A New Starting Point

by Lunar Flarion

First published 31st of March, 2018

A stallion finds himself in a new universe, which is far better than his own.

HT: Flare finds himself in a weird new universe. This universe contains vamponies and a world without sunlight, only moonlight. Where shall this Flare with a dark past go? What will happen to him? Read to find out...

Prim Bite is 21 years old
Midnight Bite is 25 years old
Night Blossom is 24 years old
Honey Glow is 51 years old
Blood Moon is 54 years old

Thank you to TearingNose24 for editing some of the chapters!
Cover Art is by me

Chapter 1: The Blue Stallion (REDONE SUCKA!)

The Light purple castle was quiet, the moon was bright in the sky as the royal vampony family got ready for bed, well almost. A young vampony mare sits at the top of a balcony leading to her bedroom. Her name is Prim Bite, the youngest of the three vampony sisters in their families Kingdom. Her coat was a light grey, her mane the shade of amethyst. She had wings like that of a thestral since she was a vampony, but where other vamponies, such as her family, had red eyes hers were a dark pink. This separates her from all other vamponies in the kingdom. Believing this difference made her look out of place she never had any friends, despite being royalty.

She looked off into the night, she has seen it a thousand times over, because the sun never shines here, it hurts her kind so they always live in darkness. Sometimes light darkness, for which it is morning, and regular darkness, which meant night time. She wondered about things, like if she would ever make friends, now do not get her wrong, she’s playful, caring, and all in all a sweet mare, but she does get shy sometimes around new ponies. All of this was about to change.

Prim’s attention to the night sky was broken by the light of an unknown object appearing in the center of the maze. It’s radius spread into a small area, then slowly started to fade away, as if it was losing power. Two urges struck Prim at the same time. One told her to investigate, the other warning that whatever it is, it could be dangerous. Her mind, heart, and very soul was arguing for a decision, but, her curiosity from her heart and mind won out. She unfolded her wings and took to the sky, aiming for the middle of the cold maze.

The cold wind of winter pushed past her, yet didn’t slow her down. Her mind was dead set on finding what could have made such a powerful light. Each second she could feel her heart beat faster, as if the thing she found was going to change the whole world for her. As she now felt her heart pounding her chest, as if begging to escape, she landed. Being a vampony, a descendant of bat ponies, she had night vision, and what she saw made her blood run cold, and a freezing chill run up her very spine.

Laying in the middle of the middle of the maze was a blue stallion, his mane was dark blue, had a dark grey to black strip running down the middle of it, and was very messy. As if on impulse, her body lurched forward, trying to get to the stallion. As she covered the distance, she wondered aloud,” What are you doing out here, sir?”

No response, her jogging pace slightly quicked at that. She assumed the worst of many situations if they had a variety of endings to it that is. And, like that, she assumed the stallion was dead, cold and gone. She skidded to a stop as she was now hovering over him. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to see any signs that this stallion was alive, or if he was truly dead. With barely any training in medical practices, she put her ear to the stallion's chest.

...
...
...

Ba-bum
Ba-bum
Ba-bum

Prim let out a sigh of relief, the stallion, as she thought previously, was not dead. Yet, that didn’t stop her from checking for any form of injuries.

“Squeak!” Prim, well, squeaked upon finding a large, dark hole in the stallion’s skull. The hole itself looked as if it had swallowed the stallion’s left ear. Fearing that she may scream, she looked away to recover from the sight. When she did, she knew that she had to get him to the medical room in the castle. But, the only way to do this was to pick him up. Prim looked down at the stallion, trying her best to ignore the hole, and wondered if she could pick up a stallion twice her size.

‘You’re going to need to try at least! He needs your help!’ Her mind roared. With the realization that if she didn’t help he could die, she grabbed the stallion’s hoof with her mouth and began to position him to get him on her back.

...

After she managed to get the stallion on her back (After many of fails) she soon began to track her way out of the maze. The exit was easily found, for she knew every inch of this maze ever since she was a filly. She soon ran out of the maze, breathing heavily, as she never needed to run this much before. She wasn’t sure, however, if she was glad the stallion weighed next to nothing or not. So, she tried to think about other things,’Like how tonight is a lovely night to find a DYING STALLION!’ She flinched slightly, which caused the stallion to slide slightly off her back. Luckily, there weren’t any guards at the entrance, giving her the ability to run inside without being stopped. However, sompony she knew would come to her rescue in helping the stallion.

...

Midnight had had better nights, even the where sleeping was hard were better than tonight. Tonight she had a feeling that something wasn’t right, that something didn’t make any sense. She tried to think of reasons why today was so off-putting, but nothing came to mind. However, one thought helped comfort her.

‘I wonder if Nights awake?’ She questioned. Night Blossom was the second oldest sister of the three, her mane was a dark purple with a strand of red on the right side of her mane, and her fur was a greyish purple, and she was simply a unicorn. Midnight, on the other hoof, had a light red mane with a slightly darker greyish fur.

She turned to head to Nights room but had stopped as she heard the sound of hoof steps outside the door next to her.

*SLAM!*

The doors burst open, sending Midnight backward slightly and into a defensive stance. But once more was pushed back, this time on her rump from her little sister Prim Bite. Prim had barreled into Midnight’s chest, causing both mares to fall down, and the stallion that was on Prim’s back fell onto the floor on his side. Prim shook her head and removed her head that had been forcefully placed on Midnight’s shoulder. Prim recovered quickly, she now looked straight into her sister's eyes, in a worried and stern tone she said,” M-Midnight! I- um! AUGH! I need help, this stallion,” she pointed to him, ”He needs help!”

“G-geez! Alright! You go get mom, dad, and Night, I’ll take him to the hospital room.”

Prim nodded and ran off to fetch their family, Midnight looked down at the stallion, then walked over and to put him on her back.

...

Midnight entered the required medical room, her mind blank, as she orders the doctors to bandage up the stallion. If she didn’t feel his heartbeat, she would’ve brought him here to be prepared for the morgue, his weight, the gash in his side, and other wounds she found really made her wonder if he really was still alive. But, his heartbeat told her that he was, at least, breathing.

‘What is he?’ She wondered, several things pointed to him being anything but a vampony, his height, his apparent ability to survive a head wound that deadly, and the fact that he should’ve staved to death long ago. Once more, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more hoof steps walking towards the door. She got to her hooves and walked closer to the door, waiting for it to open.

And as fate had it, the door opened and four familiar faces popped in, Night Blossom, Prim Bite, Blood Moon(Her father), and Honey Glow(Her mother). Blood Moon was a tall, dark red furred, light grey maned, stallion and king of the Kingdom. Honey Glow was a regularly sized mare who had light grey fur and a light purple mane, many ponies say she was as sweet(nice) as honey itself. Her father said nothing as he went straight for the stallion laying down in the bed. Honey Glow had apparently been talking with Prim on the way here.

“Prim sweetie, are you sure he isn’t... gone?”

“I don’t think so mom, he seems alive to me!”

“Well, we can only hope he is okay...”

The two continued but Midnight had stopped listening to them as she walked over to her father. He sat next to the bed, muttering something to himself as he looked down at the stallion.

“What is it?” Midnight asked as she sat down next to her father.

“’It’ is a he, and from what I can tell, he isn’t a vampony...” Blood Moon replied as he glances at Midnight.

“WHAT!?” Midnight shouted. Her shout grabbed the attention of everypony within the room. Midnight flinched slightly at her own yell, glancing around the room to see if anypony outside had heard her and rushed in. To her luck, that wasn’t the case, but to her dismay, she had not only broke focus and yelled, but she had also gained the attention of anything within a mile radius.

“Uhh, Midnight is something wrong?” Night asked, walking over to her. Seconds later, both Honey Glow and Prim walked over to the side of the bed, and the doctors went back to work, ignoring the random outburst.

“Well, since you are gathered here, I believe I should tell you what I said to Midnight,” Blood Moon responded, his voice low and steady,” This stallion isn’t of this world, he isn’t a vampony...”

Night’s mouth dropped down, her eyes the size of dinner plates as she stared down at the stallion in question. Prim looked rather confused, and so did Honey Glow.

“B-but how?!” Night whispered loudly, glancing between her father and the stallion.

“W-well he did just poof into the center of the maze...” Prim said, her wings fluttering thoughtfully as she put a hoof to her chin.

“W-well, is he ever going to wake up?” Midnight asked, glancing at the stallion for a few seconds.

“Maybe... I do want to try something though...” Blood Moon said, turning to Prim Bite. With a calm voice, he spoke,” Prim, I want to see if you can make him a vampony, I want to give you the honors of doing such a thing because you found him and want to help him.”

“R-really?” Prim asked, not sure if she was more shocked or excited.

“Of course, sweetie!” Her mother mused, giving her a soft smile,” You deserve to do the honors!”

Prim took a minute to compose herself from the news. Finally, after a few seconds, she walked around to the left side of the stallion and found the perfect place to bite. Slowly and softly, she lowered her fangs into the stallion's neck. Once the fangs broke through, a sweet and spicy tasting blood began to pour into Prim’s mouth.

Prim pulled out her fangs after a few seconds and licked her lips happily. She tried to hide a small coo as she stated,” That was nice!”

“Well... I think it is time for you girls to head off to bed right now, we will see if this stallion wakes up in the morning,” Thier father said calmly as he began to rise from his sitting position.

“Yeah, dads right, I’ll see you gals in the mornin’,” Midnight said as she headed towards the exit.

Night gave a loud yawn, stating softly,” Yeah, I’m goin’ as well, I was havin’ a nice dream too!”

“I-is it okay if I can stay here and watch over him?” Prim asked softly when her parents looked over at her.

“A-are you sure, Prim?” Her mother asked softly.

“Y-yeah, if he does wake up, I want him to see a friendly face!” Prim replied, giving a toothy grin to emphasize her point.

“A-alright, if you think you can handle it,” her mother replied softly. She walked over and kissed Prim on the forehead.

As Honey Glow and Blood Monn were leaving, Prim had sat up a chair next to their guest, waiting for him to wake up.

...

“That is the stallion from my dream...” Blood Moon broke the silence.

“A-are you sure? The dream you told me about did say he was going to be a non-vampony!” Honey Glow replied, looking back in a worried glance.

“Yes, I am quite sure... let us not be too quick to judge, he may be the stallion to help with Prim Bite’s problem...”

“Dear, it is not a problem, she just has a hard time flirting!”

*Sigh* “I guess you’re right...”

In the morning, something will happen...

Author's Notes:

So it begins...

To clear any confusion,
Ht: Flare stands for Horrortale, second, he is a version of sans, that is to say, that he has sans abilities and has some of his looks.

Also! This is also a version of Lunar Flarion, aka, he is not the original Lunar Flarion

Chapter 2: A New Friend with A Dark Past

POV: HT: Flare
I awoke to blinding lights and the smell of sterilization. I was in pain, so I repositioned myself slowly. I let off a moan as my body settled, looking in front of me, I saw a white bed with a white wall.

'Where am I?' I thought, I scanned the room, first to the right... nothing interesting to note other than I might be in a hospital of some kind. When I scanned to the left, I saw a weird sight. A mare with pink bat eyes, amethyst colored mane, pale purple fur, and bat wings looking at me with worry. She was the one who broke the silence.

"H-hello s-sir, are you alright?" she asked, she sounded worried. I still had to recover from the shock. Was I in the underground anymore? If not, where am I? I finally decided to answer.

"Hi, um, who are you?" The mare eyes shot open, not from shock, but what looked to be interested.

"Oh, I'm, um, I'm Princess Prim Bite! But, you can just call me Prim Bite, also you have a cool red eye!" She stated. I chuckled, she sounded like my bro. Also red ey- oh, that red eye.

"Well, Prim Bite, I'm Lunar Flarion, nice to meet you," I said, as politely as I could. One thought bit at me, where was I? I decided to ask.

"Hey, Prim Bite, where am I, also why am I in a hospital bed?" Prim Bite looked at me with confusion, but that soon fell through and she answered.

"Well, you are in Equestria, more specifically the medical area of the castle! Also, you're in the hospital bed because I found you injured! I made you a vampony to save your life!" She said that last bit with pride. Though I can't turn from one monster type to another, so I had to tell her.

"Well, thanks for helping me, but I can't be turned into a vampony," I said, she looked at me confused. I was about to explain but she stopped me.

"Wait! Before you explain, I'm going to go grab some ponies, I'll be right back!" She said, before bolting off into the opposite direction. But, I waited like she asked, but while I waited I decided to quiz myself.

'Why doesn’t my side hurt?" I thought to myself. Ever since I got the large gashes in my side I’ve had a pain there. Even though I got some pain medicine, it doesn’t really help with magical wounds. I didn't get to answer my question, as I heard several hooves coming my way.

Several ponies walked in, all in various states of consciousness, but the one with the glasses seemed to be wide awake and had a... notepad in her magical grip? All of them looked at me, all but Prim Bite looked shocked at the one glowing red eye that I had. The only stallion of the group looked at me with worry. Finally, after a couple of minutes of staring Prim Bite finally said," Mom, Dad, Midnight, Night this is lunar Flarion, Lunar Flarion this is my family."

I sat there bewildered, where was she going with this. Thankfully she answered the question rather quickly.

"I think we should ask each other questions!" She stated with a smile. The one wearing the glasses named Night was about to say something, but I believe the named Midnight got to asking first.

"Alright, is there any other name we can call you other than Lunar Flarion?" She asked, looking him over.

"Sorry, you can call me Flare," I replied, Midnight looked at me skeptically but nodded in approval. Night was the one to ask the next question.

"What are you? Because, when we found you, you weren't a vampony." I looked at her for a second, then replied.

"I'm a skeleton-monster pony, uh, with skin and stuff," I replied, Night looked at me dumbly, but right now I think she would believe most of what I said.

"A monster? Sorry, but even with your scars and eye, you don't look like a pony who would hurt kids." Midnight said. At that Flare’s red eye disappeared, a look of dread now plastered on his face. Indeed in the underground, his kind was starving, he only killed two, the town got the other ten or so.

"Midnight!" all the others shouted, but before the could ridicule her further, I spoke up.

"She is wrong, up until 8 years ago. When the underground started to run low on food," I said, "Let me explain, we monster ponies were sealed underground by the regular ponies, to break out of the underground we needed 7 souls, one day, however, a young filly fell into the underground, she befriended us, but when she went to face the king..." I stopped, the death of the king, my cousin still haunted me, but after a short, while I began again," She killed him and left. The underground almost went into chaos, but the old queen stepped in. She was literally thrown out by the head of the royal guard, whom they made herself queen, soon the underground started going hungry, after that, I complained to her, but she wouldn’t listen. So instead of trying to fix the problem, she tricked me into following her into the woods... tried to finish me off there, but she failed... After that, I knew the queen failed us, so I had to make a decision... you can guess what it was."

They all looked at me, shocked. I expected them to call me a monster, but instead, the mother of Prim Bite said,

"That was brave of you when your queen failed and you helped her subjects. Even if what you did was wrong, you thought it best at the moment," she concluded, the others thought about it, but then nodded. They understood the situation my kind was in, and they understood the action was necessary.

"Heh, thanks, but I guess I should be going, you don't want someone like me around," I said, but the royal family surprised me once again.

" That will not be necessary," Prim Bite's father said, he looked me dead in the eye and continued," You don't need to leave, we will house you, besides we don't want our citizens to panic at a strange pony like you."

I most likely had a stupid look on my face but I smiled and replied, "Thank you, and for letting me stay, I'll help in any way I can." They all smiled. Midnight looked at me and finally said the funniest things I have ever heard from a princess," Are you good at hide-and-seek?"

I looked at her and replied," I am, why?"

"Meet me down the hall and to the left from this room tomorrow, at noon." She said, and then added," You should get some sleep, cause tomorrow, you'll be helping the captain with her guards!" With that, they all smiled and left, leaving me to get some more rest. Tomorrow will be an eventful day. And the rest of my time here was about to get interesting...

Author's Notes:

Here, have a picture of Midnight Bite.

Chapter 3: Hide and seek Military Style

Flare woke up the next morning rather groggily, but still remembered what happened yesterday. Grunting, he pulled himself out of his oddly fluffy bed. He didn't notice yesterday, he could feel something wrapped around his chest, so he moved his hoof to it. He stopped when he felt gauze over it. He thought for a second, and then grabbed the gauze in his magical grip and yanked it off. With a satisfying ripping noise, he continued to look for any other pieces of the blasted cast. After removing what seemed to be a nearly endless amount of gauze, he was now happy to have the ability to take deep breaths again. Finding a nearby trash can, he threw away the gauze and continued out of the medical area. A few doctors asked him what happened to his gauze, he replied that he didn't need it and that the wounds he has have been cursed to never heal. After saying that to the doctor at the entrance, he exited the medical bay and went down the hall to the left. On his way out he saw that it was close to noon, but when he looked out a window, all he saw was the moon and stars in the endless pool of beautiful purple.

When he walked around the corner he saw Midnight was waiting for him. She saw him and smiled.

"Hey! It's good to see you finally up Tall Boy! I see the medics removed the gauze?" She exclaimed with a smirk. Flare chuckled, Tall Boy? That was new. He walked over and she motioned for him to follow her. The two exited the castle and entered some kind of training yard, big lights were everywhere. Flare looked up, it was still nighttime, but the clock said noon... what was going on here? So Flare decided to ask.

"Hey, Midnig-" Flare was cut off when Midnight looked at him sternly.

"Out here it's Captain Midnight, so you'll answer me as such!" She exclaimed. Flare looked at her with an eyebrow raised, he wasn't amused, she sounded like Reaper. Flare gave off a low growl so Midnight didn't hear. Reaper, the queen, and ruling b@#$h of the underground. Midnight, however, looked at him surprised, no could resist that voice, yet he looked at her with barely any facial expression other than "Is that all you got?". She hummed, this was going to be interesting. Flare looked away and asked again.

