>Night Start the Dance in Equestria
>This is your first night on duty with your new partner
>It took only a couple of minutes for you to want to kill yourself
>Echo is glued to you like a dragon to his jewels
>[Hugging intensifies]
>Whatever peace and silence that the night would bring you now is gone
>She's talking endlessly about things that are being spoken at some supernatural speed
>Why did you thought this pony would be normal?
>Now she's no longer talking endlessly
>Now she's flying, touching you in every place she can
>It's time to put some boundaries on this
>You look at Echo, scared about if she will never stop her overdrive
Echo I get it but you need to stop this, this is not funny you know
>She is way louder than you, so your voice easily gets destroyed by what it feels like a joyful screech
>All right enough with her bullshit
>The planets are perfectly aligned
>The ancient civilizations warned the world about this
>Your jimmies have became rustled
>You grab the screaming abomination by her torso, so her face is at the same level as yours
>You will have no mercy
ATTENTION SOLDIER!
>The order goes to her living being at full power
>It hits her so hard that it seems like her soul just got crushed
>Even if they were two words, they felt like they lasted for hours
>When it's finally over, Echo's hair it's all messed up 
>Consequences will never be the same
>The few birds that were wondering happily flew away in fear, as your scream echoes to the depths of the forest
>There is a brief moment where everything is silence
>There's not even a leaf that dares to move
>Only the pale face of the moon it's brave enough to wonder what the fuck it's going on in here
>Echo's face is now a deadpan stare, as you make sure to impose your authority in the unit
>And by unit you mean of course only the both of you
Listen to me Sentry, you're going WAY too fast in this friendship. I've only met you yesterday and by I've just seen you might be a serial killer or a psycho
>Echo hasn't given any signals of life after your scream
Here's the deal, I'm going to /politely/ ask you for some personal space, or else I'm afraid I'll have to call the sheriff
>There's that brief silence again
>...
And that's me, of course. So hear this, stay 10 meters away from me and we will be fine. Just fine, not dandy, neither crazy: Fine.
>You move away from the shocked pony, installing yourself besides the outpost to keep going with your duty
>The girl hasn't said a thing, but you think it's better this way
>No more tears
>You can feel your revolutions per minute slowly decreasing
>The fireflies, crickets and birds keep on with their nocturnal parade
>The last jimmie is at captivity
>The galaxy is at peace
>Only dreams now
>...

>You are Echo
>And you blew it up
>Anonymous could have been your first friend in this new town
>Maybe even your BFF
>But you acted like a creep and now he's scared of you
>Maybe they were right
>Maybe you are a weirdo
>...
>No
>You don't want to stay alone for the rest of your life
>He smiled at you
>You laughed together
>You can still be BFFs
>And you will show him
>But... what if you screw it up again?
>He will probably stop talking to you forever
>And only the thought of it makes you shiver in fear

>You are Anonymous
>You are protecting the sleeping population of Ponyville from any existing threat
>And you can see how your partner it's steady and stiff in her place
>You can only hear the crickets
>They are giving life back to the nighttime with their natural orchestra
>Maybe you were too harsh at her, however, it was the only way
>SHE'S A SOLDIER GOD DAMMIT, NOT A LITTLE PRINCESS
>Besides, you're sure the night will flow a lot better if you just stop thinking about what just happened
>A couple of hours have passed since the affair
>You can see the rookie now longer contains a shocked face
>It is now drowned in a melancholic feeling, gazing directly at the grass below her
>Stop watching her, she must learn her lessons
>Your mind goes blank for a moment
>Then you hear a grumble
>It was from your stomach
>You think the time for a snack has come
>Another grumble befalls after your brilliant idea
>You can hear how Echo's tummy fully agrees with you
>You enter the little shack that's supposed to be your guard outpost
>Inside it, you look after your loyal fruit basket 
>It's always there for you when you take a break from your strenuous duty
>There's enough fruit for you and Echo to survive tonight
>Once outside, you notice Echo hasn't moved a single hair
>God dammit, Echo. Your feels will not come out this time
>They are locked inside an indestructible safe, and the key its lost
>Still, that doesn't mean you will let her die of hunger
Hey, Echo.
