> Ghosts of A Different Kind
>  by SpaceName
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> As the Day Gives Way to Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return  Of  Luna
14th of Discordia
Late Evening, Canterlot Castle


It was late in the evening, though Celestia knew it would be a few candles[1] yet before she had to "lower" the sun. In truth, though she was hailed and praised as a solar deity, she did not truly move the sun (she was praised for doing so anyway, even by astronomers). She instead kept her eyes upon the planets which orbit the burning star, including Equus. She kept their orbits stable. She kept their cores spinning. She was responsible for keeping Equus from becoming tidally locked, forever to burn on one side and freeze on the other. In times past, it took several unicorns to accomplish this task, just to spin their own planet and its core (though they hadn't known that's what they were doing), and in times past, ponies had not the capability to measure time as accurately as ponies did now. Their measurement system nowadays was more of a keepsake. A thing left over from those times when candles were the sole method of keeping track of ones business throughout the day.

It may have been Celestia who could accomplish the task that it had once taken ten or more unicorns to do, but not without the help of her sister, Luna, who kept the orbits of not only the moon connected to Equus (named Selene after one of the night alicorn's more ancient aliases), but all of the moons, asteroids, dwarf planets and outlying comets of the system. She and Celestia together made the seasons possible. They, together, held the balance that Discord had disrupted and toyed with as if the cosmos were his playground.

When Luna had been sent to the moon, it had been up to her to manage the entirety of their solar system. All seven planets, seventy-two moons, and thousands of asteroids. Every nudge, spin, and twist. What would only take up one or two half candles[2] worth of her time had then took many. Her sister had prided herself on her work for good reason. The lunar goddess had always been the better at multitasking, of the two of them.

While Day Court had ended a while ago and the evening meal was to begin any moment now, the 18 hands[3] tall alicorn found herself wandering through the castle gardens. As per usual, her personal guard trailed after her in lockstep, always keeping a few paces behind her, always keeping alert to their surroundings.

Black Hawk, the lone thestral among the group of four, was the first to detect that something was amiss. Celestia herself noted a disturbance in the ambient magic around them and raised a shield around herself and her guard. There was a loud, rumbling bang accompanied by a bright flash of light, as if the ground has been struck by lightning, before a swirling, toxic green portal teared the very air apart.

It is parallel to the ground, the sun goddess thought as she assessed the situation. The unicorn of her guard, a stallion who went by Signal Flare, had already begun to gather magic within his horn before he paused at the rise of his princess's wing.

Whatever will come through will either be flying up or falling down.

The portal grew bigger, the air around the garden grew thin, and yet with little theatrics a lone figure fell from the portal.

Celestia was distantly aware that Signal Flare and Black Hawk had the other two guards leave to find the Captain of the Guard, and or her sister. She was aware of the portal snapping shut and all the air rush back in a wave of wind that bit at her eyes and nose. The alicorn was also aware that the figure falling was limp. Unconscious.

It took only a heartbeat for her to lower her shield and give a sharp word to Signal Flare who cast a strong telekinesis on the falling form, now identifiable as a pony, to slow their fall and have them land safely on the ground in front of her.

The little fact that this pony possessed both wings and a horn wasn't important, in the face of his injuries. None of her guards reacted to seeing the sight, though they may have been thinking something along the lines of having been both blessed and cursed, to be a witness to this.

Shards of broken crystal ice dug into both wings. Broken pieces of armor made of the same material hung loose on his frame or, like the shards, dug into his coat. His helmet was cracked as well and that was not counting the actual wounds. Despite the anomaly that brought him here and the uncertainty surrounding him, this alicorn was young. A colt, at best.

A colt who would die if not given medical care.

"Buck it." There were days, weeks, maybe even months old scars, one in particular that looked like a lightning bolt struck his back. She couldn't pay those any mind at the moment, least her thoughts be driven to what having such scars implied and threaten the careful composure that she, just now, broke in order to curse.

She cast several spells in quick succession. One to teleport a gurney from the hospital wing and lift him as gently as she could manage onto it. Another to scan for illness and internal bleeding. Thankfully there was neither, yet.

"Treasured Heart and her team are ready to receive the patient, your highness."

A third to track his vitals and alert her if anything were to take a turn for the worst.

"Teleporting him may prove fatal, with his injuries."

"It would be at least five wicks[4] if we didn't take care to not aggravate his wounds further by bumping into someone or something. A quarter candle[5] at most if we did and if the way was clear of ponies." Black Hawk paced as he thought through their options, "We could always wait here for one of the staff to pick him up, but we don't know how much time we have."

"Black Hawk, you take the lead and clear out the area ahead for Signal Flare and the gurney." Celestia replied, already moving back to the castle as her guards responded with efficiency and speed.

A fourth spell to alert her when he woke up. Assuming, praying, that he would make it through the night.

A quick glance at the sky told her that the evening meal would start soon, which meant Luna would just be waking up and greeted with the pandemonium that was sure to be going on right about now.

Well, they could talk about it soon enough. She might even get some more paperwork done while waiting for news about the colt.

Harmony only knew that she wouldn't be getting any rest tonight.





Luna had not met her for the evening meal.

Her guards have not seen the moon goddess outside of her rooms all day.

Selene had yet to rise and it had been a quarter candle late ten wicks ago.

Celestia found herself pacing on her balcony, glancing up once to see the empty balcony belonging to her sister, again to the west where the sun sat unwavering, and a third time to the east where the moon had yet to be seen.

The solar diarch should just set the planet and its celestial satellite on their course and be done with it. She should then go to see what was wrong with her sister because surely it could not just be her being late to rise this night. It could not be so simple as that.

More pacing and another several wicks flickered by as Celestia fought with herself to do what needed to be done over emotions and centuries old scars rubbed raw.

Releasing her pent up magic, the alicorn gave Equus the push it needed to keep on spinning for another day and reached out to the silvery orb, nudging it to continue on the path that had been set for it and not slow or sync up to the planet's own rotation.

Most of the other celestial bodies in the system only needed a check-up, as it were, and no guidance beyond keeping the dangerous asteroids at bay and making sure no moon swung out of orbit.

Discord may be on their side now, but that didn't mean that he wasn't above pulling something like that just for kicks and giggles.

With this task done, Celestia pulled back, letting her consciousness dive back into body. Gold plated horseshoes clinked against the tile floor as she made her way out of her tower and into the one her sister occupied. Mortal Law made it so she could not have just flown over to Luna's balcony herself and entered the other alicorn's chambers from there. It was her sister's right to privacy, if nothing else. Divine Law, however, demanded that no semi-immortal, ageless, or immortal being intrude upon another's domain without due cause (the inability to perform their duties, for example), or consent. 

Two thestrals, Amber Arc and Star Map if she remembered correctly, stood at the large double doors to Luna's rooms. They both saluted her before Star Map spoke.

"The Princess has yet to make her appearance still, Your Highness. If you had not arrived when you did, one of us would have taken it upon ourselves to check on her." The alicorn of the day gave a nod of her head, and after a moment of tense silence, stepped inside.

The whole tower was dark, lit only by dim candlelight. The decorations adorning the walls were gemstones of all colors set into the wall to create murals similar to the ones in the hallway that Celestia favored. One was dedicated to Luna's purification from the Nightmare, Twilight and her friends all present and accounted for. A second one showed her thestrals coming out of their self imposed exile to rejoin the country not even a year after Luna returned. A third showed pieces of Twilight and company facing off against Discord, against Chrysalis and her army, against Sombra. Another showed three little fillies that Luna had come to know and treasure over the years. On and on it went, both walls being covered with no space wasted.

The decorations and artwork within the night themed alicorn's bedroom was no different, though smaller on some occasions if only so it would fit. Nocturnal plant life grew in pots in one part of the circular room, only to have a knocked over pile of books break the otherwise peaceful, perhaps even meditative space. In fact, most of the room was littered with papers, half unrolled scrolls, a telescope that Luna must've either just pulled out or forgotten to put away from the previous night.

Where as Celestia's rooms were the height of order with nothing out of place, Luna's was...the opposite.

Luna herself was sitting in the middle of the room, eyes closed, horn aglow with icy silver magic, her face contorted with concentration. Papers fluttered in a breeze that came in from the open balcony doors, her mane and tail appearing far more like deep space that so far only the two sisters have seen. Hundreds of thousands of stars, different gas clouds glowing a myriad of colors in their light.

Was Luna working this early?

Was somepony having a nightmare that was so dark or sad that it needed this level of attention?

Celestia for the second time that day found her mind in a struggle. This time on whether or not to call out to her sister and disturb her work, or to leave her be and postpone Night Court for a later time.

It was only a single wick later though, that Luna pulled out of whatever trance she'd been in with a gasp and a strangled neigh that never got past a whimper.

"Luna?" There were tears, "Luna are you alright?" The dark coated alicorn looked at her with haunted eyes.

"Where is the colt, Tia?"

"In the hospital wing." Hadn't she known already where he was? Hadn't one of the guards or castle staff let her know? Or had she been in here the whole time, deaf to the world as she walked through the Dreaming? That, to Celestia, seemed like the most likely option but...

Luna's next words came out in a rush as she rose and began to gather yet more magic in her horn, "Join us if you wish, then, but we must see him."

It took all of half a wick for her to let the guards outside know where Luna had gone, before igniting her horn and following her sister in a brief flash of light.
> Light the Paths We Tread
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return Of Luna
14th of Discordia
Half Candle after Moon Rise


Her Divine Highness. Matron of the Arts. Muse of Astronomy, Dance, and the Tragedy side of Drama. Selene, the Goddess of Darkness, which her moon had been named after. Artemis, the Huntress. Nott, the Protector of Dreams. These were only a few names and titles that Luna bore over the years. Celestia and Cadence have their fair share of names and titles, and even Twilight was now gaining a few. More so, the dark coated alicorn knew, for her deeds in protecting the realm time and again within such a few short years, than with age and centuries worth of life.

Still, her young friend was worthy of every single one of them. Hekate, Goddess of Magic. Sekhmet, Minor goddess of warfare and fire (likely due to her association with Celestia). And her personal favorite, if Luna could have one, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Named so by the minotaurs who she'd settled a dispute with between their countries. In that week she'd prevented war, and in that week proved to said minotaurs that there was more to her than just her status as a former bearer of Magic and being Celestia's former protege.

The alicorn of the night arrived, not even a few heartbeats after casting the teleport, just few paces outside of the hallway that was the hospital wing. In between her and her goal, the room that the injured colt resided in, stood a wise and experienced doctor by the name of Treasured Heart. The unicorn was only just now gaining some grey and silver in her hair and coat, which were light red and deep maroon respectively. The mark emblazoned on her hips was that of an opened treasure chest with the outline of two halves of a stylized heart surrounding it.

"Good night, your highness. Our patient is in surgery at the moment." The mare did not move from her spot in front of two double doors despite the warm greeting, "If you'd like to see him, it should only be another candle at most."

Luna felt a wave of relief rush over her, "How is his condition, Treasured Heart?" Her sister teleported in not two hooves to her right.

"He is stable now," The doctor replied, "And good night to you as well, your highness."

With the pleasantries over and the colt's survival, at the moment, assured, Luna hoped to get her business done here swiftly, "I am to see him as soon as possible."

The lunar goddess left no room for argument but was placated for now by the news of the colt's body healing well. She had only just managed to bring his lost, young, yet complex mind out of the dark places in the Dreaming to where it had wandered. Those places of the Dreaming where even she was hesitant to tread.

She could still hear his mind crying out in a language that felt so alien to her ears that she almost shrunk back and away at the sound. Something in that mental voice echoed far beyond the Dreaming and into her very soul, searching for something and yet not finding it. It had left a yearning in her heart to seek out the three fillies from Ponyville that she'd grown to care for. A yearning to hold her sister close and never let go. A longing for the health, safety, and happiness of those that she cared for, that rang through her being like a bell.

The colt's mind had been a maze when she approached it. A maze of stairs and hallways, corridors and rooms that at any moment could twist on her. It was an ever shifting landscape. Gravity had a mind of its own here, and everything within it had to comply[1].

Discord would love it.

Celestia rested a wing across her withers and back, leading her to the side of the hallway closest to the doors and sat down beside her with all the grace and poise of a swan.

"What have you seen?"

Four simple words. Luna found herself struggling to form a reply. What could she even say? That the colt didn't speak, and likely did not understand Equish? That something about his mind set her on edge at the same time as it set her at ease? That she felt a familiarity, wandering through that Nightmare which was not a fabrication but was a memory, perhaps even a collection of memories, that had been twisted to cause him further pain? That said familiarity stemmed from her own experience with the Tantabus?

Should she tell her sister that she had failed in her task as the Protector of Dreams?

Should she tell her sister that this colt had, once upon a memory, faced down a being not unlike Discord in the ancient days? Or Sombra before the Empire had been sealed in time, if she were to be more accurate. A being of considerable power nonetheless, at least ten times his own strength and yet the colt, that little one dwarfed in size and power, stood in the face of his fear and fought anyway. That twisted, black magic using, one-eyed, fear mongering, tyrannical, foul creature should be glad that he is now dead twice over. For if Luna were to ever see him she'd make him wish for a thing as peaceful as death.

Not very harmonious of her, but Honesty and Loyalty had at one time chosen her to be their bearers. Not Kindness, whom had chosen her sister.

That had been what his nightmare had been about, at first. Him fighting this twisted ruler, and not only failing, but doing so in a way that he saw his home go up in flames. Something about the dream, perhaps some instinctual knowledge within the dark dream, told her that this is not what truly happened, since as stated One-eye was no more, but it was a fear this colt could not shake. Either he failed, and failed spectacularly, or he won only to still lose that which he had been fighting for.

Lose those he cared for in once fell swoop.

An all too familiar scream hit her ears like an earth tribe pony crashing into her at full speed. Both she and Celestia winced in pain before all at once realizing where that sound had come from.

"Somepony get me that sedative now!"

"How is he awake?! He shouldn't be awake yet!"

"Stop panicking and do your Celestia damned job!"

Luna sat rooted to the spot, eyes watering over yet refusing to let them fall. Celestia buried her face into the night alicorn's mane, able to bend her neck comfortably, somehow, despite the three hands height difference between them. She murmured words of comfort, though Luna didn't know whether they were meant for Luna or herself.

"Luna dammit, finally."

"How high of a dose was that?"

"Same as last time. Anything lower has no effect. We dealt with the side effects the first time and we can do it- why are you giving me that look?"

"...You do know Princess Luna's right outside, right?"

"Cele-"

"Along with her sister."

"What am I supposed to say, then?"

"How about "lets focus on making sure this colt recovers because if he doesn't we'll likely lose our lives, or worse, our jobs"? That seems like a good one."

Celestia gave a weak chuckle against her shoulder, "I should've known that you'd be an expression to."

Laughter. Trying to lighten the mood despite the situation. Harmony above and below why couldn't they just barge in there and liberally use all the healing spells they knew?

"That would mean compromising any energy his body has, using up stored calories and fat if need be, as well as making his immune system vulnerable to diseases that, while common and easy to treat for us, could very well kill him in spite of our help."

Oh, she'd said that out loud?

"You just had that look on your face, Lulu." Ah, that made sense.

"His mind is hurting." Luna said after a long moment, "His nightmares are memories, maybe recent ones. Actually, 'tis highly likely that they are. His language is foreign and-and we could not help him, Tia. We could not sooth his pain for the closer we got, the more that pain echoed within our mind and heart as if it were to become our own, should we let it."

Because that yearning and sadness and pain had been such that she could have brushed it aside. Its touch had been as light and gentle as a feather yet she had thought to let it dwell if it would allow her to better understand the young alicorn and his fears.

Well, she understood one of them now, at least.

"Foreign?"

"He speaks not Equish from what we gathered in his nightmares. We had thought, briefly, to give him our tongue but aside from not being the best pony for it, as we still cling to old accents and words, we know our country's modern laws. We know that magics affecting the mind are either banned or regulated heavily, aside from my dream walking." Luna snapped her muzzle shut before she slipped further into a monologue than she already had.

Celestia hummed, already thinking of possible solutions no doubt, "And his mind? What was it like?"

"Like Discord got to it and made it his playground. It's never the same from one moment to the next." At the solar alicorn's raise eyebrow she continued, "Yet we get the impression that when not in turmoil, it would be a peaceful place. There certainly has to be an...eye to the storm? Is that how the saying goes?"

Luna felt her sister shift, pulling her head back to nod once.

The silence that followed was definitely not awkward, with only the shuffling of hooves and medical equipment from the other side of the wall breaking it, aside from their labored breathing as the tenseness and worry bled out of them.

"It has been a long day, Tia. Should you not go and rest? We will be fine here. Night Court must begin soon anyways[2], so as much as we feel we must, we cannot stay long." Luna knew she had to start Night Court soon. It wasn't something that could be cancelled on impulse with, of course, the usual exception of emergencies. This, she knew, would not count as one and oh did Luna want to just sit there in that spot next to the door the entire night through if she was allowed.

But no, there were responsibilities. She'd already neglected her tending to Selene and the other thousand smaller celestial objects once that night.

"We could cancel Night Court tonight."

"Neigh. Our ponies must be worried from earlier. We must ease them and let them know there is no danger."

"We can do that in the morning." Why was Celestia trying to procrastinate? This wasn't like her. Usually she'd be on top of things as soon as she's made aware of them, but maybe this gnawing worry at the back of their minds clouded her judgement in this. Luna knew she was capable of the same and, given what she'd seen, was surprised that she had handled things as calmly as she had.

The moon goddess could thank her solar counterpart for that.

"And have our subjects create false images of what has transpired in the meantime? Surely, Tia you realize we cannot let that happen. There would be panic. We sense no other nightmares now, aside from the colt's, but even that is, for now, fading under the blanket of those...sedatives."

"If you are so sure. I have a spell placed on him to alert me if things were to, ah, take a turn in the wrong direction, as well as one for when he wakes up. Would you like me to key them to you as well?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Hey Lulu." Celestia got her attention after another beat of silence between them.

"Yeah?"

"Did you happen to catch the colt's name, by chance?" Luna had to think on that a while. She hadn't heard anything that might have been the young alicorn's name in his nightmares.

Wait.

They didn't know his name.

"We did not. What are we to tell our ponies, should they ask? What of where he came from? Tia, we cannot go in blindly-"

"I distinctly remember you doing just that when-"

"We are being serious, Tia." Luna did not know what about this situation called for Laughter, but whatever it might have been, she didn't see it.

"So am I. Lulu, you can handle this. I know you can. Just let them know that he hasn't been in any condition to speak to us yet, and that we are doing what we can to make him well." With a moment of near blinding golden warmth, the elder of the two sisters vanished from sight.

Better get this over with then. The faster she did this, Luna reasoned, the faster she could return here and focus on the colt who had fought a battle worthy of River Delta and Goligriff[3], won, barely, and now that she thought of it, the night alicorn never did tell her sister about what the colt's nightmare had been about.

Oh well. That can be left for another time.
> That We May Find Our Way To Shore
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return Of Luna
15th of Discordia
Sun Rise


Celestia hadn't slept well that night and so in the morning found herself more tired than usual. Going about her morning routine of adorning her shoes, crown, and necklace, rotating the planets with a wave of her horn, checking on them to make sure none were out of orbit (that gas giant, fifth from the sun, was so large as to be able to do just that if it got too close to the other outer giants), and as of today checking the spells tied to the colt. She'd keyed them to Luna as she'd asked, before resting her head, and had faith in them to let her know of the situation, but her mind had, like her younger sister, drifted back to the topic of the colt when left to wander.

Nothing had gone wrong during the surgery last night, other than the unexpected waking of the patient midway through. There was a twang in the spell which alerted her that the markless[1] colt was close to waking, merely in a light sleep now.

She hoped Luna had been successful in giving him a good dream. Harmony knew he needed it.

The solar diarch stepped lightly into the private dining hall that she and her sister used often for their morning meal. Occasionally others may be invited but the majority of the time it was just them. A little room that was out of the way, offering quiet and peace compared to the constant background noise of ponies going about their day.

Her guard and Luna's stood outside as the lunar goddess joined the solar just moments later. Her body was slouched, her eyes and ears drooping. Her starry mane and tail were almost completely dark, save for the brightest of stars seen at this time of year. The manner in which the dark alicorn carried herself however was more tense and frustrated, rather than anything resembling being tired.

Sitting down on either side of the small rectangular table they both waited for their food. The kitchen, connected by a short hallway that had many hidden cabinets and storage spaces filled with magically preserved food, was certainly busy if the smell coming from it was any indication.

"Did Night Court not go well?"

"Woudst thou like the short or long summation?" Ouch. If Luna was reverting back to using more Old Equish then it certainly hadn't gone as well as she had hoped.

"Let's go with short. If the long version is needed, Day Court does not start for another hour and I can always push it further if need be."

Celestia's tea and Luna's coffee arrived first, followed shortly thereafter by plates filled with an assortment of food. From waffles to omelets, quiche to crepes, to a various assortment of baked goods. The food smelled heavenly.

Picking up her coffee gingerly, as if she didn't trust herself not to crush it in her magic's grip, Luna gave the drink a withering glare as if it had done something to offend her.

"The nobles stepped forward firstly," The night goddess recounted with a level tone, "They came with many questions. If the colt was a danger to us, being an unknown alicorn; if he himself was in danger; if the portal he came through had a likelihood of opening elsewhere.

"We answered those with ease. T'was not hard to allay their fears. We do not rightly know about the portal, but t'was only he who came through and it closed right after, as we've heard from our loyal advisor. Though they've the right to be wary, we suppose. Chrysalis's changelings had only attacked a few years ago and the peace we have 'tween them and their new king hath only been in place for a moon. T'would be foalish to let their guard down so easily.

"Then a few others came, some with the same or similar concerns. Others, however, like your nephew, had already come up with strange and unusual ideas."

Here she paused to down the cup in one go, setting it down rather harshly but, to Celestia's relief, not enough to break it.

Still though, "What sort of ideas, Lu?"

"Blueblood had seen the colt as he was ferried to the doctors. Thought he may be from the same place we both hailed from, an Alicornian Homeland, he had said. We shot that down immediately." Celestia paused in sipping at her own tea, frowning as Luna continued, "Another thought him to be ourself from another reality. We denied such. A third dared to ask if he be mine son."

"What?" The fork that the bright alicorn had held in her sunlit aura clattered on the dark wood of the table, silence reigning throughout the room. Even the sounds from those cleaning up the kitchen had halted, the cooks probably listening in on the sister's conversation.

"Aye. Tis truth that they claimed such, though we again denied such a thing. Such questions took up over half our time at court. Did you know that a fourth, an earthen mare by the name of Sweet Berry, had asked if we knew what he was the god of? Me thinks they all congregated outside the throne room to talk among themselves, or the courtyard, as few ever asked the same question once it'd been given to another."

"Well, it'd be hard to know anything about that, given that he is unmarked."

Luna nodded her head, her mane brightening some as she began to calm down, "Which is the same that we gave to her. After that, the only question left had been if we knew where, or how, he got to be so injured."

Celestia remained quiet, content in letting her sister continue to fill the silence, as usually she was the one doing the talking and this was a nice change of pace. Aside from the topic being discussed, of course. She ate one of the overlarge blueberry muffins and wondered idly how they could go about getting around the language barrier as Luna told her of what it was she'd seen in the unnamed alicorn's nightmare.

If they could just get him to understand what they were saying, talking to him would be ten times easier. Perhaps she could ask Twilight to help her with researching this. There had to have been some kind of translation spell that she and Luna were simply forgetting. Something from long enough ago when not all species spoke Equish, either as a primary or secondary language.

If there was a way to at least get him to understand what they were saying, it would help a long way toward helping him and letting him know that they meant him no harm.

As Luna spoke more of what the young alicorn's nightmare had been about, Celestia was glad to have taken such immediate action in helping him. To know that he'd been fighting a foe similar to what they had once upon a time faced together, at such a young age, alone, gave the alicorn of the sun pause. Luna had only seen that dream from a certain point. So far as they were aware, there was far more to this story than a simple "Delta and Goligriff" story.

Thoughts that she couldn't give time to, questions that she couldn't answer, popped into and out of her mind like bubbles. What was his home like? Were there alicorns other than himself? Would they try to find their way here to take him home? If they were and succeeded, would they be peaceful?

What kind of realm would allow their young to don barding and fight in war like that?

Or had he sneaked his way past the watchful eyes of his elders in an attempt at, what? Being a martyr? Heroically challenging that horrid creature? He may have won and he may be powerful, but he should not have had to fight.

Oh who was she trying to fool? Celestia knew nothing of their culture. What claim to non-violence could she make when, perhaps, violence and war was all they knew? Who was she to criticize someone for allowing one as young as he to fight, when maybe that had been what was needed for his home to survive?

The most that she was allowed, the sun goddess concluded, was to make sure that the colt knew that here, he did not need, nor was he expected, to fight anyone or anything.

She only realized that her sister had stopped speaking when she noticed the absence of her sister's voice, and the calculating stare that said alicorn was giving her now. Had she been that out of it?

Well that wouldn't do.

"What name do you think we should give him?" Celestia asked out of the blue, startling her sister, "I mean, we know he has a mane and tail similar to your own, so, well, I guess I could see where those ponies got the thought that he was related to us, and maybe that could help in choosing a temporary name for him?" The alicorn of the night gave her a look, "Oh don't look at me with that tone of voice. We can't keep calling him "the colt". Personally, I think something with Spiral would fit him. Don't you think?"

Silence.

"Maybe Star or Comet would work better, as half of his name?"

Sill nothing.

"Star Spiral sounds nice, but maybe-"

"Seriously, Tia. We can't rightly know what to call him. It's not as if Harmony would tell either of us what his name should be. Neither of us are his mother, nor was he born here." Luna snapped lightly, taking a bite out of her food.

"But we still need to call him something. It doesn't necessarily need to be specific to his talent or-"

"Θανατος."

Celestia and Luna stared at each other for a long moment, eyes wide and backs ramrod straight. The two were questioning in their minds whether or not that really happened or if they had just imagined it. Everypony throughout Equestria and the Crystal Empire knew that Harmony spoke to expecting mothers to give the mares the names of their yet to be born foals. Each name has had, as far back as records show, at least some connection to either the foal's appearance, or their future talent or destiny as their cutie mark would one day show.

Orphans were a different case in which the pony that Harmony spoke to could be anypony. The matron or patron at the orphanage or one of the adopting family if the foal was young enough being the two most common scenarios that Celestia herself had witnessed.

But this?

Surely Harmony did not expect or believe...

"Tis just coincidence-"

"Yes. Nothing to do with what Harmony might think-"

"Or that some ponies might think him to be, you know, still-"

"This is going to spread like wildfire, isn't it?"

"Oh, knowing our ponies? Certainly."

The two sat in silence again, picking at their food. The time given for their meal was almost over and Day Court would begin not too long after. Would she be met with the usual petitioners for projects, nobles who were arguing over something that didn't really matter, and ponies who were having trouble with something or other? Or was she going to be met with more ponies who had questions about...Thanatos?

Why on Equus did Harmony have to give him a name that literally meant death, of all things? No, Celestia wouldn't be questioning that. Harmony often knew things that no one else did. She should just be happy to call the young alicorn by an actual name now, rather than the same simple descriptions over and over again like a broken record.

And be happy for her sister, of course.

"Congratulations, its a colt." The solar alicorn was met with a withering glare and gave only a smile in return.

"We will cut you, Tia."

"Love you to Lulu."
> From The Distant Land We Fled
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return Of Luna
15th of Discordia
Canterlot Castle, Hospital Wing
Mid Morning


To say that Danny was scared upon regaining consciousness would be a gross understatement.

His mind was flying a thousand miles an hour the minute he woke up to the beep beep beep of a heart monitor and the smell of antiseptic, cleaning supplies, and cheap air freshener that drove him up the wall. For five months he'd lived in that smell and the choking scent of sickness and The Stench That Shall Not Be Named. For five months he'd been in his personal hell, the GIW having been just shy of tearing him apart after throwing him into a portal they built, stealing the design from his parents. If it weren't for Clockwork's intervention and him being at the other side of the portal when it opened, Danny would have died then instead of, you know, becoming a half-ghost.

He didn't know why they did all they did to him. He didn't know why they thought churning out not-actual-clones only for said babies-toddlers-children to grow far too fast too quick was a good idea. Their minds couldn't catch up with their bodies and their bodies hadn't been able to handle the strain.

Only Danielle, or Dana as she was known now, survived.

He still hadn't quite gotten over the fact that the other fifty-four had not.

Danny had only been able to spend maybe the same amount of time away from his personal hell -not a lot of time if he were to be honest with himself- trying to recover mentally, emotionally, not to mention physically from the ordeal when suddenly, Pariah woke up.

Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts, Tyrant, Mad Man, and Slayer of Ancients. The first time he'd rose to power he'd ended Lux and Nox, the Ancients of the Day and Night respectively, twisted the atmosphere of the Ghost Zone to cloud its sun, ring system, twin moons, and everything else in the night sky from sight. He had shattered the lands and scattered them to the winds[1].

He had almost taken one of Clockwork's eyes, before the Ancient Ghost of Time turned around and took one of his instead.

It took the remaining Ancients, six of the original twelve, to seal him in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Since then, the Observant Council had forbidden the Ancients from having any other children[2].

Yeah, finding out that he was technically Clockwork's son and that he had older half-siblings had been a shock. Finding out that Lux and Nox were two of them gave reason to why Clockwork looked so sad whenever Danny asked about the constellations seen from the Zone -Thaluhasa as the ghosts called it-, or how the ghost plants survived without sunlight if they didn't resort to being parasites like the so-called ghost plants on Earth.

It was not as much of a shock, though, as finding out that his sister had gone down to the ghost portal in their parents basement after he'd "disappeared" and turned it on. From the inside. On purpose. All in the hopes of becoming a half-ghost like him, either to help find him or to help protect the city while he was gone and at his side in the event that he came back. Which he did. And boy was he a whirlwind of emotions when she'd told him what she had done.

Jazz knew very well that she could have died. She knew from the memories of the previous timeline -memories she shared with him and memories he didn't remember but she did yet couldn't tell- that the experience had been beyond painful[2]. Jazz had told him time and again that she didn't regret what she'd done, becoming Neon, because Clockwork had saved her to, she hadn't died, and that had to mean something.

Danny had just put on a smile and pretended that he wasn't concerned because what else could she, as Neon, tell the masses of how she "died", other than that it hadn't been an accident? That she'd done this to herself with full knowledge of the slim chance of her "coming back" as a ghost? No way. Better to omit some of the details and leaving people guessing the rest.

Before he could get lost on memory lane any further, his mind snapped back to the present where he was, as far as he could tell, in a hospital bed.

The one thing that kept him from performing a perfect pirouette off the handle was one particular sensation that threw off his mind's frantic attempts to get him the hell up and moving to escape this was a hospital room or the GIW had gotten to him again and both were equally bad bad bad.

What in Clockwork's name happened to his hands? His feet? He tried moving a finger but his whole hand -or whatever it was he had now- moved instead and there was a heavy soft blanket on his back and either side of him that wasn't there before. Around and around his thoughts swirled in his mind, trying to make sense of the new and foreign sensory input that he was registering all without even opening his eyes yet.

He somehow had both legs -hurrah, even if they were different now- and a tail -different from his ghost tail but still able to control it in a similar manner- as well as something on his head that he couldn't get a read on without opening his eyes.

There was the distinct feeling of a needle in one of his arms, to. One that stayed there without the aid of someone near by because there wasn't anyone in the room yet. IV drip maybe? Plus he was not completely uncomfortable, if the mystery blanket-weight that felt feathery -could be wings, would be nice to have them actually, now that he was calming down and thinking things through- was any indication.

Hospital it was, then.

Bad, but not the worst case scenario if the doctors and nurses hadn't figured out his half-ghost status. If they had figured it out and knew what it was or what it meant and they hadn't flipped the fudge out? He'd have to meet them, applaud their adaptability, and then promptly ask what the hell they'd gone through that they could weather this level of crazy.

Next on the agenda: open his eyes and figure out what he was before someone walks in and finds him in a delayed freak out.

Danny blinked his eyes a few times, having to adjust to the bright light even though he'd already been expecting it. He turned his head, taking note of how it felt to do so, from one side to the other and then down at his former hands. Wings and a tail, check. Hands have become hooves. Good to know. So he was a quadruped if one did not take the wings into account and not normally capable of standing up on hind legs. Laying on his back, he figured, in this form would be problematic.

He could work with this though. Hopefully. Maybe. It wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter.

Was he scared still? Yes, a thousand times over. Was he going to let anyone that was around here know that? Hell no.

Danny had initially decided to throw caution to the wind and try to move because he'd never actually seen a horse in person -ghost horses and those skeletal horses at Pariah's command he hadn't counted- so he only had the equivalent of text book knowledge on how one would even move. However, the fine hairs on the strange weight on his forehead -hey, he could pinpoint where it was now- rose as he detected something what was it he couldn't tell what it was.

He had no warning whatsoever to the doubled doors opening not even a moment after they were covered in a silvery light.

Two horse creatures walked into the room, both bearing horns on their heads -oh so that's what the thing on his head was- and the taller of the two bearing wings.

Both of them had been talking to each other and despite the little translation thing that his brain liked to do where he could understand them but in a way that made it harder to actually learn their language, he couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. Had it just decided not to kick in this morning?

On Jazz's account, it had only done the whole silent treatment for Latin which, as a dead human language, was easier to learn than pretty much every other living language that humanity had. Oh, the things that half-ghosts had to deal with.

Which meant, what exactly? Something he'd have to solve later. For now, attempts at communication shall be made so long as he doesn't focus on the white medical lab coat that the unicorn -Sam was the mythology expert but he did know a thing or two- was wearing or the too clean smell that this place had.

Goal number one was to get out of here as fast as possible. Consequences of not being healed enough be damned. There was only so much he could take before his brain taunted him with memories he'd rather forget.

The half-ghost rested his head on his hooves, assessing the two before him and the situation he was in. He was healed, for the most part anyway. Danny would have to find a way to thank these beings for that later. The shorter one looked older, was a girl, a mare, and had red fur and darker hair and tail color. Over all she seemed nice enough. He couldn't sense any negative emotions from her aside from the worry-concern that he thought might be directed toward him. He was the patient here so those two emotions made sense.

Danny deliberately decided to not think about how it was that he ended up here, for now. The whole memory surrounding Pariah's awakening and the subsequent battle with the now former king was not something the half-ghost wanted to relive anytime soon.

The taller of the two...mares. Yeah. The taller one had dark blue-grey fur, a mane and tail that looked like someone cut out pieces of the night sky, and had black shoes covering her hooves, an equally dark colored necklace of sorts -what were those things called, when on horses?- that had a silver crescent moon, and a black colored crown. A crown. Holy shit he was in the presence of royalty. Again.

Why was it always him?

And why in Clockwork's name was she raising an eyebrow -how was she doing that how was that possible- at him? Was she expecting him to speak? Or bow? Did he do something wrong? Was she mad at him for something he wasn't aware of doing[4]?

The red mare had come closer without him realizing it, her horn alight with a gentle-soothing-pretty fuchsia glow that wrapped around the needle in his, well, he supposed it was a foreleg now. The prickling sensation along his neck and horn started up again, this time as she pulled out the needle.

He definitely did not flinch and he sure as hell didn't let out any sort of frightened sound or back away as much as the hospital bed allowed. Nope. He was denying it til the day he became a full ghost. He was not letting those five stupid months get to him again, damn it.

For what felt like that longest minute of his life, Danny shuffled his way off the bed and tentatively stood -albeit shakily- on all fours. Good, now all he had to do was put one foreleg forward and...

Ow. Ow. Ow. Okay, so he knew how to move, theoretically and yes, in practice, on all fours. It was just that, now, there were stitches he didn't want to rip and everywhere ached to the nth degree. So...not unlike those other times, then. Except without the stitches because the GIW were pretty much all bastards.

"Just so you know, I didn't understand what you were saying earlier and I'm fairly certain you have no idea what I'm saying by that blank expression on your face so I'll just shut up now that you're aware of that. Okay? Okay." He muttered, more to himself to make sure his voice still worked properly than anything else.

At least those two were nice enough to not have a full conversation with idle chit chat about the weather and everything in front of him when he couldn't understand them.

The half-ghost moved, gingerly, over to the dark colored mare and raised a hoof to point to the door. So far he hadn't moved his wings because he didn't trust himself not to pull a muscle or tear his stitches with them, but that did not deter him in his goal. Nor did it deter his want-need to fly somehow someway when he was able to.

Catching on to what he was trying to ask, the two had a quick conversation -he heard a shit ton of e's, i's, ei's, and u's but rarely any a's or o's- before the royal one moved to stand right next to him, a wing over his back, and made the motion of walking again.

Seemed like he was free to go. Maybe it was under the stipulation of not straining himself and coming back later for a check up. That's what Sam usually said when fixing him up. Well, that and to eat more than he usually did to help his healing and make sure he got a decent amount of sleep over the next few days.

Danny might've been scared waking up, but somehow, whether it was the positive emotion pouring in waves from the royal being -directed at him no less- consisting of comfort, peace and a feeling he could only describe as warmth, or the fact that neither of them had tried to hurt him, the half-ghost hero found himself relaxed and ready to face whatever awaited him as they both walked out the door.
> Walk Upon The Line Between
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return Of Luna
15th of Discordia
High Noon


Princess Twilight Sparkle had gathered, at Celestia's request, all of the books, notes, and other bits of knowledge that she had on foreign languages and the translations made between them. As the majority of such accounts had been before Discord's "reign of an immeasurable amount of time" most of what she had was second hand and or half fictional tales. Everything else was more an in depth study into Equish itself and how other species have adopted it.

Books and scrolls on the languages of other species, besides the Minotaurs, Zebra, and Griffins, were also not readily available. The three that she had, one for each species, was more a dictionary and compilation of grammar mashed together. Changelings used hieroglyphs and pictographs, often incorporating them into murals. Diamond dogs had no written language that she was aware of, at least, not in the modern day. And dragons? They guarded theirs like they do everything else, jealously and with all the ferocity of a mother defending her foals.

While the purple mare was far from satisfied, she'd have to look through (see: raid) the Canterlot Library or the Royal Library if she wanted more. The royal library would likely be her best bet though as far as rare and ancient documents -in good condition no less- were concerned.

With her was Spike, her assistant and family member of mutually undetermined relation. He'd kept track of the books she had brought with her and made sure she kept her head because somehow there was another alicorn around -Celestia couldn't give much detail in her letter but promised to answer any and all questions she was able. Not only that, but he, HE, looked not too much older than the Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. A few years at most and only a hand or two taller.

Stepping up to the Castle Grounds, even just into the courtyard -when had they opened it up to the public?- was surreal. The alicorn's saddle bags were weighed down with books, scrolls, and papers that she bound together herself, though it didn't bother her nearly as much now, with the strength and endurance by day that the earth tribe third of her genetics gave her. 

The guard bowed stiffly toward her, the citizens gave low bows, while the nobility were somewhere in between. Everyone was on high alert though. The guard watched citizens and nobles as they actually -briefly and only on occasion- mingled and talked about the strange alicorn colt.

Dear Celestia, please give her the strength to bear with their crowd-born stupidity and ignorance if the time should come. The things that she was hearing -related to the princesses, a lover reborn, and messenger from a far off civilization to gain Equestria's help being the least of them, theory wise. The last one was really the only one that was halfway plausible and she nearly applauded the pony who was spreading that one around rather than the others.

Celestia had warned her, told her some of the things that Luna had denied but the chances of the populace actually believing them was, well, zero percent now.

Entering the throne room was an experience in itself. Her Holy Majesty, Princess Celestia, was wrapping up the last of the ponies that Day Court had to offer (which, other than being a princess, was likely why the guards outside had let her in) and she looked far from happy. Her smile was fake, her whole being was tense, and standing beside her were Luna and the colt whom she didn't yet know the name of[1].

Just another thing she'd have to ask.

"This is the first, and perhaps will be the only, male alicorn that Equestria has seen. He came not in radiant glory to battle with Chaos that We Know Well, The Lord of Shadows, the Magic Eater and other foes, as you and Princess Luna did. Neigh, he came upon us in his time of need. He came to use wounded by someone or something. We were the ones to help him." The citizen, a unicorn that had an chipped red two-handled pottery jar as his cutie mark, remarked as if Celestia didn't already know.

What he asked next though surprised the ascended alicorn, "Your Highness, what do you think that says about where he came from?"

It wasn't a question of where the colt came from, but of what his state when he had arrived meant, exactly. The solar diarch didn't looked surprised at this question. Apparently, she had already been thinking the same thing.

Twilight bit her lip harshly. She wanted to listen in and while she was allowed to, she admittedly kept getting distracted. Either it was how Celestia took the question with fake smile number four -holding back exasperation-, or how Luna suppressed a flinch, or the colt's reaction to all of this going on.

Speaking of...

His crow black fur was covered in faint scars, recent ones that had stitches with white dissoluble thread that looked like bits of starlight, and one vertical one in particular that went through one of his eyes. He gave no indication of being blind in that eye though and from this distance, still being near the front doors, she couldn't tell for herself. He wore no royal regalia, not yet at least, and she couldn't help but notice that his mane and tail were similar to Luna's, starry, but more so showing points of connected light. Constellations. Oh now that would be a fun topic for them to bond over.