"Captain Midnight, why is it night but the clock says it is noon?" Midnight looked at him, dumbfounded, but then remembered that he came from the underground, in an alternate universe.

"Well, we're vamponies, so the sunlight hurts us. A loooong time ago, some mare made the night last forever, her name was Nightmare Moon or something," Midnight stopped, causing Flare to do the same, she then stated, "We're here, this is what I was talking about when I asked you about hide-and-seek." In front of them stood a large, 5 story, grey, structure with very little windows. No lights were on in the building, Flare looked at it, confused. Midnight explained,"Us vamponies hunt in the dark, our army needs to be equipped to deal with that. But, they also need to know how to find targets in the darkness, so this building was made for that!"

Flare looked over, nodding. He decided to ask another more question, "Captain Midnight, what is your full name? I don't think I caught it." Midnight smirked and looked over at Flare.

"Wow, only two days in this world and you're already flirting with royalty! My full name is Midnight Bite~," She said teasingly, Flare's red eye disappeared with a look of embarrassment on his face. Midnight caught him off guard. Then, Flare chuckled, looking over at her, saying slyly," Well, who's the one who wanted to meet with me, all alone I might add?" Now it was her time to blush, she looked away, but smiled.

"You got me there, private!" She said, and the two started laughing at how this might look to an outsider. When the two calmed down, Midnight looked at him, her gaze now hardening.

"Well, the main reason you are here is that you are going to be the target my squad is looking for. You stay here, I going to go get them, got it?" Flare looked at her and nodded once more, not saying what her father had told her the previous night about no pony seeing him. Midnight walked off towards where Flare assumed was the barracks, he sat down and waited. A few moments later Midnight came back with thirty or so vamponies. She stopped in front of the building, her troops getting in a single file line. Midnight looked back at Flare, motioning him to move forward. When he was by her side, she barked," Alright troops! Today we are going to drill on finding a high profile target! This is Lunar Flarion, he will be who you are looking for! Get a good look at him!" She looked at her troops, fifteen male, fifteen female.

She looked at Flare and whispered," Alright, you head on inside and hide." Flare did as he was told and entered the building. Inside was a mess of different things, boxes, clothes, and picture frames large and small. Flare went up to the next floor and it was the same mess. He decided to stick to this floor. He found a cluster of boxes and moved them out of the way. After removing the boxes, he found a large hole, it was big enough to fit him so he went for it. Laying down in the large hole he moved the boxes back in place the way he found them.

Outside, Midnight was briefing her troops.

"Alright, you already know your objective! Today, since you won't be finding me, you can only use stun spells and other non-lethal tactics to capture Flare! Do you understand!" Her troops yelled in unison," YES, MA’AM!".

"Alright troops, MOVE OUT!" with that the troops went into the building, looking for the dark blue stallion.

Chapter 4: Night and Prim

After hours of trying to find the blue stallion, the troops came up empty. Midnight was understandably not pleased by this, and for the troop's punishment, they had to run 10 miles in 20 minutes or risk more punishment. When the troops left with their tail between their legs Midnight went into the building to get Flare. At first, she tried to actually find him but gave up shortly after, she finally settled for yelling for him to come out.

"Flare times up! You can come out now!" Unbeknownst to Midnight a figure silently walked up behind her. The figure looked down at Midnight and yelled.

"WATCH OUT THERE'S A DEMON HERE!" Midnight jumped away from the shout and looked to see Flare on the floor laughing. Midnight sighed and gave Flare a stern look. After a minute of laughing, Flare got up and meet the hardened gaze of Midnight Bite. He frowned and apologized for it. Midnight looked away, thought for a moment about what happened, she couldn't really be mad at him, she was the one who lowered her guard.

*Sighs* “Don't apologize, I should have had my guard up," Midnight said. The two remained silent for a moment.

Flare broke the silence, "If we are done here, can I go back to the castle to see if the others need help?"

"Oh! Go ahead, I need to think about how to get my troop to actually find a target like you," She said with a grin, and with that, Flare went back to the castle. Once he got inside, he went back to the medical sector to ask if they had a library, the doctors said that the castle did have one, and they pointed him in that direction. Flare found the doors to the Royal library, the doors were gold with silver handles. Using his magic, Flare grabbed the door handle, opened it, and walked inside.

The library was what Flare expected, a lot of books, what he didn't expect was a mare, with a book covering her head, sleeping on a sofa next to the entrance. Flare walked over to the mare and removed the book from her head, it was Prim Bite. She slept soundly on the sofa, but when the book was removed, she shuffled over onto her side and covered her face from the lights. Flare closed the book and sat it on a nearby table as he continued into the land of knowledge...and fiction. Flare looked around for a little while, mapping the area for later uses. As Flare entered another row of books and scrolls a familiar voice rang out.

"Oh! Hi Flare," it was the voice of Night, Flare looked behind him to see her putting away the scroll she had been reading. Night looked back at Flare, her eyes lit with curiosity. She looked at Flare from head to hoof before asking, "Would you mind answering some questions I have for you?" Flare thought about it for a moment, but since he didn't have anything else to do he accepted.

"Great! Follow me," Night said while motioning Flare to follow her. The two walked over to a nearby empty bean bags. The two sat down and Night pulled out a notepad and asked the first question,

"Alright, number one, what is the history of your race?"

"Well, ponies and monster ponies lived together in harmony, one day a war broke out and my kind was sealed underground, and I already told you the rest," Flare answered Night scribbled that down.

"Alright, next one, are you the only skeleton monster pony?" She questioned

"No, I have a brother named Lightning Trail, he's a skeleton monster pony as well," Flare replied, but then asked,"I never caught your full name. Mind telling me?"

Night stopped writing once she realized she wrote down his question. While erasing Night answered the question," My name is Night Blossom, and I'm the second oldest vampony sister, Prims is the youngest, and Midnight is the oldest."

"Alright, thank you," Flare replied.

"You're welcome, now the third question is, why aren't you a vampony now?" Night Blossom questioned further.

"Well, I'm not a full skeleton monster pony. My mother was a different type of monster pony than my father, and I can't just change my race," Flare stated, Night nodded and asked the final question

"Alright, the final one, do you need to eat to stay alive?"

"Short answer, no, long answer, no, I don't need to drink, eat, or anything to stay alive, you could remove my skin, organs, and muscles but I still could do everything I could do normally." Flare stated once more. Night finished up with that and smiled, her notes were complete. She said thank you to Flare and the two parted ways, Flare decided to see if Prim needed any help.

Really, all he had to do was follow the sound of a TV and there she was, sitting there, curled up in a blanket watching some type of show. Flare walked over and sat next to her. She looked over, smiled, and said," Hey Flare, how is everything?"

To which Flare responded," Everythings good, I just came by to see if you needed anything."

Prim Bite looked at him, then back at the TV, then right back onto Flare, finally, she said rather softly," You can help me with something," she paused," can you be my friend?" Flare looked at her, confused, but he accepted. When he did, the eyes of the mare grew wide and she soon jumped out of her blanket cocoon and grabbed Flare into a bear hug. Flare swore he could hear his ribs crack, but he moved his forelegs and hugged her as well. They stayed like that for a little while, and when Prim let go, Flare could finally breathe.

She smiled once more, before looking back at the TV, her eyes widened, then said, "Oh! Want to watch this with me?"

"Sure, what's it about?" Flare asked as he got comfortable on the sofa.

Prim gave off a goofy grin and proudly announced what it was,"This show is about a detective looking for the pony who murdered his wife! It's mysterious and uses scientific ideas to try and find the culprit." When she finished she looked at Flare to see his reaction to what the show is about, she was pleased to see a very interesting look on Flare's muzzle. The two got comfy on the sofa, Prim shared the blanket with Flare and the two sat there watching the show. But, in only a few weeks, this innocent friendship might take a turn into something much different.

Author's Notes:

So, who do you think is going to have an interest in Flare? Midnight Bite, Night Blossom, or Prim Bite? Or maybe none of them, all of them, or maybe no one likes him? Maybe an outside party might!
Comment down below your answer! If, ya want to

who am I kiding, no one is going to do that

Chapter 5: The heat hit, and it wasn't pretty...

Flare had lived with the royal vamponies for a couple of months or so, and the three vampony sisters got to know him better and vise versa. But, one day Honey Glow asked Flare to meet with her and Blood Moon privately. When Flare entered the room for which the king and queen sat, the two got right down to business. Blood Moon was the first to speak," Flare, you have been an amazing friend to me and my wife's daughters, and they respect you very much. But, we ask you to keep a small distance between them this week, for it is the time their heat is in full swing."

Honey Glow followed up on this, saying," And since they trust you very much, they might ask for your help because not only are you the only stallion they really know but also because their heat is quite aggressive this time of year."

Flare nodded understanding what needed to be done. He had to keep a safe distance from the sisters, especially Midnight, who knows what she might have planned, if what their parents are saying is true. He smiled and reassured them that in no possible way would he "help with their heats" in that way. A little while ago, Honey Glow said that her daughters were not allowed to mate with a partner unless they are married. Flare, then left the room and went to his room. Shutting and locking his door. The family was kind enough to give him a room, and several things to entertain himself with when he wasn' helping out with any duties. Stuff like books, a video game console, a TV, and Night gave him some anime DVDs to watch if nothing was else was on. Later that night, Flare swore he heard his door handle shake as if someone was trying to get in. Flare, shortly went back to sleep, but with one eye open for any other strange occurrences. This week was going to be a long one.

Flare left his room every once in a while for simple things like taking showers and eating. Though he always brought his food back to his room so that the sisters didn't try anything. While he did this he overheard that Prim Bite had gotten the worst of the heat. She was bedridden because of it, and Flare couldn't feel any more guilty because of it. Since he was here, a stallion, and close to her, that must have made her heat even worse this time, the family even said that her heat wasn't this bad until Flare came. However, on the third day, he exited his room, having nothing to do. All the books he was interested in were read five times over, the video game got boring, his and Prim Night's favorite show ended, and the anime DVDs only reached their second or third season before they ended. So Flare being at peak boredom went to the library to get some new books, and maybe some scrolls to learn more about the history of this place. He silently crept to the library, needing to hide when he saw Midnight walking out of her room. The one thing he couldn't stand was the smell the heated sisters gave off. When Midnight past Flare, however, she stopped and lifted her head into the air and sniffed. Flare stood poised for a second and then loosened up at Midnight's shrug. He continued to the library, keeping an ear out for Night Blossom, he opened the door slowly.

He entered the library silently and walked over to the 'Fantasy' section to pick out more books. While he browsed his options, he swore he could hear the sound of somepony breathing heavily in the aisle in front of him. Flare grew worried when the voice grunted and muttered,"Ahh, stupid heat! I'm trying to work!" The voice was that of Night Blossom. When Flare first exited his room to go eat dinner, Midnight stopped him and told him about how she and her sisters were in heat and that Night Blossom was who he needed to look out for. Flare quickly grabbed a book and exited the aisle, practically speed walking silently away. He knew he should get as far away as he could, and since the scrolls were in the 'History' section of the library, he went there.

Flare reached the scrolls with little to no problems what so ever. Though, that didn't stop him from quickly browsing the scrolls and choosing the more interesting sounding names, rather than actual topics. He held the scrolls in his magical grip and soon began to walk out of the aisle. As Flare exited the aisle and was about to leave, he felt something tugging at his body, before he knew what happened Flare flew towards the wall opposite to the exit, dropping the books and scrolls when he went flying. When Flare hit the wall, he felt someponies hooves holding him by his shoulders. When he looked up, he saw Night Blossom with a lust filled grin looking right back at him.

"Do you think I wouldn't notice you?" She asked, her grin turning into a frown. Flare didn't answer, and Night's response was to bear her teeth at him. She knew he was avoiding them, why, she didn't know. Flare stuttered for a moment, but she silenced him with another question.

"Why are you keeping your distance from us? Huh? HUH?!" Flare stared at her, she had gone nuts.

Flare responded this time, "Well, what you are doin' right now is one of those reasons!"

Night growled, her heat was getting worse, and Flare noticed that her legs were shaking. That's when the smell hit him, it was sickeningly sweet. Flare knew why she was acting like this, she was at her limit with this heat and wanted it to be done. She presses her hooves harder into Flare's shoulders. She licked her lips, her lustful grin was now back. She moved her face closer to his, and spoke softly," Listen, I need your help. If you help me, I will be able to do my work without any problems, and it will be fun~" Flare wasn't buying it, so he had to think quickly.

An Idea came to him, he looked into Nights eyes and said quickly," Yeah, no SEE YA!" With that Flare disappeared in a magical poof. Night stood there confused about what happened, and finally, when she registered what happened, she let off a frustrated yell. Flare was safe, but even though he thought he was in his room, a certain mare laying in her bed told him otherwise.

Chapter 6: The heat hit, but something grew from it.

Flare let out a heavy sigh, he escaped the mad mare... but where was he now? Flare opened his eyes and looked around in the dark room. His eyes landed on the bed in the center of the room. A small figure laid on the bed, the covers on the floor. With Flares sudden entrance, the figure had woken up. The figure slowly and weakly turned their head and looked at the door. It was at this time Flare wished he didn't have a bright red glowing eye.

"F-Flare?" the figure asked weakly, it was Prim Bite's voice. Flare had really screwed up teleporting here, but he couldn't help but answer back.

"Heeey, Prim. Uhh, sorry for teleporting in here unannounced, but I needed to get away from somepony." Prim looked at Flare, even in the dark Flare could see the piercing pink eyes, they cut through him, his guilt started to grow.

Prim barely moved, but managed a weak smile and spoke softly,"Well, I'm glad you're here... can I ask you for a favor?"

Flare had a feeling he knew what it was, but still, he replied,"Depends on the favor..." Prim smiled at him once more.

She had a feeling she knew what Flare was talking about. She laughed weakly, and replied," Can you read me a story? I'm kinda bored laying in this room..."

Once again, Flare felt guilty, he sighed, he was torn between accepting and denying the favor.

'I need to think this through' he thought,' It's a simple story, not much can go wrong and she is too weak to try anything' This looked to be cut and dry, but he couldn't help but think of how this could go wrong. Once more he sighed...

"Alright, what story do you want me to read to you?" Flare finally said, he was a little upset at how easily he broke when she asked for a favor, it was how innocent she sounded. Flare's eye adjusted to the darkness in the room, and he saw Prim lying on her stomach in the middle of the bed. Prim Bite slowly looked at her bookshelf to find a book she was interested in, most likely a storybook. When she saw the book about Daring Doo, she weakly lifted her hoof and pointed at it, Flare followed where the hoof pointed and used his magic to pull out the book once he found it. He moved to the side of Prim's bed and opened the book, being a monster pony, you gain some benefits, like having good night vision.

Before Flare could begin, however, Prim asked another request, "Can you cuddle with me while you read?" Flare barely picked up on the part she whispered, but he heard her none the less. He moved up onto the bed next to Prim. Even though Prim was in a weakened state, she shuffled over and draped her wing over Flare's back. She was almost burning from her heat, Flare didn't flinch, he was used to scolding heat, he did work in The Core for most of his life but this might hurt her more than him. A slight perk of being a skeleton pony with skin an' stuff is that you can control almost all of it, body temp, muscle movement, hormones, and if you react to pain. Flare went for his only option at the time, he closed his eyes and began thinking about cooling down.

He heard Prim moan softly and the side of her body was now practically rubbing against Flare's side. He now smiled, his plan worked and Prim seemed to like it as well. Flare began to read the book, each word coming out softly as to not start Prim Bite.

Prim Bite started to branch off in thought, the cold was nice and it helped with her heat. She wondered if this was what it was like having a coltfriend. She heard stories about ponies starting off as friends and then becoming something more. The part that made her now blush was the fact of how close she and Flare were. Flare always watched her favorite TV show, he always found ways to cheer her up, and right now he was reading to her and was allowing her to snuggle up to him. Maybe... maybe Flare liked, liked her? The thought made her heart flutter, she wouldn't admit it to anypony but she started having feelings when he started watching her show with her.

_-_Sometime later-_-

Prim started to feel sleepy and began to nod off. Flare kept reading the story aloud to her but when he felt her lightly put her head on his forelegs, he knew she was asleep. Flare put a bookmark where he had stopped and gently put the book down. He then used his magic to lift Prim Bite's head off of his legs as to not disturb her. When Flare finally got her head off of him he slowly tried to get off of the bed, completely forgetting about Prim Bite's wing, which was still on his back.

Prim's eyes shot open, she felt the bed spring up lightly and the sound of hooves hitting her floor, they were heading to the door. With the strength she still had left, she whimpered and said,"Flare wait!" Flare stopped and spun around, thinking something might have happened. He saw Prim wide awake, her eyes now filled with fear. She looked at him, then to the floor, then right back at him. She whimpered once more, her eyes pleading when she finally said what was on her mind,"Can you stay and sleep with me? I've been having nightmares, really bad ones... and-and you help me not be scared of them when you're here!" Every word was true, she had nightmares ever since this horrid heat started. Even though she sounded like a small filly, she looked at him with puppy eyes. Flare's remaining ear fell to its side, but, he walked back over to the bed and got comfortable. Prim Bite purred as he laid next to her, her wing, once more, laid over his back. She nuzzled his chest and laid her head down to rest on his forelegs. All the while, she could hear her heartbeat and his. Both of their hearts beat in sync with each other. She nodded off, Flare soon following. The two stayed like that until morning, Prim had now no dought that she loved this stallion, and accepted him with all of his quirks. Flare, started to feel the same way with her, maybe, just maybe this can be his New Starting Point.