>She slowly turns her head to you
>As soon as her eyes connect to yours, you throw a mango right at where she is
>She almost fails at catching it, but the fruit it's now safe at her hooves
>You take an apple from the basket and right after you sit in your ancient monitoring chair
>Echo it's exactly ten meters away from you
Good girl
>You whisper to yourself while giving a loud munch at the juicy orb
>Since this is a break, it should be ok to have a little talk while eating
>But the bat pony hasn't spoke a single word in the whole night
>She's eating in complete silence
>You pick up some wood from the hut
>Swiftly, a bonfire is burning near the two of you
>You go back to your beach chair to finish your apple
>Only this time, closer to the bat pony
All right cadet, the time has come for me to know you better.
>She just looks at you with a blank look
>Silent...
>Inert
>She doesn't get it
What I'm saying is: Tell me more about yourself
>She blinks twice before she finally founds her voice
>A gentle and tiny voice
Ummm... but what should I say?
>You're starting to get tired of this
Just... tell me what made you enter the royal guard or some shit like that
>You're having a hard time trying to not explode again
I'm pretty sure you have a good story behind the reasons of why you signed up in the army
>Echo's eyes return back to the grass, like if she was looking for something hidden in the ground
>As soon as she finds it, her ears perk up and her normal voice makes royal presence
>"It was my older sister, the whole reason of why I wanted to be a guard"
>Now we're going to somewhere with this conversation
And who's your sister?
>"She's nothing else than Midnight Blossom" She replies with a voice filled with pride
>A wild awkward silence appears!
...Who?
>The apprentice acts very surprised at your ignorance
>"Y-you don't know who Midnight Blossom is? She's basically identical to me, the only difference is in our manes and eyes"
>You look at her in disbelief
>You didn't even knew about bat ponies until yesterday
>"You see how my mane it's dark blue?"
Uh-huh
>"Well her mane it's /light/ blue, also about her eyes, instead of orange they are golden"
>She explains this while fluttering her eyelashes
>That should mean that Midnight it's like her twin sister
But what's the damned link between your sister and all this?
>Echo finally reacts and excuses herself
>"Oh, right. Let me get straight to the point"
>You roll your eyes as she continues her story
>"Since I was a filly, I had to live alone with my sister. From school I learned enough about survival and responsibilities, so I had no problems about living on my own"
>"Almost no problems"
But what about your parents?
>You inquired while giving another bite to the fruit on your hands
>"My parents where working on Canterlot by that time, I never fully understood what they were doing, but they always said it was very important"
>"That was actually pretty normal on Hollow Shades, a lot of kids lived on their own, just like I did"
>"However, most of them never talked nicely to me, that was my only problem back in that time"
>You only listen, while the sound of the bonfire fits among Echo's words
>"Sometimes I got bullied really hard, but my sister was always there for me, she fought my battles everytime she could"
>"I started to look at her with admiration, she was always so full of life, she could speak for hours about how was her day, and most importantly: she was so strong"
>"I wasn't a pony of too many words, so I could say she was my only friend"
>As she talks, you can feel something within your heart growing, but you opt to just ignore it
>"As years passed, she always took big care about me. Until she signed in the royal guard"
>"There was still communication between us, by mails that we constantly sent to each other. That's how I could know how good or bad she was doing in there.
And I suppose she got very succesful
>Echo continues with her speech as if you didn't said a thing
>She made her way to the top really REALLY fast"
>"But me?, I was a failure. I tried really hard to be like her, but nobody wanted to be around me. I really wanted to know what was wrong with me, but I never got an answer. I got to the point where I convinced myself I was destined to never have friends"
>A long sigh escapes from her lips as soon as she says that
>Then it hits you
>What the fuck it's wrong with your body?
>Is there some enemy using magic on you?
>Your body it's shaking
>You manage to calm yourself and keep listening to the young pony
>"There's a single mail from her that I'll never forget. It said that she finally made it, she got promoted into the lunar guard, from that day she's been in charge of Princess Luna's security"
What an honor
>You remark, finally finishing your apple
>"She got so successful, she's considered one of the best fighters in all of Equestria, her popularity exploded through Canterlot and even beyond"
>Too bad you never went outside Ponyville since your arrival
>Maybe you should travel to some new lands from now on
>Shit man, pay attention to the story
>"She has access to the royal armory, the best weapons for the elite guards"
>You whistle as a sign of impression
>"And don't forget about the handsome stallion she's been dating for years"
>A short laugh escapes from her lips
>She was making Equestria a better place by her services
>"The only thing I could be proud of, it's that I will always be her #1 fan"
>...

Then what happened?
