The moon had just finished rising and the stars were staring to wink into the sky. The princess of the night was sitting in the palace garden.
To anyone observing it would seem that Luna was doing nothing, however this was not the case. Outwardly Luna was staring at a flower picking it apart with her magic as she thought, inwardly she was a torrent of thoughts.
It had been several years since her return as Nightmare Moon, she had finally managed to forgive herself for the pain she had caused and was beginning to master the new inventions and language that had come in her absence.
However has she sat there picking at the flower her thoughts mirrored those from her past. She still was disappointed that the ponies snubbed her night. It made her sad but she was relieved that she was no longer tainted by a hatred or jealousy for those ponies.
Upon her return she had been surprised to discover that ponies now found wonder in her night sky, mapping it and gathering for the cosmic displays that had once been only viewed by her.
Still her night’s potential and beauty had barely begun to be discovered. She wished for some one to share it with, and this was the second thing she had been thinking about. Why should she be the only pony to revel in the beautiful night? Why could ponies live in the night as they did in the day, however her thoughts were different than those of her time as nightmare moon, she no longer wish for night to last forever but for it to be relished during it’s time.
She rose suddenly plucking the final petal off of her flower and tossing the stem into the bushes. She strode into the castle hall walking along its marble floor, until she reached the door she wanted.
As she entered the white alicorn inside turned from what she was doing. “Oh hello Luna, I was hoping I would see you before I retired for the night.” Celestia said putting down the brush she had been using and turning to her younger sister. Luna walked across the room grabbing a pillow from a pile and sitting down next to her sister. Celestia’s wing automatically surrounded her.
There was silence for a while as the two alicorn sisters sat together, when Luna spoke it was with the voice of a small filly. “Tia, I want to share my night.”
Celestia said nothing and waited for her sister to continue. “I have been thinking, ponies don’t have to be awake during the day. Not that they shouldn’t” Luna added hurriedly, not wanting her sister to think she was once again shunning the day.
“It’s just..” Luna hesitated trying to find the words. After a moment Luna gave up and just blurted it out. “I want to make a colony, a place where ponies sleep during the day and frolic in the night, my own city to rule and to share my wondrous night with those who share a love for it.” Luna waited for her sisters reply, Celestia didn’t speak for several moments. “She is trying to find a proper way to tell me no.” Luna thought preparing to mope.
When Celestia spoke it was with a small smile “Luna, I am glad you are taking an interest in sharing your night in such a way. I think it is a wonderful idea.”
Luna sat for a moment with one thought on her mind “Thou says what?” Luna spoke slipping into the old speech as she often did when exited surprised or angered.
Celestia giggled. “I think it would be good for you to have some ponies to rule over and not just their dreams. I think you should pursue this idea, and if you are willing I would like to help you.”
Luna did not move for a second. Then she wrapped her hooves around her sister’s neck and gave a squeal of joy.
As Aurora paced in her and her brothers small room, Sprocket lay on his bed watching his sister go back and forth. It wasn’t fair, why should she and her brother be unable to enjoy the festivities of a family night at the community center just because they had no parents. She had her brother and he had her, they were a family.
It had been eight years since Starry Aurora and her twin brother Sprocket Watch had been orphaned when their parents had died in a wagon accident. They had only been two and had since found shelter at Clipcrest town orphanage.
Normally healthy foals as them would have been adopted within months, how ever not many families were interested in twins especially ones like them.
Aurora was a firmly built unicorn filly with short midnight blue fur and a slightly darker mane and tail. Her eyes were gold and her mane and tail were speckled with tiny white dots.
Sprocket was a stocky young Pegasus colt, his brown coat complimented by a almost blond brown mane which descended down his neck neatly.
The two were inseparable, they argued sure, being a brother and sister it came with the territory, but when they were faced with separation even with something small like school. To put it simply no one succeeded with out being driven mad in the process.
Sprocket was nodding off, he had been awake all day and was ready for some well deserved sleep. However his sister’s pacing was keeping him awake, he knew better than to try to get her to sleep. She was a thinker and she thought best when she was she was moving, or when she was staring at the stars. Sprocket preferred to use his hooves rather than his head, not that he wasn’t clever, he got A’s and B’s, he just usually let Aurora do what she did best and be the brains.