Author's Notes:

Don't worry, people who read this story! More chapters are on the way! If you like this story, give it a thumbs up! It shows that you like this story and you want it to continue!

Chapter 7: Discussion

Honey Glow had been looking for Flare ever since she heard of him and Nights run in. She was worried that another one of her daughters had got him, which made her nervous. She had searched every corner of the castle as discreetly as she could, Midnight was also looking for him, insisting that she didn't do anything to him.

Honey Glow walked down the only hall she hadn't yet checked. This hall contained Prim Bite's room, along with the kitchen, bathroom, and gaming/ lounging room. She checked the kitchen first. The female chefs and male chefs had been separated during the time, but she asked everypony in the room if they had seen Flare. Most of them said he came in here earlier to grab a snack and left without saying much. So the kitchen was down. The next room she checked was the bathroom, but the door wasn't locked and no sound came from inside, so it was empty. Two rooms left, Honey Glow hoped to find Flare in the gaming room and not Prim's. She walked over to the brightly colored door to the game room and opened it slowly. Honey Glow found somepony, but it wasn't Flare. Her daughter Night was in there writing something, stress was plastered on her face. Honey Glow already knew what happened with her and Flare, so she left the room as quietly as she entered.

The last room was Prim's room, and Honey Glow was very nervous to enter that room. She hoped that if she found Flare in there, that he kept his promise and her daughter was still in heat. With a sigh, she walked over to the door leading to Prim's room and opened it slowly. On Prim's bed was where she found Flare, but in an odd predicament. The two looked to have been cuddling together before they fell asleep. Honey Glow calmly walked up to the bed and searched for her daughters smell.

The smell of a mare in heat was still on Prim, her mother couldn't have been more relieved. She was about to turn and leave but she stepped on something, that something made a soft noise that woke Prim up.

Prim's mind was fuzzy from waking up suddenly, thinking that Flare had left. But that couldn't be if Flare had left then why did she still feel his cold body next to her? She looked at where the noise originated, and Prim's eyes shrunk to pinpricks upon seeing who it was. Her mother stood there, in shock at making the noise. She slowly turned her head back to look and see if it awoke Prim and Flare. Flare was still asleep, but Prim looked wide awake, her cheeks flushed bright red. Honey Glow was going to ask how this happened later when her daughter would be awake, but now seemed like a good time.

Honey Glow and Prim Bite stared at each other for a moment, then her mother giggled, saying after it," Well, well, did my daughter find her special somepony~?"

Prim's cheeks got even redder from her mother saying that, she looked at Flare, then back to her mother, saying softly," If I tell you, w-will you promise not to tell Night or Midnight?"

"Of course, dear," Her mother softly sang, she didn't know why she was in a happy mood all of a sudden. Maybe it had to do with Prim finding somepony she loved?

Prim sighed, and looked at her mother, and softly confessed," I- I do love him, but I'm not sure he has the same feelings towards me."

Honey Glow chuckled and looked at her daughter, to her it was clear-cut, the stallion did look to have developed feelings for her daughter, they are always spending time together. She looked at the blue stallion then back to her daughter finally asking the question she was meaning to ask," So, how did this happen?" If Prim could get any redder she would've at that point. She stumbled over her words but got it out eventually," W-well, h-he teleported in here by a-accident, a-and I asked him if-if he could read an st-story to me."

"Oh? Then he snuggled up with you on his own accord?" Her mother grinned at her daughter, knowing full well that there was more to it. Prim sighed and mumbled something her mother couldn't hear.

"Sorry dear, can you say that again?" Her mother asked politely, Prim muzzle scrunched up, but finally she confessed the whole thing, how she asked him to read the book to her, then asked him to cuddle, then when he was about to leave, asked him to stay and sleep with her. Honey Glow looked at her daughter earnestly, and said sternly," Prim, I want you to know that, even if you don't think so, he might love you the same way you do him, you just need to ask him. Also, he didn't really break the rule that I and your father put in place for this week, he still stayed with you, he broke half a rule to keep you happy, that means something."

"Thanks, mom," Prim said, her mother nodded and left the room, leaving Prim and the pony she loved alone. She yawned and slowly put her head underneath Flares, she whispered silently to Flare," Goodnight Flare, I l-love you." and with that, she fell asleep.

In Prim's head

Prim opened her eyes, all around her was a black void of nothingness. She stood on what she assumed was a stone platform, this was her nightmare. The platform started to crumble away, and Prim Bite instinctively tried to open her wings and take flight, but, they didn't move. When the part she stood on finally gave way, she dropped like a stone, falling into the dark abyss. She looked down and saw the ground, it was made of grey stone. When she got closer to the ground she covered her eyes... she didn't wake up, she didn't hit the ground. She uncovered her eyes and saw that she was levitating a few inches above the ground, held within a blue aura. The aura dissipated and she fell the 2 or so inches onto the ground. She got up and dusted herself off, looking for the origin of the blue aura.

She looked around and her eyes landed on a familiar sight, Flare laid on a couch a blanket next to him. He had caught her. When she saw him, she galloped towards him, hugging his body tightly whilst saying 'thank you' over and over again. Flare hugged her back and softly rubbed her back as she repeated her line. When she let go, a tear had formed and slowly slide down her cheek, Flare, upon seeing her said lifted her up on the couch and wrapped the blanket around them. Prim, now wrapped in a blanket with Flare giggled and nuzzled his chest happily.

She woke up next to Flare, who still slept on. She looked at her clock and it said 7:30 a.m. She smiled and snuggled against Flare as best she could and fell right back to sleep. Having confidence that she found her special somepony.

Chapter 8: New Friends and a Sleepover!

When Prim awoke that morning, she felt better than before. She sighed and looked at the snoozing stallion next to her, she couldn't help but squeak as he stretched himself awake. He let off a loud yawn, opening his mouth, revealing his sharpened teeth. Prim simply looked at Flare's daggers he had for teeth, she always marveled at them for an unknown reason. When Flare yawn ended he looked over at her, an awkward grin on his muzzle. She returned the awkward grin and sighed, the cold feeling had lasted through the whole night, making her feel rather well this morning.

"Uhh, mornin', or afternoon? Um, what time is it?" Flare said, the grin never leaving his muzzle. Prim looked over at her clock, in large, purple, numbers, the time read 8:56 a.m. She looked back at Flare, who followed her gaze to the clock. He sighed, his awkward grin fading into a normal smile.

"Well, at least I-we didn't sleep into the afternoon." Flare chuckled, Prim only nodded. She didn't want to move from Flare's side, she was comfortable, his soft fur felt nice. She snuggled closer to Flare and purred softly. Flare didn't move away or try to keep distance, he just accepted the fact that when Prim was in heat, he was now her thermal pillow.

"Flare, thank you for staying with me. Also, I wanted to say..." Prim cut herself off, she couldn't tell Flare that she loved him, not yet anyway.

"No problem, I'm glad I could help," Flare replied, ignoring the fact she cut herself off, he continued," I have a feeling I'm your new pillow?"

Prim blushed at what Flare said, was he okay with it? Maybe he was. She giggled and stretched while Flare looked away. When she stopped stretching she could finally feel her legs.

"Oh! I can feel my legs again! Maybe I can walk?" she said out loud. She tried to stand up, but, fell back onto her bed. She scrunched her muzzle in annoyance. Flare looked at her, He wondered what she meant by 'I can feel my legs'.

"What do you mean 'I can feel my legs'? And, do you need help getting up?" Flare questioned, Prim glanced at him. She thought about it for a minute, then nodded.

"Yes, can I prop myself against you? Also, before you came to my room, I couldn't feel my legs because of the heat," Prim replied, Flare nodded and got off the bed. He used a simple levitation spell and picked her up. He had to softly put her next to him. Even if Flare put her down softly, her legs shook and she would've fallen if it wasn't for Flare grabbing her in his magical aura. He grabbed her wing and put it over his back, this allowed Prim to keep a hold on him while she walked.

When the two finally were ready to move they slowly stepped forward. Prim's legs still felt like lumps of lead, but the feeling was going away quickly enough. Prim had to concentrate on keeping her wings grip on Flare and remembering how to walk normally. Flare, on the other hoof, had to pace himself as to not trip Prim, he also had to open the doors that stood in the way of them and their journey to the dining room. They were going to be late for breakfast, that was certain, but they would make it in time to where they could eat something. When Flare and Prim got past the threshold to her room the two took their time getting to the dining room.

-_-In the Dining Room_-_

Blood Moon, Midnight Bite, and Night Blossom were listening to Honey Glow's story of how she found Flare. All of them seemed surprised by this revelation. Who knew a stallion like Flare would be the one Prim fell for? Night smiled on as her mother told them about what Prim said about her love for Flare. Midnight only chuckled, she knew from the first time those two meet, something strong would blossom because of it. Blood Moon was happy that his daughter had found somepony she shared feelings with, but was a little upset about what Flare did, but, being the wise king he was, he let it drop. The chefs had been put back together because the heat climax was over, and they didn't get random urges to mate. The royal family sat together, waiting for their breakfast to be made.

"I always had a feeling her and Flare had somethin'. Also, don't worry mom, I and Nighty won't tell a soul" Midnight stated after her mother completed her story. Night Blossom was thinking of all the possible stories that could play out, 'Maybe I can get Prim to say Baka when Flare is being oblivious!' She mentally laughed, her inner weeaboo now thinking of the many possibilities that can come from this.

Blood Moon chimed in," Well it is good to see she finally found somepony she loved, I understand that when you three go to visit your friends, that you try to get her to pick up a stallion." Night was still in her head so Midnight was the one to reply,

"Well, we just want her to be happy, but I guess she isn't the flirty type, I guess she loves Flare because she spent the most time with him and got to know him better," Midnight argued back in her defense, but immediately saw the flaw in her plan," I guess stallions at a bar aren't going to make good husbands..."

The parents laughed, and soon Night snapped out of her trance. Midnight only grinned at her foolishness, and Night was confused. The group went on about what they all did yesterday, leaving out the Night and Flare incident. Midnight was in the middle of her story when she saw Flare and Prim walking down the hall side-by-side.

" ...So I walked past the barracks and one of the troopers were- Huh? Prim, what are you doing up?" The family looked into the hallway leading to the east and west corridors, there walking towards them was Flare and Prim. Prim was leaning on Flare less now since her legs didn't feel like dead weight, Flare still took slow steps, preparing his magic in case Prim slips.

"Hey, guys!" Prim said with a smile as the two entered the room.

"Thank you Flare for helping me."

"No prob."

Prim sat next to Flare and the two ordered their own breakfast. The two sisters tried to hide their smirks, well after the scene with Flare walking in with their sister holding onto him for support. Their mother smiled warmly and their father greeted both of them with his own grin. The group went back to chatting away, Flare saying a joke here and there, Midnight talking about her guards, Night talking about anime, and Honey Glow and Blood Moon talking about the paperwork that needed to be done.

The chefs came out with all the breakfast foods the family, and Flare asked for. Midnight got toast with sunny-side-up eggs and hay bacon, Night ordered an omelet, Honey Glow and Blood Moon asked for coffee, and Prim and Flare both got oatmeal. As they ate Midnight brought the plans to go and meet with Rose Thorn and Prickle Bush. Night and Prim both agreed to go, Prim asking if Flare could go as well.

"Flare can come if he thinks he can handle us crazy bats!" Midnight said with an award-winning grin, Flare chuckled and replied with," Well, I did survive a certain ordeal, I think I can handle you if you 'Crazy bats' don’t get too crazy."

"Alright! Then it is settled, Flare is coming with us. Nighty, can you make him a disguise spell? And Flare, we leave at 12:15 p.m. sharp, and prepare to stay the night," Midnight said, having chills at the mention of Flare's rather... unfortunate past. Flare looked up at her, confusion plastered on his face. Midnight waved a hoof at him, a gesture he came to realize was the, 'I'll tell you later' gesture.

The family completed their meals and they all split up to do their daily routines. Night Blossom asked Flare to come with her so she could make him a proper disguise, promising not to react the same way she did last time they were with each other. Prim, being worried about it happening again, asked to go with them. She didn't know much about the incident between Flare and Night, but it sounded bad enough to warrant her to go with them. Night nodded and Flare help support Prim so they could follow Night.

After Night made him a disguise spell, he and Prim went back to their own rooms to pack stuff for a sleepover. When they got done packing at 9:15 a.m., the two spent the rest of the time watching TV and talking. Prim's mind was now telling her to just subtly tell Flare that she loves him. But, she refused and kept the idea out of the conversation.

12:10 rolled around quickly and the group of four stood in front of the main doors leading outside. Flare, Midnight, Night, and Prim put on their disguises. Prim's disguise was a pink-furred, red-maned, pegasus vampony named Swirl de Twist. Flares was a unicorn vampony with black fur and a plain blue mane, named Neutron Star. Night's was a unicorn vampony with green fur and a blue mane named Water Lily. Finally, Midnight's disguise was a bat pony with a bright purple mane and light purpled fur named Twilight Dusk. The group looked at each other, the three sisters liking the what Flare choose because he would stick out of the crowd, but also fit in.

" Alright, you guys ready to go?" Midnight asked, all three of her party nodded and soon they left the castle.

The group walked down the street towards a nice looking, two-story house. The moon shone brightly in the night sky as Midnight knocked on the door. The door unlocked and opened, there stood a pink and white colored mare.

"Hey, Twilight Dusk, Water Lily, Swirl De Twist, and- oh hello~," The mare said upon looking at Flare, "I didn't know you were bringing extra company, and who might you be?"

"Names Neutron Star," Flare said, the mare smiled at him, Midnight responded with," Okay, okay Rose Thorn, we get it we brought a dude can we come in?"

"Oh, sorry where are my manners, come in come in!"

The group walked in and Flare was taken away by the interior of the house. It looked like an old tavern, minus the place where the bartender sells drinks. Flare snapped out of his semi-trance when Midnight spoke, "Alright, we can remove our disguises."

The three sisters disguises fell, so Flare followed their lead. Rose was taken aback by how Neutron Star really looked. But, last time when Midnight came over she talked about the stallion that they saved. The group remained silent when another female voice rang out," Welcome to our humble abode! I'm Prickle Bush, but you can call Me Prickly!"

A pink and orange vampony walked in. Her mane was in a ponytail and so was her, well, pony-tail. She didn't have wings or a horn, so Flare guessed that she was a regular vampony from the legends he was told in the underground. She looked at them all skimming over Flare as well. With a big, cocky, smile she said aloud," Wow, brought a stallion did we? Midnight! Naughty, Naughty!"

Midnight blushed and replied to the statement made," Hey, he's a really good friend of mine and my sisters. So don't put a hoof on him."

Prickly smiled and said that the gaming room was ready, and then discussed the schedule of when they were going to do certain activities. Rose walked up to Flare's side and whispered," Welcome to the party, we hope you can stay the night."

Flare sighed, what had he gotten himself into now? Well, he might as well make the rest of the day count.

Chapter 9: Sleepover shenanigans

Author's Notes:

NOTE!
All mares are of legal age to drink.
Prim Bite: 21
Night: 24
Midnight: 25
Rose: 23
Prickly: 23

The group of ponies laid in the large gaming room playing the group of video games that Rose had picked out. Prim, Night, Midnight, and Prickly watched Flare and Rose play Immortal Combat. Flare choose Scropan and Rose choose Tirek. The two were both focused on the game, knowing that one wrong move could turn the tide in the others favor. Scropan attacks consisted of his claws and some sort of hellfire, while Tirek’s attacks consisted of punching and shooting a beam of pure energy.

Prim had been beaten by Flare when the two went up against one another, her character, Luna, didn’t stand a chance, not only from Prim's lack of skill but the lack of required reflexes to catch Flare. The idea behind this was it was a makeshift tournament for best videogamer. Midnight got close, yet Flare caught her character, Celestia, off guard easily with a barrage of hellfire to the face. Prickly’s character, Discord, stood a greater chance, yet failed when Flare used a combo of hellfire and slashing. Right now the only pony standing/ sitting in Flare’s victory was Rose, who was an expert at this game.

The game was close, but Flare outlasted Rose, whose character’s fatality was him being wrapped in chains and pulled back into Tarturus. She yelled in defeat and looked at Flare, her nose scrunched up from losing her favorite game.

“How?! You said you never picked up the game, and yet you beat all of us!” She stated angrily. She glared at Flare, who merely shrugged, a small grin formed on his muzzle.

“I don’t know, beginners luck maybe?” Flare replied, with a simple grin now on his muzzle. Rose snorted, though, calmed down, besides it was a simple game, why get upset over it?

Prim looked at Flare, a small amount of love shown in her eyes as she said,” Good job, Flare!”

“As I said, I think I just got lucky.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe that, if your past is true, you are faster than you think. I’m pretty sure your muscle memory is very strong with dodging,” Midnight responded to Flare’s response. Prim and Night winced, remembering Flare’s past with a homicidal filly. Prickly, rolled her eyes, she knew how her sister reacts to losing her games.

“Well, how ‘bout we forget the game and move on to other activities.” The orange vampony said, defusing the soon to be argument.

“Alright, alright, whats next on the agenda?” Midnight and Rose asked at the same time.

“Well, its simple makeup and gossip. I don’t think Flare would like to join in on that though...” Prickly replied, glancing over at the blue stallion.

“Na, you girls have fun, I’ve brought a book just in case.”

“Oh, okay. Alright, girls lets head upstairs.” Rose said.

The group then headed upstairs, leaving Flare alone to read his book.

~Upstairs~

Rose shut the door behind them once the group entered her room. Midnight sighed, she didn’t want to say that she wanted to do things more ‘mature’, but this was like a tradition the five females had, and she normally had fun with it, so she shut her trap. Rose walked over and grabbed a makeup kit. Her first target, Prim.

“Hey Primy, come ‘ere!” Rose said, setting the kit on the ground. Prim walked over and got ready to be attacked with Rose’s makeup kit.

“So, anything interesting happen at the castle?” Prickly asked, messing with Night’s unkempt mane.

“Well, there is one thing that happened,” Midnight stated, looking over at Prim while wiggling her eyebrows. Prim’s cheeks turned bright red, as she tried to speak. Unfortunately, Rose spoke first,” Really now, do tell~!”

“Well, it turns out Prim had a little company with her in her room.” Night said, obviously sizing it up to be more than it really was. Sadly, Rose and Prickly were fooled, they looked at Prim with wide eyes.

“PRIM! What would your parents think when they hear this!?” Both Rose and Prickly exclaimed. Prim’s blush grew in size and redness.

“Of course Night, make Prim seem like she did something wrong!” Midnight exclaimed, a bit angry at her sister's antics,” She didn’t do anything to ‘im the two just snuggled is all.”

“Well, don’t keep us waiting! Who was it? that nice stallion from three blocks down? The lovely mare that we meet a week ago?” Rose questioned as she started to remodel Prim’s mane. Prim couldn’t have blushed any harder then she was right now. The only time it came close was when she cuddled up to Flare.

Midnight scoffed,” First off, you know Prim’s not into mares. Second, it wasn’t the stallion you know down the block, though, it was a certain stallion, in fact, you two just meet him!”

Prim’s, Rose’s, and Prickly’s eyes grew wide at Midnight’s words. Prickly’s mouth hung open, her hooves stopping whatever she was doing with Night’s mane. Rose couldn’t have looked more shocked, in fact, it was rare for her to be shocked. Night started to giggle as Prim covered her eyes with her hooves out of utter embarrassment.

“She- she shared her b-bed with FLARE!? Prim is this true!?” Rose replied, almost shouting it. She knew Prim didn’t flirt, and even when she did, she sucked at it.

‘How did Prim, of all ponies get a stallion like Flare to share a bed.’ Rose wondered. Prim started to recover from her embarrassment, her cheeks still bright red.

“It’s not like that! I just asked him to read a story and then I wanted to cuddle him! I was in heat, what did you expect me to do to my best friend?!” Prim shouted out of embarrassment. Realizing what she did, she quickly covered her mouth with her hooves and looked around.

“Wow, we aren’t tryin’ to be mean, but Prim, how?” Rose said, her gaze softening on the younger mare that had her back pressed against her belly.

“I-I don’t know, but he was kind enough to do it and he didn’t seem bothered by it...” Prim said in self-defense. Rose and Prickly were still in shock but slowly started to recover and make sense of the situation.

“So... did you like it?” Prickly asked as she put Night’s mane in a bun,” The cuddling I mean...”

“Umm, y-yes it did feel nice. He is rather soft,” Prim replied, squeaking softly when Rose wrapped her forelegs around Prim and rested her head on her shoulder. She chuckled softly as she imagined the scene.

“Well, do you like him?” the white vampony asked, her tone was delicate, like asking the question might break the young sister. Prim glanced back to the mare who had finished putting her mane in a ponytail, using a red band to keep it up that way. She pondered whether she should say the truth or lie. If she lied, which she wasn’t good at, she’d get caught by Midnight. The truth looked to be a better option. Though she wasn’t sure how many more questions the group might have.

She let loose a heavy sigh and finally spoke the truth,” Yes, I do love him. He’s been so kind to us, even after what he had been through. I want to tell him, but I’m scared I might mess up our friendship...”

The rest looked at her, Rose lifted her head. She decided right then and there that they would try to see if Flare shared her feelings. Rose, however, had one question to ask. She picked up a heart-shaped brush and started grooming Prim.

“Do you think he loves you?” Rose asked calmly, her eyes never leaving Prim’s. Prim sighed once more, her mind had contemplated the idea, of them being a couple. She didn’t see how it would be accomplished though. In her heart, the answer was yes, her brain even thought so as well, with the evidence presented. She nodded silently, receiving a warm smile from all the mares in the room. Truth be told, she never liked heavy amounts of attention, but, but this was welcomed.

“Primy dear, I think we can help you find out Flare’s true feelings about you,” Prickly said, her gaze full of determination.

“Sure! I and Midnight can help as well!” Night replied, her eyes burning with passion about the task. Midnight nodded, everypony in that room was on board to help her find if Flare truly loved her the same she did him. The rest of their time they spent together was them making a plan to get Flare to open up.

-20 minutes later-

Flare heard the door to the second floor open and close shortly after. Stopping and putting a bookmark where he was, he closed the book. When the group entered the room, Flare saw that when Rose meant ‘makeover’ she wasn’t lying. The group of mares had different mane styles and makeup on. Flare was taken aback when he saw Prim, her mane in a ponytail with little makeup on her. Even without the makeup, she looked stunning. Prim saw Flare looking at her and she smiled.

“Hey Flare, how do I look?” Prim asked softly, a small smile on her lips.

“You look stunning if that's what you mean,” Flare replied. Prim squeaked at Flare’s compliment, blushing softly as she nodded to him.

“Hey Rose, get the bottle, I’ll get the “refreshments”,” Prickly said. Rose nodded and went into the kitchen and came back with an empty bottle of gin. She set it on the ground saying,”Alright everpony, get in a circle around the glass, we’re playing a classic game of Truth or Dare!”

“I’m back~,” Prickly sang, in her hooves were two bottles of alcohol, on her back a dish with 6 shot glasses laid.

“What type of Truth or Dare are we playing, cause I never played it with alcohol...” Flare questioned. Rose and Prickly just smiled at each other.

“A fun version of Truth or Dare~. Which type do you want? Applejack or Daniels?” Prickly asked.

Neither, I don’t drink, but thank you for the offer,” Flare’s response was weird to the mares, they thought he would accept, but they wouldn’t force Flare to drink.

“Have it your way,” Rose responded, grabbing a shot glass and pouring herself a drink. The others, including Prim, much to Flare’s surprise, grabbed a glass and a drink. The two hostess wanted to go first, which lead to the two playing a weird game of rock, paper, scissors. Somehow, Rose won and spun the bottle, which landed on Midnight.

“Alright Midnight, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth,” Midnight replied. Rose smiled and laughed to herself, she had the perfect question,” Is it true you’re seeing someone~?”

Midnight chocked a bit on her second shot, the question had caught her off guard.”Umm, ah hell, I am...” she admitted, Rose smiled to herself, pleased with the answer. Next, it was Midnights turn to spin the bottle. It landed on Flare, and he swore he saw Midnight give an evil smile and glance towards him.

“Alright Flare, Truth or Dare?”

“ Truth,” Flare’s question was one he didn’t expect from Midnight.”Do you love anyone in this room?”

“Yes, I do,” The mare smile grew wider at the knowledge placed in her hooves. Flare sighed and then spun the bottle.

This went on for several hours, and after each passing hour, the mares got even drunker than before. Flare soon learned the Prim was a lightweight, and that she was quite confident while drunk. Her sisters and friends were drunk too, all of them now choosing dare more often than truth. Strangely, whenever Flare chooses truth, it involved or was associated with Prim Bite. Speaking of which.

When the bottle landed on Prim, Rose looked at her and smiled, asking ‘Truth or Dare’, and, of course, she chose dare. The dares, however, had been getting out of hoof, but this one seemed tame enough.

“Pim, *hic* I dar-dare ou to*hic* chuddle with Fare for da rest of dis... DIS... gome-game.” Prim, drunkenly, looked over at Flare. With one swift movement, she walked/ stumbled her way over to him. When she reached him she almost dropped on top of him. She scooted over right next to Flare, putting a wing around him(rather sloppily) and finally put her head on his shoulder after some failed attempts. The other drunken mares ‘awwed’ at the scene. Rose collecting and trying to put her remaining awaken brain cells to work looked at Flare and Prim, her eyes remained on Prim for a few seconds. She looked back at Flare, her eyes narrowing.

“Wel-hell, hain’t tha-” Her words were cut off by the sound of soft snoring. The whole group looked at Prim Bite, who had fallen asleep right next to Flare. The drunken part of the group had to take some time to process what had happened. Soon, one by one the mare's eyes started to close, they all started to pass out, and Flare had to catch the ones that fell to the floor. He sighed when all of the mares now laid in a circle all passed out from drinking too much.

“Is alcohol a form of narcotics to your kind or something?” Flare asked upon noticing how quickly and silently they passed out. He didn’t get a response from the sleeping mares.

Flare grabbed the blankets each one of the sisters packed and flung it over them, Prim, on the other hoof shuffled in her sleep and wouldn’t accept the blanket while she laid on Flare’s side and shoulder. He decided to move himself and Prim to the nearest wall and lay there. Once Flare moved Prim’s body over to him, he laid her next to himself and softly put the blanket over her. He soon fell asleep, with his back against the wall, and the mare he loved laying down next to him. In the morning, he hoped that the mares hangover went away quickly. He had to tell Prim soon how he really felt about her. But, that could wait until the morning.

Chapter 10: After effects

A soft ray of moonlight peeked through the blinds of a window, hitting Prim’s closed eyes. Muttering to herself she shuffled in her sleep to get away from the bright light.

Flare noticed this shuffling, taking a look at Prim to see if she was awake. When he saw she wasn’t he went back to reading his book. Last night was quite interesting, with the games and such. Though Flare’s mind still couldn’t understand the questions that related to Prim, both straightforward and more conspicuous.

Hearing a low groan, Flare once more took his eyes off of his book. Prim had now moved her head to lay on Flare’s forelegs. This didn’t bother him much, he had magic, after all, so he simply switched the pages with his magic. Prim, however, unconsciously grabbed and held on to Flare’s foreleg, squeezing it like she was about to lose somepony she held dear.

Flare sighed, now no longer being able to focus on his book he moved his head down and nudged Prim.

Prim awoke on the second nudge, her eyes heavy and her mouth as dry, if not drier, than sandpaper.

“Hmmmm...” Was Prim’s response upon waking up. She felt a soft blanket over her back, and she was holding onto something even softer as well. She looked down at what she held so tightly in her hooves. In her hooves was Flare’s hoof, and from what she could see out of her blurry eyes, Flare was next to her. She squeaked (rather horsely) when she saw the stallion she just had a dream about, laying next to her, a book in his magical grasp.

“Mornin’, sunshine. Sleep well?” Flare asked softly, as he didn’t want to wake the others. Prim blushed profusely, her cheeks could have lightened up the room if they were to glow.

Flare merrily chuckled, he nuzzled her (Which caused her to blush even more), and promised he didn’t mean to embarrass her. Prim was about to ask him what happened last night, but, her mind and tongue had different ideas. She had a wicked headache, her mouth drier than sandpaper. She pointed to her head, then, her mouth, indicating that she had a headache and couldn’t speak.

Flare laid there next to her, wondering what she meant when she pointed at her mouth. An idea came to Flare. Shifting to rise, Flare replied,”I’ll go get you some food and water, wait here a moment.”

Flare was about to stand, but Prim thought differently. She heard blood helped with hangovers from Rose, so she was about to get a good amount from Flare. With great strength, she pulled Flare down next to her, his back next to her side. To make sure he didn’t squirm out of her grasp, she put her wing softly over his belly, a move that caused Flare to stop squirming entirely. She mentally repeated ‘sorry’ as she lunged and bite Flare on the neck, her teeth puncturing his flesh.

Flare, however, wondered why she had pulled him into a vice-like grip, he started to squirm, trying to get Prim to let go of him. He was confused until he felt her wing softly land over his belly, he stopped squirming, confused even more by the action until he felt it. A sharp pain rippled up Flare’s neck, as he tried to look back at Prim to see what she was doing, but, his head wouldn’t budge. He felt blood start to leave his body from the two new puncture wounds on his neck, a sucking sensation followed suit.

As soon as he felt the sucking sensation, he understood. Vamponies drink blood as both a food and drink, sometimes as a healing property. This was what Prim was now doing, what she wanted from Flare. The sensation of one of his two life forces being drained from him, understandably, left him a little woozy. With a soft popping noise, Flare felt her fangs leave his neck, he groaned as he felt a little light-headed from the amount of blood he had just lost.

Prim smacked her lips, it had been a while since she had gotten blood straight from a living creature. Her headache started to fade and her mouth felt less dry. She didn’t want to let Flare go, but, when the others woke up, what would they think? So she compromised with herself, she would snuggle the stallion, in return for randomly attacking, biting, then draining his blood. She smiled at her one-sided deal, her snuggle hug was going to be a good one for what she did.

Flare, even after being attacked, had to admit, he liked the snuggle. He also liked how she didn’t have him in a vice-like grip anymore, he could barely breathe while in it, not that he really needed to. He melted into the snuggle as Prim’s hooves hooked underneath and over him, pulling him into her fluffy and soft form.

“So, uh, mind explaining why you got a sudden taste for my blood?” Flare asked quietly, surprised none of the others had awoken from the commotion. He heard Prim sigh, her hug started to tighten.

“My mouth w-was dry and I had a headache. And I heard from Rose that blood helps with hangovers.” She stammered while whispering her answer to him.

Flare and Prim laid there until the others started to wake up. At first, it was Midnight, who ran to the bathroom to throw up. Rose and Prickly, both got up near the same time, both feeling woozy yet happy that they finally beat their old drinking record. Night was the last one to wake up. With the gracefulness of an elephant with rollerblades, she made her way to the downstairs bathroom, bumping and slipping her way down, trying to get there before her guts went all over the floor.

Prim hadn’t released Flare even when she heard Midnight wake up, she held him tightly. When the group had hangovers started to secede, they all sat around Prin and Flare, not noticing the position the two were in. All of them knew well enough that Flare hadn’t got drunk, so they began asking questions.

“Flare, what did we do last night?” was the first question, asked by Midnight.

“Well, we played Truth or Dare, you gals got drunk and then passed out. I covered you up so you wouldn’t be cold.” Flare responded, his eye glowing a soft red to signal ‘you’re welcome’. Night was the second on to ask a question.

“I know you picked Truth, but can you tell us your responses?” Midnight kneed Night in the chest when she finished.

Flare held his hoof under his chin, replying, ”Well, I bet you know the question and answers up until you all had your fourth to sixth shot, that's when you five started getting loopy. Here’s what I remember, Question 1: Flare, do you love Prim? My response: It depends on what type of love you mean. Question 2: If you could go on a romantic date, where would you go? My response: anywhere my partner wanted to go. Final question: Do you love anypony in this room, romanticly. My response:... Yes, I do.”

The mares looked at each other, finally noticing how Flare and Prim were positioned. Flare was in a snuggle huggle by Prim. Their mouths almost dropped to the floor, did their plan work? Did the two claim to love each other?

Flare, upon seeing the mare's response to him being snuggled by Prim, sighed and rolled his eye.

“You seem oddly interested in my relationship with Prim. What’s going on?” The blue stallion got his answer, albeit encrypted, from Night.

“We’ll let Prim say~.”

Then the females of the group minus Prim, all walked out of the room, down to the living room to resume a movie that the group had not finished last night. They wanted to give the two some space after all.

Prim had gotten used to this at this point, so she didn’t blush... as hard. She simply held Flare to her side, who had gotten much more comfortable, while thinking of what to ask.

“So Prim, mind telling me what Night meant, and why they all got so happy to see me like this?” Flare finally asked, motioning to the way he laid next to her.

Prim didn’t really know how to respond to it, she didn’t want to break the news to him about her love. As it stands, Flare is normally a carefree pony, monster, thing, so he could be doing this because of it. So she responded, but instead of an answer, she would drop a hint, big enough, as to give Flare an idea about how she really felt about him, without needing to tell him directly.

“Flare, does your neck still hurt?” She asked sweetly

“Sorta, why?” Flare responded, wondering why she brought it up.

Prim leaned over and looked at the puncture wound that she caused. She leaned forward and kissed it lightly. Flare’s fur stood up on end from the light touch of Prim’s lips. Prim’s plan might have worked to her advantage, she did get a reaction off of somepony who normally doesn’t react to anything. But, sadly, all good things must come to an end. Flare didn’t even try to look back at Prim, he just simply said,” We should follow the others, make sure they don’t blow up anything.”

Prim giggled at the response, knowing full well what Flare had meant. The two got up from the snuggle and went downstairs to watch the movie with the rest of the gals.

In the living room

The mares just left the room, every one of them silent. They wanted to give those two some privacy. The group remained silent until they reached the living room, out of hearing range from those two. Night decided to break the awkward silence.

“We did it!” Night almost yelled.

The other mares looked at her, Midnight getting a strange urge to jab her with her hoof. Rose, however, laughed at it. She believes that something was accomplished, even if their plan went the opposite direction in a matter of seconds. Prim tried to tell them something about Flare, but, she and the others didn’t listen, being so far into the plan, she guessed that Prim was trying to say that Flare didn’t drink, however, that didn’t matter now, their somewhat foolproof plan worked.

The group found different areas to sit down, Night popped the movie disk back in, hitting the play button.

The movie was rather interesting, it took place in a faraway land known as the Everglades, It’s storyline was quite odd, it was about a highly magical being who created a powerful relic. The relic was stolen from the beings dying hooves and sold to an evil, self-absorbed, prince. The prince's goals were rather horrid, he wanted to be king, yet, he had 5 other brothers in front of him, all of them older than him. Yersif was the oldest one, he was a unicorn with great magical ability. The next two were, Clifin and Roseta, the two pegasus brother twins who were genius inventors. The rest were earth ponies. Satne was the fourth oldest, his raw strength proved to match that of a dragon, Scytheir was the fifth oldest, his wisdom was far beyond his years, and finally, Te Deum, the one with a selfish goal to rule the land. The other brothers united together to defeat their youngest brother, who had gained the power of an alicorn.

The movie had moved from one part of the Everglades to the next for each fight scene. The brothers got into arguments and some went separate ways. Near the end, they all found a prophecy left behind by the entity, that claimed that five brothers will rise against true evil. Right now the brothers are traveling to the ancient castle where their brother is.

Flare and Prim walked in, two of the mares batted an eye and smiled at them, others stayed focused on the movie.

“I’m gonna go make some popcorn, anyone want any?” Prickly asked, getting up from her seat.

“I do.”

“Dido.”

Flare and Midnight replied as he and Prim found a seat. Prim sat closely to Flare, as Prickly walked into the kitchen.

A fighting scene roared through the speakers as the brothers faced down the evil minions of Te Deum. The oldest brother used an ancient Dragon Skull to keep the minions away from Clifin, who had his wing slashed. This part of the movie made Midnight remember something that Flare had said a while back.

Flashback

“I have many attacks, but I’m not sure your guards will be able to handle them correctly,” Flare said

“Really? These are trained professionals, including the unicorns! I’m sure they can get it down! Besides, what is your attack called?” Midnight responded as she tried to get Flare to show her guards his special attack.

“No,” was Flare’s only response to that, and that response made Midnight drop the subject altogether.

End of Flashback

Midnight looked at Flare, she wanted to see the attack even more now, then back then.

“Oi Flare, that skull thing, isn’t that one of your attacks?” Flare turned his head and looked right into her eyes, an ice cold chill ran through her.

“Kinda, why?”

“I think it is a good time to show me your special attack since there are no guards here.” Midnight fought the urge to look away from Flare’s eye, she hoped that Flare would finally show her his attack. She gave a sly smile as she heard a sigh of defeat from him.

“Since you’re not going to drop it, I might as well,” Flare muttered. Flare concentrated on the attack, but, that was broken by Prickly walking into the room, the smell of burnt popcorn filled the air.

“I’m back~! Oh, Midnight I’m sorry, I burnt your popcorn on accident.” Prickly said, looking at Midnight sadly. Truth be told, Midnight disliked everything about burnt popcorn. So she sighed, yet not wanting to be rude, accepted the popcorn, her face filled full with disguised as she stared down into the burnt popcorn.

“You can have mine,” Flare said, holding his popcorn in the air.

Midnight looked at her bag of popcorn then right back at Flare’s, ”Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I like burnt popcorn, it has more crunch,” Flare replied

“Alright then,” Midnight tossed her popcorn bag to Flare, Flare did the same thing. The two started to eat the popcorn while the eldest brother used a skull to blast a pure form of magic as the others flee.

“Hey, aren't you gonna show us your special attack Flare?” Midnight asked, her mouth full of popcorn. Flare sighed once more at this, but, he knew he couldn’t drop, it just wouldn’t work. Concentrating once more, he felt magic start flow through him, his soul felt like there was something gave it a forceful tug. Finally, with the amount of magic focused into the attack, he summoned it. It wasn’t spectacular, no explosion, no loud noises, just *pop* and there it was. The attack was in the form of an unidentifiable skull that floated in the air.

Flare gently reached out and bapped the large skull on the nose, which caused it to let off a low growl. Prim moved back a bit at the low grow the skull made. The skull itself was rather... interesting. It held a long snout with sharpened teeth, and it had three horns, one that jutted out of the middle of the skull and two other ones that curved out and inward to the middle of the back of the skull. The left eye of the might skull was caved inward and looked to be nothing more than a giant gaping hole. In said hole was a giant blood red eye that stared at the group.

The eye shrunk a bit as it looked at the group of ponies, its jaw hung open slightly at how many souls it saw at once. Prim saw the skull’s rather shocked appearance and looked at Flare, who simply shrugged. He gently placed his hoof on the skull and petted it softly, which broke the skull out of its trance. It looked at Flare, yet its eye went straight back to Prim. When Midnight saw this happen, she got up and walked in front of Prim, her own eyes glared at the skull’s. Yet, what the skull did next surprised the ponies in the room, even Flare. The skull floated over to where Prim sat and ignored Midnight’s glare. As it floated over Midnight, it hovered right next to Prim, who was about to scream. Yet, the skull, once again, did something that surprised everpony, it leaned forward and gently nuzzled the Princess’s chest.

“W-what?” Prim asked as it continued to nuzzle her.

“I... don't... know?” Flare responded,” Well... I have a theory, but I can’t say it here...”

“Uh huh... c-can I pet it?” Prim asked.

“She shouldn’t bite,” Flare responded with a shrug.

“S-she?” Prim replied, but soon just sighed and lightly petted the skull. The skull made a noise that seemed to be a mix of a growl and a purr.

The others joined in and soon started to pet the skull, who seemed overwhelmed by the number of pets it was getting and promptly disappeared.

“What was that?” Rose asked softly. Flare simply chuckled at the question.

“That’s a Paradox Blaster,” Flare replied, all the mare’s nodded, everypony else decided not to ask a question.

The movie hit it’s climax as the brothers started to fight the evil brother. The group, once more, got comfortable in their seats and watched it. The scene took place in an old castle, the sky was a dark crimson red, with dark gray skies. The five brothers had already discovered their real powers, each one calling upon it. Then, there was an explosion, a powerful burst of energy erupted from the five hitting their evil brother in the chest, sending him flying into an unknown void. The story ended like any good hero story, the yall lived together in peace, but the remaining brothers felt guilty, thinking that they could have saved Te Deum, yet, they couldn’t go back now.

As the credits rolled across the screen, Flare, Prim, Night, and Midnight all packed up and left, saying thank as they walked out the door with their disguises on. When Flare gets back to the castle, the sisters are going to have questions they want answers to. Prim’s question, however, will have to wait until the next upcoming event... The Blue Moon Gala.

Author's Notes:

I’m sorry this chapter took so long!

Chapter 11: Planning

When the group returned home, the sisters' parents told them of the upcoming Blue Moon Gala, that was three weeks away. The sisters and Flare all had to pitch in to set it up, Prim and Flare would help whenever they were needed, Midnight took care of the guard positions, and Night would look over the invitation list. The group split, with the two older sisters heading to their need locations whilst Flare and Prim, headed to the to the library to wait for anypony’s needs.

Midnight headed out to the courtyard, her troops were, as expected, following orders from her second in command, Tattered Moon. The stallion was tough as nails, yet, knew how to be gentle when it was needed. His mane was a dark, crisp, brown, his fur a fiery orange, like that of a newly started fire. His cutiemark was that of a sword crossed with a shield. He heard Midnight’s approaching hoofsteps and turned to salute. His eyes were the same color as his coat, albeit, with a hint of red. Every time Midnight saw him, her heart would skip a beat, and unbeknownst to her, his did as well. It was true that Midnight thought of him as one of her best, yet, she couldn’t help but feel that he was hiding something big from her.

“Ma’am!” He said, his eyes looking at her, no emotion behind them, for it was the way he was trained. Midnight saluted back, her eyes meeting his.

“At ease lieutenant, how are the troops?” Midnight said as they both lowered their hooves to the ground.

“They are doing fine, Captian, two of them are in the medical area due to injuries while dueling,” He replied. Midnight nodded, she knew many things about him, even when he was off duty. He made friends with Flare, due to their dark sense of humor and their interest in history. The two, however, had to stay within castle walls, and Tattered Moon’s time off was now being limited because of the upcoming event.

Tattered Moon had always liked Midnight, she was kind to her troops. No matter how tough she acted upon them, she treated them like family. He had grown to respect that about her, and feelings blossomed fourth when she talked to him privately about his sister's death, even giving him a day to go back and mourn. The two then had more of an understanding of each other, he now didn’t just respect her, he loved her, and that was for many reasons.

Midnight always thought of him as a stallion who could please any mare, no matter what it is they needed. He was strong, yet, caring. Smart, but not too smart. She had almost fallen in love with him as soon as he walked in, asking to be in the guard. She didn’t know why, but this situation seemed familiar.

“Make sure when those two are back on their hooves, they get an extra mile. And, you get tomorrow off, you’ve been working yourself too hard this week. And I don’t want to see you trying to sneak back in here, understood?” Midnight ordered, Tattered Moon nodded, not knowing the reason behind the early break. Midnight was hoping for a reason to do this, after witnessing how Flare and Prim circle each other, leaving hints behind? She didn’t want that, she wanted to be upfront with him about how she felt. Though sadly, duties call and for the rest of the day, it was drilling and planning with Tattered moon about positions they needed to cover. Inside the castle, Prim was called by Night to help her with the list.

In the castle

Prim entered the library and went to the TV section. Night sat poised over the list, she didn’t notice Prim walk in.

“Hey, sis!” Prim said, scaring Night, who threw the pen they had into the air.

“OH! Hey, Prim!” Night replied, catching the feather pen in her mouth.

“Did I interrupt somethin’?” Prim asked, glancing between the list, pen, and Night.

“Well, I wanted to have you help me. Also, I want to ask you a question,” Night said the last part whilst wiggling her eyebrows,” It’s about Flare~.”

“Oh, um,” Prim blushed, remembering that she bite Flare, snuggled him, then kissed him on the neck.

“I’ll take that as you want to answer,” Night replied, a smirk appeared on her lips.”So, did you confess? I thought you did when I and the girls walked out, but when you entered the living room, you didn’t seem changed.”

To tell or not to tell, that was Prim’s question. She thinks for a minute, yet, when that didn’t work, she went with her gut. She sighed, then let out what happened before and after the girls were around, her biting Flare to get blood, her “deal”, then, after they left, her kissing his wound. Night simply sat there, taking the information as is.

Prim finished her story, and Night held her hooves together and held them up to her snout. With a quick swing, her hooves dropped and Night said,” Gurl, you need to tell that boi how ya feel!”

“I-I just want to do it at the right moment, Night!” Her sister blurted, the blush overcoming her face.

Night put her hooves back to her snout, thinking. An idea came to mind. In three weeks the Blue Moon Gala was to take place, at 10 pm the fireworks are to go off, the best vantage point is the castle roof. Nights eyes widened at the new idea. She made a small ‘ding’ noise and looked a Prim, her smirk replaced with an ear to ear grin.

“I have the best. idea. EVER! I know when you can ask him!” Night proclaimed, her hooves now in the air,”You can ask him during the Blue Moon Gala! Since we all know you and Flare don’t like crowds, you two can meet at the top of the castle around ten to watch the fireworks! Then you can confess your love for him!”

“I like that idea, buuut, Flare was going to be announced to the public around nine and I think the news stations are going to keep him for more than an hour,” Prim replied sadly, Night, however, was more than determined to give her sister and her crush a nice, romantic evening.

“Really now? Well, I might be able to ask mom to show him around seven or eight, that will give you enough time to get him to the roof, just before the fireworks begin!” Night responded, her eyes partially glowing with determination. Her next question made the fading blush on Prim’s face start to light up again,”So, what are you going to wear? A nice dress? A dress that shows to little, or maybe, too much~?”

“I-I was thinking of not wearing anything, like Flare-,” Prim didn’t finish her sentence as Night looked at her, a seductive grin now plastering her face.

“Oh~ going to show him more than he bargained for? Hmmmmm~?,” Night hummed, her eyes scanning Prim’s form, wondering what his reaction would be.

“N-Night! Not like that! Be-besides, we normally don’t wear anything! It would be normal!” Prim stammered a little, her face looking like a bright, red, cherry. Night’s response was more logical than the whole plan.

“Prim~, we both know that ponies wear formal things to parties like this ~. So you, showing up, naked I might add, most likely will set alarms off in Flare’s head~. Also, dear, we both know that Flare’s going to be wearing a nice suit, are you going to get him out of it when you meet him?” Night replied, as she got up and circled Prim, her eyes wondering over her sister's body, for many reasons. Mostly trying to remember how tall Flare was to her short, petite, younger, sister.

Prim, understandably, didn’t know why Night was circling her, but the comment about “getting Flare out of his suit” made her mind start to whirl with some interestin images. Where was she? Oh, right, why Night was circling her. Maybe to size her up? Maybe to see what dresses she can put on her tiny frame? Maybe, trying to see Flare’s reaction to a mare walking up to him, wearing nothing during a big event, such as the Blue Moon Gala! To her, whatever the reason was, she was nervous because of it. She knew Night had some... interesting manga’s and anime’s. Heck, her sister gave her one on her eighteenth birthday, in private! And, for reasons unknown, she still had it!

Night circled her sister once more, thinking of all the dresses she, Midnight, Rose, and Prickly could put on her.

‘Though,’ she thought,’ If she wants to go full on naked for Flare, why stop her~? It would be interesting to see Flare’s response.’

Night’s giggle worried Prim, she stood still for a moment, trying desperately to string together a sentence that will change the topic at hoof. Then, she felt a hoof touch her left wing, and at that moment, she knew her sister’s mind went from family-friendly to X rated. She was about to tell her sister to knock it off, until her sister said, her voice dripping with lust,” He’s going to enjoy these two~.”

If Prim could blush anymore, she would’ve. In an instant, she swung around and almost yelled at her older sister,” Night, me and Flare are not going to be apart of you Fantasies! And, he-he is NOT tha-that type of stallion! Besides, we need to fill out the invitation list!

Her sister snapped out of her daze and looked Prim in the eyes. Her eyes still glancing over Prim’s body, but, retreating to the papers and pen on the table. With a sigh, she motioned Prim to sit down. But, she wanted to make sure that Prim knew this conversation wasn’t over, and that she had many dresses in mind to put her in.

“Prim~,” Night whispered in Prim’s ear,”This conversation still isn’t over, come to my room at eight o’clock sharp, so we can work out the details~.I’m going to assemble our friends to help~”

Prim gulped, but nodded, knowing full well that she was going to talk about it later, whether she liked it or not.

In the Kitchen

Flare entered the kitchen, the chefs wanting new ideas for what they can provide the guests. They knew very little about Flare and his world, but they knew that, before his food drought, his kind had amazing food.

Upon entering some of the new chefs looked at him with fear, while the more experienced chefs treated him like an old friend.

“Ah, Flare! You’ve arrived!” a female voice rang out, a dark yellow, unicorn, mare walked out of one of the smaller kitchens wearing chefs garments. Her mane was hidden under the chef's hat she wore, but underneath that, her mane was white with golden highlights. Her name was Lemon Zap, one of the best chefs in all the land. She had called Flare in to help with dessert ideas.

“Well, if I’m needed, I’ll help,” Flare replied, remembering the first time he was served dinner here. She was the one who cooked it, and it tasted pretty damn good. Flare, however, took it with some salt, both literally and figuratively. He was starving, so, really anything would taste good at that point. But, after a while of eating her food, he had grown to appreciate her cooking.

“Well, good! I have run out of ideas for desserts and I was wondering if you could help me! I’ve been told your kind has really good desserts!” Lemon Zap replied, her horn lighting up with excitement at the thoughts of the desserts she has heard from him. She grabbed his hoof and guided him to the smaller kitchen she just left.

Inside the kitchen was what you’d expect, knives, food, and stuff to store any other items in for future use. Lemon Zap pulled Flare along, tossing chef garments at him telling him to put them on.

After coming to an abrupt stop, Flare finally got the garments on and was now facing a stove. Lemon Zap stood right beside him, awaiting instructions.

Flare thought for a moment, then, he remembered the best pastry he ever had came from his adoptive mother Crumpet the monster changeling. It didn’t use any spiders in the recipe, but he and his brother loved it still. The dessert was called “The Sweet Volcano”. It was a simple dessert, but one he wouldn’t hoof over without a fight, so he thought quickly of another one.

“Ah, I remember one,” Flare stated. He glanced over at Lemon Zap and asked her to get some ingredients, this was one of the well-known pastries his changeling mother had made, and the recipe was already out there, so what was the harm sharing it here?

Lemon Zap returned quickly with the needed ingredients, chocolate, sugar, and others. She lit up the stove and followed Flare’s instructions down to the T. While making this monster dessert she decided to chat with Flare.

“Hey Flare, can you tell me the pony who made the delectable treats you are kindly sharing with us?” Zap asked politely, stirring the pot full of melted chocolate.

“She was me and Trail’s adoptive mother, her name was Crumpet,” Flare responded, then added,” She was a monster changeling, had control over spiders and such, but she made desserts that could blow yours out of the water. She was a very kind mother...”

Zap had heard about changelings, how they take the form of the pony you love, then suck the love while you aren’t looking. She didn't like them at all, even though she hadn’t ever met one in pony. But, she felt like this Crumpet was a good one, based off of how high Flare holds her to be.

“Well, looks like I might have some competition, huh?” she replied. Her mind wondering, trying to imagine what Crumpet looked like, but gave up when Flare told her to put the chocolate into the pan.

“Hey, I heard that Tattered Moon was getting tomorrow off! He looks fairly confused about it though!” Zap said with a chuckle. This had caught Flare’s attention, like a rabbit caught in a snag.

“Really now? Well, I guess he’s going to do something that doesn’t involve laying around, most likely he’s going to ask me to go outside since I have a disguise,” Flare said, while he pointed to a mystery ingredients.

“Maybe! I think that boy is like your brother sometimes, the way you two get along!” Zap chuckled. The word brother hit Flare hard in the chest, he had a brother, one who was most likely worried sick about him. He quickly shook the thought, focusing on the dessert that was being made.

Twent minutes later

With a ding noise sounding, Zap opened up the oven she had set the dessert in. Taking them out, she saw that they looked like regular brownies, she glanced up at Flare.

“Um, these are brownies Flare. Not to be mean and all, but what so special about these?” Zap asked, Flare simply chuckled.

“Well, take a bit of one and see!” He replied, a smile stretching across his face.

Zap shrugged, cutting out a piece of brownie. She hovered it to her snout and took a bite out of it... The flavor and sweetness that hit her were like a tide-wave. It tasted amazing.

“This. is. AMAZING!” Zap cried, finishing the brownie with one more bite, Flare once more, chuckled.

“Crumpet’s recipe is well known in the underground for its sweetness,” Flare responded.

“Well, this definitely puts many other dishes to shame! I going to make more of these, you can go back to what you were doin’ Flare!” Zap replied,” Thanks a million!”

With that, Flare left and went back to his room.

On his way there, he wondered what Prim was doing. Unbeknownst to him, Prim was now heading to Night’s room to get fitted with a dress that was for a night 3 weeks away. Her mind still in a pickle about how her sister acted when she talked about Prim’s perfect night out.

Author's Notes:

Now you know Night’s naughty side! So be afraid!

PS: We are getting close to the chapter!

Chapter 12: A Soldiers Confession

Waking up was easy this morning for Tattered Moon. His day off had just begun, but the question bothering was how he was going to spend it. Normally it would be with family, but they were gone on vacation. He didn’t want to bother Flare, one of his only friends outside of the military, to join him, fearing he might be busy. So the only remaining options were to walk around the southern garden of the castle or go into town and wander a bit looking for something else to do.

He settled on the garden first, thinking if there was ever an emergency, he was close by to help. He smiled to himself as he got out of bed, and started combing his mane and brush his teeth.

‘Today is going to be a slow day,’ Tattered admitted to himself, knowing full well that his life was more for the military than like this. But, he wouldn’t complain, Captain Midnight had ordered him to take a day off, and it was true that he was working himself down to the bone. He never had much to do anyway, and most of the time when he did have a break, he just walked up and down the garden, looking at interesting plants that weren’t in his mother’s shop.

Exiting the room, he made his way to the garden. While he made his trip, he began to think about Captian Midnight, and how much she looked like she wanted him to go on vacation, like she was planning something. Then, his thoughts shifted to when the two were together working out details of where the troops were going to be. He had to admit, he sometimes took his eyes off the map and glanced at Midnight when he thought she wasn’t looking.

He sighed, he wanted to tell her how he felt, but the fear of losing her trust, and his job, forced him to keep his muzzle shut. He was so close to retirement too, just one year away and he’d be able to settle down in his own house.

Bumping into a statue made Tattered join reality once more. The statue in question was one of three serpent-like creatures, lost to time. Even though his training covered all threats and creatures, he never learned what these three things were. He could say definitely that they weren’t pretty. Shaking his head, he walked past the looming statue and the hedge maze. Legends told of the maze being made by a powerful princess who raised and lowered the sun. But, that was an old foals tale, nopony had that much magical ability to control celestial bodies. The maze, however, had a symbol behind it, it was to show the beauty and danger of chaos. The outside had pretty flowers blooming all over it, symbolizing that chaotic magic looks to be a good option, but the inside is dark and foreboding, the true meaning behind the chaotic magic and how it can corrupt its user into an endless toil of inescapable confusion.

Staring at the maze with a mile long stare, he continued to the main sector of the garden. Walking into it was like walking into pure beauty. Even though it was always nighttime, the moon lily’s looked alive and radiant. Every single time Tattered Moon looked at the flower, he was reminded of Midnight, during training examples, she moved with grace and looked so alive while doing it. Her body always seeming to have a soft glow after training, as if she was made of radiant material. Even on her armor, a Moon Lily was printed on her left breastplate.

He growled softly, shaking his head once more to clear his thoughts,’ Relax’ he order his mind and body. That is what he wanted to do, as he sat on a nearby bench. All he wanted to do, relax this one time and feel happy doing it. He tried to remember what Flare had said about relaxing, he tried desperately to find Flare’s words of expertise on how to relax. But, as fate would have it, he didn’t find the words of Flare to calm him down, not only that but he had gotten hungry. So, Tattered Moon grunted and hopped off the bench. His next destination was inside the castle to get something to eat.

Entering the castle and heading to the kitchen, Tattered Moon’s mind was still trying to find out how Flare relaxed so easily. As he found his way to the kitchen, his mind still pulled a blank.

When he entered the kitchen, he expected it to be more active, but right now, it was almost barren, except for one mare, who upon hearing the door open, looked over at him.

“Well, well, Tattered Moon, I expect you to be hungry if you entered this kitchen, No?” Lemon Zap asked, returning to the stirring she was doing.

“Yeah, sorry to barge in like this, but Captain Midnight doesn’t want me in the courtyard today, so I came in here to find breakfast,” Tattered replied, sniffing the air.

“Well, the freezer is filled with fresh meat,” Lemon Zap replied, pointing her spoon at the large chrome container.

Tattered Moon nodded and walked over to the fridge. Grabbing a small piece of squirrel meat, he began to suck the blood out of it. When he was done, he put his breakfast in a microwave and cooked it.

He left the kitchen after eating, bidding Zap good day and left to go to town.

Walking through the busy streets were something Tattered did rarely. He saw multiple cafes and shops opened, and once he reached the center of town, he saw a giant clock that read 12:37. Tattered Moon looked at the clock for a moment, realizing how much time had passed from his simple wander around most of the castle grounds.

He saw a nearby park named Rich’s Park and went there to try and relax. The park wasn’t as beautiful as the castle garden, but it had something the castle garden didn’t have, a lake for fishing. The lake appeared to be filled by a stream heading deep into the Razor Woods. Flowers of different species covered the ground, each one giving off a sweet smell.

Finding another bench to sit on Tattered Moon thought that staying silent and listening to the nocturnal birds hoot and chirp would calm him down. It worked surprisingly well, for 5 hours he sat with little thoughts in his mind, he even heard the stream’s current empty into the lake. Yet, thoughts about Midnight that bite and lashed at the back of his mind started to become more known.

‘How long have I held this secret?’ Tattered Moon thought, finally questioning himself,’ Will I ever tell her? Why am I thinking about this? Why has she finally taken over my thoughts?’

He got up, defeated by his minds insistence to answer the questions set forth. He thought of ponies he could tell this too, yet nopony came to mind, except one.

‘Flare will know what to do!’ Tattered Moon’s thought cried,’ Why haven’t I thought of him before!? All this time, I’m trying to relax in a physical way! I need to relax in a phycological way!’

With his new idea created, he speed-walked back to the castle, his mind whirling with ways he could tell Flare, he thought up of what Flare might ask as well, just to be prepared.

He passed by a tavern in which a mare stood outside. She saw the approaching stallion, she knew him well.

“He there Ta, how’s everything?” the mare called out as the stallion passed.

“Oh, hey Rose,” he said looking back at her,” I’m doing fine.”

“Well good!” she would reply, moving a hair strand that had covered her eye,”Hey, why don’t you come on in? It’s getting late.”

She was right, the moonlight started to dim as the street lamps turned on. But he shook his head,” I need to go back to the castle. But, thank you for the offer.”

Rose nodded and headed back inside, Tattered Moon now half galloping to the castle. Deadset on finding Flare.

Upon entering the castle, Tattered Moon had little difficulty finding his friend. He walked down the eastern hall and found the blue door. He took in a deep breath and knocked twice. A voice came from the other side.

“Come in,” The voice had said, and Tattered Moon opened the door. Opening the door an stepping in, he saw Flare laying down on his bed, reading a book. Flare looked up from it and smiled at Tattered Moon.

“Hey, bud, what brings you here?” Flare asked, putting a bookmark in his spot, closing the book, as Tattered Moon started talking.

“I wanted to talk with you, too, ya know, ease my mind?” Tattered replied, rubbing his left foreleg nervously. Flare simply nodded and closed the door with his magic. Pulling up a chair next to his bed.

“Alright, I can already tell that whatever you want to say is eating you from the inside out. So, what’s the problem?” Flare said calmly like this was a normal, everyday occurrence. Tattered Moon accepted the chair and sat down. He hesitated for a moment but, finally said what was on his mind,” Flare, I love Captain Midnight, but I’m afraid to tell her because I don’t want to lose my job and our friendship and-,”

Flare held up a hoof, causing him to stop mid-sentence. Flare sighed, for he had seen this before in the underground. Flare spoke calmly and clearly,” You love Midnight, but, you’re afraid that she’s going to reject you so hard that you’re going to get discharged. Is that right?”

Tattered Moon nodded.

Flare sighed, he knew calming Tattered down was going to be difficult, even if he confesses that he loves his superior in a romantic way. So, Flare would need to bring out the big guns.

“I have a way to calm your nerves, bud,” Flare said, stepping off of his bed.

“Really? How?” Tattered asked, an eyebrow raised.

“First, a question: Do you drink?” Flare replied.

At that instant, he knew what Flare was talking about, yet he didn’t take Flare for a drinker,”Alright, I know what you’re doing. Just... just don’t let me drink too much alright? I have duty in the morning,”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. And before you ask, no, I don’t drink,” Flare said.

Unbeknownst to them, a certain mare had been listening in on the conversation the whole time. Her right ear pressed against the door.

‘I wonder where they’ll be heading?’ the mare thought.

The sound of hoof steps broke her out of thought, with a burst of speed, she hid behind the largest object in the hallway.

She peered out from her hiding place, watching as Flare(now in disguise) and Tattered Moon walked to the entrance of the castle.

‘Can’t let them leave my sight,’ the mare thought, quickly activating her disguise and following, silently, after them.

As Flare and Tattered Moon left the castle, the mare following shortly after, they headed down the lonesome street. Each step the stallions took, the mare followed from the shadows of the night covering her form, yet she knew Flare had a sense that they might be followed. The two remained silent as they walked to the bar closest to the castle.

The mare saw the two walk in, she knew this bar. The owner was one of her friends after all.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flare and Tattered Moon entered the bar. The inside had decorations, stuff like tiki masks, empty brew potions, and in the middle a fake cauldron, filled with water which housed multicolored fish. Tiki torches covered the wall, and the smell of a fresh brew of coffee hit their noses.

Stallions and mares weren’t frequent in this place at this time. This was good for Tattered Moon, who didn’t want more attention drawn to himself than he already had.

The two stallions reached the actual bar, a mare with a pink mane and orange coat stood behind the counter, looking rather bored with the little number of customers she had. But, when she saw Flare and Tattered Moon, her eyes lit up, recognizing the face of the stallion she had only met yesterday.

“Hey, Neutron Star, hey Moony!” the mare said, a smile on her face. Tattered Moon flinched when he was called that, only his mother, sister, and this particular bar mare knew it.

“Hey Prickly,” the two said in unison, both sitting down on the stools.

“Let me guess, a glass of water for you Neutron and some Applejack Cider for you Moony?” Prickly said, a smirk now replacing her smile.

“Yeah, but give me a small,” Tattered Moon said. Prickly nodded, looking at Flare to see what he would say.

“Nah, just give me some ketchup,” Flare said, his serious look on his face.

“Well, I just not gonna question that,” Prickly said, turning and leaving to fulfill their orders.

Flare and Tattered sat in silence for a moment, before Flare said,” Moony, huh?”

“Don’t get any ideas Flare,” Tattered Moon warned, seeing Flare’s rising grin.

“Alright, alright, Moony~,” Flare chuckled, Tattered Moon looked at him, annoyed, but he couldn’t help but have a small grin form on his muzzle.

It was around two minutes later and Prickly had given the two their orders, giving them a joke on the way out.

-------------------------------------------------

Now was the mares chance to get Tattered Moon, he was more relaxed, but she hated to break up the twos’ joking session and story time.

‘No!’ she thought,’ Now's my chance to get him!’

With her mind made up, she walked into the tavern, her head facing the ground as the door shut behind her. Her disguise hid what she was truly wearing, but the noise could be heard faintly if one was to listen close enough.

Nopony turned to look at the mare as she walked past and up to the bar.

She tapped Tattered Moon on his shoulder. Turning, his eyes widen at the mare he saw.

“Twilight Dusk, what are you doing here?” He asked, knowing full well who Twilight Dusk really was. She looked at him, her face showing no emotions.

“Listen, I need you to come with me. now,” her voice showing a hint of anger. He gulped but nodded.

She turned and walked to the entrance of the tavern, Tattered Moon close behind her. As the two exited the building, Flare simply looked at Tattered Moon’s half-finished cider. “Well, that just sorta happened to him, I mean I took no participation in that...”.

Prickly entered the through a door and saw Flare sitting alone, drinking his ketchup. Confused, she asked what happened, to which Flare told it in one word,” Midnight.” Prickly know understood, feeling sorry for the stallion.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Midnight and Tattered Moon walked in silence on the way back to the castle. Midnight glancing back at him occasionally.

Not wanting any more awkward silence, she asked Tattered Moon the question that was on her mind,” So, is it true that you love me?”

At that moment, Midnight knew he flinched, a scared look on his face.

“M-ma’am I-,” he started, but Midnight cut him off.

“I’m not looking for excuses Lieutenant, I.Want.The.Truth.” she ordered, glancing once more back at him. He was now looking down and away from Midnight.

Finally, he answered,” Yes ma’am, i-it’s true.”

She looked straight ahead, the castle now right in front of them. She wouldn’t show the small smile on her face, for fear of giving away her tough act.

She walked into the castle, removing her disguise. Under the disguise was a full set of her armor, shiny and polished. Still, Tattered Moon looked away from her, his head no longer hanging low.

He followed her, never checking to see where she was going. He expected to be in the planning room, so they can discuss his ‘retirement’. All until they took a left, not a right. This happened again, and now Tattered Moon wondered where she was leading him. His mind whirling about the punishment he might receive from her.

When she stopped, he did as well. In front of them was a door, it had a Moon Lily painted on it, with the stem painted liked it held onto the door handle. Now he knew where he was standing. He was standing outside of Midnight’s room. A clicking noise caught his attention, his eyes followed the door as it creaked open and Midnight stepped inside.

Midnight looked back at him, beckoning for him to follow her into her room. A nervous bead of sweat ran down his head and onto the purple carpeted rug. He didn’t make a sound as he walked in, he held his breath, hoping that she will let him off quick and painless. But, what he didn’t know was that Midnight had other plans.

She closed the door and turned on the lights to her room. The room had black walls with a soft maroon carpet for the flooring. She had a wooden dresser, armor stand, and training dummy set side by side. In the dead center of the room laid a large, maroon, queen-sized bed.

Midnight could barely hold in her excitement about finally getting to tell Tattered Moon that he wasn’t alone, that she loved him as well. But, she wanted to do it in her own way. So she began to take her armor off beside him. For added effect, she whistled a tune to catch his attention while she took off her armor.

Upon hearing the whistle, Tattered Moon looked over at Midnight. Upon seeing her taking her armor off, he looked away, a mad blush painting his cheeks.

Midnight finished undoing her armor and put it on the armor stand and turned to the now blushing stallion. She sauntered over to him and put her hoof on his cheek. Slowly she moved his head to look at her, she had wanted to tell him this for 5 years.

Tattered Moon’s reaction was to stare dumbly into the ruby red irises of Midnight. He didn’t look anywhere else, until, he saw a small smile forming on her lips. She leaned in closer, her breath and his breath mixing together.

“Listen, Moony. I know you love me...,” She said softly, her eyes staring into his very soul.

‘Here it comes,’ Tattered Moon thought, but, he didn’t flinch, he was ready for what was coming. If Midnight called you by a nickname she didn’t make for you or your real name, you were doomed.

“And I wanted to speak to you in private because I have a message for you, but, to deliver this message correctly, I need you to keep looking me in the eyes, alright?” She calmly said to him. He nodded.

What happened next, caught Tattered Moon completely off guard. Midnight had covered the rest of the distance between their muzzles and kissed him. He did flinch when this happened, but, didn’t move away. Her eyes fluttered closed as she rubbed his cheek softly. Her soft lips collided with his, his heart now racing.

When she broke the kiss, she simply stared at him, love in her eyes as she said,” I love you too, and I want you to know that.”

He was at a loss for words. But, he didn’t have to speak yet as Midnight spoke again,” I’m going to give you an offer, it doesn’t matter if you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, I just want the truth. Alright?”

Tattered Moon nodded dumbly, at her. She giggled looking at him with bedroom eyes.

“I want to be your marefriend, and if you chose to accept this, you’ll be my coltfriend, so, will you be my coltfriend?” she asked softly, her eyes sparkling.

Tattered Moon said breathlessly,” Yes, of course.”

What Midnight did next was what he didn’t expect her to do. She flew up and grabbed him and flew over to her bed, landing softly on it. She laid down on her side and so did Tattered Moon. A smile on both of their muzzles.

“Well, coltfriend, let’s get under these blankets and sleep, I’m tired,” Midnight said, kissing his nose.

“Yes, Cap-,” Tattered was cut off by her.

“When we are alone,” she said as she snuggled up against him under her blanket,” You’ll call me Midnight and I’ll call you Moony, alright?”

His answer was to wrap his hoof around her and pull her into a hug, stating softly, “Yes, Midnight.”

“Hm, good boy,” was her response as the two dozed off into the land of sleep. Their hearts now as close to each other as they’ll ever be.

Midnight had made her move, Prim was still in wait, trying to find and catch that special moment, as the deadline for the Blue Moon Gala approached. Yet, she had made a trap, all she had to do was get Flare to the roof, and be herself when she confessed... but will it be that simple? What would Flare say to her? What will happen if he rejects her? These thoughts went to bed with Prim that very night.

Author's Notes:

At first, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with Midnight. Well, I figured it out!

Prim and Flare debut are coming up! What will happen at the Blue Moon Gala? Stay tuned after these messages!

Chapter 13: Midnight and Tattered

Tattered Moon shuffled in his sleep, his eyes being pierced by the bright moonlight that cut through the curtains. His shuffling didn’t do much, so instead of that, his mind demanded he woke up. For which he did.

