//------------------------------// // Adopted Sun (Part 2) // Story: Malefic Bonds // by Razalon The Lizardman //------------------------------// Happy Heart was quietly thinking to herself at her desk when a knock sounded on her office door. “Thou mayst enter!” she called. The door opened to reveal Princess Celestia, a neutral expression on her face. “Your highness,” Happy breathed. She quickly got out of her chair and bowed low for a moment before looking back up at Celestia. “Did you find a suitable foal?” “Possibly,” Celestia replied, then gestured inside with a wing. “May We come in?” “Of course, your highness,” Happy Heart said, using her magic to open the door all the way. Celestia entered, then used her own magic to pull over a chair from against the wall, which she sat upon. Happy returned to sit in her own chair, then turned around to face Celestia. “What do you mean by ‘possibly’?” she asked. Celestia took a moment to crack her neck before replying. “We came upon a scene most shameful to the foals involved; three little fillies were taunting the colt known as Solis for his lack of a Soul.” Happy’s eyes widened slightly in response before she lowered her head in disgrace and let out an audible groan. Celestia raised a curious brow to this. “Is it safe to assume similar incidents have happened in times past?” Happy Heart nodded sagely, then returned her gaze to Celestia. “Ever since I brought Solis here those three fillies, who are sisters named Droplet, Aqualung, and Misty, have done little other than berate and pester the poor colt not just for being Soulless, but also for being as they say, ‘a monster’.” She sighed. “Such insults go against everything this orphanage promotes; I am so sorry, your highness.” Celestia smiled and shook her head. “Do not blame thyself, Happy Heart, as thou hast done so much for these foals that is commendable.” Happy Heart perked up at the sun princess’ praise of her, which made Celestia’s smile grow a little before re-settling into its previous neutral expression as she continued. “Dost thou attempt instigating proper discipline and social etiquette to these foals?” “I do, your highness,” Happy Heart replied, “but there is only so much a caretaker can hope to accomplish with foals. What helps none, especially, is Solis’ reluctance to seek my aid in such situations as what you witnessed.” “For what reason doth he refuse thy aid?” Celestia asked. Happy Heart sighed again. “Truth be told, your highness, Solis doth not harbor much respect for figures of authority such as we.” Celestia tilted her head in response. “Why so?” “It is likely a result of his upbringing.” Happy fidgeted in her seat. “Should I explain to you, princess?” Celestia thought for a bit before responding. "First, wouldst thou mind explaining how so many a foal came to be under thy care? We noticed at least a couple dozen foals playing upstairs; surely they do not all hail from Canterlot?” "Of course I shall, your highness, and nay, very few of the foals under my care hail from this city. Most of them I brought under my care during my travels across Equestria.” Happy Heart frowned softly. “As I am sure you know, your highness, life under Discord’s rule was utterly miserable. More so even, many ponies lost loved ones to his chaotic machinations.” Celestia looked downcast. “Yes, We are aware of such, and it pains Us greatly.” “It pains me too, your highness,” Happy Heart took a moment to wipe away a tear before resuming her speech, “which is why I took it upon myself to bring under my care any and every orphaned foal I could find throughout Equestria. I visited many settlements which were wrecked by Discord’s chaotic machinations and scooped up every foal whose parents were lost as a result.” Happy Heart looked downcast herself. “By the time I would find them, they would be cold, hungry, and scared endlessly of the horrors they had witnessed. My promise of food and shelter, however, always brought a smile to their little faces and they expressed their utmost gratitude for my generosity.” Celestia smiled. "We art truly blessed to have a mare as kind as thee living within Equestria." The pink unicorn beamed. "Thank you, princess; that means a lot to me." Celestia nodded. "Now, about Solis' upbringing?" Happy Heart's beaming smile fell into a hard frown. "His story is probably the most tragic of every foal I have under my care." Celestia frowned herself. "How so?" Happy took a moment to get comfortable in her chair before beginning. “All of what I say here is according to what Solis has told me of his foalhood prior to us meeting, so I cannot be sure how much of it is the truth.” Celestia nodded. "I understand." Happy nodded herself and proceeded. “According to Solis, he did not lose his parents to Discord's chaos. Rather, his mother died giving birth to him, to which his father apparently resented him for. Solis has said his father never viewed him as a son, but rather a deformed cretin whom should have remained unconceived.” Happy looked into Celestia’s eyes only to see they were wide as dinner plates while her mouth was slack-jawed. Happy sheepishly chuckled. “Of course, that is merely what he told me, your highness; Solis never clarified whether his father ever referred to him with those exact words.” “The poor colt,” Celestia muttered to herself, deep sorrow lacing her words. “I wholeheartedly agree,” Happy replied. Celestia took a moment to wipe a few tears away from her eyes. “Thou mayst continue,” she told Happy, who nodded. “For the first eight years of Solis’ life, he was unloved by everypony he knew. They all shied away from him due to his deformation, so he never had anypony whom he could call a friend. Eventually, Solis gave up on ever befriending anypony and vowed to live his life for, and only for, himself.” “Such would explain why he is so cold and detached,” Celestia mused. “Indeed, your highness,” Happy said while wiping away a few tears from her own eyes. “His father died of a heart attack when he was eight years of age, leaving him without any family. Not long after is when I found him, still living in his own home and freezing half to death. Needless to say, I brought him here straight away.” “And is Solis grateful for thy generosity?” Celestia asked. “I believe he is,” Happy replied, “though he does not make such clear.” Celestia took a moment to ponder all she had been told regarding Solis’ upbringing. Once done, she