“Do you even care?” Aurora asked suddenly dragging Sprocket into her turmoil. “Uh yeah, yes I care very much” the colt replied caught off guard, he had forgotten what his sister was thinking about a while ago. She was always thinking about something, she often got bugged about things Sprocket did even get. She was a girl after all.
“You have no clue what I’m talking about do you.” Aurora said giving him that look that implied that her genius was being dragged down by a incompetent accomplice.
”And there is the twin telepathy working against me.” Sprocket thought “Rory it’s almost lights out, can’t it wait until tomorrow, like when your with your friends at school.”
Aurora just rolled her eyes, she was used to her brothers lack of enthusiasm. She knew he had a point, there was no point in thinking about something in the past. It was just part of her nature, she couldn’t stop thinking about something until she had it fully worked out. Sometimes she envied her brothers ability to just put things behind him, then again he couldn’t remember everything he had ever read, something she could do with relative ease.
The little filly stopped pacing, instead she plopped down on a cushion by the window and began to stare at the stars. Sprocket waited a moment to make sure his sister had completely zoned out before inching off his bed and reaching the three feet to the light switch.
Luna awoke with a start, as she raised her head she wiped drool from her muzzle. How long had she slept? She stumbled over to the window and drew open the shades, her sisters sun was low in the sky. “Ah just in time for the evening meal” Luna thought striding back over to her desk.
She had been up most of the night and day, as she had been doing for the past weeks. She had been so exited about her colony that she would have forgotten to lower and raise the moon had Celestia not reminded her.
She had spent all of her time designing buildings and planning how she would feed and care for her ponies. She had been so busy with these things that she had completely forgotten about where she was going to get the ponies to care for. Celestia had told her that she would figure that part out and Luna should take care of the other stuff.
And Luna had, she had all the buildings she would need designed and had them all placed, she had even built a scale model. It had been rather easy, she had often theorized about ponies living at night and about what a town needs, all she had needed to do was put her ideas onto paper.
She had locked herself in her room only taking her food and shooing her big sister away telling her it was to be a surprise. Finally the time had come, as she prepared to join her sister for dinner she gathered all her papers into the air, she only just remembered to put on her royal garb before rushing out the door a skip in her step.
As she entered the cozy cubby where she and her sister ate she was surprised to see that her sister had not yet arrived. Luna took her seat and began to arrange her papers in a practical order. “a list of the buildings shall go before the blueprints and the map of the town should probably-“
“Evening Luna it is nice to see you out of your room.” Luna nearly fell off her cushion. “Tia! Would you be’ist so kind as to not sneak’ith up on me!” Celestia giggled and sat down opposite Luna.
Luna recomposed herself and sat in her chair waiting for her sister to ask about her pet project. However Celestia took advantage of her sisters excitement and continued to make her evening tea as slowly as possible.
Finally Luna couldn’t take the suspense. “I’ve finished! I have planned everything out, I have a list of all the flora and fauna and where I want to place them, and I have every building designed and placed, I even found the prefect spot to put it all!” While Luna continued spewing forth all the things she had done Celestia carefully took the papers from her sisters magical grasp and began to look through them.
“This looks excellent Luna you even thought of how to keep the ponies warm during the lowered temperature of the night. There is only one thing I don’t see in here, how do you plan for you ponies to see.”
Luna’s bubbly excitement faltered for a moment. She had forgotten in her plans that not all ponies had her ability to see in the dark. She had omitted street lights and such from her plans because they hindered one’s ability to view the night sky. Her moon, when it was full, could shine brightly enough to be comfortable but that only happened once a month and the light would disperse underneath the trees.
However nothing could hamper the alicorn’s dreams and she quickly thought of a solution. “I shall simply use a night vision potion or spell.” Luna said with a smile at her quick thinking. “So sister what have you thought of on the matter of the ponies?” The younger alicorn inquired exited to hear her sister’s plans.