Yawning softly, he opened his heavy eyes. His vision was blurry so he moved his hoof to rub his eyes. He didn’t move from that position, knowing well enough that he would hear the knock on the door of his room from Midnight, telling him to wake up and get down to the courtyard for the drill schedule. The dream he had last night was bizarre. Him, being Midnight’s coltfriend? He sadly, mentally chuckled at himself

He waited there, yet, the knock never came. Confused he sat up on the bed and glanced around the room... this wasn’t his room. As soon as he figured this out, something strong pulled him back down to the bed. The grip was fierce, but, gentle, as if the pony grabbing him was asleep. The grip never loosened, even as he hit the bedsheets.

Something moved up to his chest, a soft amount of warm air striking it. His head moved down to look at what was snuggled up against him, and to his surprise, it was Midnight.

‘So, it wasn’t a dream after all,’ he thought to himself, his eyes scanning over the sleeping captain.

‘Everything that had happened last night really happened?’ he thought once more. His mind recounted last night’s haze. But, when his mind got past the bar memory, everything seemed to slow down for him, up until the kiss. Which had confused him greatly, he doesn’t know why she chooses him out of all the others. He thought she looked for the fierce, or ones who know how to play by her rules, and her rules only. He thought wrong.

Sliding his hooves around her, his eyes started feeling heavier the more his hooves reached around her. When he completely wrapped his hooves around her, she seemed to snort with amusement, tightening her grip on the stallion whilst also purring softly.

Even while sleeping, her mind whirled with many things. Finally, she had gotten enough courage to ask that question, even though she thought it could’ve gone better. She thought of all possible places this could’ve taken place, how many ways she could’ve broken it to him.

‘But, nooooo! You wanted to take him to your bedroom!’ her inner thoughts sneered.

‘Oi! FACK OFF!’ her mind exclaimed. Not realizing that she was shuffling back and forth in the hooves of Tattered Moon, who had just fallen back to sleep.

‘What is goin’ on with this mare?’ Tattered Moon questioned himself, his eyes now fully opened as Midnight softly twisted and turned in his grasp.

‘Shes probably having a nightmare, dumbass!’ His mind barked at him.

He sighed softly, holding the mare tightly. With one breath he half yelled, half groaned.

“AYE, THE GUARDS ARE DOIN’ SOMETHIN’ STUPID AGAIN!”

Like that, Midnight opened her eyes quickly, she half shouted half growled,” THE HELL THEY DO THIS TIME?! THEY BETTER NOT HAVE GOTTEN INTO THE FOOD RATIONS AGAIN!”

She scrambled out off his hooves and would have fallen face first onto the floor, if not for Tattered catching her at the last moment. He grabbed the end of her tail, his eyes darting away from her backside as she looked back at the now blushing stallion.

“Oh...OH! That’s how you wanna play it! I was about to win an argument!” the mare grumbled as she got back into the bed.

“With who?” Tattered asked.

“Myself!” Midnight stated triumphantly, a small smile on her face.

“So... did you enjoy the small look you got~?” Midnight teased, knowing well enough that this was how she was going to get payback.

“I-I, U-UM!” Tattered stumbled with his words,” W-we b-both know that you can’t d-do that b-be for you’re m-married!”

“Sad... but true,” Midnight hummed, giving him a cheeky grin.

“Be-besides! We just became coltfriend and marefriend!” Tattered huffed back, his cheeks a bright red, his head moved away from her eyes.

“Yes, we did~, so, I’m going to have fun with this, and you, you will be my little stallion~,” Midnight cooed back, her tone, teasing.

Tattered Moon looked back at her, sighing. He knew that this relationship, for the small amount of time he was awake for it, was going to be like this, a lot of teasing, and jokes.

...

He looked at the mare now laying next to him, his mind searching for something else to focus on. His eyes widened at the thought that now came to him.

“Midnight, we need to be down by the Courtyard or-,” Tattered Moon started, but, was abruptly cut off by two things. The first was a loud crack of lightning, the second was Midnight’s lips pressing against his. His mind whirled at the kiss, but, his fur stood on end from the loud cracking of the sky’s electric whip. But, he couldn’t fight off the kiss, so, he melted into, enjoying it greatly.

Midnight broke the kiss and looked out the window, Tattered Moon following her gaze.

Outside, lightning struck the earth, rain poured against the window, and he could now hear the faint sound of wind.

“W-wait, how long has this been going on?” Tattered asked, staring out the window.

“Well, the storm was said to pick up around 5 in the morning,” Midnight responded, wrapping her wing around him and pulling him to her side,” Also, the lightning was said to be striking ponies, so, I called off training until the lightning stops.”

Tattered Moon sighed, wondering when the storm would lighten up. One day and he already misses being out in the courtyard training. Midnight saw his grim look and whispered softly,”Hey, don’t worry about it. Besides, I need to tell my parents the news!”

Midnight smiled an award-winning smile, Tattered, on the other hoof, looked out the window with fear covering his muzzle. Once again, Midnight noticed the look on Tattered’s face as she opened her eyes.

‘Okaaaay, I think that made it worse...,” She thought.

Acting quickly, she moved his head so that it was facing her and nuzzled his muzzle softly.

“Don’t worry, I know they’re going to like you,” Midnight stated in a comforting type of tone.

Tattered Moon said nothing, but, in place of his silence, he nodded, his frown turning into a small smile.

“That’s the Lieutenant I know! Now come on, it’s almost six, everypony is up and is heading to the dining hall.” Midnight replied, a grin on her muzzle.

Tattered Moon gulped, yet, nuzzled her back. The thought still made him uncomfortable for many reasons but, he couldn’t complain.

Midnight stepped off the bed, motioning for Tattered to follow her, and headed to the dining room. They took their time though, talking about what procedures they should put the guards through next and how to tell Midnight’s parents about Tattered’s new status.

Outside the dining room

“Alright, so that's the plan?” Tattered repeated to Midnight. He had to admit, the plan looked to be flawless, although it was rather straightforward.

“Yes, it is,” Midnight replied, her face hardening, she wanted to show her parents that she was serious.

The two nodded, both looking at the two oak wood doors that stood between them and everypony else.

...

Opening the door and walking inside, Midnight and Tattered Moon didn’t expect what they saw. Midnight’s parents smiled warmly at both her and Tattered Moon, and Midnight knew those smiles... they know about Tattered and her already.

Prim looked down at her bowl of cereal, shaking a little at each strike of lightning, as she sat close to Flare. Night was reading one of her many history books. Flare... Flare, on the other hoof, looked horrible. His eyes had dark bags under them, his hair was messier than usual, and his red eye glowed a lot fainter than it was before.

Midnight hadn’t noticed Flare as she walked over to her usual seat but, Tattered saw Flare and wondered what had happened to him last night.

“Good morning, Midnight~!” The queen hummed happily, her eyes shifting between Midnight sitting down and Tattered Moon standing up.

“Mornin’ mom, dad,” She said with an awkward smile.

“Good morning, Midnight! Oh, and you too Tattered Moon,” Night replied, her eyes never leaving the book.

“G-good morn-*CRACK* EEP!” Prim squeaked, latching onto Flare’s right foreleg, which caused the dozing stallion to look up in surprise. Upon noticing Midnight and Tattered Moon, he said, tiredly,” Mornin’ you two, had a good nights rest huh?”

Midnight finally took notice of Flare but didn’t say anything. Instead, she shifted her eyes to Tattered Moon, patting the open seat next to her.

Reluctantly, he moved forward to accept the seat. The king and queens eyes following him.

When he sat down Midnight cleared her throat, gaining everypony in the room.

“Mom, dad, you know Tattered Moon... well I wanted to make an announcement...,” Midnight said, her voice wavering slightly.

“Hmmm~?” Honey Glow replied, Blood Moon, said nothing, his eyes looking at Tattered Moon. With approval or judgment, neither Midnight nor Tattered Moon knew.

“I wanted to say that I and Tattered Moon are going out together,” Midnight finished.

“OH MY GOOD GOLLY GOSH!” Night yelled, dropping the book.

“YAY!” Prim clapped her hooves together,

“*CRACK* EEP!” Prim squeaked, now hugging Flare tightly.

“Congratulations!” Honey Glow smiled softly at her daughter.

She looked over at Tattered Moon,” I know you’ll treat her well~.”

Tattered Moon blushed and looked at Midnight, who was blushing as well.

Blood Moon chuckled, looking back down at his breakfast.

...

Without as much as a warning Flare’s head shot up, his eyes glowing with two red dots, he yelled,” 😐✋👎 👎⚐☠🕯❄ ☝⚐ ☠☜✌☼ ❄☟☜ 🕈✌❄☜☼☞✌☹☹ ☹☜👎☝☜✏ 😐✋✋✋✋✋✋✋✋✋✋✋✋✋👎✏”

This startled everypony, Prim jumped back as an initial reaction to the weird language and his roar.

“F-Flare, are you okay?” Prim whimpered softly.

Flare started breathing softly after this random outburst. His hoof touched his temple, rubbing it softly as he started to recover.

With a shallow breath, he said,” Ye-yeah, sorry... just a nightmare...”

Prim gasped at what she saw, a giant bruise now appeared on Flare’s neck. She reached out and softly caressed it. Flare flinched at the touch, he looked back at her.

Her eyes met his, Prim was about to speak, but Midnight beat her to it,”Flare!? THE FACK!?”

...

Night had fallen out of her chair, the book she had resumed reading on her face.

‘Ya know,’ Her mind started,’This floor... is rather comfortable!’

Night snorted, removing the book off of her snout. She got back up and sat back in the chair. She removed a hair strand that had covered her eye.

Getting up from the floor, she looked at Flare her smile fading at the sight of the bruise.

“Was that bruise always there?”

“No...,” Flare sighed, rubbing the injury.

“Where... where did it come from?” Prim asked softly, scooting closer to him.

Flare was silent for a moment, then sighed loudly,”It came from me... or my mind. We monsters have a problem with emotions, if one gets ahold of us, it can literally damage the monster's body.”

“O-oh...” Prim responded.

“Jeez, that's why I have never seen ya cry,” Midnight replied.

“H-how exactly?” Night questioned.

“As to why... I don’t know much. But, It has to do with magic being controlled by emotions and our bodies, monsters, being made of magic...” Flare said, then concluded,” Let’s drop the subject at hoof... I don’t feel comfortable talking about it...”

And like that, the subject dropped like a lead weight. The group of mixed ponies started chatting about different things. Flare congratulated Tattered Moon and Midnight on them becoming closer, Prim was dropping hints for Flare, Night was talking to Tattered about something that was making him blush heavily, and the king and queen asked the typical questions about Tattered to Midnight.

After the uncomfortable breakfast, Tattered Moon and Midnight headed up to her room, she wanted to get to know him better. He couldn’t object, he too wanted to learn about her and her family.

...

Midnight and Tattered entered her room, Midnight jumping on her bed and patting the spot next to her. Tattered Moon blushed and looked away, Midnight frowned slightly, rolling her eyes a little.

“Listen, this is looking far into a hopeful future, but, if we get married, you need to understand that this is the bed you’re going to share with me, understand, Moony?” Midnight huffed, Tattered Moon’s blush started to spread like a wildfire in a dry forest across his face.

*CRACK!*

Tattered Moon jumped at the lightning strike, Midnight even flinched at how close the lightning struck.

Sighing heavily, he walked to the side of the bed. Hesitating for a bit, he climbed on the bed, positing himself next to her, his blush never leaving. Midnight only chuckled, wrapping her wing around him.

“I know you’re new to this, but, I’m just going to keep doing this. Anyways, I want to know why you’re so interested in the royal guard,” Midnight mused.

“W-well,” Tattered Moon started,” My mother works in a greenhouse. I grew up around plants, always fascinated by how they looked, and, well, how some can be dangerous if handled incorrectly.”

“Wow! What types of plants do you like?” Midnight questioned further.

“I like Moon Lilies...!” Tattered replied without thinking first. Midnight blushed slightly at his comment. That was one of her nicknames her sisters called her.

“O-oh, I-I’m...” Midnight started, this time, however, it was Tattered Moon’s time to cut her off. He lunged forward, kissing her softly on the cheek. Her blush now growing as well.

“Now who’s the one blushing?” Tattered Moon asked, a smile on his muzzle.

Midnight huffed at his remark saying softly,” I’m still your captain...”

“Anyways, I do like Moon Lilies, they’re beautiful, even more so if there’s a full moon out,” Tattered Moon continued,” And... and they remind me of you.”

“Well, I got to say, I got more than I bargained for, but, I’m happy you think of me as the precious flower. But, I am not a flower anypony can just step on, I fight back!” She said, lunging forward at him, kissing him softly, leaving him speechless afterward.

“Now that we got that out of the way, I want to learn about your family history,” Tattered Moon inquired Midnight.

“Well, there isn’t much to tell. My Father was a prince, my mother was a commoner. My father fell for her, they dated, got wed, and had three daughters, one who found love and told the one she loved about her feelings. One of the others found love, but, still hasn’t confessed it to the stallion,” Midnight finished, Tattered taking a second to let the information sink in.

Once it has, he focused on the “sister who found love, but never confessed it part”. A small frown on his face, he asked,” What do you mean, another found love but never confessed it to the stallion?”

“Oh no, you caught me, I promised that I wouldn’t reveal it, but, you caught me red hoofed!” Midnight confessed, a mock frown on her face.

“It’s Prim, she loves Flare but won’t tell him for some reason. I know she’s shy so don’t make that a point,” Midnight said rather bluntly.

“Wait... so Prim loves Flare, but, she never told him?” Tattered asked.

“Yeah, she says she is waiting for “the right moment”, but, I think she is trying to have him say it to her,” Midnight said, rolling her eyes at it.

“Huh, should I tell him, or...?” Tattered asked.

“Nah, she’s going to do it on the night of the gala,” Midnight replied,” Speaking of which, you might want to find a nice suit to wear, because you’re going to be on there, next to me.”

Tattered Moon wanted to object, but knew he couldn’t, she had won the one-sided argument as soon as it was mentioned. He shrugged, knowing now that he needed a nice tuxedo for the night, three weeks from now.

“ Anyway, what about any hobbies you have?” Midnight asked.

“Really, I don’t have any hobbies, other than walking around and looking at flowers, but I don’t think that’s considered a hobby...,” Tattered confessed, once more as he shrugged,” How about you?”

“Well, I like to read, maybe play video games, you know, typical stuff,” Midnight replied.

...

After a short interview, the two of them ran out of questions a typical coltfriend and marefriend would have, some questions didn’t even make sense for the current situation. So, instead, the two just laid next to each other, enjoying one another's company.

The rain hit the window and the lightning cracked every few minutes now. Midnight looked over at her digital clock, which read 11:26 a.m.

“Hey, we should grab some lunch, I’m kinda hungry, even though all we did is snuggle,” Midnight said, her hoof laying atop of Tattered’s.

Tattered Moon nodded, slowly getting off the bed as Midnight started to do the same. Once both of them had gotten off the bed, they stretched and headed towards the kitchen to grab something to eat. The two chatted happily away about funny things they had seen the soldiers do.

...

As they left the kitchen, the two vamponies had their meals. A simple ham sandwich for Midnight, and some chicken for Tattered. The sight of the two walking into the kitchen had caused Lemon Zap to congratulate them on their first step of a relationship, whilst the other chefs remained silent, working but also peering back at the two as they left.

Not much was said on the way back to the Midnight’s room since they both started to eat their respective meals.

Once the two had reached the Midnight’s room, Tattered Moon felt Midnight’s eyes land upon him as he opened the door for her.

“Well, well, such a gentlecolt, eh~?” She cooed, her tail brushing his side as she walked in.

He followed in after her. Midnight was laying down on the bed. She was on her back, facing him. His blush could have been visible from space at her request.

“Moony, come ’ere, I want to try something,” She said, waving her hoof over to her side.

He couldn’t back out, so he followed the order, and laid next to her. A large grin on her face.

“I want you to do the same thing I’m doing, I’ll explain more once you’ve done it,” Midnight said, Tattered Moon, did as she asked.

“Good, now the reason I wanted to do this is that I wanted to see which position you’re most comfortable in. And I think I found out you like laying on your back,” Midnight said, flipping over onto her stomach.

Tattered Moon thought of doing the same, but, she was right, he was rather comfortable in this position. He shuffled around a little. Just as he got into a more optimal position, he felt Midnight’s hoof wrap around his midsection and pulled him closer to her. She pulled him right to her side, soon a wing fell over her hoof.

“I wanted to do something Flare always did,” She said,”I want to take a nice, long, nap.”

“Wait, you’ve never taken a nap before?” Tattered asked

“NO, I’ve taken a nap, just, it was a long time ago. Besides, I’ve never had a real day off! So, will you be my little snuggle buddy today?” she asked, fluttering her eyes. Tattered Moon sighed softly, but agreed,”Alright, I will.”

“YAY!” she squeaked, hugging him softly, laying her head on his chest.

Tattered Moon wrapped a hoof under her, saying to himself softly,” I resign myself to my fate...”

“Good, now shush, and relax~,” Midnight cooed.

Tattered Moon sighed for the one-hundredth time that day, he closed his eyes. He listened to her heartbeat as he began to doze off.

The two sept through the afternoon and deep into the night. Enjoying dreams of their own futures. Both never knowing how overworked they really were, until they rose in the morning.

Author's Notes:

This took way too long! Sorry for that!

Next Chapter:
The Big Night

Chapter 14: The Big Night (Prim and Flare)

It had been a few months since the announcement of Tattered Moon and Midnight Bite being coltfriend and marefriend. At the same time, it has been three weeks since Flare’s nightmares started to act up again. He was always gaining sleep in the “morning”, but kept losing it at “night”. Right now Flare is sleeping, yet his body shutters and shakes.

With a single motion, Flare’s upper body springs up in fear, his red eye now emitting a red flame that covered the right side of his face. He wrapped his forelegs around himself, wanting to see if he was dreaming, or if he was back there. The pillow that laid across his face during his slumber, now sat, slumped over, at the wall opposite to him. He tried calming himself down, but, the only thing he could do was hyperventilate.

