen. This feeling of just bursting into their conversation was boiling inside. I wanted to just blurt out a few words. 'Please treat me as you would the next recruit. I want to live just like they are. I don't want any special privileges. All I want is to be the best I can at being a guard for Princess Luna.' Those words were like comfort to me. Being able to think that I can do my best no matter what challenge I came across. I had to be that way. During one of the training sessions, our captain called for a short break.

"Alright recruits, take a quick break. We will return for the harder portion of your training. Private Night Runner!"

I ran as fast as I could and sat right in front of the captain, leaving skid marks behind me when my hooves slid on the dirt to stop from going to far. "Yes sir?"

"You were asked to visit Princess Celestia this night. I would like for you to head to the court room when time comes. We never like to keep either princess waiting. Alright, line up! We will now begin the tougher portion of this exercise!"

A few hours had past and everyone was exhausted. It was night time and the guards already switched shifts. My lungs felt like they had shriveled up and it was hard to breathe. "That concludes out session for today. Night, it's about time for you to go."

"Yes sir!" I saluted him and began to walked off. I was panting heavily, I needed to regulate my breathing so I can calm down. Finally my breaths slowed a bit, becoming more regulated. I stood straight up and marched to the court room. I arrived at front of the doors moments later. I could hear a bit of chatter inside. It was very soft though, so I tried to put my ear on the door to listen to what was being said. I could barely hear a thing. The only other option, go inside. I opened the door quietly and found Princess Celestia and Princess Luna talking with one of the magistrate.

"Are you sure that she will accept the responsibility? We still don't even know if she will make it to a high rank in the guards."

"I am sure that she would be a perfect fit to be my sister's personal guard."

"I would very much like for her to be my personal guard. I know that she would be the best..." She must have saw me out of the corner of her eye. "Night, you're here!"

"Welcome Miss Night, how did your training go today?"

"It went well princess." I was told to always give the royal bow to the princess when answering a question.

"We would like to discuss something regarding your position among the Night Guards. My sister would like for you to accept the role of being her personal guard, are you willing to accept this?"

Of course I was stunned at the moment, not knowing what to do. I was stuck between excitement and being dumb-founded. I wanted to be Luna's personal guard, but then how would it work out? I needed to be a high enough rank to become her personal guard. Then I will make it there. "I-I-I-I would love to be your personal guard Princess Luna."

She came up and hugged me like she used to. "Oh thank you Night! I just knew you would accept it!"

Of course she loved that I had accepted to be her personal guard. Since then, I made two vows. One, I would get to the rank needed to become Princess Luna's guard. Two, I would protect her, even if it meant giving up my life. It has been that way since then.

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A couple years later, I have fulfilled my first vow. I rose high enough in the guard to become Luna's personal guard. I was always by her side. We were basically an inseparable pair. Then, came the one time when the pain came back. It was a month after I started as her guard. It was night time and we were walking down the hallway to Luna's room. We were talking about seeing a couple of guards fighting over the last cupcake. It was funny to watch because Luna used her magic to bring it over to me. We were laughing quietly as not to disturb anypony. We had arrived at her bedroom around seven minutes later.

"Thank you for accepting the request so long ago. If you had declined, I don't know what I would have done after."

"Don't worry Luna, you know that I wouldn't have declined that. I owe my life to you, so it is fitting that I protect you with it." Me and my vows, never have I broken one. But, it was that one night that everything changed.

"I will retreat into my quarters Night. If you ever feel lonely outside my door, just knock." I nodded to her and she walked in closing the door.

So there I was, alone outside her bedroom door. Nopony was around except me. The voice from the year I first became a night guard started to speak in my min again. 'Night...Night...Night...' All it was saying was my name. Then I heard a muffled sentence. It sounded like gibberish to me. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the voice. I was beginning to hear it now.

'Night, leave this puny pony's side. Come to the old castle of the royal sisters. I will be waiting for your arrival Night Runner.' That was all it said.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" I was looking around the hallway. There was literally nopony there. I looked behind the columns and around the corners of the perpendicular hallway. Nothing, I saw nopony at all. Ignoring what I had heard, I returned to my post. It came back. It started to seem like a fly attracted to a light, and I was that light.

'Night, come soon. I wish to meet you in person. This is a royal call. I am rallying other ponies to rise up against the tyrant of this land. I will be the replacement and make Equestria better than she has.' Again I looked around, nothing still.

"What sort of magic spell are you using? If this is joke, I will find that you will be punished for this."

'This is no spell, I am merely talking to you right now. Close your eyes and I will show myself to you.' This had to be a prank. Probably Luna was playing another prank on me. If not then, I would make sure that whoever was doing this was punished. The best decision was to close my eyes. I felt myself floating in the air. My wings were still down at my sides. That was when I saw that deep blue mane of hers. It was like flowing water. Then the rest of her slowly appeared. She was giving me a smile, but the look in her eyes showed only deception. I knew that she was trying to do something.

"What do you want with me? Why are you calling me to the old castle of the royal sister?"

'I just wish to ask for you help. If not, rest assured that I can convince you otherwise.'

"Who are you first of all?"

She gave me a short, but evil chuckle. 'I am your true princess of the night. I am Nightmare Moon.'

