//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: In the Shadow of the Sun 
// by James Caudry 
//------------------------------//

In the Shadow of the Sun

In the early days of Equestria, there were many pony tribes. One of these tribes was most noted for their devoted worship of the sun. The ponies that belonged to this tribe were known as the Solari. Although, you won’t be able to find them in the pages of history. The only ponies that remember the Solari were told about them in pony tales. But recently there’s been a revival of Solari history throughout Equestria. Brought about by a certain storyteller.

“The Solari are an old tribe of ponies. They have been around for almost as long as Equestria itself. Although you won’t find that in a history book, mostly cause they are sun worshipers. Now many of you are probably thinking, didn’t princess Celestia outlaw sun worshiping a thousand years ago?” All the foals that were gathered around slowly nodded. 
“Well that is right, and that is also why you won’t hear much about them anywhere else. After Celestia made the decree that put a ban on sun worshiping, the Solari were cast out from normal pony society. The last thing you can find in the history books is that the Solari hid in the Everfree forest. But other than that, they haven’t been heard from since.”
“Until recently?” A small filly asked, waving her hoof in the air.

“Yes, that is correct Minty Beat.” Answered the storyteller, with a smile on his face. 

“Now our story begins in a Solari village near the outskirts of the old Royal Castle. A Stallion, by the name of Shadow Walker, is the pony we will be following. Although no one ever called him that, they normally just called him Maverick. The nickname came to be his through a myriad of reasons. Namely, his name. He was the only one among a tribe of sun worshipers whose name involved shadows. Because of this, he grew up most of his life shunned by the other ponies.
“But the most interesting thing about Maverick was his lack of a cutie mark. He was a stallion that didn’t have his cutie mark. How embarrassing would that be? So Maverick spent most of his time trying to get his cutie mark, a lot like some you I hear.” The Storyteller looked at three fillies at the back of the class. They were scribbling on a piece of paper and were not paying attention. 
“Yet in this Maverick was different from the other colts. The other colts would spend time with the village elders praising the sun all day in attempt to get their cutie marks. Maverick on the other hoof had no interest in the sun, or even a sun shaped cutie mark. Maverick did however have interest in a similarly shaped cutie mark. A cutie mark shaped like the moon. That's right; he was the only pony among a tribe of sun worshipers that liked the moon. To the other Solari this was seen as despicable, but to Maverick, the moon meant something else. 
“When Maverick was just a little colt both his parents died and left him an orphan. He was alone, he was alien, and because of this he was picked on a lot. Of course, the other foals would make fun of him and call mean names, but they never hit him. Each night he would return home from school and sit on his bed. Most nights he cried himself to sleep. He cried for his parents, he cried that he was picked on, he cried that his name alone made him an outcast. An outcast of the outcasts. Yet in all his grief, there was no one there to comfort him. Well, that’s what he thought at first.
“It soon became apparent to Maverick that every night he found himself crying, he was able to see the moon. Whether he was laying on his bed or hiding in the trees that surrounded the village. He was always able to find the moon casting its soft glow across the treetops. Maverick started staying up late at night just so he could watch the moonrise and set. It didn’t take long for him to realize that the moon was just like him. Both were shunned by the Solari, both were made fun of by the other kids, and both were, alone. 
“Maverick’s new found kinship with the night ignited a spark within him. He knew your cutie mark somehow involves your special talent and that your name also deals with your special talent. This left Maverick convinced that by walking around at night, he would somehow earn his cutie mark. At first, he would only circle around the Solari village, but he soon got bored with that and decided to venture into the old castle ruins.
“There wasn’t much to find in the old ruins. Mostly it was burnt out buildings and broken stone pillars. It wasn’t till the first full moon that Maverick found something remarkable. It happened when he came across a wolf sitting at the corner of an intersection. It took Maverick a moment to notice the wolf, and when he did, it started off down the nearest street. The wolf didn’t run away, in fact, it was walking. Every few steps it took it would walk in a circle, and then continue walking. It was almost as if it wanted to be followed. Maverick decided he would play the game and followed the wolf down the street. It wasn’t long before the wolf was leading him over boulders and under tree branches. Eventually the wolf lead him to a pool of water situated in a clearing of trees. Maverick walked to the water's edge and was in disbelief at what he saw. 
“The pool was fed by a small waterfall, which produced a soft breeze that blanketed the area. The pool was surrounded by cool grass and encircled by moss-covered stones. Large pine trees covered the area, along with aspen trees and redwoods. Beams of moonlight broke through the coverage and danced across the surface of the water. Yet the most intriguing part was that the pool glowed an eerie incandescent blue. Maverick decided that he would go back to that pool every full moon, in hope that he would somehow earn his cutie mark.” The storyteller stopped, a colt was waving his hoof impatiently.
“Yes, Sleek Wind?”
“I thought you said this was a story about cutie marks?”