Celestia took a long sip of her tea before delicately placing her cup on it’s saucer. Luna began to think her sister was purposely trying to drive her insane with suspense. “Well it took some thought but I finally came to a decision. Foals are your best bet, they have pliable minds and a strong curiosity. So I believe you should use your ability to view pony’s dreams to pick homeless foals to live in your town. However since you can’t have an entire town populated just by foals, I believe you should select some of your lunar pegusi and their families to help take care of things while you teach the foals.”
Celestia lifted her tea cup to her lips once more allowing her sister to contemplate the idea. It was a solid plan, homeless foals had no parents to miss them and would most likely be more than willing to take advantage of an adventure, besides foals were the right age to adapt to the night.
The idea of her lunar pegusi taking care of the adult matters took out two bird with one stone, the children could spend their time exploring and learning about the night instead of dealing with food and safety. That was another thing, with the guards there they could act as minute men if the need arose, besides she needed some pony to staff her small castle and other buildings.
“It is a wondrous idea!” Luna said her smile growing even wider. “I shall have the construction of the town and the selection of the foals begun.” And with that the princess of the night dashed from the room papers in tow.
Celestia just smiled and made a mental note to have a servant bring Luna some dinner.
“And so the pegusi use their magic to thin out the clouds making a fog.” The teacher was giving a lecture on weather to fill in the time between the end of her previous lesson and the end of class.
Aurora already knew all the things the teacher was covering and so let her mind wander. Her brother was staring off into space in the desk beside her, he wasn’t interested by weather or extreme flying.
As Aurora sat she began to think about what she would do after school. Normally she would play a round of foursquare with some of the girls from her class, and then head back to the orphanage with her brother.
Sprocket tended to hang with the boys who were new or who were leaving, he was different than Aurora, he was very sociable being able, and willing to befriend almost anypony. Aurora had acquaintances not friends, she had discovered that making friends was hard, most of the girls her age at school wanted to talk about dresses, colts and cutiemarks.
Those who were like her and didn’t like girly stuff had proven themselves as incompatible with Aurora, it was hard to carry on a conversation when the other person is constantly giving you pitying looks or bringing up how sorry they were that she had lost her parents.
She had found a few friends at the orphanage, but they had all been adopted, usually by a family in a distant town, so now Aurora stuck to playing foursquare and conversing in small talk.
The fillies thoughts were turning to a particularly difficult brain teaser she had been working on when the bell rang. She moved on automatic, her magic levitating her books into her bag and her legs heading for the door.
When Sprocket caught up to his sister she was already out of the school yard. He sighed, he knew the look on her face all to well, she was thinking and she would be unreachable for at least the entire walk to their room if not longer.
He wondered if her cutiemark would be a brain with cog’s in it or something similar. He had no clue what his would be, he wasn’t into most things that other colts or pegusi were. He was him and no one else, he watched as his sister stared off into space while automatically avoiding the potholes in the road. They had walked this road so many times that its lumps and bumps were ingrained in her memory, not that that was hard to do.
He just hoped that Aurora could get up to their room with out Ms.Neighers seeing her. The orphanage matron did not like it when Aurora zoned out, to her it was a waste of potential and time that should be used for practical things.
As the twins neared the orphanage Sprocket split away from his sister to go hang with some of the new comers.
The sun was at its peak as Luna strode through the empty town. She was so very proud of how it had turned out, construction workers had erected the buildings in the past weeks and had offered to do the landscaping but Luna had turned them down. Everything had to be perfect and she trusted only herself, and it had turned out perfect.
She went over a mental checklist as she looked at everything. “I have houses for the lunar pegusi, a school for the foals to attend, a dormitory for the foals to live in, a play ground, a food garden” As she listed each of these she faced them from where she stood.
The buildings were arranged around a circular square which had flowerbeds and a fountain. Two roads left the square in opposite directions. One was lined with houses and ended in a field, the other led to Luna’s palace. It was small by most standards, it consisted of a grand hall, a kitchen, servant’s quarters, and her personal rooms.