Other than that, he was clearly bored. Sitting down now in the space between the throne and a standing Luna, who towered over him, he seemed to be tapping out a melody with both fore-hooves. Not being able to have his own input or at least be able to understand what it was anyone around him was saying must be overwhelmingly frustrating. And, as she saw, boring when he had nothing else to stimulate his mind.

The pattern repeated a couple of times before he stopped, looking around with mild interest at what was going on around him. Self-conscious, but not willing to show it.

Twilight thanked Celestia for suggesting she sit in on her court sessions as a teenager. While she'd been interested -which the solar alicorn probably picked up on- she hadn't thought of a way to ask. It taught her a lot about one's body language, how to act around the nobility and how said nobility acted around each other.

Surely this would help her now. Body language and gestures made up more than half of an actual conversation, after all. Even if they didn't get further than gestures and sounds, Twilight was determined to at least make a code or have him learn hoof language if possible. Those two options weren't ideal, but it didn't hurt to have back up plans in place ahead of time.

"I think, Mr. Amphora, it means that we have the chance to learn much from each other. I think it means that, should we continue to treat him with respect and hospitality, and should his family and friends come to search for him, they will be more inclined to be friendly, rather than hostile. I think it means we have the potential to have an ally, and friend, in the future, should we gain his trust and in turn trust him." Mr. Amphora bowed politely when he was dismissed, but otherwise radiated a frustration as he passed her that let the alicorn of magic know all too well that the answer Celestia had given was not the one he'd been expecting.

"Good afternoon, Twilight. If you'd like, we're going to be having lunch in a moment." Celestia said warmly as she rose from the throne, stretched out her wings and legs and turned her gaze to the colt, "This is Thanatos. I'm sorry you had to wait until you arrived to learn his name."

"Oh, it's no problem, Pr- ah, Celestia. I'm just glad I get to meet him." The purple alicorn turned her attention fully to the colt, waving her hoof in greeting, "My name is Twilight Sparkle," She pointed to herself as she spoke her name.

Thanatos looked between Celestia and Twilight for a long minute, as he no doubt was deciphering what was being said, before raising a hoof to the purple alicorn in greeting, rather than a wave, repeating her actions and words without hesitation afterward. It may have been all he'd been able to accomplish -he did seem a little tired now that she was closer- or because of cultural differences and him not wanting to offend anyone. The goddess of magic didn't quite know which.

"Hi Thanatos." Spike hopped down from her back, stretching for a moment before moving to stand a few paces in front of her to greet the newcomer, "I'm Spike." He continued, pointing to himself when he spoke his name. The young dragon didn't have to wait long, as Thanatos was thankfully able to recognize the name that the two sisters had been calling him by for the past however many hours. The markless alicorn, Twilight could see, was only confident so far as repeating the action and his name, before drawing back into himself and his mind. Guided only by Luna's gentle wing on his back as something of a physical crutch, or the reminder of it.

He glanced at her before lowering his head to the young dragon, blowing a cold mist over his head frill. Cold, because the mist had been low enough in temperature to cause snow, actual snow, that settled on Spike's head.

Twilight was positively itching by now to get her hooves into the royal library to scour the shelves for books. Maybe picture books to, even if he might be embarrassed by having to learn from them. In the meantime, there were other questions she could ask. Languages were, obviously, not her strong suit but she suspected that Celestia already knew that. Getting a griffin or minotaur resident would only help so far as them being bilingual...usually. It wouldn't help with the teaching of a language to the colt when there wasn't a common language to draw from.

Even she knew that it would be a hard task for her, in spite of or even because of her curiosity and drive for learning something new. She was bound to go overboard. Plus, they really did know next to nothing about him, except maybe Luna but that was limited to his dream state where languages were finicky -Luna told her once that she once had an entire conversation with a zebra and only after waking up did she realize that they'd both used their native languages yet were still able to understand each other.

Twilight nearly prayed to Harmony that it would happen whenever Luna visited Thanatos's dreams next because she didn't see any other way in getting him up to speed on the more abstract concepts and the details that she knew she'd end up micromanaging at some point.

Some days she hated her perfectionist tendencies.

Then again, how else was she going to keep the growing library at her own castle -stupid Tirek, stupid tree library for getting blown up- organized? Get Spike to do it? With the size that she was planning on not only would that be better as a punishment -not that she'd need to do that, he was a good drake- but it would be one better suited for if he messed up big time -okay there was that one incident, maybe, but he wasn't likely to ever mess up that bad ever again. Not anytime soon, she hoped.

"Shall we head to the formal dining hall, the private one, or have a picnic in the gardens?" Luna asked after the greetings were done, "We are hungry and imagine Thanatos to be as well."

Before anyone could reply, faint sounds reached all of their ears. Faint, but distinct.

"Anyone else heard that?"

Another bout of cold mist escaped Thanatos's muzzle, this one far more visible and the look of alarm was the only warning that they had. He ducked out of Luna's wing, walked right through her outstretched hoof to stop him as he rocketed forward without care for his injuries, horn and eyes -a trait from his land? His world?- light up with a brilliant green aura.

The guards at the door tried blocking him but he just ran right through them and the closed door as if they didn't exist. Or, maybe, as if he was the one who didn't exist.
> Those Living And Those Dead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return Of Luna
15th of Discordia
Afternoon


Luna didn't bother to think much on what Thanatos had just accomplished. She was more focused on catching up to him, which proved to be a feat in itself. After an initial teleport to just a few paces outside the throne room doors, the dark alicorn found herself racing alongside the her self appointed charge, only glancing at him every so often when she could afford the slip in focus.

Despite several stitches bursting wide open he didn't wince nor stop to tend to them. Despite the rush, Luna couldn't help but worry. Not just for him, but for the ponies in the courtyard that they were fast approaching.

The crow black alicorn beside her was naught but a blur, a shadow on the wall that moved and blinked even as he himself paused, a light surrounding his form that had an ethereal quality to it [1]. He passed through walls and doors to get here, even ponies as it seemed he could not be bothered to move out of the way. While it made keeping up with the colt difficult, and required the use of teleportation so that he remained within her eyesight, it also gave a very real sense of urgency.

They were on a time limit and Luna was painfully aware that she didn't know how much time was left. Or what would happen if they got to their destination too late.

As the open space came into view, there stood all those gathered for Day Court and no less than two dozen guards, all forming a circle around something she could not yet see. Nobles stood beside civilians and neither were batting an eye, where they otherwise might've protested. Loudly.

There was also the eerie quiet of it all that set her fur on end and the hairs on her horn prickling as if sensing magic nearby other than the magic of the colt she was following. Thanatos had sensed this before they were even aware of what they'd heard. He had some sense for whatever this was and had instantly moved toward it. A learned instinct, the lunar goddess could tell. One born of having done an action many times over.

A voice rose above the crowd, grating at her ears not unlike the manner in which Thanatos' mental voice had. This one however did not possess the soothing, peaceful quality that his had. It was all distorted maddening wrongness that had her fighting the instinct to bare her teeth -sporting fangs left over from her time as Nightmare Moon.

The young alicorn leaped over the crowd to land in the empty center, leaving her to do the same a moment later.

"That's why I had us come here like this, because I know my sister and I know that whatever or whoever you are, you are not her."

It was Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle being the one who was hissing, eyes red in a manner that reminded the alicorn of the night of her own eyes as Nightmare Moon. With the exception, she noted quickly to keep her thoughts clear, that these eyes were glowing, Sweetie's body had that same glow as Thanatos did now, and the little detail of her floating off the ground a few inches, defiant of gravity.

She was being possessed by something. A spirit or a demon, perhaps?

This rose so many questions, yet she could not spare a moment to dive into them.

The alabaster mare was on the tips of her hooves, keeping a distance between herself and her younger sibling despite the possessed filly -who was giggling like a mad mare- constantly moving toward her with every step back that she took.

Thanatos was speaking harshly to the being that had taken over the filly's body, his now green eyes a mirror image of the red and every time he opened his mouth Luna could've sworn on her mother's grave that she saw fangs. The growling deep in his throat reverberated throughout the courtyard, echoing off the walls and setting all of the civilians -noble and normal alike- out of their entranced state and into a right panic. The guard were, thankfully, trying their best at getting the area cleared out.

Stepping toward the two, who were now locked in a staring contest it seemed as there was a pause in their conversation, resulted in her being pushed back by a wave -gentle yet no less firm in it's demand- of green death-ice-ozone-something burnt-decay magic. The scent alone assaulted her nose and kept her at bay even after the magic itself had gone, leaving her at the inner edge of the dispersing crowd. Only a few of the bravest, or the most foalish, stayed. Their forms hugged the walls as the royal guard took up posts at doorways and at the castle gates. Above them, pegasi guard were circling the area, keeping an eye on the conflict below.

