Lunaria Borealis

by EquestrianKirin

Ch.1: The Wolf Moon

Dark.

Cold.

Colourless.

This was what many creatures would basically describe a night without it's moon. The quiet land was indeed one unlike any normal night: not a soul in sight on the open plains, trails, or paths to speak of. The winds of the north blow through the cold plains, the bluegrass gently swaying with the breeze. Normally colours of the grains would be a lovely colour of yellow amber flowing like an ocean's waves. Sadly, the years had made the farmers almost forget what amber colour was. A lone scarecrow stood boldly against the winds, maintaining it's visual among it's crop as it was made to do. one gust of wind blew off it's fine straw hat, as it began to blow around in the wind, though the lacking of any moon would make it impossible to truly see. The early night of the moon began to show, at last, once the grand full moon of the early year began to rise slowly into the night sea of stars, revealing the hat laying alone on the cold ground, barely budging against the wind. The dark light was finally replaced by moonlight, the shadows being cast out upon the area. At first, everything was still quiet among the plain, until a figure suddenly appeared from the shadows of the grain, stopping by the dropped hat. The figure appeared pony-like in shape and size, and the tail appeared similar to a ragged pony, but some features put the idea that it's pure pony in question. For starters, the feet of the figure were sprawled in 3-toed digits rather than one-toed hooves, and the head was smaller and flatter than a normal pony. It also possessed a set of horns, aimed back and curved forward like that of a wild ram. The individual's fur coat was distinguished as a faded cyan blue, with deep dark stripes lining it's back, and the tail colour was a hue of snow white. Quietly, and calmly, the figure grabbed the hat off the cold ground, and looked up towards the early night moon with grey eyes. He wasn't blind, but living in a world without any sun had made his eyes slightly dilated and sensitive to strong amount of light. Still, he had enough vision to know where the hat, the fields of bluegrass, and the scarecrow was. Without much word, he calmly picked it up with his mouth, and gently set it on the scarecrow's head, making sure the ears were through the hat's ear holes.

"That's better," He said to himself, his voice a bit weakened, but not enough to be considered sickly. Quietly, the figure walked back through the bluegrass fields, a trail lining straight between the tall stems of grass. Size alone was also something the figure differentiated from other ponies, slightly taller than a regular pony. Tall enough, at least, to see over the bluegrass, which was tall enough to hide a pony and have an extra foot to spare. Walking off through the fields, eventually he spotted a small village nearby, the figure heading towards one of the cottages. Unlike a pony home, which was normally made of wood and hay, these cottages were made of stone and clay, roofs of leather so it wouldn't be blown away as easily. On one of these cottages, the figure stopped at it's front door, looking up at the number above the door-frame, which labeled down:

3409

The individual gave a nod, and walked inside. The home itself was actually pretty poorly in comparison to most houses, most of the stuff on just one floor like a mobile home. The bed was off in the far left corner of the door by the window, as the kitchen was literally 4 step away, stove, fridge and all. The figure simply walked over towards the bed, and opened up a wooden drawer from under the bed, pulling out a small grey book. At least it appeared grey due to the lack of light. So, without a word, the figure went off to the kitchen, and picked up a candle off the counter, lighting it. Settling the candle down by the bed, he opened up the book to an empty page, pulled out a quill from the cupboard, and started to write.

Dear Diary:

I know it's a rather early entry, but, I feel like things aren't going too good for me. I know farming itself is a tough task for anyone here in Curchcolt, but, still it's such a bother to keep crops alive now a days. I had found that a number of my blue-grain crops had been stolen again, not much left. I hadn't figured out exactly what's been stealing my Blue-Grain during the moonless hours, but I can guess it's from some of the farm animals getting loose again, or some stray pulling a fast one. But even if nothing's taking my crop, business alone hadn't gone too well. Last I checked, only 10 other passer-bys had even bothered with my crop in the last week. That's what happens when a farmer can't keep his crops in check I suppose. Anyway, I'll write back soon, and hopefully with better news.

Signed: Vinrod

Settling the quill back down, He then proceeded to place his diary back where he had found it, and started heading out the door. Vinrod indeed had a rather rough time with his crops of Blue-grain this year, the colder winds making planting and growing more and more difficult to bear. Even so, he still had some crops to gather up for the town - only some -...