Luna took one more look around her before she entered one of the buildings. It was the grandest of all of them, even the palace was plain in comparison to this. It was Luna’s academy of the night, it was currently unfinished as she wanted to get every detail right. Currently two parts were open, The observatory, which was decorated by star maps and held an expertly built telescope, the second part was a library. The library was filled with books, many having been created using a copy spell, the topics ranged from fiction to deep science.
However Luna walked past both of these and continued to a door with a large lock on it. Luna knew from personal experience that to put a do not enter sign was the best way to invite young adventurous foals in. She used her magic to unlock the door before entering.
The room was large and circular with a large glass dome where a ceiling should be, the ground was currently bare dirt. It was Luna’s hope that she may recruit the young ponies in building a beautiful garden, part of their studies would be about the plants and animals of the night.
She had even filled the small forest that surrounded the colony with examples of her wondrous flora and fauna. Of course she had been careful to keep the more dangerous creatures away from where the ponies would actually be staying.
As Luna sat she used her magic to slowly blanket the bare earth with a soft fuzz of grass. The foals had been selected and letters had been sent to them, all that was left was to wait for their answers, Luna hoped with all her heart that they said yes.
It was lunch when the twin received their letters. It had surprised them both, mail for the foals was unusual and usually consisted of letters from foster or potential adoptive parents, or friends that the foals had met while being fostered. Neither Sprocket nor Aurora had received either kind for years. Sprocket had eagerly torn his open and read it
Dear, Sprocket Watch
We Princess Luna of the Night wish to extend to you an invitation. We wish for you to join us in a colony for ponies to revel in the night. You have been chosen because you have shown an interest in the night and myself. We would be very much pleased to have you join us and await you answer using the enclosed note.
Sprocket looked once more into the envelope and found a second slip of paper. It was much more decorated covered in curly-ques with Princess Luna’s seal at the top. In the center of the paper where two check boxes: YES, NO. On the back was Sprockets name typed out in silver.
The note was sorta sloppy Sprocket thought, especially for an obvious insert name here letter. It was like some one had planed something very extravagant and tried to simplify and shorten it. It also didn’t give him much info, he had been invited to move to a town where he would live at night, that was all he had gotten from the letter.
Then again that was all he needed. This letter had been geared towards foals, not only foal but foals who had nothing. The choice was simple, stay where they were and take their chances with finding a family or take this offer and try something no one else had.
“So what do you think Rory?” Sprocket said putting the papers back into his envelope and turning to his sister. He should have known better, she had already finished reading the letter and was now staring into thin air. Sprocket shrugged it off, it would be better to let her think it all through. When she finally snapped out of it she would give him a summary of the pro’s and con’s and they could decide together.
The young colt put the letter in his saddlebags and continued to eat his hay fries.
As the train sped down its tracks Aurora stared out her window. The evening after they received the letters had gone smoothly, the next thing Aurora had know she had snapped out of her thoughts to find herself in her bed. This was not the first time she had snapped back to reality to find herself somewhere drastically different from where she had been when she had started thinking.
She had quickly woken her brother and they had begun seriously discussing their decision. They had talked for hours and had eventually come to the same conclusion, there was no choice. They either stayed at the orphanage sitting through lectures and avoiding separation, or they took the unique offer they had been given.
They had each checked “YES” and Sprocket had snuck down to the mailbox. Now two weeks later their belongings were sitting next to them as they sped towards their destination. Technically they were headed to a dead end stop where they would then catch a ride to their destination, but same difference.
Aurora looked around her surroundings, the car had been reserved for the foals that would be joining her at this colony. They had been picking them up for the past hour, but finally it had been announced that they were no longer stopping to pick up anyone new.
There were twenty-two foals in the car, twenty if you ignored Aurora and her brother. Aurora took tabs in her head. 12 girls, 10 boys, seven earth ponies, five unicorns, and eight pegusi. When they had announced that no one knew would be joining them Sprocket had begun to go around introducing himself. She knew he was also introducing her, as she kept seeing the colts and fillies looking at her. She would introduce herself later, there would be plenty of time to make friends later. She only had a handful of hours to think.