All the guards are aware of Nightmare Moon. I knew the legend, how she is the evil jealousy of Luna. She was an evil that controlled Luna to fight against Princess Celestia. "You are not MY true princess and you will never be. You are the evil that threatened to rule this world in eternal night. I will never associate myself with somepony as evil as you." I just opened my eyes. I was back to standing in front of Luna's door again.

'Since you do not accept my request, I will make you accept it.' The room began to darken. I could see the moon out the window. It was lowering below the horizon. Luna told me about this before. She warned me about how she was being controlled by Nightmare Moon. The one thing mentioned was one not to forget.

She will only toy with your mind, do not believe what you see. Remember that whatever you witness, is her trying to break you.

Those words were my safety now. I heard something slam against Princess Luna's bedroom door. I did not pay attention to it. However, the one thing that made me change my mind, was when everything turned normal again. I turned and knocked on the door.

"Princess Luna, is it alright if I come in?" There was silence. "Princess Luna? Are you alright?"

"Yes Night, you may come in." I opened the door and peered inside. "Don't you worry about me, I am just fine." Heh, the one thing that caught me off guard, was that she was wearing socks. Something I have never seen her do. I just looked at them, they were adorned with a moon symbol stitched into each one. "Were you feeling lonely out there?"

"I wanted to check if you were alright. May I talk to you about something?"

"Anything that you need, I will be there for you." She trotted over and sat on her large bed. The bed was a blueish, purple color. The drapes that hung from each bed post were the same color, and had a moon print on them. Luna patted her hoof next to her on the bed. I walked over and sat next to her. Luna used her magic to close the door that I accidentally left open. "So what plagues your mind?"

"I heard voices outside. I fear that Nightmare Moon may be trying to use me again. I need your help to overcome her influence." My head was looking down at the floor. I felt a soft material wrap around my neck and shoulders. I brought my head up and saw the pink socks that Luna wore. They felt so comfortable, like I was laying on a cloud again.

"I will guide you through this. Remember what I have told you before when she took control of me?"

"I will never forget it."

"Please use that to your advantage."

"Yes princess." We sat there quietly for a moment. "Do you think there is a way to stop her forever?"

"I do not know for sure Night. She is a part of me, destroying her would be like destroying me too."

"I hope I never have to." Again we sat there. No sound were made at all. Except that soft, evil laugh again. I looked up at Luna and she was just staring down at the floor. I looked around the room again. The laughing got louder. It kept growing and growing. Next thing I knew, something had hit my head. I fell off the bed and onto the floor. It didn't knock me unconscious, so I was able to see what had happened. I saw Luna standing, her horn was glowing with magic. I saw an object floating next to her. "Luna, why would you do that?"

"Hehehe, to think that you would believe me to be that nice pony you always knew? "Oh don't worry dear Night, I will always be there for you". You are such a gullible little insect in my eyes." Now that threw me off the edge. Although something didn't feel right, I still felt anger pulse through me. Luna began to make that evil laugh that I heard outside her room. Last thing I remember about that time, was seeing the world fade into black.

Who knows how long later, I was beginning to see again. I looked at my mouth, a razor sharp blade was in it. I peered up from the blade and found it inches above Luna's neck. My hooves were holding down her legs to keep her from moving. Her wings lay flat against the floor, unable to move. It was so quiet I could hear the wind blowing past my ears. Then I heard her voice again. 'Do it, Night, be a good puppet and kill her.' I jumped off of Luna, throwing the blade to my right. It impaled itself in the wall. I couldn't take the voice anymore. I ran as fast as possible into another part of the wall. The pressure from the impact broke a hole in the wall and I fell onto my haunches dazed. I felt the pain in my head, but at least the voices were gone. All I did was fall back and fainted.

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...I had almost killed Luna back then, all because of her. She was the reason I kept fighting. I wanted revenge and I wanted to protect Luna."

I was staring at the stone blocks below me. My eyes moved up and saw the three just staring at me. They said nothing and just sat there, staring. "Wow, that was one unexpected thing to hear..."

"Shush Dashie, maybe she has another story for story time." Pinkie reached into her bag and pulled out a cupcake. Why she put it in there, I had no idea.

"Sorry Pinkie, but I don't have another "story" to tell you. Those were life changing memories I had. I just felt this comfort sitting here that I began to express my emotional memories to you three. I am sorry if I have delayed us. With that off my chest now, we must go inside and stop her, before she harms the princess." I stood up and faced the door.

The others stood up as well, except Fluttershy. She was still expressionless. I could still tell that she was nervous and scared. "Come on Fluttershy, we have to get moving." Rainbow flew around behind her and started to push her forward. I just leaned against the large doors and pushed. They opened slowly to the large room. It was in ruins. None of that caught my eye. My eyes were fixated on who was standing at the other end of the room with Luna and three other ponies on the floor. Her jet black coat, her water like mane flowing in the wind, she was definitely the evilest pony I have seen in person.

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Author's Note:

Hiya all who read these stories. As far as I know, these stories are a bit less.....descriptive because of the time lapses between my breaks and when I write. Usually I would sit down and keep writing when I start, but that wasn't the case for the other four stories here. That is why for you guys, I decided to do just that. This is probably the story that seems best in my mind.

I am still trying to get my friend to proof read the story. If anything, I will definitely update them when she tells me what I can do. After all, writers don't make perfect stories. Anyways, I do hope that you all enjoy my entire story so far. It has taken me quiet a bit of thinking to actually go through all this.

First time I'm signing this lol,

Chris G. (lunablue17)

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