~~

With sometime to gather up whatever was left of the Blue-grain, Vinrod finally began his daily sale in Curchcolt, heading off to the town square to begin. While going through, he saw many others different saintiants going about their days, some eger upon awaiting his arrival to open up. The full moon was pretty high up in the sky by the time Vinrod had set everything up. If the moon were the sun, it would be about 8:30 in the morning. Vinrod settled his grain in bundles, tied together with string in a number of grain piles, before he sat down in front of his grain wagon. Since his voice was a bit weak, he instead just raised his 3-toed foot in the air to signify that he was ready to sell, as a number of saintiants lined up. The first in line was a rather young, thin unicorn, looking about no older than 5 years of age.

"Welcome little one, how may I help you?" Vinrod asked, a bit neutral in volume due to his weakened voice. The young unicorn then held up some bits so Vinrod could see.

"Do you take bits, mister?" The colt asked, holding up a few bits with his hoof. Vinrod knew that it was a bit cheap to buy a full bundle of bluegrass with just a few bits, but, he could also tell that the young colt was hungry for some, so he decided to take it. The young colt gave him the bits, as Vinrod gave him a small bag of Bluegrass for his trouble, as he happily trotted off on his way.

For about an hour, the sales had been rather slow, but a bit better than most days had been thus far. Among many of saintiants that had bought either a bag of Bluegrain or a bundle of Bluegrass, Vinrod had ended up with about just 45 dollars total by the time he was down to just one bundle of Bluegrass. However, since the saintiants were different species, the exact pay was about 25 equestrian bits, 5 griffin coins and 2 Minotaur medallions. That may not sound like much for a full sale, but, it was a basic norm for Vinrod. The problem: There were a few other saintiant customers lined up to buy it. Wish he could say it was the first time that happened to him. Lucky for him, it wasn't, so he knew what to do in this kind of situation:

set up auction.

"Alright everyone, what is your bargain?" Vinrod asked, awaiting for the bets to place forward. The three saintiants - one a hippogriff, one a minotaur, and one a crystal pony -, began to place their money forward with the type of currency they had. However, in the end, the Minotaur had about 10 medallions, Crystal pony had 50 bits, and the hippogriff about 25 coins, which added up to about the same price for the Bluegrass bundle. Vinrod kept his cool, though was unsure on who deserved the Bluegrass the most. If he took all of it, he'd be rich, but scandling wasn't exactly his cup of alfalfa. Tempers started to flare up around him among the 3 different saintiants, as Vinrod felt more willing to either split the share, or just get out of there before words turned to hooves, fists and claws. As their arguing continued, another figure walked forward to Vinrod's stand, and place his bet...a full fledged, 18 carat sapphire! The sight of it immediately made everyone stop dead cold, Vinrod included, as Vinrod stared wide-eyed at the gem. The figure in particular looked quite tall, about the same height at Vinrod was, though shared more traits for a hoofed creature. However, it looked too broad and heavily built to be a pony. In fact, the figure was actually a large grey boar, with some silver piercings on the boar's ears. He was pulling his own cart behind him as he was passing through, mostly of rock and stone. Vinrod moved the gem away from the pile of money, and tested the reality of it by biting down onto the sapphire in question. It was real alright...and really hurt.

"I think I found who can have the Bluegrass," Vinrod announced, as he took the gem, which was easily worth a ton more than what was offered to him. The boar helped himself, and took the Bluegrass bundle and placed it in his own cart.

"Thank you, farmer," the boar said.

"I see you speak common," Vinrod commented. When it came to languages, common was basically the universal language, with some slight foreign words thrown around. Such as ponies saying 'everypony' or 'somepony' for example. However, not every saintiant was able to learn such, and this was the first time Vinrod met a common speaking boar.

"Yeah, I have to be. I am a traveller you know, and common is a rather large language."

"True, true. Let's see now..."

Vinrod cleared his throat a little bit before talking again. By that point, only the boar and Vinrod were there, so, Vinrod could try his check on boar language. Just for fun as all.

"uh...Aveahay alway niceyy dayway..."

The boar simply chuckled at Vinrod's shot at piglatin. Yeah, piglatin was a rather easy language to catch, especially to the boar, but, seeing Vinrod try at it just to impress was simply cute.

"Owhay adorableway. Avehay away icenay ayday, armerfay," The boar chuckled, getting a confused look from Vinrod as the boar went on his way, pulling the cart with ease. In truth, the boar said 'How adorable. have a nice day, farmer.' But, Vinrod's piglatin was a sharp as a blunt eraser, so there wasn't much help in translation. However, as the full moon kept it's spot in the middle of the sky, Vinrod started on back with his empty wagon towards home.