Aurora was nervous, she would admit to it, there was no shame in it especially when you were a ten year old orphan, on your way to what is probably going to be the oddest place that she had ever seen. However her nervousness was not all about the move and the strange lifestyle she was about to start. It was the princess, she had never been fond of the rulers. It wasn’t that she hated them, they made day and night and that was a good thing. It was just that she had always thought them weak, no that wasn’t the word. Any pony that could raise and lower the sun and moon was not weak at least not in the physical sense, no that wasn’t the word she was looking for.
“Frivolous” Aurora muttered having found the word she had been looking for. Those alicorns who were supposed to be so kind and powerful spent all their power on frivolous things, such as the gala and fancy buildings, all the while ponies were in need of actual help. She wasn’t thinking of herself or the other orphans, no that wouldn’t be fair. The princesses were powerful but they had no power over life and death, the orphans may not have had the cushiest lives but they were cared for.
No, Aurora was thinking of the ponies she had seen in Clipcrest, ponies begging from alley ways for stray bits, sick ponies being turned away from the hospital because they could not afford the service they needed. So while the princess brought forth night and day, they were not in Aurora’s book more important than the ponies that grew food or built houses or provided the other necessities of life.
Luna paced back and forth in the square, the foals were due to show up at midnight. “Two more minutes your highness.” Said a Lunar mare, who was also waiting for the foals. Luna stopped pacing and planted her rear onto the bricks. She was trying not to be nervous but it was hard, she was about to greet the first ponies ever to be fully immersed in the night. Luna had been disappointed when only twenty-two of the fifty odd some foals replied with a yes.
She had hoped for more but had consoled herself with the fact that now each foal would get more attention. As Luna waited she began to think over what she was going to say, however she was interrupted as a long coach was pulled into the square by two lunar pegusi.
Luna stood tall flaring out her mane so as to look as impressive as possible. As the fillies and colts filled out of the coach they looked at their surroundings in the bright moonlight. When they saw the princess some froze others bowed while the others just looked unsure.
They varied in age from three to eleven and varied extremely in color. When one of the fillies spotted the lunar pegusi she gave a small squeal and backed away from them quickly. Once they had all filled out Luna quickly took control.
“We welcome you to our colony. We hope that you shall enjoy your stay and flourish in our beautiful night.” Luna said this loudly but was careful not to use the power of the royal canterlot voice. She was unsure whether or not to include the lunar pegusi staff in her greeting and so decided to use ‘we’ and let the children decide if they thought she was using the royal ‘we’ or not.
Some of the foals just gawked around them, others just stared at their hooves. Only a small handful looked at Luna and their reactions varied from scared to indifferent.
“We wish to let you settle in before we show you around, adjusting to night will be a challenge. So you will be given a week to adjust you sleep schedule and to settle into your knew homes.” Luna turned to the Lunar mare beside her. “The lunar pegusi are here to help feed and care for you. This is Matron Ransi, she shall be charged with your care. If you need anything or have any questions she will be available.”
The foals stared at the Matron, she wasn’t as intimidating as the guards, but she still had leathery wings and fangs. Several tried to hide behind each other.
“Now you must be anxious after such a long trip, the matron shall take you to the dormitory where you will each be given a room that will be your new home.” Luna watched as the matron lead the children off followed by two guards pulling baggage carts.
As they entered the dormitories they were greeted by a cozy room with a fire burning in a beautiful fireplace. Comfy chairs and piles of cushions lay about along with tables and a bookcase filled with board games.
As Aurora and her brother entered the Matron turned to the foals. “Upstairs are the rooms, each of you may select one and unpack. After you are finished you may come back down to get a snack., the dinning hall is through their.” The lunar pegusi gestured towards a door near a flight of stairs.
“Should we make a fuss about sharing a room?” Sprocket asked unsure. At the orphanage they had had to share a room or else be paired with another orphan, here they were being offered their own rooms. “Let’s hurry and grab ones next to each other.” Aurora told her brother grabbing her small duffel bag and running up the stairs with her brother on her heels.
They took two rooms a few doors down from the stairs and right next to a pair of doors marked “Fillies” and “Colts”. As Aurora entered her new room she was surprised, her old room had been 5 feet long and eight feet across. It had been just large enough for two beds and a desk.