returned her gaze to Happy and spoke. “We have one more query for thee, Happy Heart.” Said unicorn nodded in understanding. “We found Solis reading a text outlining several advanced theories on unicorn magic. All throughout our conversation he refused to look Us straight in the eye when speaking as he was entirely focused on the book. It strikes Us odd that an earth pony such as Solis would find interest in something unattainable to him. Hast thou any idea of why he reads such material?” “Well, your highness,” Happy said, “Solis reads more than just books on unicorn magic.” Celestia raised a curious brow. “And, pray tell, what else doth he read?” “I have witnessed him reading works on various subjects, but he seems most interested in astrology and psyche anatomy in addition to magic theory. For your first query, princess, I regrettably never gave much thought as to why he reads such material.” Celestia tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. “Perhaps . . . ah.” “Princess?” Celestia gave a sneaky smile. “We believe the answer hath been realized; Solis seeks a solution to his Soulless conundrum.” Happy Heart gave a wide-eyed stare before also tapping a hoof to her chin in thought. “Such would make sense, I suppose, as his favorite reads can find relation to Souls one way or another. But if such were the case, he would be wasting time as Souls only appear naturally and cannot be forced.” “Thou art quite right,” Celestia replied. “Though, We must admit to being impressed with his unwavering focus in studying such complex and demanding subjects; tis a skill most helpful in strenuous jobs such as, oh, ruling a country.” Celestia’s sneaky smile grew twice as large. “I sup- . . .” Happy Heart took a moment to process what Celestia just said. Then her eyes grew wide-eyed again as she stared at her highness, slack-jawed and dumbstruck. Celestia did her best to suppress a giggle at seeing Happy in such a state of shocked realization. The pink mare eventually snapped back to her senses and, with teary eyes, smiled and asked, “Am I right in my guess that you wish to adopt Solis, your highness?” Celestia smiled in turn. “We would be honored to raise Solis like he were Our own.” Happy Heart let flow a steady torrent of tears in response. “Bless you, your highness,” she muttered. Celestia heard her, but did not respond and just kept her smile as Happy used her magic to open a desk drawer. She levitated out the appropriate adoption scroll and over to Celestia. “Thank thee again for your kindness, princess.” Happy Heart levitated a quill and inkwell from her desk over to Celestia. “Now, all that is req-” “GIVE MY BOOK BACK!!!” Both mares flinched in response to the shouting above their heads. They craned their necks up toward the ceiling and listened for any kind of follow up to the exclamation. When none came at first they looked to each other with worried expressions. “The fight hath resumed, it seems,” Celestia mused as she got out of her chair and headed for the door. “Princess?” Happy said, still holding the adoption scroll. “We shall return,” Celestia said over her shoulder as she exited Happy’s office. She broke out into a canter down the hallway when a loud banging sound echoed above her head, followed by a softer thud. What hath occurred in Our absence? Celestia pondered as she ascended the stairs. Once she reached the landing and gazed into the room, Celestia froze at what she saw along with all the foals whom were playing tag previously. At the other side of the room, one of the unicorn fillies lay face down on the floor with a large dent in the wall above her while the other two stared, Solis’ book enveloped in the aquamarine aura of one of them. But it was seeing Solis himself that shocked Celestia the most. Judging from how Solis was positioned relative to the downed unicorn filly, it was easy to conclude he had bucked her into the wall. The earth pony’s face was held in an expression of pure, unbridled rage as he scowled at the unicorn holding his book. Celestia, fearing he would repeat his attack, spoke up. “STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!” Hearing her voice caused everypony to turn towards her. Their eyes went wide at seeing the solar princess again. Celestia quickly flew over the stunned foals and to the downed unicorn. Turning her over with her magic, Celestia checked for any signs of serious injury. When she found none, she put her ear up to the filly’s chest and listened. Her heartbeat was normal. Celestia then used her magic to search for internal injuries, to which she found a large number of fractured bones and injured muscles in the filly’s facial area. Grimacing, Celestia cast a spell to keep the filly’s face stable while her body naturally healed itself. After giving her one final check, Celestia lifted the filly in her magic and turned to the other foals. The filly’s sisters were watching her with teary eyes while Solis had retrieved his book and resumed reading in the corner; all the other foals had stopped looking at the scene before them and were looking downcast. Celestia focused her attention on the filly’s two sisters. “Your sister shall be fine,” she told them; they gave a small smile in return. Celestia then turned her attention to Solis with furrowed brows. “Solis, follow Us downstairs,” she commanded. The yellow-eyed colt glanced up at her for a moment before sighing and picked up the book in his teeth. “Leave the book here,” Celestia commanded again. Solis’ eyes widened in alarm and spat the book out to protest, but Celestia’s stern gaze convinced him otherwise. Solis sighed again, then turned to the injured filly’s sisters while pointing down at the book. “Do. Not. Touch,” he growled, and made way toward the stairs with Celestia next to him, the injured filly levitating on the opposite side of her from Solis. The two of them descended the stairs and made way to Happy Heart’s office where the pink unicorn was waiting patiently for Celestia to return. The solar alicorn motioned for Solis to remain out in the hallway and entered. Happy Heart smiled upon first seeing her, but frowned when she saw the filly suspended in her magic grip. “Is something wrong with Misty, your highness?” she asked. Celestia sighed. “The fight with Solis took a rather violent turn.” She levitated Misty to Happy, whose eyes went wide upon hearing what happened. “Couldst thou put her to bed and have a doctor