~~

The full moon signified 2 P.M. by the time Vinrod had successfully got home and put his wagon away by his home, as he'd always done so. But, his work wasn't over; he still had a field to take care of. Since he lived alone for the longest time, Vinrod had to mostly rely on himself to get things done, and get his crops growing. But, before he could begin on the bluegrass field, he took the time to put away the money he earned, along with that special sapphire the boar had given him. It was indeed a surprise to be given such a rare and valuable item on such an unexpected time, especially from a boar of all saintiants, but luck was luck. Vinrod put away his treasure by his bed before, and went back outside to begin his crop farming. When it came to crops, Curchcolt had their main crop Bluegrass, mostly because Bluegrass didn't fully rely on the sun to grow much like other plants do. All a farmer would need is water and good care in order for successful Bluegrass to grow for crop. Vinrod knew well how to grow such plants, getting his water can out from the side of the house to start. Course, Bluegrass needs a lot of water when needed, and it had been a while since they'd been watered, so Vinrod needed plenty of time to get the plants good and soaked. The night was especially good, no clouds in the sky so the moonlight can easily shine down to help Vinrod see what he was doing, as he poured down the water can in various places around the Bluegrass. It was hard to maintain such crops, especially since it was still winter time, but Vinrod managed the best he could. Often his days were a bit repetitive: wake up, check on crops, sell at the square, take care of crops, have dinner, go to bed, rinse and repeat. And that day, it wasn't very different for him. Soon after his dinner, Vinrod settled down in his bed, as he always does after dinner. After, he readied his diary for yet another entry when he glanced off outside his window. He could see a good view of his field from his window, along with the road to town, but as he did, he also noticed a figure walking by the road. Even with the moonlight, it was kinda hard to tell on who or what the figure actually was. But, regardless of it, Vinrod paid no mind to it, closed his window, and got back to the entry.

Dear Diary:

Today's sales had gone a bit better than I'd hoped for. Even if exact money itself wasn't very much, as per usual, you wouldn't believe what else I've got. I actually got a sapphire, a real deal, ripened sapphire! I know, it's indeed something special. And even more so, a travelling Boar had given it to me. And to think for the most part, Boars would keep to themselves and not even remotely bother with any sharing, not to mention giving away expensive gems just for some Bluegrass. But aside from that, things had gone on as always, crops are growing, customers had their food, and I have enough money to go on for a month. I'll let you know if anything else

Before Vinrod could write anything else, a knock suddenly came up at his door, which was a bit surprising to him. More often than not, no guests would just show up at his door at this point before the moonless hours would arrive, considering how dangerous the moonless hours were for any saintiant. Either way, it was rude to ignore, so he placed his diary down on the bed, and went to open the door.

What he saw left his mind blank.

Standing in front of him appeared to be a weakened, and tired Changeling! That alone was quite a shocker to see; considering not just how brutal Changelings were, but also their perk of always being in a group. This Changeling appeared to be all alone, and having a limp in it's step.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a room, would you?" The Changeling asked. For starters, Vinrod had heard how tricky a Changeling was to begin with, their habits to morph into any creature proving such. But, this Changeling wasn't even bothering to hide itself from him. Then again, it could be an act too, but also, the fact the Changeling wasn't hiding made that a bit unlikely. Either that, or the Changeling was desperate or simply stupid for not changing into anything to begin with. Instead, Vinrod looked to the limp the Changeling had.

"Are you okay?" Vinrod asked.

"Does it look like i am?" The Changeling asked, a bit annoyed. The tone of a true Changeling was starting to show through, and what Vinrod would expect of one. Despite that, the Changeling had a point, the limp showing something was wrong. Just to be safe, Vinrod looked around outside to make sure the Changeling was alone.

"Where's the rest of your horde? Thought Changeling never end up alone," Vinrod asked.

"Got lost, okay? Now can I stay for the moonless hours or what?" The Changeling groaned, trying not to show too much pain for his injured leg. Even if he was a rude guest, Vinrod couldn't just leave him alone. So, without much of word, he stepped aside to allow the Changeling to enter his home. As Vinrod closed the door, the Changeling settled down on Vinrod's bed - the only bed in the house -.

"So what happened to you, anyway?" Vinrod asked. The Changeling groaned again, trying to relax and ease the pressure on his leg.

"If you must know, I had a bit of trouble with flying through some rough winter winds, and got my hoof ripped off," the Changeling explained, showing Vinrod his ripped hoof. However, since Changeling have swiss cheese holes in their legs, it was hard to tell at first until Vinrod saw a better view through the moonlight, seeing the Changeling indeed had his front left hoof missing.

"Oh my..."

"It's not too bad, it'll probably grow back in a week or two." That was one thing Vinrod admired about Changelings; if a limb were to be ripped off of them, they can easily grow it back after a good while. That kind of healing ability was something not many other saintiants, or any creatures for that matter, would possess. Still, the Changeling was still pretty weak to continue on through the moonless hours, even with such an ability to have. Vinrod settled down by the Changeling, moving his diary away from it. The Changeling just rested off of his sore leg, resting his head on Vinrod's pillow.

"You know, I think you're pretty lucky to grow back your limbs," Vinrod commented, heading to the kitchen to get a drink for himself and the Changeling.

"eh thanks. It's not that big a deal."

After a little bit, Vinrod gave the Changeling a glass of water to drink. However, since it only had one hoof to work with, picking up the glass to drink was a bit of a struggle. Seeing the Changeling struggling, Vinrod held the glass for him as the Changeling took the drink with a dry muzzle. Afterwards, the Changeling took a good look at Vinrod.

"Say, what are you anyway? Don't look like anything I ever seen," the Changeling asked. Vinrod settled down, his 3 toes resting on the bed.

"Me? I guess you can consider me a hybrid. I'm a ram from my father's side, and a sphinx from my mother's side," Vinrod explained. That did sound a bit odd to hear, a Ram father and a Sphinx mother, but weirder things had existed in their world so the Changeling didn't question it too much. That didn't mean the Changeling didn't have any questions left.

"Which side had stripes?" the Changeling wondered, looking at Vinrod's set of stripes. Vinrod looked to the stripes on his back.

"Well, I was told I got that from my sphinx grandmother, but, I'm honestly not too sure," Vinrod sighed, as he settled down on the floor, allowing the Changeling to rest on his bed - as much as he really didn't want to -.

"By the way, what's your name?" Vinrod asked. However, the Changeling was already asleep, so an answer wasn't evident. Instead, quietly, he opened up his diary in front of him, and edited his entry.

Dear Diary:

Today's sales had gone a bit better than I'd hoped for. Even if exact money itself wasn't very much, as per usual, you wouldn't believe what else I've got. I actually got a sapphire, a real deal, ripened sapphire! I know, it's indeed something special. And even more so, a travelling Boar had given it to me. And to think for the most part, Boars would keep to themselves and not even remotely bother with any sharing, not to mention giving away expensive gems just for some Bluegrass. But aside from that, things had gone on as always, crops are growing, customers had their food, and I have enough money to go on for a month. I'll let you know if anything else Scratch that, turned out I have yet another surprise. A Changeling in my home! Today had surely given me some surprises, hasn't it? Well, goodnight, write back soon.

~~

Vinrod's rest wasn't exactly the best ever, him on the floor and the Changeling in his bed. Vinrod much preferred him in the bed, but it was best not to tick off a Changeling. Even an injured one can fight rather viciously, given their history and everything. Even if he didn't want to fight, resting on the floor like a dog wasn't his best choice in sleeping arrangement. As he slept, something kept nagging in his mind...as if trying to talk to him...Suddenly, his eyes shot open to the sound of footsteps outside. Looking to the bed, the Changeling was still in bed, trying to stay asleep. Vinrod looked to the direction of the noise, unsure of what it was that was walking around. Suddenly, his door opened up slowly, revealing the creature standing at his doorstep. Vinrod wasn't sure what to do, as he started to move away as much as he could. It wasn't enough to wake the Changeling, but enough to catch Vinrod's attention. The figure was a bit hard to make out, but looked rather tall, standing on it's back legs. It almost appeared to be some sort of Minotaur, but thinner, and the head belonging to a moose rather than a regular bull. The creature looked down to him, the eyes small yet almost seemed to glow, making it looked rather ominous. Vinrod saw it's mouth beginning to move, yet the words it said were unrecognizable for any language Vinrod had heard about.

"Dorniv, Uoy Era Dedeen Rof Eht Xnihps Gnierthag. Rewsna Ot Eht Nus Llahs Eb Ereth. Doog Kcul, Dorniv."

Vinrod didn't have a clue what the heck it was saying to him, the voice a bit low and words from no exact language he had heard of. But, soon after it was done, it suddenly raised a sort of branch in his direction, appearing like a sort of staff. Upon sight of the staff, Vinord suddenly felt extremely tired, and he fell back to sleep on the floor with a thud. As his eyes were shut, the words the thing spoke appeared in his mind, in common so he could easily understand.

"Vinord, You Are Needed For The Sphinx Gathering. Answer To The Sun Shall Be There. Good Luck, Vinord."

Vinord awoke soon afterwards. Whatever happened, he must've dozed off, because the Moonless hours were up, and the full moon was rising back up again. The moonlight just got through his window, into the sleeping Changeling still in bed. Vinrod didn't say anything at first, thinking over the words that appeared in his head soon after that thing knocked him out. Also, what was that thing? He had seen his fair share of Minotaur, but, that one didn't look like any normal Minotaur he'd seen. Was it all just a dream? Probably, but, it felt so real to him. What intrigued him the most was this 'answer to the sun'. What did it mean by that? No one knew exactly what happened to the sun since the moon started becoming the sun in the first place, and even if they did, it couldn't fully be correct, as by that point no one lived long enough to remember.

Keeping it in mind, Vinrod got back on up to his feet, and looked over to the Changeling, whom just begun to wake up from the moonlight hitting it's face. With a groan, the Changeling stirred into awareness, as Vinrod moved away.

"How are you feeling?" Vinrod asked, as the Changeling rolled onto it's stomach.

"I'm better than before, I'll give you that," The Changeling said, trying to get up. Even if the leg wasn't as sore as before, it was still a trouble to balance on 3 hooves, as Vinrod let him try for a bit. Vinrod then headed off and opened the door, ready to check on his scarecrow again...but he was stopped by what he saw. The Changeling saw Vinrod just stop, and limped over.

"What's with you, hybrid?" The Changeling asked, standing next to him. The Changeling followed Vinrod's eyes down to the front door, seeing what he was seeing... A set of large, 2-legged hoofprints planted in the dirt right at Vinrod's door...

That night encounter wasn't a dream...

The Changeling, however, could care less about what his deal was, so it walked out the door, slightly pushing Vinrod aside in order to do so. All the Changeling wanted by then was to just get back to its horde before they would think on replacing it or something. Only after the shove did Vinrod snap back to his senses, as he watched the Changeling walk out.

"Well, I gotta get going," the Changeling said, readying its wings. However, when it tried to fly, the strain weighed it back down to earth multiple times as it tried to get off the ground to fly off. Vinrod went on over to it after seeing it fall down the tenth time. Meanwhile, Vinrod tried to think over the words again, and the Changling's troubles as well.

"Where's your horde at?" Vinrod asked at a point, just barely catching the Changeling's attention.

"What's it to you?" the Changeling snapped, stressed for his trouble to just getting off the ground at all, let along making it to the horde.

"Well...I just thought I could...well, help you?"

"I don't need anymore help, I'll be fine from here on out," the Changeling insisted, as it tried to flutter off a few more times before falling head first into the cold dirt. Seemed whatever crash happened to it, it did a number on its wings. Still, Vinrod couldn't help but wonder where the horde could be. It was a little bit too coincidental that such an odd minotaur would show up after this Changling stayed...Maybe a connection?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine now quit bugging me, Queen Mantis is waiting," the Changeling snapped, trying to fly one more time before falling down to earth again. Queen Mantis? Seemed this Changeling allowed details to slip out.

"Who's that?"

"Huh? Oh darn it, okay, Queen Mantis is my queen south of Appaloosa, and I'm trying to get home to her. Happy now?" the Changling groaned, giving himself a mental slap in the snout for blabbering on about Queen Mantis to a complete stranger...and one extra for telling him where she was. Vinrod took it with some thought for a bit, thinking about this 'Sphinx Gathering'. When it came to Sphinx in general, information doesn't exactly spread around aside from rumour and speculation. And what rumour he had heard about this Sphinx Gathering is close to 0...Still, something was nagging in his mind once the location was said...

"say...may I come along?"

The Changeling stopped for a brief moment to glare at him.

"What? Why?"

"Well, I dunno, it's just. I feel like I'm supposed to be heading that way..."

Honestly, Vinrod had doubts about his own decision, but again, something kept that thought in. However, the Changeling wasn't in any mood for any games. It was risky enough that it blabbered on about who and where its queen was, and then Vinrod asked to come along?

"If I say yes, will you promise not to cause any trouble?" the Changeling asked suspiciously. A bit Ironic that the same Changeling that asked to stay at Vinrod's place was suspicious of the same hybrid. Either way, Vinrod simply nodded his answer, not wanting to strain himself with more words. The Changeling just groaned, but didn't stop Vinrod as it started to limp off. Before Vinrod left though, he needed someway to tell the town what he was up to. So, in just a short minute, he went inside, wrote down a note, and left it on his door before he began to follow the Changeling...

To whom it may concern:
I'll be gone for a while, be back soon.