This room was much larger. She had a large round bed with a curtain surrounding it, several feet from it was a table with a pile of cushions next to it. She also had an armoire and a floor to ceiling mirror and as she opened the armoire it had a variety of coats and jackets.
As Aurora unpacked her few possessions all she could think was that they had chosen right.
As Aurora stared at the moon she watched as some of the braver colts walked out into the courtyard and stood there for a few minutes, then they dashed back inside, having impressed the others.
Personally Aurora was getting sick of being cooped up. They had been provided with potions to allow them to see in the dark with this ability the night no longer looked so scary. The others however seemed content to play the board games and to talk amongst each other.
Aurora stood up and walked across her room to her armoire. Why should she stay inside just because the others were too afraid. They were supposed to go outside anyway so surely the princess would have made sure it was safe.
As she opened the armoire she reached with her magic and grabbed one of the coats inside, she then left her room and headed down the stairs. She was careful to make sure no one saw her head towards the back door, if they saw her she would be mobbed by foals gasping at her bravery.
The night air was cool on Aurora’s fur as she slipped outside, she quickly put on the coat and looked around. She could head into the small town, or she could head into the forest. After a few moments Aurora chose her direction and began to trot towards a hill blanketed by trees.
As Aurora ascended the hill she was glad to see that the night vision potion she had been given was effectively brightening the shadows around her. As she reached the top of the hill she froze, a small figure was in front of her gazing up at the moon in the clearing.
None of the foals wanted to go outside let alone come this far away from the safety of the dormitory. As she edged towards the figure it gave a start and turned. It was a lunar pegusi, however as they looked at each other Aurora didn’t feel the fear she did for the other larger lunar ponies.
“Maybe it’s the fact that we are the same size.” Aurora thought. As the little unicorn filly stared she began to examine the foal. It was a filly probably the same age as her, she had gray-blue fur and a Purple-gray mane that was braided. The only real difference between this lunar foal and any other pony was the bat like wings the tiny fangs and the pointed ears.
“Hello.” The Lunar filly said her eyes changing for startled to suspicious, her wings flex as if ready to fly off if need be.
“Hello” Aurora returned giving a small smile, this pony wasn’t a monster like the others thought she was just another pony who had come to the forest looking for some quiet.
“I thought all you solar foals were afraid of the night?” The Lunar filly said sitting back down.
“They are, I just got fed up with all the noise and came out here to find a spot to think. We are supposed to come out during the night any way so I doubted it would be dangerous.” Aurora sat down next to the filly and started up at the stars. There were many more than she had seen back in Clipcrest.
The two fillies just sat there in silence staring up at the sky. It wasn’t an awkward silence but the quiet shared by two ponies who were content to share the silence together.
After about an hour of staring at the sky the lunar filly spoke up. “ My name is Moonlit Jinx.”
Aurora turned to her new friend “Starry Aurora.”
Jinx gave a small smile. “Nice to meet you.”
As Luna paced in her room she moped, the foals had been here for a week and none of them had even tried to explore the night. A few had come out but only to show off to the others and quickly retreated back to the dorms.
Luna stopped pacing and flopped onto her bed, using her magic she levitated a large teddy bear almost as big as her. As Luna squeezed the stuffed animal she buried her muzzle in its soft fur. Why didn’t these foals like her night? She had done everything to bring out the beauty, she had given them the ability to see into the shadows and had provided them many games and places to explore. Still they prefed to sit indoors play board games and chatting.
Perhaps when the adaptation period was over and the school started they would begin to come out more. As Luna thought this over a bell began to ring. The princess sighed, she had enchanted this bell to ring whenever one of the fillies left the dorms.
It was probably just another foal trying to impress its friends by going outside. As Luna walked out onto her balcony and looked down at the dorm she was surprised by what she saw. A foal trotting towards the forest, and she had left through the back door, instead of the front where everypony else would see her.
This sight brought a small smile to the princess of the night’s face.