come to properly inspect her; We hath little experience with such matters.” “Of course, your highness.” Happy took the little filly in her magic. “I shall do such immediately.” Celestia smiled and followed Happy out into the hallway where she watched the pink unicorn enter one of the adjacent rooms. She emerged a few moments later without Misty, nodding to Celestia before opening the front door with her magic and rushing out. Celestia then turned to look at Solis with a stern, disappointed gaze. The earth pony colt did not return her gaze, instead staring at the adjacent wall from him with a neutral expression. Celestia approached him and spoke. “We are disappointed in thee for stooping so low as to strike another pony.” She furrowed her brows at Solis’ continued refusal to look at her when she spoke. “Why didst thou do so?” Solis’ gaze remained fixated on the wall as he replied. “They swiped my book and refused to return it. I tried to reclaim it but she,” Solis gestured through the wall where Misty was put to bed, “stated I was but an earth pony and could not retrieve it from unicorns such as them.” Finally, Solis looked up at Celestia as he finished his explanation. “Therefore, I responded as an earth pony would; with my strength.” Celestia absorbed all of what Solis told her and mulled it over. It sounded as if some racial tension had occurred between the fillies and himself, but for Solis to lash out the way he did seemed excessive if it were an isolated incident. “Pray tell, Solis,” Celestia said, “do the three ‘mules’ commit such an act often?” “Nay,” Solis replied. “Normally they just taunt and tease, with an occasional spit in my direction.” Solis appeared to roll his eyes following this; it was hard to tell with him having no visible pupils. Celestia sighed. “Solis, We understand thou hast grown tired of such mistreatment, and We do not blame thee for resenting the fillies.” She pointed her hoof at him. “But thou hast no right to physically harm another, even so.” “Flames let off steam when showered with water, Celestia,” Solis replied, casually and with not a hint of anger whatsoever. Celestia was about to reply when what Solis said caught her attention, or rather, what he had not said. Celestia’s brows furrowed even further as she changed her reply. “Thou willst refer to Us by title, followed by name and naught any way else.” She lowered her head so Solis could clearly make out the severity of her words. “Are. We. Clear?” What Solis did next astounded Celestia as to how disrespectful any one pony could truly be. Instead of answering yay or nay, Solis merely snorted and huffed in indignation. This gave Celestia pause. She was, for all intents and purposes, the most powerful pony in Equestria. She was the new ruler of Equestria along with her sister Luna, whom had both cast down Discord and brought harmony back to the land after such a long absence. Despite all of that, Solis treated her like she was a harbinger of nothing but despair and heartache. Celestia started to consider cancelling her adoption of Solis for that reason alone. But then Celestia recalled what Happy Heart said about Solis’ attitude towards figures of authority, about how he was never loved throughout his foalhood, and how ponies never wanted to befriend him because of his bizarre appearance. Coupled with foals’ natural tendency to talk down upon those whom they see as inferior, whether because their target is Soulless, lacks magic, or something else, Celestia began seeing Solis’ disrespectful attitude in a new light. Perhaps he is merely repeating unto others what life has given him. If such is the case, We must show him life is not all dreadful. “See here, Solis,” Celestia said, coming out of her thoughts, “We understand thy upbringing was most despairing, but thou must understand ponies such as Happy Heart and Ourself have naught but good intentions.” She folded her fore legs and laid down on the floor next to Solis. The earth pony did not spare her a glance and remained fixated on the wall in front of them. She wrapped a comforting wing around him and continued. “Thou needest only to recognize them when presented to thee and embrace them. Happy Heart, true to her name, wishes to make all the foals under her care happy as can be, but she cannot do so if they do not seek out her help when treated like thou hast been by the ‘mules’.” Solis said nothing in response, but did appear to roll his eyes again. Celestia struggled to stifle a giggle as she adorned a mock frown and used her wing to turn Solis’ head around so he was looking into her eyes. “Thou willst treat thy new mother with respect, young colt.” Solis was too surprised by Celestia using her wing to turn his head to soak in what she had just said. He briefly struggled to break free of her grip to no avail, and it was only once she had retracted her wing that Celestia’s words began registering in his mind. Celestia struggled once again to stifle her giggle as the young colt’s pure yellow eyes widened in surprise. The look he had on his face was so amusing Celestia did her best to commit it to memory so she could show Luna later with a flashback spell. But then Solis’ eyes returned to normal and he replied. “You really wish to adopt me?” Celestia let her smile grow and answered. “Indeed We do, dear Solis; We shall become the mother thou never hadst growing up.” Celestia expected many things from Solis at that moment; a hug, a thanks for getting him away from the ‘mules’, a smile, just to name a few. What she did not expect, however, was his actual response. “Okay . . . may I take my belongings?" It was not the response itself which surprised Celestia, as she expected Solis would not want to depart with what few possessions he retained from foalhood. No, what surprised Celestia was the tone in which Solis had spoken it. His tone was not full of joy like one would expect from an orphan who had learned they were being adopted. Rather, Solis’ tone had a more wistful edge to it. Celestia took this to mean that, in spite of all the pain he had suffered during his time there, Solis still held an emotional attachment to the orphanage. “To leave someplace one has grown accustomed to is a hard trial indeed,” Celestia stated, to which Solis quirked an eyebrow. “But We are confident thou shalt find Everfree Castle to be most comfortable and inviting.” She stopped and tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. “At