“If you would have been paying attention, then you would realize that I am getting there.” The storyteller looked across his audience and decided that he was losing them. He took a deep breath and started again.

“Maverick was finally starting to enjoy himself and find happiness in life. When one of the village elders came to Maverick and pulled him aside. 
“Shadow Walker, it has come to the attention of the village elders that you are sneaking out at night.”
“Yes, I have been.” The village elder sighed but continued anyway.
“The other elders think that you have been worshiping the moon and have decided to hold a vote whether or not to have you killed.”
“When are they voting?”
“As the sunsets, so will the last vote.” Maverick turned away and stopped in thought. “Shadow Walker, you could always renounce the moon and come back to the sun. It might be able to change the vote of the elders.” Maverick looked at the elder and walked away. He would never leave the one thing in his life that has brought him solace.”

The storyteller looked around to see all the children wide eyed and waiting for more. 

“Maverick wasn’t going to wait for the Solari elders to kill him. So he gathered his only belonging, a cloak, and headed into the ruins of the old kingdom. He wandered for hours until he came to rest by a fallen column. In his haste, he had lost himself among the ruins. He was lost, with no food, no home, and nowhere to go; but that was just half of it. As the sun started to set, he noticed that the night would bring no moon. The one comfort in his life would be gone, and that night he needed it the most.
“It was late into the night when Maverick first noticed he was not alone. The wolf that he had first met, years ago, was sitting not ten feet in front of Maverick. Again, like before, the wolf waited for him to notice, and then he walked away. Maverick bolted to his hoofs and followed the wolf. At first he couldn’t tell where the wolf was leading him, but after a while, it became apparent where they were going. They were heading straight for the waterfall pond. Upon arrival, Maverick noticed the same glowing water, but he had determined that it only did that on a full moon. Maverick cautiously walked to the water's edge and gazed into deeps of the swirling pool. 
“Hello, and who might thou be?” Maverick jumped and turned to see who was talking. It was a mare, but not just any mare, the most beautiful mare he had even seen in his life. She was laying in the shadows of the trees and played with the grass in her hoof. As he watched her, Maverick noticed the wolf walk over to her side and lay down. 
“Is he your friend?” The mysterious mare glanced at the wolf.
“Yes, he has been our friend for as long as we remember.” She looked back to Maverick; he noticed that she looked sad. “Thou didn’t answer our question, who are you?”
“Everyone calls me Maverick, but my name is Shadow Walker.”
“Isn’t that a quaint name, where do you come from Shadow Walker?”
“I am a Solari.” 
“So you worship the sun?”
“No, I love the night, the stars, the moon. The night has always been my place of refuge from the day. It was the only time I didn’t have to dream of something better.”
“We see.”
“And you, how do you know about the Solari? I have been told that we were lost to all other pony tribes.” The mysterious mare stood and walked over to where he stood. Maverick could now tell that she was an alicorn, with a coat of midnight blue and a mane that shown like starlight. 
“We are a lot older than thou thinkest. I was around when your tribe was first banished from this city. My sister said it would be best for the city, but she really did it out of fear. She knew even then what I was becoming.”
“And who are you exactly?” The mare turned and looked at Maverick. If she was taken aback at what he said, she didn’t show it.
“We are Princess Luna.” 
“Well it is nice to meet you Luna, what brings you back to these ruins?” Luna smiled a little.
“This pool was always my most favorite place in the entire kingdom. When I was a little filly I would come here and watch the moonrise.” She smirked, “there is something far more enchanting about a moon rise than a sunrise, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I would.” There was silence between the two for quite some time. The gentle rumble of the waterfall filled the air, along with a yawn from the wolf. Who in turn, curled up into a ball under a pine tree. “It is odd, this pool here normally only glows like this when there is a full moon.” He turned and looked to the sky. “But there is no moon in the sky this night.” Luna’s smile was beaming when Maverick turned to look at her.
