//------------------------------// // Chapter One: A Filly Of The Night // Story: Lunae Revertere // by AnarchyArcher //------------------------------// Lunae Revertere Chapter One: A Filly Of The Night The night is an eternal pillar of our existence, known by all no matter what day and age. It both is the terror of foals and the savior of the weak, bringing both the unknown and respite from the harsh sun. Is it not strange then, that more ponies do not work at night, as to avoid the unkind gaze of that celestial orb? The estranged often find solace in the darkness, which soften their troubles and lifts their hearts. The stars' soft twinkle provide hope for the hopeless, even in the most darkest of nights... Quick hoofsteps sounded across the quiet river as their owner made her way to the middle of the bridge spanning it. Her silvery-white hooves slowed as she reached the peak of the bridge, high enough to get a good look around her. In all directions lay a sleeping metropolis of wooden houses and timber mansions. She took a moment to take in the beauty of them, reflected with the moon on the water. 'I can't believe there is so many ponies here...' she thought to herself, putting her forehooves up on the railing of the bridge to get a better view. 'To think of all of them, oh it must be wonderful here...' Glancing down, the young unicorn caught her reflection in the slowly flowing water. Her midnight blue mane was messy, small twigs and brambled in it from her trek to the city. The silver highlight down the middle had a twig sticking out right below her horn, with a single green leaf on it. "Oh goddess, I can't go see her like this!" the unicorn filly gasped, horn beginning to glow with magic. Her small saddlebags opened, and a small brush floated out to assist her. She carefully groomed her mane, watching her reflection as the brush tugged out the snarls and pieces of wood. The leaf came free, drifting down and landing on her reflection's forehead as she determined that she had gotten it into a presentable look. 'There, I couldn't exactly see Princess Luna without looking my best.' She thought as she watched ripples cloud her reflection. 'Even if I am sneaking in to see her...' The unicorn filly swing herself off the railing of the bridge, turning to look towards the castle a short ways to the north. Its ramparts were outlined in the moonlight, a single tall tower stretching above the rest still being built. The way it sat there beyond a few lines of houses and shops reminded the unicorn of what she now had to surpass. "I hope the guards here aren't too watchful...." she said quietly as she started off towards the castle, quieting her hoofsteps as she approached. Now, the stars and moon don't just rise on their own every night. Princess Luna, the younger of the Royal sisters, has the duty of raising and arranging them each night upon the dark sky, putting little points of light in the void. For an alicorn with the ability, it is a mindless task that doesn't take much time or extreme effort. That said, Princess Luna would have plenty of time to deal with other tasks of the realm... if there were any. The time was one of peace, so what problems were easily solved by her sister, Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia was in charge of the sun, and therefore the day. She was a benevolent ruler, and loved by almost everypony. Even those that did not love her respected her for her immense power and defeat of the Lord of Chaos, the Draconiquis Discord. She was genuinely kind and caring, and did everything in her power to keep her subjects happy. However, little attention did she give to what happened when she lowered the sun and went to sleep in her soft bed. For anypony who has ever sat awake into the night, they will tell you many of the same things about the time of darkness. First, that it is the most peaceful and serene times of the day, when they may reflect on what has happened and rest for the next day. And second? They will say how tremendously lonely it is. During the day, there is no end to ponies around, either on their way to unknown places or waiting for their tea to be ready, that creates a sort of uniformity or group-like state. Night has none of that. A stranger is not seen as a fellow, but as whatever horrible nightmare being that a pony's imagination can bring. There is no unity in the night, but a painful feeling of being completely and utterly alone. And as Princess Luna finished raising the moon, she felt this feeling more powerfully than ever before. The dark blue alicorn sighed as her celestial orb settled into its place in the sky. This was all she truly lived for, painting the sky with the moon and the stars. It wasn't a bad existence, for Luna enjoyed arranging the stars in the sky. She'd work animals, ponies, even some picture stories into the stars each night, whichever she felt like at the time. Of all canvases, the night sky is perhaps the best to show the art to everypony as it is being made. Yet, nopony truly ever looked at her work or saw the symbols in it. Luna had learned through one of her other duties, dreamwalking, that practically everypony slept through her work. It saddened the Princess of the Night immensely that they dreamed of the day throughout her beautiful night. She sighed, momentarily turning her gaze from the sky to look at her surroundings. The Princess stood in the open doorway to the Royal Throne Room, facing out