The Night Watch

look out, we're in bat country

These three are prominent members of Canterlot's Royal Lunar Guard. Specifically, they are the personal bodyguards to Artemis, heir to the night. Here we have:

-Nocturnus (pictured center)
The oldest and most experienced of the three, Nocturnus is the de facto leader of the guard trio, and Artemis' trusted lieutenant. Noct is a brave, loyal, dependable, and quite a commanding presence-but not without a tendency toward playfulness and snark. He's the smallest pony in the group, but the best at any assignments involving stealth or combat-Noct is a pretty skilled fighter for a dude missing a significant chunk of depth perception. Noct likes midnight flights and lurking about in sketchy pubs....and also trading glitter stickers with his school-aged daughter, Primrose. (shown here: )
Nocturnus lost his eye in an aerial skirmish with a griffin. His late wife, Willow, was a fellow Lunar Guard and his dearest friend, before she was tragically killed on a peace mission not long after the birth of their daughter. Noct is still grieving her and blames himself for her death.

-Eclipse (pictured on the left)
The second-in-command and the fastest of the three, Eclipse is strict, stern, and has never once been known to smile or laugh, no matter how many jokes Noct tries. His face may be set to perma-scowl, but Eclipse is entirely devoted to the well-being of his team, and tends to mother-hen his teammates too much, especially Umbra, because in the words of Eclipse, "Umbra is an idiot." Eclipse doesn't seem to think much of his teammates, and yet always seems to be chewing them out for forgetting to dry off after a flight in the rain ("You'll catch pneumonia and die, imbecile. What use are dead soldiers to their highness Artemis? Grab that blanket, and don't you dare half-ass drying off."), or not eating enough before a mission ("Hurry up and eat these daisy sandwiches I made for you. Do you think I want to listen to your stomachs growling like timberwolves all night? Idiots.")

Eclipse and Nocturnus sometimes butt heads over leadership decisions, with Eclipse usually demanding that Noct make whatever decision is the safest for the team, even if it isn't the most viable. While Eclipse huffs and puffs, Noct takes these arguments in stride, usually snarking to a worried Umbra "Don't worry Umbra, Mommy and Daddy are just talking."

Eclipse has a soft spot for Noct's daughter and has never once missed buying Primrose a birthday present.

-Umbra (pictured on the right)
The youngest member on the team, Umbra is the wide-eyed, somewhat naive dreamer. He can be forgetful and a bit air-headed (lowkey dumb), but he makes up for it with pure kindness and consideration for others. Although Umbra is physically the strongest of the three, he's quite shy and awkward and uncertain of himself, and prefers to let Nocturnus and Eclipse make the decisions. He's pretty cuddly and enjoys giving casual hugs and nuzzles, to Eclipse's absolute indignation. Umbra has a big, silly crush on Artemis and he tends to stammer and blush whenever the alicorn is around, and Noct teases him to hell and back over this, while Eclipse is mostly just jealous annoyed.

Umbra looks up to Nocturnus as a sort of father figure, and he, like Eclipse, is an honorary uncle to Primrose. He considers himself the "fun" uncle.


waaaay later on, Artemis will often deploy these three to protect and attend to Jam Sandwich. Jammie is bothered by this ("Gosh, I'm not a princess, Artie!"), and has gotten quite good at evading the guards via agility, strategically placed hiding holes, and many well-thrown pies. Artemis is most unimpressed when the bats return to the castle, out of breath and splattered with boysenberry pie filling.


Noct's first appearance:
aaand more:

flat version of this drawing: