Believe in the Heart of the Moon

by HeartlessSpartan

The Father

The Father

Traveling to the Appaloosan Mountains was fairly brief and simple due to the Equestrian Railroad. Princess Luna and Elder, accompanied by an entourage of Canterlot guards, had reached the base of the mountain range. At first the peaks of the mountains looked normal, but looking south, to the west of the highest peak, one was missing. Terra was correct; there must be a plain at the top where Luna’s father and the army must be magically frozen.

“There, that’s where Terra said my father is,” Luna said, pointing to the west of the highest peak.

“I see it,” Elder said.

“Lieutenant!” Luna called out.

“Princess?” A pegasus guard reported.

“Prepare to move upward, flying to it will be much faster than climbing,” Luna ordered.

“Understood Princess,” the Lieutenant reported again and began organizing the guards.

“I see now why you chose to be escorted by a squad of pegasus guards, but what of me?” Elder asked.

“You accompanying me is due to the concern of my sister for my safety, and I am not my sister Elder,” Luna said flat-out.

“I understand, but I must protest. I will have to pursue you!” Elder said, slightly irritated.

“You’re welcome to report atop the mountain as soon as you can Elder,” Luna said.

As Elder watched Luna and her guard fly away up to the mountain he could utter only one word to express his frustration.

“Dammit,” Elder said as he began his trek up the mountain.

Princess Luna was at the head of her group as she lead them swiftly up the slope to the edge of the icy plain at the top. Landing in several inches of snow and a northern gust blowing across the top of the mountain limited visibility, Luna however proceeded to walk on followed by her guards.

It didn’t take long until Luna discovered something. Through the snow she could see the backs of many armored stallions standing in formation, magically frozen, it seemed they were still awaiting orders. She walked between the ranks searching for the frozen statue that would resemble her father; the guards following nervously behind. They eventually reached the front of the formation, only to see a horrifying sight across the expanse of snow and ice before them.

A fair distance away was a frozen horde of changelings, stuck together like a swarm of bees, they were eager for the fight that never came. Something else was there however, out between the horde and the pony formation. Luna made her way into the open to get a better view of what it was.

As she got closer Luna realized it was a stallion wearing a cloak and sparse armor. The stallion was crouched holding a staff of some kind half buried in the snow. She brushed away the face and looked closely at his still face. She sat down and held its head as she began to cry. She had found her father.

“Princess, is something wrong?” the lieutenant asked.

“This is him, this is my father,” Luna cried.

The guard was unsure of how to react, so he remained silent.

“There was more to this Princess,” Elder said as he made his way over to them, he had teleported most of the way up the mountain.

“It was planned out, there wasn’t even a battle here,” Luna said.

“It seems so, that staff must’ve been enchanted to do all of this. Freeze the entire enemy army waiting to ambush you and take only yourself and a small portion of your own with you,” Elder said, fitting the situation together.

“He sacrificed himself to stop the changelings?” Luna asked.

“It seems so, I see no other explanation for this,” Elder said.

“First my mother, then my father, my kingdom, and Starswirl; they all died or disappeared. The only family I have left are my sister and Terra,” Luna said sadly, letting go of her father’s head.

“The Equestria we live in today, this age of peace was built upon the foundation of an age of bloodshed. Your father saw to it that Equestria would have a future,” Elder said honestly.

“Now I’m here to fix the past. The staff he used must have been Starswirl’s, perhaps there is a way to reverse the spell,” Luna said standing up.

Elder and the guards stood back and watched as Luna charged a spell and cast it over the frozen statue of her father. A swirl of snow and magic engulfed the stallion and it was hard to see if it had worked as a fog emanated from the site. Though soon a silhouette stood and the staff stood alone, frozen in the ice; as the fog cleared, there stood a tall black stallion with blue eyes and mane, wearing a gray hooded cloak and sparse plated armor below it with a special sheathed sword that has a molded horse head and neck for a hilt.

The stallion finally stood after well over a thousand years as a frozen statue. After his first breath, the sight he saw immediately after he opened his eyes was more shocking than being awoken. He saw the blue eyes of his youngest daughter Luna.

“Is this truly my daughter before me?” the king asked, his voice not greatly deep or booming, but rather soft and charming.

“It is Luna father,” Luna said as she walked toward her father.

“My daughter!” the King cried out as he hugged her with tears in both of their eyes.

Surely the last thing Elder and the guards expected was to see the previously lost dead King now living, cry as he hugged his daughter, their ruler, in such a desolate and unforgiving place as this. Elder considered how an ancient king might have more to adapt to in the new world rather than that of just a soldier like himself. What had the king lost then?

“Where is Celestia?” the King asked his daughter, letting her go and wiping tears from under her eyes.

“She is home in Canterlot father, you should see our Kingdom father! It would make you proud,” Luna said excitedly.

“I’m sure it’s as beautiful and magnificent as my baby daughter is before me. I am glad the spirit accomplished the task I had so faithfully given him in the last moments,” the King said faithfully.