into the dark night. Stairs lead down to the courtyard, where she watched a few of her Shadowguard go back to their duties. Watching the raising of the moon was an initiational practice of the Shadowguard and there was precious few that even were willing to become part of her guard, so Luna greatly appreciated the little company they brought. However, they were still her guards. They had many tasks of their own at night, having no time to even keep the lonely princess company. Luna jumped as a sharp clap of hooves sounded next to her, twisting away with forehooves raised to hit at the newcomer. A laugh made her blink at take another look at the armored pegasus before her. He was fairly tall, although still only coming up to the Princess's neck. His body's coat was dark grey, which went well with the pair of bat wings upon his back and the midnight blue mane cut short atop his head. The brightest parts of his body were the whites of his eyes around his dark green irises, and the meteor cutie mark on his flanks. "I'm sorry Princess, did I scare you? I'm afraid I am too quiet for my own good." He apologised, still chuckling. Luna lowered her forehooves slowly, gulping to try to remove the blush from her face. This was hardly an unusual occurrence, as Commander Umbra had been hoof-chosen by Luna herself for his swiftness and stealthiness. While she wouldn't have admitted it, the lonely princess quite liked the loyal sentinel. "I.. It's alright.." she stammered slightly before recomposing herself. "I t'was not expecting anypony to be around after I raised the moon..." "I usually watch," The dark stallion said softly, admitting his intrusion. "When you raise the moon I mean. I find it calming and peaceful..." Luna nodded, standing back upon her legs and shaking her head slightly to get her flowing mane back into its normal place. She understood what the Commander meant, about the raising calming those who watched. After all, it was that same feeling that kept her raising it day after day.... Quiet gasping broke through the silent night time air as a small filly leapt off the wall surrounding the royal palace into the small confines of an uncommon white rosebush in the royal gardens. Her gasps turned to hisses of pain as she tried to free herself, only managing at first to tangle herself more before a light lit the area around her. "Who's there?" A guard in dark armor yelled as he trotted through the garden, a magic ball of light on his horn illuminating the area around him like a magical lantern. The motions in the bush instantly stopped, the filly inside scared breathless. Her sides barely moved as she thought of all the things a royal guard would do to her if she got caught. 'He'll ask where I'm from...' she thought, a quiet gulp making the guard's ear twitch. 'And send me back... back to my home...' The filly shook slightly, partially from fear and partially from the thorns digging into her flanks. 'I.. I won't go back there... not until I see Princess Luna!' The light suddenly faded as the guard walked off, head bobbing back and forth watching. He was barely around the corner when another 'Who's there?' echoed around the enclosed garden. With a little laugh like bells tinkling, the filly started extracting herself from the bush. "I guess they're a little paranoid at night..." she giggled, picking out a few thorns from her legs with her mouth and wincing with every one. "Lucky I can see so much better this time of night than other ponies..." Once her saddlebags and self were thorn-less, the filly tip-hoofed off in the direction he'd came from, glancing up every once in a while to look for the tallest tower with stood directly next to the throne room. Princess Luna sighed, sitting back on her haunches in the middle of the throne room. Umbra had just left, saying that his duties around the castle had to be seen to before anything else. He had missed the sad look on her face as he left, the royal crown almost falling from her head as she looked down at her hooves and sighed once more. She stared at the royal blue slippers, removing her hoof from one to look at the hoof beneath it. Luna sighed as she looked at her excellently manicured hoof, untarnished my dirt or toil. Too long had she stayed here in the castle, with only her books and personal attendants for company. Turning her gaze upwards, Luna looked upon the massive stained glass window above the twin thrones. The glass mural had been made to portray the Princesses' triumph over Discord with the help of the Elements. Both Luna and Celestia were shown with three of the countless Elements, circling around the Lord of Chaos. It was meant to show unity, that opposites could work together to reach a common goal... "Has it really been that long..." Luna sighed. "Almost three years in which every day it seems my sister is getting farther from me, and so do the ponies of our fine land...." She hung her head, almost touching the royal slipper that rested on the ground with her nose. "What I wouldn't give for those times..." The sound of one of the main doors of the throne room creaking open made her jump slightly, spinning around to face the newcomer. Just in time did Luna remember to put the slipper back on, one of her sister's recent lessons echoing in her skull. You are royalty to these impudent foals. These garments show it, so don't be without them! "Uh, errr.... Yes? Who hath cometh?" Luna inquired, slipping into the Canterlot voice.