Thanatos had refused her help.

That thought took at least a full wick to sink properly into her mind.

He knew -or thought he knew- what he was doing here. He had experience with this -or she thought so. Thinking and assuming would only get anyone so far, though. The unicorn filly was now wrapped in that green aura with more foreign words being exchanged back and forth faster than a ball in one of those "tennis" matches that her sister had tried to introduce her to, once. Thanatos was aggitated, furious, perhaps. The being he was speaking to had a feral grin and an amused tone to her -their?- words. The only good thing she could see from this situation was that the being could no longer move Sweetie Belle's body.

She could not stand idly by and just shove all the work onto the young colt's shoulders, help wanted or not. He wanted to be the sword? Fine. She would be the shield and assist him in a more defensive manner. Sure he seemed to know what he was doing, but she knew battle, she knew the things that lurked in the dark that liked to drain ponies of their life, and she knew that everyone made mistakes. Thanatos wanted to be the hero of this story? She would not let him go with the worry for the ponies around him. She would not let him go without her strength at his back and her presence assuring his absolute victory.

One spell brought Rarity closer to her as a another a heartbeat later formed a dome around Thanatos and the possessed filly.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be helping him?" Rarity asked sharply, "I mean, er, that is-"

"Keeping those not involved in the conflict safe is just as important as making sure the conflict ends swiftly." Was Luna's prompt reply, cutting off the element's words, "We were denied in assisting him and so we shall make sure there are as few things to distract him as possible."

That said, there was one other thing she could do.

Thanatos walked up to the being who'd taken over Sweetie Belle. She was on her side now, laying down on the smooth stone floor. He raised a hoof, brought it down through her side -using the same trick that got him through the door- and raised the filly up and away. All the while the spirit used its fading control to make the newly marked filly screech in a way that couldn't possibly be equine.

One other spell that Luna knew she could cast, least this foul spirit become mad and attack the colt for exorcising it-her-him. One way that she could protect him from further harm -thank Harmony above that his reopened wounds were now covered in that ice-crystal Celestia had said his armor had been made out of. Had it really just appeared? She'd hardly seen his horn blink!

A dark black shadowy looking being, hoof by hoof[2], was separated from the young unicorn. Once the connection was cut, the filly fell limp, her breathing ragged and her limbs shaking. Rarity was practically oozing relief however, as Thanatos wasted no time in setting Sweetie Belle down next to her sister.

Luna hadn't used this spell in well over a millenium and a half, during a war between pony and dragon kind. At the time it's purpose had been the reverse of what she'd be using it for now on top of it already being one that drew from her own reserves, but that hardly mattered now.

His shield and armor shall be herself.

There were only a few words exchanged back and forth between the two as Luna weaved the spell into existence. Only a wick of time for it to be established that Thanatos somehow knew this shadowy spirit personally and they were not on friendly terms.

A thin barrier of translucent magic, appearing like heat rising off stone, wrapped itself around both the alicorn colt and herself, only a hair's width from their fur.

The shadow lunged, eyes ablaze as her hooves took on the color of a raging inferno, striking so fast that he hadn't the time to react other than stepping to the side. Something that the mare quickly adjusted to, landing, twisting, and making striking at his shoulder. Contact was made and the barrier proved true in that Luna was the one who took the hit. Burning pain registered in her mind a mere heartbeat later as a burnt hoof shaped mark appeared there on her left shoulder where Thanatos had been hit.

She kept her focus on both the shield spell and the barrier linking herself to the colt more so than the fight, closing her eyes tight in concentration. If she had, she'd have noticed how both ponies looked stunned that nothing had happened from that strike. If she had, the alicorn of the night would have noticed how Thanatos positioned himself while avoiding the spirit's blows to be able to see her, and see the injury that he should have sustained.

Rarity, bless that mare to the most distant asteroid and back, stood tense at her side, multitasking between comforting her sister until medics could take her to the hospital wing to check her over, and keeping a running commentary of what was going on.

"So the colt that kind of looks like you just noticed whatever spell you did to keep him from being injured and looks, well, if looks could kill that mare would be dead right about now. Or sent to Tartarus." Luna could almost hear her shrugging her shoulders, "Oh, would you look at that, the poor mare is scared of him now. Tch, looks like I'll have to deal with the leftovers then. No one hurts my sister or controls her mind and gets away with it. Princess Luna...Princess? Are you okay?"

No, she was not. The lunar goddess could admit that much. There were more hoof shaped burns. One on her left wing, one on the right side of her muzzle, and a bite mark on one of her hind legs below her cutie mark. She felt no more than those few after receiving the one on her leg.

"We will be fine, Miss Rarity. Has Thanatos subdued the spirit?"

A moment passed before Rarity spoke again, "If you're certain, Princess. The mare had yielded, I think. They aren't fighting anymore and she doesn't look like she's about to attack anyone else. Thanatos keeps on giving her death glares though." Luna let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Where is Princess Celestia? Should she not also be here?"

The night alicorn dropped the shield spell before she responded.

"Neigh," Luna opened her eyes to see Thanatos trotting over to her, eyes full of concern, horn aglow with his magic as he half dragged the restrained shadowy mare along with him in his magic, "She and Twilight Sparkle are likely keeping the ponies who took refuge in the castle as calm as they can. Someone had to stay, we supposed, and though we admire Twilight for her skill in battle, being able to placate frantic ponies is not her strongest quality."

"Twilight's here?" Luna nodded her head as she wrapped a wing over Thanatos as he neared her, finally releasing her second spell and letting her horn and forehead cool. Using magic continuously heated the forehead and horn on a unicorn, the wings and hooves of a pegasus or thestral, and the hooves of an earth or crystal pony. Using too much without letting one's body cool down could have rather nasty effects.

The dark coated mare gave the spirit a dark look of her own, promising much worse than what Thanatos had done to her -cuts that didn't bleed even though they should, frost coating parts of her fur, glowing green pseudo-burns that felt cold even from here- should she ever dare to do something like that again.

Even without words, the flinch that the mare gave -replacing the sneer on her face with carefully controlled apathy- let Luna know that her message had been received.

"Come on. We better get inside. If our sister does not have a fit when she sees us then we shall eat our tail."
> Your Fallen Shall Be Brought Peace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Year 7, Return Of Luna
16th of Discordia
Early Morning



Sweetie Belle trotted down the dimly lit hallway at a brisk pace, her hooves clicking against the tile floor. The doctors and nurses assigned to look her over had given her a clean bill of health, aside from being tired and sore. They'd recommended that she and her sister find somewhere to stay and have her rest for a while, along with giving a list of stretches she could do for her legs if it hurt to walk.

It hadn't, really, but the gesture was appreciated. Celestia had invited them to stay at the castle for as long as they needed, which both unicorns appreciated. Their family had money, but paying for a chariot to get here had been expensive enough. Never mind the cost of one night in a hotel at Canterlot, what with her sister's standards of cleanliness and all.

Rarity doted on her. The mare fussed over her health, had answered her questions about Thanatos when she'd asked what happened to get that spirit to stop possessing her, and didn't complain once about her own experience with this, well, this entire situation.

All Sweetie Belle had wanted to do was help a weak, lost young mare who couldn't speak Equish.

She hadn't known that said help would involve possession. The mare hadn't looked like the shadow-like spirit that Rarity had described her as.

Sweetie had tried to reach out and take back control at first. When that hadn't worked, she'd thought to gain something from it. If the malevolent shadow was going to control her body like a puppet then she might as well get something in return, right?

Well the first thing that the filly had come up with was to find out what the mare was saying. Not being able to know what the spirit was making her do left her mind to wander and for it to wander a little too far into foreign territory, so to speak. A whole language was promptly dumped into her mind due to never having done anything like this before and pulling at too many "strings", or staring into the darkness of that mare's mind for so long that it started to stare back at her. Either analogy would work.

It was an experience that Sweetie Belle never wanted to repeat. She'd learned her lesson. Know what you're getting into before you help someone out and don't go wandering off alone where there wasn't another pony -preferably one that she knew- around.

At least she'd be able to understand any other spirits if they showed up, now. And that one. And maybe Thanatos. She wasn't too optimistic that he'd speak to her even though her goal this morning was, at Twilight's request, to ask him about his written language.

Apparently that would help with whatever research the purple alicorn was doing right now.