least, once the decorum hath been decided upon.” The sound of hoofsteps approaching attracted both ponies’ attention. They turned to the front door to see Happy Heart and a unicorn stallion with a brown mane and tail, a yellow coat, green eyes, and a heart organ Soul enter. The stallion bowed before Celestia briefly before speaking to Happy. “Where is she at?” he asked. “In there,” Happy replied, pointing to the room she had left Misty. The stallion nodded and entered the room. Happy Heart then turned to Celestia and Solis. “He hath agreed to help, though I fear his services are too costly for me.” Celestia shook her head. “Consider thy payment Ours to bear.” She turned to Solis. “To answer thy question, dear Solis, thou mayest bring your possessions.” With a nod, Solis turned around and made way toward the stairs. Happy cocked a brow in confusion to their exchange. “Princess?” she said. Celestia returned her gaze to the pink unicorn and smiled. “We shall adopt Solis as stated previously.” She sighed in exasperation. “We do hope motherhood is not too much to bear alongside ruling Equestria.” Happy stared blankly for a moment, then smiled herself. “Well, I have faith in you, princess.” Hearing those words gave Celestia a brief moment of pause before her smile doubled in size. “Bless thee, Happy Heart, for Our wish is that ponies shalt have faith in Us.” Happy Heart nodded, then used her magic to open her office door. “Let us make official this adoption, shall we?” She entered her office. Celestia nodded herself and followed her in. Dusk had fallen. The whole of Equestria was bathed in the yellow-purple luminescence of the twilight hour. It was a period of transition from the energetic, playful time of day to the relaxed, sleepy time of night. During this time, all the little foals of Equestria were told to pack away their toys and prepare for bed. Some would complain, some still would attempt to defy their parents, but it always ended the same; little foals need their sleep so they can be well rested for the next day. Of course, nopony would get to sleep until the sun was lowered and the moon was risen to bring forth the night. On the front steps of Everfree Castle stood a dark blue alicorn with an ethereal mane that sparkled like the star-filled nighttime sky. She had recently awoken from her slumber inside and donned her regalia to prepare for the rise of her domain. After a short, fruitless search for her sister she asked the remaining guards of her location, to which they revealed she had left for Canterlot on “royal business”. Hearing this made her angry, as she believed any and all royal business should concern the both of them and not just her sister. She tapped her silver shod hoof impatiently, waiting for her sister to return so she could berate her. Eventually, the distant image of the Royal Chariot could be seen approaching Everfree Castle from the sky above the forest. The dark blue alicorn leapt off the steps and onto the ground as the chariot drew closer. She watched as it swung around until it lined up perpendicular with the bridge leading to the castle before descending towards her. The pegasus guards touched down and began galloping, followed by the carriage which sent up a small cloud of dust when it touched down and began rolling on its wheels. The whole ride eventually came to a stop just a few meters from where she stood, her brows furrowed in frustration. Her sister stepped out of the carriage followed by Captain Tricolt. While Tricolt made to help unhook the pegasus guards from the Royal Chariot, Celestia turned to look at her with a smile on her face. “Did you have a good day of sleep, Luna?” she asked her. Luna huffed and turned her head up in disgust. Celestia’s smile fell into a frown. “What is wrong, sister?” “What is wrong, sister,” Luna echoed, “is we are co-rulers.” She returned her gaze to Celestia. “Such implies we rule together, not leave one to sleep while the other conducts royal business.” Celestia blinked. Then realization hit her and she giggled. “You always were most easily misled, dear sister; I conducted no such business while in Canterlot.” Luna arched a brow in confusion. “Then what were you doing there?” “I shalt explain later,” Celestia replied, then motioned to the carriage. “For now, there is somepony you must meet.” She turned to it. “Come hither, please.” Luna was about to question Celestia as to why she was talking to what appeared to be an empty carriage when a soft clopping sounded off from within. The clops turned into hoofsteps as a little earth pony colt emerged from the luggage space below the seat with a saddlebag strapped on him. Luna took one look at this third passenger and flinched at the sight of his pure yellow eyes. She managed to keep composed on the outside, but inwardly she was appalled at the sight before her. The colt looked at her for a brief moment before turning his attention to the castle. “This is Solis,” Celestia said. Luna turned her gaze back to her only to find the biggest smile she had ever seen on her sister’s face. “Your adopted nephew.” Celestia struggled to stifle a giggle as Luna’s eyes widened in response to her revelation. Solis had gone from inspecting the castle to the rope bridge that connected it with the forest on the other side, not acknowledging the royal sisters' conversation in any way. The guards, whom were now unhooked, held their breath in anticipation of the night princess’ response. After a few seconds, Luna’s eyes returned to normal and she turned her gaze to Solis. “I see.” She pointed a hoof toward him. “Solis, come hither!” Solis turned around and walked over to his new adoptive aunt. Luna could not quell her feeling of disgust brought about by looking into those deformed eyes of his; they reminded her of Discord’s, minus the mismatched pupils. She felt ready to hurl her stomach’s contents into the nearby gorge, but such behavior would be unacceptable from her. Keeping herself composed, she addressed her new adoptive nephew. “We are humbled to call thee family, little Solis.” She furrowed her brows slightly to look serious before continuing. “We expect thee to work hard to earn thy keep here. Canst thou promise Us such?” Solis just stared for a few moments before nodding his agreement. “Well then,” Celestia said, turning to Luna, “shall we bring forth the night?” Luna returned her gaze. “Indeed.” Celestia turned to Captain