It was the last day of the foals adaptation period, many were beginning to talk about what school would be like, Aurora, in spite of herself was becoming exited. She did enjoy learning however her nearly photographic memory made her learning pace quicker than her classmates and so she had long ago become bored with the repeat lessons.
Aurora had spent the last few nights either sitting in her room or sitting on top of the hill, where she was often joined by jinx. They hadn’t talked much but that was fine, what little talk they had done was focused on their schedules.
Aurora had been somewhat surprised to discover that there were about a dozen lunar pegusi foals in the colony, and that they were going to be attending the same school as the solar foals. She was glad she was going to get to spend time with jinx but was worried about the others reaction to the bat like ponies.
Aurora was currently occupying herself with sorting through her desk drawers which were filled with school and art supplies. This was however a distraction while she waited for the other foals to finish their game of hide-and-go-seek.
Most of the foals still stayed inside while some now played in the small backyard of the dorms. This was a good thing technically but aurora was some what sad at the idea of the quiet night becoming so noisy.
Jinx would not be coming to the hill today, apparently her father was planning to take her to the food farm just outside the forest that bordered the colony. Aurora had originally planned to sit on the hill anyways but had soon realized that she should be using the little bit of quiet left to explore.
It had taken a lot of thinking but in the end she had settled upon a destination. As she finished organizing her drawers the shouts of foals floated up through her floor. “Sounds like they have finished.” Aurora thought walking over to her armoire and retrieving a jacket.
She quickly snuck down the stairs and out the back door, careful to remain unseen. Once outside she bolted for the square, when her hooves touched the stone bricks she edited her course for the palace.
Luna was in her room reading over the lesson plans that she had received from one of the three teachers. She had carefully designed the school system so that her students would be taught based on knowledge rather than on age. At the start of school the next day the children would be given a placement test which would decide where they would be placed.
Luna absent mindedly munched from a tray of pear slices that was placed beside her. She had been locked in her rooms ever since the foals arrived, planning and thinking, and also eating. She was starting to grow pudgy, Luna made a mental note that she would need to put in some exercise other than pacing.
“I’d better make a paper note as well” Luna thought adding a small pad and a quill to the tornado of paper and objects around her head. The princess was so wrapped up in her papers and her thoughts that she did not notice the small muzzle that was pushing open her bedroom door.
“Hello”
Luna turned at the sound of the little voice, She stared at the little blue unicorn filly standing in front of her door. The filly sat there staring up at the princess with bright gold eyes. They sat there for a minute just looking at each other before Luna spoke up. “Greetings little one, what brings you to my castle?”
“I was curious as to what you do all night.”
Luna smiled and gestured for the filly to come sit down beside her. “I am glad to see someone who is enjoying my night. Tell me what do you like about it the most?”
“The quiet.” The filly answered sitting down on the cushion Luna had provided. Luna was not sure how to reply to that so she just plowed on.
“I have taken great pains to make my night a place of beautiful solace painting the sky with stars and nebulae. A guide the creatures of the night, keeping those who would pose threat away from ponies. I have poured my soul into the night.” Luna felt a bit silly for describing it like that but the fillies eyes had not glazed over so that was a good sign.
“ That sounds very wordy for something that takes 5 minutes.” Aurora spoke bluntly. Luna stared blankly at her for a moment, shocked by her frank tone and words.
“W-well yes the raising of the moon and the placement of the stars is a short task. However it is difficult and is only part of my job. I also drive away nightmares and keep away the more unsavory creatures of the night.” Luna spoke quickly feeling the need to defend her work.
“Your sister was unable to do that while you were gone? If so, I don’t see much of a difference since you came back. “
Luna hesitated for a moment before responding. “You must be too young to properly remember before my return. While my sister could keep back the creatures she could not watch over dreams.”
“I could be wrong about how people dreamed before you came back but it really doesn’t matter. A few bad dreams help people keep things in context, so while it might be nicer to have better dreams it isn’t a need.”
While Luna tried to process what the filly had said, Aurora stood up nodded to the princess and walked out.
It was sunset the day after Aurora’s exploration of the palace and the foals were up early enjoying the last rays of sunshine. As the sky got darker the children were called in to eat breakfast and get ready for their first day of school.
