thud.
Thud.
THUD.
Silent Storm stirred from the rock formation he called a bed, the sound of repeated impacts waking him from his sleep. It’s still light out, he thought groggily, pulling his small frame up on to his hooves. He walked outside of the cave he was currently living in, and observed a large wolf-like creature repeatedly running into a tree, shaking it quite a bit. Looking up into the tree, he saw a similar, but smaller wolf-like creature, and assumed that the larger wolf was its parent. Despite being seven years old, Storm had never known his parents. A pack of wolves had found a foal in the middle of the Everfree Forest and decided to take care of it until it could fend for itself. Storm barely remembered the wolves, as they left him to survive when he was four. He had managed to survive by scavenging for edible plants and running from any creature that wanted some fresh meat. Being one of the smallest creatures in the Everfree forest was hard. He learned that hiding was usually better than running and now instinctively hid from any animal he saw in the forest, regardless of their size, except for wolves. This instinct made him naturally timid and shy among other ponies, but they rarely saw him anyway.
He approached the wolf parent and pointed slightly higher on the tree, and made a whacking motion with his hooves. The wolf turned to observe the strange pegasus. His coat was a dull gray-green and its eyes a sky blue, but the wolf stopped and stared for a moment at his wings, mane, and tail. His mane and tail were a brilliant blue, and had the appearance of fire, flowing and flickering on the midday sun. His wings didn’t appear to be real at first, but the closer the wolf got, the more he realized they were real. The pony had dragon wings. As soon as the wolf discovered this, it recoiled and growled at Storm, in a ready stance to attack if necessary.
When Storm saw the wolf's reaction his eyes widened, and he quickly retreated to his cave. Peering from behind a rock, he saw the wolf hit the tree where he had suggested. The smaller wolf fell and was caught by its parent. Both wolves walked off into the forest, the parent nuzzling its child. Silent Storm felt a sudden loneliness, but brushed it aside, his mind again survival-focused. He retreated his bed of rock, and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
When Storm awoke again for the second time, it was dark outside. He plodded outside and stared into the night sky. I've never seen so many stars before, he thought as he craned his neck upwards, I bet it looks great from higher on the mountain, Entranced by the beautiful view, he began to climb the mountain, jumping from rock to rock and going higher than he'd ever been before. After awhile of climbing, he finally stopped in a large, flat, grassy area with a completely unobstructed view of the moon, which was full, as well as the stars. Letting go of all his fears and concerns, he plopped down and stared at the moon. As he stared, he swayed with the grass in the breeze trying to become one with the night.
He sat there for many hours watching the moon and stars shift across the sky, and when the moon was three quarters of its way across the sky, a midnight blue alicorn flew into the sight of Silent Storm. Never having seen an alicorn before, he was mystified by her grace, and how she blended in with the night, yet remained distinct. Several seconds passed until Silent Storm realized she was flying toward him. He panicked and ran to hide behind a rock, but found none. The alicorn landed and looked down at Storm's small frame with a stern look in her eyes. Silent Storm stared back silently, taking all of her in. Her coat was a midnight blue, her eyes the same shade, but deeper somehow, as if she held the whole of night in them. Her mane was an even more striking shade of blue, and it flowed like a river. She had a faint aroma of the mountain's morning dew and the moonflowers he saw blooming in the night. He took an immediate liking to her, but in the back of his mind he knew never to judge on a first impression. He observed a reflective obsidian tiara resting on her head, and his eyes widened as he realized that she must be royalty, but being young, and not learned in proper etiquette, this just made him stare more.
"Well?" The Queen of Night before him said, "Are you not going to greet your Princess?"
Silent Storm just stared back. He looked past the alicorn's legs and saw that the moon had almost completed its journey across the sky. He glanced behind him and saw the sun with its revealing, blinding light and departed without a word, starting to climb down the mountain.
~~~~~~
"Cease your movement, child!" Luna roared, her voice shaking the trees around the the edge of the clearing.
She sighed and thought, now even the children won't talk to me? Then, she felt a slight tug on her mane and looked down. The strange little foal was standing there. As she watched, he beckoned her to follow with his hoof, then continued down the mountain. Luna opened her mouth wide and let out a yawn, peeking back at the sun like the foal had. Maybe he has a spare bed I can use for today, she thought hopefully, and followed the colt down the mountain.
The sun was almost risen by the time they reached the cave's entrance. The colt motioned from Luna to a bed-like rock formation covered in some very soft-looking moss, and then curled up on the cavern floor and shut his eyes. He sleeps during the day, like me, she thought, a hint of a smile on her lips. She lay on the rock-bed which was softer than she'd expected. It won't hurt to stay here for a day. Her eyes closed, and the day passed by in the slow blink of an eye.
Luna awoke at nightfall and did her usual routine of stretching, managing her severe case of bed-mane with magic, and raising the moon. She flew outside into the cool night air and grunted with the effort of bringing that huge old chunk of rock into the sky, which in the end just reflected her sister's sun's light back onto Equestria less brightly. That thought giving her face a scowl, she returned to the cave where the colt still slept. Wondering how he got there, living alone on a mountain in the Everfree forest she made a decision. Luna lowered her head and placed her horn lightly on the colt's forehead and closed her eyes. She extended her consciousness into his mind, and recoiled at what she found at first. Survival. That was all that he strove for. As she searched deeper, into his memories, she found not a single other pony. No memories of parents of friends or even another forest-dweller. Her heart softened toward the foal, and she opened her eyes. The colt's eyes stared at her from less than an inch away. She jumped back, startled.
"L-luna" the colt said, and a smile played across his lips, as if amused by the sound of his own voice. "Y-you're like me Luna. S-so few friends."
Luna stared in shock at the foal at first, but shook off the feeling, It's common knowledge I don't have many friends, right? she asked herself.
"Y-you who lives in the shadow of your sister, you who w-wants to be accepted, but is not," the colt said, the smile gone, "The one who you fear most, this mare of the nightly moon, is still inside of you, faint, but real."
The shock hit Luna again, and her veins felt as cold as ice. "H-how can you know that?" she stammered.
The smile returned to the foal's face, "A d-door once opened can be walked through both ways, your m-majesty," he said giving a small bow. "While in your memories, I found these... words. These w-wonderful, horrible, joyous, depressing w-words." he said, a sparkle in eye, "And n-now I can say, hello, it was very nice to meet you, princess."
~~~~~~
Silent Storm started toward the entrance of the cave and heard a voice behind him.
"Come with me," Luna said, "Back to Canterlot castle. I'm not quite sure what to make of you, but I know you're alone. You need friends. Trust me, even the few friends I have keep me from going crazy."
Silent Storm stopped and considered the request. Friends. The word was so foreign to him. Friend, Companion, Ally, what did these words mean to him? He thought for a great while and finally came to a conclusion.
"I w-will go with you," he said, looking sheepishly down toward his wings, "B--but how will we get there? I c-can't fly yet."
"Climb onto my back," Luna said, and lowered herself to the ground.
Silent Storm climbed onto her back, and once he was on, Luna suddenly broke out into a sprint for the cave opening, then leaped into the air, wings spread, and took off, nothing more than a streak in the sky as she accelerated in the air. As soon as the rushing night air hit Silent Storm, all the seriousness he had acquired from Luna's memories washed away, leaving a scared foal on the back of a racing alicorn. He hugged Luna's neck tightly with his hooves, and squeezed his eyes shut as they sped toward what would soon be Storm's new home.