“Terra? Father we have much to speak of now that you’re with us again, much time has passed,” Luna said.

“What of the neighboring kingdoms, what remains of the changelings?” the King asked.

“The changelings are hardly a threat let alone a nuisance… anymore,” Luna said nervously, unwilling to tell her father of the attack during the wedding.

“I apologize for interrupting the reunion of the family Princess, but if you could return your father; what of the soldiers?” Elder asked politely.

“Unfortunately the spell that was cast was designed very specifically to prevent that. I t would take powerful magic, and the great of a direct descendant of their bloodline to free them. Therefore the changelings would remain imprisoned with us as they are incapable of such love,” the King explained.

“Devoted to the end,” Elder mentioned.

“Indeed, and they more than earned the honor and respect of their king,” the King said proudly.

“Father, you should return with us to Canterlot. Sister will be most joyous to see you again!” Luna said beckoning her father in the direction of the kingdom.

“I am most sorry Luna, but if changelings remain I have unfinished business with them,” the King said sadly, knowing he may break his daughter’s heart not to go with her after all this time.

“Why father? The changelings aren’t a threat!” Luna said nervously.

“You underestimate them! It is difficult for me as well but I must go. You there are her escorts?” the King asked Elder and the guards.

“Yes sir, we are,” Elder said.

“Escort the Princess back to her home of Canterlot, do not let her follow me!” the King ordered.

“But,” is all the lieutenant could say before Elder interrupted.

“Yes sir, we owe her that much as with our lives!” Elder said with a mocking salute as he is well considerably retired, also receiving negative glares from Luna and the lieutenant.

“I will return soon,” the King said.

“That is what you said before father,” Luna said sadly.

The King hugged his daughter once again, then turned and began his journey southward. Luna didn’t follow him as much as she wanted to, she knew better than to protest her father’s wishes even at her age now. It was wonderful to be with him again, it is good, but also unfortunate that he had not changed at all. She felt even worse as she watched her father walk away and disappear into the snowy winds of the mountain plain.

“Your interference was unappreciated Elder!” Luna said more sadly than angrily.

“Princess, you must understand. A stallion, a warrior such as your father separate themselves from you like this in order to preserve their image to the ones they love,” Elder said.

“You’re saying that may father is planning something he doesn’t wish me to know or see?” Luna asked.

“Should we try to stop him Princess?” the lieutenant asked.

“The King had laid waste to the kingdoms and clans that threatened him. I wouldn’t recommend standing in his way!” Elder said.

“My father will do as he wishes, there are very few in this world that could stop him, however there may be those foolish enough to challenge him that I pity. We shall return home to Canterlot,” Luna said, leading the group north down the mountain.

“What does the king want with the changelings that’s so important not to come with us?” Elder asked Luna.

“I do not know Elder. I acted as a child and succumbed to my emotions seeing him after all that time. Now that I am thinking clearly as I am, I regret simply letting him walk away again,” Luna said seriously.

The journey to Canterlot and on the train was a quiet one, leaving Luna to contemplate silently about the motives of her father. However when they arrived back in Canterlot at night they found the city lit by the warm glow of thousands of candles. As Luna, Elder and the guards walked through the streets, there was only the sound of hoof-steps and the wind. All of the ponies remained silent and greeted the Princess with a bow. It was a curious sight, even to Luna, she was unsure herself what all of this but she had an unusually terrible feeling that something had happened.

“What is all of this for?” Luna asked a guard.

“Princess Luna, Princess Celestia awaits your arrival in the gardens,” the guard said silently.

Luna and Elder continued onward, neither of them had any idea what the silence and candles were for. As they proceeded through the city there was even more of it. It wasn’t a holiday or celebration, it wasn’t a homecoming or a wedding. This was something special, something Luna didn’t recognize since she had been either a baby or too young to know of such an event like this last occurred.

As the two approached the castle several guards ushered them onward in the right direction to where Celestia was supposedly waiting for them. However as they continued Luna’s heart slowly began to sink to her stomach, something about all of this wasn’t right to her and nothing about it felt good.

They finally entered the garden where Celestia and Discord waited for them outside the wooden doors of a sealed grove. The news of Luna’s father had left her mind and now there was only fear and concern. Very few can, but Luna can see the sadness in her sister’s eyes. Even Discord, as wild as he is, had a sense of serenity as he stood with his arms folded.

“Sister, what is all of this for?” Luna asked nervously.

“Mourning,” Celestia said sadly.

Author's Note:

The King, yeah. I most definitely didn't want him to be the stereotypical weighty, deep booming voiced, cold hearted King. I wont leave out that he's still a BA, but still I hope this character fits the role of the princesses father, both as a warrior king and a loving father to his daughters. His appearance is to help explain the curse with Nightmare Moons' black fur as well as Luna's inherited colors. I still don't have a name for him, but I don't think I will actually. I honestly don't have a cutie mark for him either, but if I do it remains a secret for now. I understand low popularity and I can't afford commissions but I think this will be a character worth having art for.