>It's not like you give a fuck or something, but you need to be entertained on something until sun comes out
>Echo looks at you and doesn't delay in answer
>"I decided it was time for me to stop crying, I wanted to be strong, secure and reliable"
>"I wanted to go as far as Midnight did"
So you got yourself into the royal guard to stop being such a failure
>Of course, you talk without taking care of your words
>As always
>Echo's eyes escape from your gaze as she thinks
>"Not exactly, I wanted to meet new people and make myself stronger"
Are you stronger than before?
>She hesitates before finally replying
>"A-a little"
>Welp, her voice doesn't sound that proud anymore
Did you make any friends on your training to be a guard?
>Now her voice it's practically a whisper
>"Ummm... no"
>WHAT A TWIST
>"But I talked a lot with Princess Luna on my way to here, however it seemed like she wanted to get rid of me"
>So, she handled the weirdo to the bipedal faggot
>What a story
>Better than the time you flirted with Cadence
>How would you possibly know she was married?
>Well, time to go
>However, something stops you from resuming your duty
>You hear sobbing
>Echo's silently crying as tears fall to the grass
>She can barely speak as she breathes heavily 
>"You... will get rid of me too?"
>FUUUUUUCK!
>The shaking it's back
>What kind of witchcraft it's upon you?
>"Just... l-let me die here... now I've noticed..."
>You wish from the bottom of your soul that she doesn't end that sentence
>"...That I will always be a failure"
>Something it's being broken as your mind snaps to reality
>What have you done?
>You could have prevented this
>Why you didn't listen?
>It's too late
>You never asked for this
>This it's all your fault
>You never think twice before acting
>Neither you will now
>You get up as fast as you can
>Once you've approached the crying sentry you do the most heartful thing you're ever done in your life in ponyville
>You r[spoiler]each her so you can give her a warm hug[/spoiler]
>At first she didn't notice your walking, so she yelps as soon as you make contact with her
>You gently stroke her mane as you whisper in her ear
That's not true, your life will get a lot better from now on. Trust me.
>That still doesn't stop her cries of sorrow
>"You're only t-trying to make feel better"
>You will not stop until you see that pony happy again
But I'm saying the truth, since you've step your hooves in here you already made a friend
>You grab her hoof, slowly caressing it with your fingers
Me
>Her crying slowly decreases, at the point where tears are no longer falling
>"R-really?"
>You move her face so she can have a view at your eyes
>You wipe out the remaining tears with your fingers
Of course I do, and I'm not the only one. You already met the civilians of Ponyville, they're all dying to become your friends
>You know she will barely see them because of different sleep cycles and all of that, but you choose to hide that little detail from her
You know what's the better thing of this? It doesn't matter if you are not strong as other guards
>You bop her nose with your index finger
I'm going to make you a strong and reliable night guard no matter what happens
>Now her sad face has slowly turned into the smile you wanted so much to see
>As you watch directly at her eyes, you finally understood what happened
>The lock has been opened
>And Echo was carrying the key all along

>The bonfire has never been more alive than it is now
>You are chilling in your monitoring chair
>And your pal Echo it's sitting on your torso
>You both spent the night laughing, knowing new things about each other
>It's only matter of time before she becomes your bro... sis, whatever
I knew from the beginning you had a good story behind you, a mare barely joins the army if it's not for a good reason
>Her ears perk as she gets curious
>"What do you mean?"
>You stroke her mane as you begin your speak
You see I don't have a proper story about why I joined the army, I did it for the same reasons most of the colts did
>She awaits with anxiety for your explanation
The pay it's great
>She giggles at your simplicity, but her snickering suddenly fades away
But there's more than just money right?
>You look at her with a mocking face
Of course, first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the...
>Not sure if you should end that sentence, man
>"The respect of course"
>You do your best to contain your laughter
>She's so innocent
Of course, soldier
>Echo's ears twitch a little as she suddenly speaks
>"Hey, Anon. We shouldn't being like, working or something?"
>Ok now that's a good joke
Don't worry, Echo, this has been the most silent night I've seen in my life, nothing bad will happen if we stay here
>She smiles, trusting your word as always
>"Ok, if you say so"
>She rests her head in near yours
>Her breathing relaxes your senses, as you wish for this night to never end
Hey Echo, can you tell how did you get your cutiemark?
>The fire in her eyes it's back, as she gets ready to keep talking about her past
>You listen to every word she tells, as you close your eyes, being guided only by her voice
>"Now this is a great story, It all started when I was a filly, and my sister wasn't in house by that time, so..."