Somehow, the one who'd saved her had been put up in Luna's personal tower, of all places. She didn't get the reasons behind why but Celestia had this knowing grin all the while Luna just grumbled -but hadn't protested- and refused to say anything. Twilight was by now holed up in the royal library, Rarity was likely still sleeping or checking out her store here, and Thanatos?

Well, the filly had just arrived at the room he'd been given. There was a single thestral guard standing outside his door. One that was visible, anyway. Her sister said once that while pegasi had command over the weather, thestrals had this trick that made them invisible to all but skilled magi and magic detectors. Where pegasi had the best ranged eyesight -and generally the poorest at seeing anything within a hoof of their faces- thestrals had amazing low light vision which gave them their cat-like eyes.

Unicorns, Earth, and Crystal ponies didn't miss out in the perks department either. Unicorns were the only tribe to be able to see the color of another unicorn's magic. Or alicorn. Earth ponies had a connection to nature on top of being the strongest and more durable of the tribes. A connection that could come in really any form. For some, it was similar to Pinkie Pie and her Pinkie Sense. For others, it was having a green hoof that bordered on chlorokinesis. For others, it was Geomancy and being able to bend the earth and soil to their will or sense vibrations through it. And that was just the more common ones that could develop. Next to unicorns, the Earth tribe was the second most diverse in how their magic developed.

Apple Bloom's magic took more to geomancy than it did to the command over plant life that most of her family had. To say that her family had been proud of her would be an understatement. To say that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had been in awe of the multitude of small rocks that would sometimes dance around her like planets around a sun -or moons around a planet- or the way that next to no one could sneak up on her anymore was like saying that Scootaloo had a passive interest in flying under her own power[1].

Crystal ponies were interesting though. Some merely thought that they were just an off-shoot of the Earth tribe and while that may be true in a sense, it was more accurate to liken the difference to that of the one between thestrals and pegasi. Crystal ponies were inherently darker than their Earth counterparts. While the Earth tribe had more energy and saw better in daylight, the opposite was true for the Crystal ponies and the darkness of nighttime. They were more adapted to the cold and could sense magic "flavors" in a similar way to a unicorn seeing magic colors. They were the most amazing inventors, metallurgists, not to mention crystal-based magi that the world had ever seen.

"You are Sweetie Belle?" The guard asked after a tense few heartbeats. The filly bobbed her head once in confirmation, glad that she wouldn't have to come up with some explanation for her being there, "You may enter."

The stormy grey coated pony stepped to the side as the door opened without any indication of somepony being there to open it. No magic, no sound other than a slight creak from the door, nothing.

Stupid thestrals and their amazing stealth skills. Were they trying to creep her out?

Stepping into the room as quietly as she dared, her tail flicking about with nervous energy, the unicorn filly scanned the room for any sign that she would be better off leaving the alicorn alone. She didn't want to disturb him if he turned out to be busy, or sleeping. For all she knew he could be nocturnal like Princess Luna.

But nope, there he was sitting on the ground by the foot of the bed, hunched over a book and glaring at it as if he wanted to set it on fire. Sweetie Belle shivered, only partially due to the chill. The fireplace at the wall opposite the bed was burning low, mere embers and ashes that the alicorn seemed to only have going for the light source it provided.

"Um. Thanatos?" Now or never, she supposed, if she was going to ever find out if they could communicate with this sudden second language in her head, "Are you busy? I could go if you want."

When no response came, the filly shuffled further inside, flinching as the door gave an abrupt thud as it closed behind her. Sweetie moved carefully more toward the fireplace, and more toward the only source of heat in the room, before calling out to him again.

This time the crow black colt's head snapped up to meet her eyes as his entire body language changed in an instant. Shock was the main thing she could see. There were other emotions that flashed across his face before he settled on a calm, almost neutral expression.

"You...did Spectra give you the language?" So that was that spirit's name. Good to know.

"Um, sort of. I just thought to get something out of, you know, dancing to her tune." Thanatos shuddered, nodding his head as if he understood exactly what she was talking about.

"So, um. What are you reading?" The filly asked, tentatively moving a few paces closer to him to get a better look, still keenly aware of the fire and how it was steadily getting warmer. The colt let out a deep frustrated sigh before responding, flipping the pages absentmindedly with telekinesis.

"One of the royalty left this book here. A picture book for foals. You would think that maybe, just maybe, I'd be," A snort, "this is going to be my sixth language[2]. I should have a better idea of how to go about learning this."

Sixth?

"Which one are we speaking now, then?"

"Fifth." He grumbled, focused now on a pen grasped within his magic and writing down five other words underneath the ones printed on the page in small script. A few looked kind of similar to Equish's letters, while one, the fifth one, had this flow to it that looked really pretty. Like calligraphy.

"There are some things I can't translate though. Like, what is this thing here?" He pointed to a cube with a maze carved into it all the way down to the center in multiple layers. Sweetie Belle knew was it was, though found herself unable to give it a name that Thanatos would understand. Spectra' knowledge didn't extend that far.

The unicorn filly went for describing what it did instead, "It's a toy for young unicorns to practice their magic, specifically their telekinesis. You'd have to take a tiny round wooden ball and move it through the cube from the center to the exit and back again. I think there are ones with more complicated mazes to, and not just the one in this book." After a moment she added, "The princess that gave you that book was purple, right?" A nod, "That was Princess Twilight."

"So...it's like a," Here there was a word he spoke in a different language that the filly didn't understand, "cube then, but for magic and more geared toward fillies and colts instead of having a general audience." The alicorn's wings adjusted themselves at his sides, some of the feathers looking crooked and out of place. That couldn't be comfortable.

"What are the other names of the royals?" Oh, right.

"Well, there's princess Cadence who lives in the Crystal Empire up north along with her daughter, Flurry Heart; Princess Luna, the one who's tower you're staying in right now; and Princess Celestia." Her hooves were getting sore from standing, so she sat down with a little huff, wondering if she should ask about his wings, or his first language, or about his written language like Twilight had asked her to. Maybe she could just take the book to her when he was done with it? Come back with a new one for him, if he wanted one?

What was he going to do once she had to return back to Ponyville? It may be spring break right now so she had a couple weeks to be his translator, if the alicorn wanted her around, but after that?

He would be alone again if they hadn't found some way to communicate better by then.

Well, aside from that Spectra spirit but last she heard, the shadow was being held in the dungeon under heavy magic that they found she couldn't -thankfully- get out of. Would she only be there for a while? Would she try to possess someone else, if she was eventually let out? Somehow she doubted Luna would be so lenient and even Celestia from what she knew hadn't said anything against her being locked up.

"Are you okay miss-?"

"Sweetie Belle." She answered automatically, blinking as she returned to the present. She'd missed his reaction to what she'd said before but right now Thanatos' icy blue gaze was leveled with her own, concerned as his wings twitched restlessly to match his mood.

"Are you okay, Sweetie Belle?" He asked again while in the process of closing the book before she shook her head, grabbing part if it with her magic -disrupting his own, Sweet Celestia, it felt itchy and soothing at the same time, it was weird- to keep it open.

"I'm fine," An eyebrow raised, "No. Really. I'm okay. Just got lost in thought is all. Do you mind if I take this to Twi- Princess Twilight when you're done? She's working on a written translation I think."

Thanatos grinned, showing two sharp fangs and just a few too many teeth, "Of course you can. Would you like to help with the rest of the book? I'm only about half way through and that telekinetic cube, yes I'm calling it that unless I come up with a better name, wasn't the only thing I've stumbled over. Like this one thing here."

He flipped a few pages backwards and pointed to a pegasus toy this time.

This was going to be a fun.

Really though, "Um. If you don't mind my pointing this out, your wings have some feathers out of place." Did he even know how to preen them? Surely he was just caught up in translating this and was too busy to notice. Surely he knew.

"Hm?" He shifted his left wing a bit before extending it out all the way, looking at it with a frown, "Yup. Seems that way. How do I get them straight? I'd say magic but I can't exactly see everything clearly enough to get an idea of what's crooked, what's loose enough to pull out, and what's fine and just looks like it's at a funny angle."

Sweetie Belle nearly face hoofed. Maybe she should just suggest going to one of the princesses? Yep, best course of action right there. Best idea she had all week. Was Twilight an option? Maybe it was best to leave her out of it. She was busy enough right now as it was -and her researching and reading habits were known throughout Ponyville as being insane- and barely kept up with her own wing care as it was.

So that left Princess Celestia or Luna.

And guess who would be the nearest one available seeing as he was in a guest room in her tower?

Yeah. She could only see this ending well.