Tricolt. “Captain, please escort Solis to an open bedroom while We bring forth the night.” Tricolt saluted and motioned for Solis to follow him. The earth pony fell into line behind the Guard Captain as they made way to the castle’s front entrance. The pegasus guards, meanwhile, took it upon themselves to roll the Royal Chariot back to its proper place around back the castle. Celestia and Luna watched as everypony left, leaving them alone to lower the sun and raise the moon. Nodding to each other, Celestia and Luna set to work. Celestia charged magic into her horn and concentrated on the sun which hung just above the horizon. Simultaneously, Luna charged magic into her own horn and concentrated on the moon which hung just below the horizon. In perfect synchronicity, the two sisters gently pushed their respective charge along its allotted path. The sky changed from its purple twilight color to the blackish-blue color of night, which the stars immediately began dotting. Despite being hidden by the forest’s trees, Luna could feel the moon’s presence and knew it was on the correct trajectory. Both sisters let go of their respective charge and turned to face each other. “Now, where were we?” Celestia asked. “What were you doing in Canterlot?” Luna replied, frowning. “Yes, well,” Celestia began, taking a moment to organize her thoughts, “I was working to endow public confidence in our rule. The citizens of Equestria have suffered so long under Discord that I wished to make clear to them our intentions are entirely pure.” Luna stared blankly for a few moments. Then she looked downcast, to which Celestia frowned. “Luna?” The lunar alicorn looked up at her sister. “Sister, I have kept something from thee for the past few days.” She looked downcast again briefly before continuing. “Are we fit to rule?” Celestia looked puzzled. “What dost thou mean, Luna? Of course we are fit to rule; we cast down Discord and brought harmony back to Eques-” “'Twas the Elements that were responsible for such,” Luna interrupted, “and despite so, casting down that vile cretin doth not mean our rule is warranted.” Luna sighed, then stared out at the trees, likely in the direction of her moon. “Perhaps, we are meant only to command the sun and moon, naught else.” Celestia stared for a moment before smiling wryly. She walked over and wrapped a wing around her younger sister, eliciting a small gasp from Luna as she looked into Celestia’s eyes. “Luna, I understand if the prospect of ruling over this land brings thee fear.” Luna’s eyes widened before she turned her head aside in disgust. “It brings me no fear.” “As thou sayest,” Celestia replied, chuckling a bit before continuing. “My point is, Equestria needs us to lead its citizens into an age of peace and prosperity, to wipe away the vile aftertaste left behind by Discord.” Luna said nothing in response for a few moments, and when she did she did not look Celestia in the eyes, rather returned her gaze to the direction of her moon. “How can we?” she asked. Celestia smiled again, more warmly, even though Luna could not see her face. “By doing what I did today,” she replied, retracting her wing. “We must prove to our subjects that Equestria is in good hooves with us.” Luna returned her gaze to Celestia. Her face had perked up a bit. “Should I adopt a foal as well, sister?” “Luna,” Celestia chided, “being a mother is not an easy task.” Her smile turned into a smirk. “Additionally, I doubt there exist many foals sharing thy time of slumber.” Luna’s eyes widened in anger for a moment before she relaxed and sighed in exasperation. “Such is correct, sister.” She looked once again at her moon through the trees. “Do not worry, sister,” Celestia said, “for the words of one of us applies for that of us both; the same holds true for our actions.” Luna smiled. “I suppose thou art correct, sister.” She looked back to her. “But can I still mingle with our subjects like you?” Celestia nodded. “Assuming any can be found awake at this hour, of course.” “Then I shall visit Canterlot as well,” Luna cheerfully declared, and took off into the night sky toward said city. “Return before dawn!” Celestia called after her. “I shall!” Luna called back. Celestia watched her sister go until she had passed behind the trees and could not be seen. Clicking her tongue, the solar alicorn turned and made way into the castle. Along the way to her bedchamber, Celestia came across Captain Tricolt standing in one of the archways leading to the inner courtyard, looking off to the right. She approached him from behind and cleared her throat, to which the Guard Captain immediately spun around and, upon seeing the solar alicorn, bowed. “Your highness,” he said. “Hast thou escorted Solis to a spare bedroom?” she asked. Tricolt stood up and sheepishly rubbed a hoof along the back of his head. “I did, your highness, however . . .” “Yes?” Tricolt used his spear to point into the inner courtyard, behind the stone wall to Celestia’s right. Walking forward, she peered around the wall to see what was there. What she saw very much surprised her; Solis looking up at Discord’s statue. He was missing his saddlebag, so Celestia guessed he had indeed been shown a room by Tricolt before returning here to study the petrified draconequus. Tricolt immediately confirmed this when he spoke up. “We wert making way toward the guest hallway when he spied Discord through an archway. He asked if he could take time to observe the draconequus, to which I replied we had best get him settled in first. We arrived at the guest hallway and Solis picked the first room on the left side. After leaving his possessions inside, we returned hither where I have kept watch over him.” Celestia turned to him and smiled. “We thank thee for keeping watch over him, Captain. Thou mayest retire to the Guard Barracks; We shall take over now.” Nodding, Tricolt turned around and made way down the stone corridor. The sounds of his armor clanging and shoes clopping echoed down the hall for some time, but Celestia had tuned out all sounds as she watched her adoptive son study her greatest enemy. She noticed the look in his gaze was similar to the one he had while reading the book on magical theory back at Happy Heart’s orphanage. It was a look that spoke of vast amounts of studious curiosity and determinative focus, as if he was trying to solve some giant conundrum with the draconequus. Celestia watched for a few more moments