Aurora and Sprocket sat side by side, each with a heaping stack of pancakes in front of them. Sprocket happily chatted to some of the other foals while Aurora stared off into space. She hadn’t fully zoned out but was busy thinking about what to expect at school.
Once they finished eating Aurora and Sprocket ran to their rooms. Aurora did a quick check of her saddle bags before choosing a baby blue puffy jacket and slipping it on along with the saddle bags. She then turned off her light and went to wait by her brother’s door.
When he came out he had donned a burgundy fleece hoodie and had his saddle bags secured. “Ready for school?” Aurora nodded and they both headed out.
The stars had just finished coming out as the two foals made their way across the square and to the temporary school house. Apparently a much bigger and fancier facility was being built, but wouldn’t be ready for several more weeks.
They were the first of the foals from the dorms to arrive, however many of the lunar foals were already there. “Do you think we should introduce ourselves?” Sprocket asked, a bit put off by the lunar colts cold looks.
Aurora ignored her brothers comment, her eyes scanning the group for her friend. She spotted Moonlit Jinx hanging near a few other fillies. Her hair hung in a single braid that fell over her back, the second she spotted aurora she smiled and began to walk over. “Aurora, good thing you came first, now we have an icebreaker.”
Sprocket looked slightly surprised at the familiarity the two girls shared, not that his sister couldn’t make friends but usually he was the first one to make a move when it came to ponies.
“Sprocket this is Moonlit Jinx, Jinx this is my brother Sprocket Watch” Aurora gestured to each pony in turn then stepped back. Her brother could make friends with almost anypony if given a place to start, and from what time she had spent with jinx, it seemed that the filly wasn't to bad herself.
“Nice to meet you, I can’t believe that Rory actually managed to make a friend already.” Sprocket said shaking her hoof.
“Well we still don’t know much about each other, we have only had a few conversations and spent most of the time stargazing in the forest.”
Sprocket looked at Aurora with a look of mock hurt. “You went exploring and didn’t invite me?” Aurora just rolled her eyes and ignored him. “How do you think thing are going to go?” Aurora said motioning to the solar foals that were now heading towards the temporary school yard, the others turned.
“I am expecting a lot of coldness from the lunar foals and a lot of ponies staying in their own groups.” Jinx said looking over at her peers. “My kind aren't really all that sociable. There is going to be a lot of cultural differences.”
Sprocket put on a warm grin “Well then maybe we can set a good example, you seem quite sociable.”
“I’m kinda and oddball.” Jinx said with a sheepish grin.
“Awesome, then we all have something in common.” Jinx giggled and Sprockets grin widened. Aurora smiled, she couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to a possible friendship.
As the solar foals entered the school yard they steered clear of the lunar foals and congregated on the other side, chatting amongst each other. The lunar foals just ignored them and kept conversing.
“Well this is going to be interesting.” Sprocket said. The three headed over to a bench near the front of the school house. As soon as they all got seated the door swung open and a Blue maned Lunar mare stepped out.
“Children, please follow me inside.” She said before turning back around.
“Cultural difference or just a strict teacher?” Sprocket asked getting up.
“The first one mostly. She is actually pretty nice.” Jinx said following her new friends.
“You know her? Wait let me guess, mom?”
Jinx laughed. “No, just a friend of the family. Most of the lunar pegasi families here either know, or know of each other.”
“Know of?” Aurora asked, she had a million questions about Lunar pegasi culture.
Jinx was about to answer when they reached the classroom. “Please take a seat quietly and quickly. The faster we get thing started the quicker we can get to the interesting stuff.”
The three did as they were told and took seats next to each other in the second row. Aurora squirmed a bit, she knew she would get answers eventually but she was dying with curiosity.
When I started writing this I had an entire world planed out.... But I forgot to create a plot. Right now the only thing I have planed is the history and culture of the Lunar Pegusi. In other words this story has become a dead end in my head. If any of you are really interested in this story I would be happy to figure it out and continue writing, but if not I would rather put this as canceled and try to punch up my other stories. So all in all I have one question.
Do any of you really want to see this story continue?