“You really don’t know who we are, do you?” Maverick shook his head. Luna closed her eyes and hummed softly. The trees started to sway in a breeze, what clouds where in the sky started to move, and the soft glow of a midnight moon appeared over the landscape. Maverick looked back to the sky to see a full moon cresting over the waterfall. The moonlight casting shadows along the clouds and trees. It was a scene Maverick remembered very well from his childhood. His mouth hung open as he asked,
“How did you do that?”
“We control the night and my sister controls the day. These ruins use to be our castle, but Discord changed all that.”
“Wait, I have heard about you, two sisters that control both day and night. It was a tale the village elders told us. We all thought that is was just an old pony’s tale.” 
“Old ponies would say the same about you Solari.” Luna said with a sadden look on her face. 
“Why are you sad Luna?” Luna was quiet for sometime before she answered.
“A thousand years ago we, uh, I began to change. I was becoming more and more resentful that no pony enjoyed the night, the same as they enjoyed the day. Eventually that resentment consumed me and we became Nightmare Moon. At that point, we tried to take the throne from our sister. In return we were imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years.” Luna sat on the grass and stared into the water. “We just thought that after all that time, after all that had happened, that somepony would have gained appreciation for the night.” Luna sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. Maverick sat next to Luna and looked back up into the sky. The moon shinned with brilliance as always, but this night there was something different. A halo of moonlight seemed to be cast down from the moon. It hung in the air somewhere in-between the moon, and Maverick.
“I have.”
“You have what?”
“I appreciate the night, it is the only reason I am here right now. After my parents died the only place I found comfort, was here. This was the only place I could come to escape the ridicule and shame I felt from the other Solari. All the terrible things of the day always ended at night, so I always looked towards the setting of the sun.” The soft breeze of the waterfall passed over Maverick, reminding him of its presence. Luna returned to her hoofs and wiped a tear from her eye. 
“Thank you Shadow Walker, I have waited a thousand years to hear that.” Luna bowed her head and in that moment Shadow Walker’s cutie mark appeared on his flank. It was a crescent moon that cast a shadow over the pony’s flank. 
The storyteller stopped and leaned back in his chair.

“But what happened to Maverick?”
“Good question, after his cutie mark appeared Maverick promised that he would go all across Equestria and try to teach as many ponies the importance of the night. In return Princess Luna enchanted his cloak so it would allow him to instantly transport to the royal castle anytime he wanted.” 

“That ending wasn’t very good.” One of the small fillies said. The storyteller smiled and removed the cloak he was wearing. 
“Well, not every story has an ending. Those that don’t are among the best, because they are true stories.” One of the colts piped up,
“If it was true, then why hasn’t anypony meet Maverick before?”

“Well you all just did.” It took a full minute for any of the foals to understand what happened. They slowly started to realize that the Stallion in front of them had the same cutie mark as Shadow Walker. A crescent moon that cast a shadow over his flank. One by one, they all came to the realization, that the storyteller was the same Shadow Walker from the story. Before the children started to ask questions Shadow Walker said, “not everything is what it seems to be. Sometimes you have to see in the dark to understand what you are looking at.” With that, Shadow Walker stood up, thanked Cheerilee, and left the class with a cheerful “Nightmare Night.” It took a few moments before any of the foals said anything.
“Miss Cheerilee, was that really Shadow Walker?”
“What do you think Apple Bloom.”
“But if that was really Shadow Walker, then everything he said was true.”
“That is right Scootaloo.”