before stepping out into the inner courtyard and making her way toward Solis. The young colt might have been too focused on the statue before him to hear the sound of her hoof falls on the stone pavement approaching, as he did not turn in her direction the whole time she approached. Upon reaching him, Celestia sat down on her haunches and spoke. “Is something the matter, Solis?” The earth pony colt responded without meeting her gaze. “I wonder how such a creature can even be conceived.” Celestia paused for a moment, then she turned her gaze up to Discord as well and replied. “We do not know the answer to such a query. We never cared to know, anyway, for Discord is naught but an abomination to all that is pure and kindred.” What Solis said next was more to himself than Celestia. “Like somepony fused together a random assortment of animal parts . . .” Celestia turned to see Solis squinting his eyes at Discord. Happy as Celestia was that Solis possessed such an apparent interest in problem-solving, she wanted nothing more than to get out of Discord’s presence. She stood up. “Come Solis,” she told him, “let us make haste and get thee into bed.” Solis did not respond, but he did follow Celestia as she began walking back towards the archway, not once tearing his pure yellow eyes away from Discord’s statue until it was out of sight behind the stone wall. For most of the trip to Solis’ chosen bedroom the two of them remained silent. The sounds of their hoof falls against the stone floor, along with the wind whistling through the hallways from the castle’s many windows, were the only audible sounds for them. At one point, however, Solis asked Celestia a question, which surprised the solar alicorn as he had shown so little interest in conversing with her thus far. “Celestia, what limits doth magic have?” Celestia spared a glance at him, and got her second surprise; Solis was actually looking up at her. His expression was a watered down version of when he looked totally focused on something, with little more than his eyebrows being slightly furrowed. Seeing Solis following social etiquette for once left Celestia speechless for a few moments. Eventually, she snapped back to her senses and answered with her own question. “What dost thou mean?” Solis continued to stare up at her for a moment before looking straight forward again. “Forget I said anything,” he said. “Nay.” Celestia had no intention of letting Solis worm his way out of this conversation. She stopped and blocked his way with one of her wings. “We both asked the other a question, so we shall not proceed further until answers are given.” Celestia heard Solis grumble something under his breath, but let it slide. The colt returned his gaze to her and spoke. “What I meant was, doth an impossible spell exist? Something that unicorn magic can never hope to achieve?” “Ah, a fine question indeed,” Celestia answered, “but it is one without a straight answer.” She retracted her wing now that Solis was attentive to her. “Magic is what bridges the gap between the inner psyche of ponies and the material world we live in and interact with. Spells are resulted from a unicorn analyzing the workings of the material world and the different ways in which their inner magic can be used to affect it.” Celestia smiled as she continued. “Answered another way, think of magic as the combined application of the physical sciences of the material world and the psyche studies of the pony subconscious. To that end, the only real limit to magic would be the level of creativity and knowledge a pony possesses.” Solis took a moment to mull over all of what Celestia said. “I . . . believe I understand.” Celestia resumed trotting down the hall, to which Solis followed. “If thou dost not mind Our asking,” she said, “why art thou so interested in studying unicorn magic?” Celestia looked down and from the expression on his face, she could only imagine Solis would be blushing profusely had his coat not already been crimson in color. She stayed composed, however, and waited for Solis to respond, even though she had a pretty good guess as to what his answer would be. Solis looked downcast for a moment before gazing back up to her. “Can magic grant ponies Souls?” As We thought, Celestia mused to herself before replying. “Perhaps We misspoke earlier; if there exists one impossible spell, it is one that grants Souls.” She saw Solis look downcast again. “But do not fret, for everypony gains a Soul eventually.” “Then why have I not received one?” Solis asked, in a tone that Celestia had yet to experience from the colt; fearful. “There do exist late bloomers,” she replied, trying to instill confidence into him lest he despair. “Such ponies need only wait longer to discover themselves.” Solis’ mood seemed to lighten a bit in response, which made Celestia smile. The two continued on for a bit longer until they reached the guest hallway. Solis approached his selected room and used a hoof to push in the doorlock. The door opened and he stepped inside, followed by Celestia. Looking around the room, Celestia was reminded of why she wanted to decorate the castle’s interior as soon as possible. Aside from some basic furniture (a solid oak bed, a nightstand, and a vanity with both a mirror and Solis’ saddlebag atop it), the room heralded nothing but blank stone walls. Like the castle itself, what little furniture it housed was built by the royal sisters themselves out of whatever materials could be scrounged. The decorum was to be added next week by a team of Equestria’s best seamstresses and metal forgers, and it couldn’t come too soon for Celestia. Solis trotted to and hopped up onto the bed. He laid on his back and, using his teeth, reached over and pulled the covers over him. He then took a moment to evenly space out the sheet’s corners from each other before resting his head against the pillow. Celestia smiled at the scene and trotted over to him. “We are proud to be thy mother, Solis,” she said, sitting down on the bed next to him. “Dost thou feel proud to be Our . . . my, son?” Solis said nothing at first and just stared up at the ceiling; Celestia could tell he was processing all that had happened to him that day. She was sure the little earth pony never predicted he would be adopted by not just anypony, but the solar alicorn herself. Then there was the fact he would now be living in Everfree Castle which, once the decoration was finished, would far outshine Happy Heart’s orphanage in quality. To make the leap straight from orphan to royalty was undoubtedly heavy on the mind, and Celestia patiently waited until he was ready to answer. When Solis did, his tone was that of wistful curiosity. “For what reason did you adopt me, Celestia?” The question itself surprised the sun princess so much so that she missed Solis’ continued refusal to call her by title; it was one she was not prepared to answer. Celestia knew exactly why she had adopted Solis, of course, but only now she realized revealing her motives to him would either make or break their long term relationship. “Well,” she began, to which Solis turned to look at her, “We wish to quell Our subjects’ fear of Us by proving that Our intentions are pure. We visited Canterlot today for the purpose of mingling with its citizens and performing small acts of kindness to improve Our reputation.” Celestia smiled down at him. “But then We came to realize two truths. The first was that if We truly wished to get in the good graces of Equestria at large, We had to provide a living paradigm showcasing the benevolence to Our rule.” “And I am that paradigm?” Solis asked, pointing a hoof at himself. Celestia nodded. “It is Our hope that word of your adoption shall spread and ponies willst come to realize that We genuinely care for all Our subjects.” She turned away from Solis to look upwards at the golden crown resting upon her head. “The second truth was, the process of re-establishing ties to the world outside of Equestria shall be long and arduous. Fit as We are to rule, a third wheel could not hurt to have.” Celestia gazed back down to Solis, who wore a neutral expression. “With your superb determination, focus, and desire to learn such a wide variety of subjects, thou art most fit to become that third wheel.” Before Solis had even the time to process what he had just been told, Celestia reached over and grasped his hoof in her own and began stroking it. “But do not think We are selfish with Our motivations, for We truly do care for thee.” She smiled again; this time a hint of sorrow laced her words. “No pony should have to experience such a first decade of life as thou didst, Solis. We promise to treat thee with love and kindness, like thou wert my own, true son.” Solis only stared blankly for a few seconds before furrowing his brows in thought. After another few seconds, he looked back up to Celestia with a hopeful expression. “What about my Soul? Can you help me discover my special talent so that I may receive one?” “We could,” Celestia replied, ceasing her stroking of Solis’ hoof, “but only if thou agreedst to work hard and excel in thy new political studies.” “Then we have an agreement,” Solis said, eyes wide and smiling. Seeing Solis in such a happy state brought a warm feeling to Celestia’s chest and she felt her eyes become misty with tears. After regaining her composure, Celestia leaned forward and kissed Solis’ forehead. “Sleep well,” she said, then sat up and made way toward the bedroom door. “Celestia?’ She stopped. “. . . Yes?” “. . . I am proud to be your son.” Celestia stared ahead blankly for several moments before replying with a smile that Solis couldn’t see. “Many thanks, my little sun.” And with that, she opened the bedroom door and slipped into the castle hallway, closing the door with a soft click on her way out. Nighttime. The opposite time of day when ponies retired to bed for rest so they would be alert and energized the next day. Since most ponies slept through the night, they had not the faintest clue of how Equestria at nighttime compared or differed from how it was during the day. But one pony knew nighttime Equestria very intimately, and that was entirely because she was responsible for watching it over. Princess Luna, sovereign of the night and mistress of the moon, soared through the skies above Equestria, relishing in the familiar feel of her night’s cool winds brushing against her coat and through her ethereal mane. While headed toward Canterlot, the dark blue alicorn decided to take some time to admire the serene majesty of nighttime Equestria on the ground. She swooped down towards the forest below her, plunging through the canopy. Swerving and dodging tree branches on her way down, she slowed her descent enough to land gently onto the ground. After checking herself for cuts and scratches, Luna began strolling through the forest. As she walked, the sounds of nocturnal creatures echoed through the trees. Frogs, crickets, even the obligatory hooting of an owl filled the air with a chorus of noises. And yet, Luna found it wholly calm and relaxing. Like a background orchestra, the nocturnal creatures inhabiting the forest provided a symphonic track for Luna’s ears to enjoy as she strolled through the forest. At one point she spotted a hole in the forest’s canopy. The light from her moon shone through, bathing the forest floor in a brilliant luminescence. Fireflies danced about the air surrounding the moonlight while wind whistled through the canopy hole above, shaking leaves loose and sending them downwards. The combination of all these elements gave the scene before Luna a splendor not seen in even the most professional painter’s attempts to capture the night’s true majesty. Why must everypony insist they sleep through enchantments such as this? Luna spent the next while marveling at the sight in front of her, after which she took off into the forest air and up through the moonlit canopy opening. Spotting the Canterhorn, with the city of Canterlot nestled against, Luna made way toward it. Along the way, Luna thought back to Celestia’s explanation of her earlier trip to the mountainside city. Luna could not argue that her sister’s logic of endearing themselves to Equestria’s citizens was sound, but such a strategy was difficult for her to attempt as she was nocturnal, unlike everypony else. Sure, Celestia’s efforts would undoubtedly count for both of them, but Luna wanted to showcase her own usefulness. After a few minutes of flying, Luna reached Canterlot. Looking down, she was dismayed to see nopony awake and outside. Useless streetlights alit with candles dotted the city, only ever used on rare occasions where a little foal might have stayed out too long and needed a light to return home. Other than such, Luna was the only pony who could ever give purpose to the beacons of light. She landed onto a cobblestone street and surveyed the immediate area. Canterlot . . . such a beautiful city, if a tad ostentatious. She turned to look out into the night sky, noticing how much more of it could be seen without trees blocking the view. Both the sun and moon can be seen clearly from up here . . . if only the Tree had grown here and not in the forest. She sighed. Oh well . . . Luna began walking down the street, her steps making audible clopping sounds that likely would have attracted the attention of anypony still awake inside their homes. In all honesty, Luna would have been elated for such, as then she would have somepony to converse with. But to her continued dismay, nopony stepped out of their homes in response to her presence. She sighed again. Everypony must be asleep already. Luna continued her stroll throughout Canterlot for what seemed like several hours, but was only one in actuality. She toured the entire city from one side to the other, all the while marveling at the exquisite architecture of Equestria’s grandest city. She took note as to the design and decorum of several buildings whose appearance caught her attention, figuring while she was there it would be a good idea to take inspiration for the look to her side of Everfree Castle. But then she came upon a building which caught her attention for an entirely different reason. Happy Heart Canterlot Orphanage . . . for sure the place where sister met and adopted Solis. Luna stared at the building while deep in thought for some time. While Celestia was right that Luna would have a hard time caring for a child herself because of conflicting sleep schedules, Luna was confident that the task of raising one in and of itself was well within her capabilities. But the former was for sure too great an obstacle to overcome in such an endeavor. I shall not stand for a rule of insignificance whilst my sister basks in Our subjects’ praise. Eventually, Luna decided that while she could not adopt a foal herself, she could at least watch over them as they slept. She made way into the alley aside the building where three windows were lined up in the wall. She trotted quietly up to the center one and peeked inside; being nocturnal afforded Luna night vision. Inside, she could see several rows of beds neatly lined up, each one occupied by a sleeping foal. Luna watched them sleep for another hour or so, smiling to herself at how peaceful their slumber was. Her smile fell into a frown, however, when one of the foals close to the window began fidgeting in their sleep. Focusing on this foal, Luna could see it was a unicorn filly with a sea green coat and a blue mane. She had a series of bandages wrapped around her head, leaving only her eyes and mouth exposed. She began mumbling in her sleep and batting at the air in front of her face. It did not take long for Luna to realize the filly was experiencing a Night Terror. Luna contemplated entering the building and trying to soothe the filly, but she hesitated out of uncertainty as to whether her uninvited entrance would be welcomed. While she debated with herself about what to do, the filly continued her distressed squirming and swiping at the air. She began getting tangled in her bed’s covers as her movements increased in intensity. Finally, Luna decided she had to intervene before the filly wound up hurting herself worse than she already was. The night princess charged magic into her horn to teleport inside. But just as she was about to cast the spell the filly screamed. Luna’s focus on the teleport was instantly shattered and she folded her ears back out of reflex. When doing so immediately failed to block out the scream Luna pressed both fore hooves over her ears to moderate success. The filly’s scream had no trouble waking up all the other foals in the room, half of them even managing to fall over the side of their beds onto the floor. After the filly’s scream stopped there was a period of awkward silence, during which the other foals got to their hooves and rubbed the sleep from their eyes. Eventually, the door opened and a pink unicorn rushed through, a panicked expression etched onto her face. “What hast happened!?” she exclaimed. While all the other foals looked confused, the filly that had the Night Terror spoke up. “Miss Happy Heart!” She ran over to the caretaker and began sobbing into her coat. “That monster was back and wished to beat me repeatedly until I was naught but a pile of hair and bones!” Luna saw Happy’s expression change from shock to exasperation before settling on consolation with a smile. She lifted the filly’s chin up with a hoof and spoke. “Thou art safe, Misty; 'twas naught but a Night Terror.” She looked around to all the other foals, whom stared back with neutral expressions, before closing her eyes and sighing. “All right everypony, return to bed.” Nopony objected, and pretty soon all the foals were back under the covers of their bed, including a still tearful Misty. Happy Heart gave them all one last smile before exiting the room and closing the door. Luna, meanwhile, remained undetected as she slipped away from the window and returned to the main street, turning left back toward the city’s entrance where the trail leading to Everfree Castle was. She decided to take the trail back home as it cut through the forest where she hoped to see another beautiful sight as the one from earlier. She soon exited the city and began walking along the trail. As she walked, Luna thought about what had just happened at the orphanage. She wondered whether her ultimate decision to intervene was warranted, or if she should be grateful the matter was easily resolved without her help. After mulling it over for a bit, Luna concluded her decision to intervene was indeed warranted. Ruling over Equestria’s citizens entailed coming to their aid when she was needed, and a pony experiencing Night Terrors would for sure need her help in vanquishing them so they could sleep in peace. After mulling it over a bit more, Luna realized how she herself could endear Equestria’s citizens to her like Celestia did to herself that day. She picked up her pace from a trot to a canter, wanting to return to Everfree Castle quickly so she could begin work on her idea as soon as possible. It would undoubtedly take a lot of long hours and hard work to perfect, but the end result would surely make all of it worthwhile. Soon, everypony shall realize my rule is equal to Celestia’s.