“Why, why the HELL!?” he growled to himself, his hooves now covering his eyes,” Why, do I have these nightmares?! I-I moved on from Malachite! I moved on from the soul of integrity! Why do I keep having these nightmares?!”

For weeks, he has had these dreams about his adoptive father, and the small, blue, innocent filly. The nightmares shared one thing in common, the two that were the victims, fell into something. His adoptive father, Malachite, into the core. Integrity into the stalactites that littered the bottom of the waterfall. He felt that he could’ve saved them, but... he didn’t. He always blamed himself for their deaths, he hated himself because of it, he hated them because of it.

He growled softly, his head flopping down onto the pillowless bed, and closed his eyes, not even bothering to look at the time on his clock.

“Why...why can’t I let them go? Why don’t I have nightmares about the ponies I’ve killed?” Flare asked softly, not expecting an answer.

“Give it a couple of years, then it’ll be a beach,” a voice in his head grumbled.

“Solar Eclipse, go back to bed, I’m not in the mood to deal with your shit,” Flare muttered back. Solar Eclipse is Flare’s darker side, the one who is sarcastic when unneeded, or the one who doesn’t care about others all that much. There was another, but, he has remained silent for a long time.

“Fine, mom,” Solar Eclipse mumbled, his thoughts disappearing form Flare’s head.

*Knock**Knock**Knock*

A hoof hit Flare’s door. The stallion waited for a response to see, well, hear who it was. A small voice worked its way through the mahogany wood.

“F-Flare, are you alright? You weren’t at breakfast...,” it was Prim, she turned the door handle and opened the door.

She peered in, her eyes scanning the room for Flare’s bed. Flare, sighed, getting up from his position, he gave her a solemn look. She walked inside, and straight for his bed. She sat down next to the bed and put her hoof on the top.

“Do, you... do you want to talk about it?” she asked, knowing that he had another one of his nightmares.

Flare shook his head. He sighed and got off the bed, saying softly,” Prim, I’m fine, and I’m sorry for missing breakfast, I’ll make it up to you.”

“You’re not fine!” she snapped, she was always sad whenever Flare wouldn’t tell her something like this. They were best friends after all, did he not trust her?

“Prim, if you think it’s something to do with you, it’s not. It’s about my past, something that I can’t forget... something I could never forgive myself for. It’s near pointless to worry about me,” Flare stated sadly,” Just, remember, I’ll make it up to you for missing breakfast, alright?”

Prim sighed and walked over to him. With a quick motion, she wrapped her hooves around his neck.

Flare wrapped his left hoof around her back, he hated when she used this tactic, she was trying to guilt the information out of him. But, he steeled himself from it.

The two released each other, Prim looking to the side. Within a second, she thought of a way that he could make it up.

“Flare, I know how you can make it up to me,” She said, looking back at him.

“Really?” he replied, intrigued,”How so?”

“I want you to meet me up at the top of the eastern tower, twenty minutes before the fireworks start. Understand?” Prim said, her gaze meeting his eye.

“Alright... if you want me too,” Flare replied, giving her a puzzled look.

“Yes, meet me there...it’s very important,” Prim replied.

“Than why not tell me now?” Flare questioned, raising an eyebrow.

A blush was visible on Prim’s face,” Well... oh would you look at the time I got to go!” She said, pointing at Flare’s clock. As Flare turned to look, Prim, galloped out of the room in one swift motion. Flare looked on as the mare fled, a deadpan expression on his face.

‘Ya know, she is good lookin~,” Solar snickered.

“Solar, I swear to Talos I will hit you!” Flare snapped.

----------------------------

Prim had made it halfway to her room before she decided to take a breather. He had almost caught her, but, she wanted to wait for it. She shook her head and walked the rest of the way to her room. Every step made an unknown weight become heavier and heavier. She knew what it was, she didn’t like it when Flare beats himself up over something, big or small. Al she ever wishes was that she could tell him her feelings, and he has the same feelings for her, and that he would tell her what’s been bothering him so much. Also, he has been talking to somepony named ‘Solar Eclipse’ when she walked up to his room.

‘I wonder what he thinks about,’ Prim thought, turning a corner to her room.

She reached her door, opening it and walking inside. She needed to get ready for the Blue Moon Gala. She looked at her bed, on it, as the seamstress was ordered to do, laid her dress. It was a simple dress like she has ordered. She never likes to be the center of attention, so the colors were also very generic, pink and grey, like her eyes and fur. She walked over to it and ran a hoof over it, gently. It was made of silk, she had forgotten to tell the seamstress what material it was going to be made of, so Prim guessed that the seamstress took a wild leap.

Prim sighed, the gala starts in only a couple of hours, since she checked on Flare after nine a.m.. She sighed once more and went to put the dress on to see how it feels.

...

Putting on dresses was still difficult for her, even if that was what a princess must wear, she still felt weird with something covering her body, and something wrapped around the base of her wings. Other than that, it felt nice, she only had one more complaint, it slightly dragged on the floor.

She groaned,” I’m taking this off before I meet Flare at the tower...”

She walked around in it, getting used to the feel of the dress. She never could get over how the dress rubbed the base, it made her feel... wrong.

After walking around for a few minutes, she took off her dress. She looked at her clock, the gala started at 7 p.m.

“I have enough time to take a nice shower or bath,” Prim stated. She grabbed a towel and headed down to the bathroom.

...

Flare had gone to go pick up his tuxedo, the seamstress said that she needed more time to get to fit him comfortably, saying that he was the biggest stallion to have walked into, asking for a suit.

Flare didn’t really care what color it was, but, the seamstress said that a nice blue would ‘suit’ him. Flare didn’t really mind what it was made out of, all he knew was when he was free from the press, which he was undoubtedly going to meet, he was going to take off the thing and go meet Prim at the eastern tower.

That still bothered him though, how quickly Prim left as he asked his question, how flustered she was, was she hiding something?

‘Sounds like a date to me~,” Solar sang, his voice scattering over Flare’s own thoughts. Flare growled slightly.

‘Solar Eclipse, I’m going to ask you kindly to F*** OFF!,” Flare’s mind roared at his inner demon.

He could hear the demon yelp, and slowly his voice faded away. Flare swore he could hear the demon curse his name to another god.

‘He’s right, it sounds like a date,’ Flare thought to himself. He hated when Solar was right, but, right now he didn’t care.

...

He had reached the seamstress’s workplace, inside he could hear her sewing machine humming and stitching. He knocked twice, the machine turned off and a female voice echoed from within.

“Who there?” she asked.

“The milk stallion!” Flare replied, jokingly,” It’s Flare, I’m here for the suit,”

The sound of hooves hitting the floor briskly moved its way through the door. The door opened, and on the other side was a light grey, unicorn mare with a green mane in a bun, her name was Birch Tree. She was always energetic and was known for making the finest attire in the land. She wore reading glasses and had two pearl earrings. She beamed as she saw Flare on the other side of the door.

“AH! You are just in time!” she exclaimed, pulling Flare inside.

“I just finished stitching the last part of the suit this morning! HAHA! I was just working on something that can go with it!” She paused, giving an awkward glance at the stallion, then continued,” Well, if you want to that is.”

“Miss Birch, you’ve already made my suit, and I know you didn’t want to just add on a...,” Flare stopped and looked over at the sewing machine. There, in the center, laid a small crest of the royal vampony bloodline. A red moon with bat wings on it.

“Who asked for the crest to be added?” Flare questioned, looking over at the mare.

“Well, it was Midnight’s and Night’s idea! They were saying something about Prim and you, so I couldn’t ask why!” The mare stated, walking over to the crest.

“Prim and I? What did they say?” Flare inquired.

“Something about a romantic evening, if I remember correctly!” Birch Tree responded, a grin now on her muzzle,” Now, it may just be me, but I think you have a date with royalty~!”

Flare remembered how Prim acted earlier, her blushing and stammering at the question, her galloping out of the room... could it be?

“Well, I think you drank too much of Lemon’s fine wine. I mean, what would Prim find in a monster like me?” Flare questioned sadly.

Birch Tree had heard that Flare wasn’t the most self-confident stallion, even if he made friends with every staff the castle had to offer. She found it to be a good thing, no ego, so that wouldn’t drive him to do stupid stuff. But, right now she knew that what she heard was true, he beats himself up, always looking at himself and seeing a poor excuse of a life.

She walked over, quickly and firmly, to the stallion. She put her hoof on his cheek and made him look her in the eyes.

“I do not know where the idea that you aren’t good enough for anything came from, but mark my words, whoever put you down needs a beating! You are a nice stallion! Heck, you impressed the captain herself by being the ‘gentle giant’ of a stallion! The guard's complement you on how good you are at weapons, hiding, and hunting! I”m still hearing sharp tooth talk about how good you are with an ax! They even call you the ‘brickwall’ because they admire your inability to be easily moved! You charm many of whom you meet! You may be a monster, but you are not a bad one! Not anymore! Stop putting yourself down!” she commanded. Her eyes glittering with an emotional spark.

Flare gives a heavy sigh,”I kind of you to say that. Anyway, let's try this tuxedo you have for me...,”

Tree clapped her hooves together and trotted happily over to the tuxedo, grabbing the crest that was out of her reach with her magic.

“I promise you! This. Will. Feel. AMAZING! I wanted the future prince to be comfortable~!” she mused. Flare mentally face hoofed, knowing that she will spread this as a rumor to many other castle staff. Most notably, Lemon Zap, who Flare felt would accept almost anything the seamstress said.

...

Tattered Moon had put on his very own tuxedo. It was dark red and light orange suit, the family crest was printed upon his right breast pocket. Midnight, however, had a dress that didn’t match her fur and mane, but, had an interesting pattern of the color of Moon Lilies, both of their favorite flower.

“This feels soooo weird to have something wrapped around me and weighing me down,” Midnight grumbled, looking over at her lieutenant.

Tattered Moon knew what she meant, his wings also felt a little tied down. But, he didn’t feel weighed down, simply because he was wearing a tuxedo. He snickered at the captain, who, in turn, shot him an odd warning glance. A glance that said, ‘becareful, you’re sleeping with me, I know how you tick, Mister!’ a.k.a., she glared at him and told him flat out. That made Tattered Moon cease the snickering at once.

“Well, I know what I’ll be doing once the galas over,” Midnight stated,” I’m goin’ ta bed, I like it if ya joined me, Fluff Butt!”

“I had a feeling that you were going to say that,” Tattered replied. While the two got to know each other well over the weeks, Midnight started to enjoy his extra fluff, calling him Fluff Butt or even Red Cotten Ball. Midnight had even gotten softer around him, even the word snuggle became more used than ‘laying side by side’. She mainly used the word snuggle or cuddle when she wanted to have quality time with him.

“Good, cause we’re going to need each other after this night,” Midnight muttered.

Midnight trotted over to him, then began to circle him slowly. Tattered Moon, in turn, stood at attention. Midnight looked over him, she began poking places that she thought looked weird. Once she finished, she kissed him on the cheek and walked back to the bed, her dress slowing her down slightly, due to it getting caught on her hooves.

...

Night laid on her bed in her dress, drawing different creatures from the book ‘Monster Mythos’ that Flare had given to her for her birthday. Her dress was a dark blue and light purple, looking like the empty void of space. The monster she was drawing at the time was something called “The Werestallion”, who was said to live in Ice Breaker(Snowdin). She found the concept interesting, a stallion who was covered head to hoof in dark fur? She thought it was awesome enough, she thought it better when Flare had said he had talked to the stallion himself.

Night Blossom keep pulling back on certain parts of the dress, this was the sisters, and Flare and Tattered Moon’s, first Blue Moon Gala, so they had to dress appropriately for the occasion.

“Blah, this dress feels weird! I should’ve asked for cotton, not silk,” Night grumbled unhappily at herself.

She had been preoccupied with the book, asking for Flare to translate some pages that were written in a language he calls ‘wingdings’. She was interested in the language, and insisted that Flare teacher her it, but, he declined, saying that it was a ‘skeleton language’.

She scoffed at the memory,” Whatever that means...”

Night muttered something under her breath and went back to drawing the wolf stallion.

...

Two hours before the gala...

Flare and Prim had seen each other again, albeit awkwardly as Prim had just gotten out of the shower. She rushed to her room, brighter than a red tomato. Once she had gotten dried off, she stepped out of her room and went to find Flare.

Flare was in his room when Prim found him. She walked in and started talking with Flare about the events that are going to happen at the gala.

“So you’re going to be revealed at nine p.m., then you’ll meet me by at the eastern tower, right?” Prim asked, hoping Flare was still okay with the random invitation.

“Yeah, sounds right to me,” Flare responded,” Also, didn’t you want to see me in my tuxedo... before the gala?”

“YES!” Prim blurted instantly, surprising Flare.

“Um... I-I...,” Prim started, yet was interrupted by Flare’s hoof.

He spoke calmly,” Don’t try to explain yourself, it’s alright, I’m not going to judge.”

Prim nodded dumbly, did he know how she felt? Or was he simply being calm in this situation to make her feel less like an idiot? Whatever it was, she calmed down a little, her blush never disappearing. She always wondered if he could read minds, upon the other powers he has. She thought it was weird, the powers he had, teleportation, Paradox Blasters, and so on.

“You alright?” Flare asked her, she had spaced out.

“Oh! Y-yay I’m fine! Just... thinking about the gala! Yeah, that's it,” She said, shying away slightly.

‘This mare is getting shyer, and shyer every time we meet,’ Flare thought to himself.

‘Because she loves you! JEEZ WITH CHEESE ON MANGANESE, you’re so dense! Stop thinking you’re not good enough for anyone! Stop putting yourself down, That's my job! AND I DON’T EVEN DO IT BECAUSE YOU’RE SO NICE TO ME!’ Solar Eclipse shouted at Flare.

Flare winced slightly, slightly enough to grab Prim’s attention.

“Flare, are you alright?” she asked, walking over to him.

Flare held up a hoof, a small smile on his face, he said softly,” Sorry, I had an interesting thought pass through my mind.”

‘More like ridiculous,’ Flare thought.

“Really? What was it?” Prim questioned, sitting down in front of him.

“Nah, It’s nothin’ don’t worry about it,” Flare replied, hoping he had deflected the question.

‘Remember when I said that you were nice? I take it back. AND THE IDEA IS NOT RIDICULOUS!” Solar roared in Flare’s mind.

Flare mentally chuckled as he went to go put on his tuxedo.
...

The start of the Blue Moon Gala
...

The princesses, the king, Tattered Moon, and the queen started the opening ceremony of the Blue Moon Gala. The walls of the castle shined a light blue from the torches that sat on the wall, overlooking the citizens of the vampiric world. The king cleared his throat and began to tell the history of why they, the ponies of the night, honor the blue moon,” When the blue moon shined, it echoes the first year of our ancestors’ freedom. The day the Mother of the Night brought our people out of the tombs for which our ancestors laid. We stand here, together, to thank the Moon Mother for her sacrifice to protect us. May we enjoy this night, just as if we have been freed from our chains.”

An uproar echoed through the great hall, all citizens, poor, medium class, and rich, were all allowed to join in on this celebration. The three sisters all looked at one another and smiled. Tattered Moon looked out over the vast amount of ponies that were in this room, his nerves twitched, but he stood firm.

Outside the great hall, Flare stood and watched. He was a surprise for the public, so he wasn’t allowed to be in the celebration until he was shown to the ponies of the kingdom.

He never minded it, for he understood that walking out into the great hall would show that he wasn’t their own kin. His tallness, the hole in his head, those things alone would give him away, not to mention his glowing eye, which might cause a panic. However, when the king released his people to enjoy the party, and Prim was free from the onslaught of cameras and questions, she met with him, for she didn’t want him to be alone. However, she had to leave him every couple of minutes because she was needed.

Two hours later...

It was almost time for Flare to revealed to the public, the sisters and Tattered Moon helped him with something he didn’t understand... like being hammered into a fine plate by the ponies asking questions or taking photos.

Right now the festivities had to be put on hold for his announcement. Truth be told, he was rather nervous when he heard Blood Moon start talking about him.

...

In the Great Hall
...

“My ponies of this land, I need to make an announcement and come clean. Months ago, my youngest daughter found a pony, not like our own in the royal garden. We nursed him back to health as best we can, and for that, that pony gave us answers. His name is Lunar Flarion, and he is known as a ‘monster pony’ or simply a ‘monster’.” he stated calmly, letting the information sink in.

The thing that made his subjects not panic was not only their ruler’s calm demeanor but also, his way of speaking of the pony, it was like the two were friends of some sort. But, an eerie quiet settled over the ponies of the kingdom.

Blood Moon continued,” Do not worry though, he is not here to harm us. That fact of the matter is, he’s friendly, feel free to ask him questions. For he can answer them better than I can.”

...

“That’s your cue,” Prim whispered to him softly. Flare nodded and went out to the balcony.

What happened was what Flare expected, as he walked out, some looked at him, confused, scared, or even felt hatred towards him. As he stood next to the king, cameras flashed, and a now a larger murmur echoed through the hall. The king smiled as his daughters walked out after him, each scanning the room to see their subjects reaction. As they walked out they could see their subjects’ face turning to a more comforting face. They were mostly pleased to see that some didn’t seem to hate or be afraid of Flare anymore.

A moment of silence filled the hall, and the local news stations took advantage of this silence to start asking the stallion questions.
...

Answering questions were rather tiring, he swore that the news station’s asking the questions spent more time making the questions than actually listening to their answers. But, when the news ponies questions died down, Flare could finally enjoy the gala. But, this didn’t mean that the questions and gawking would stop.
...

Flare walked around the now full Great Hall. He got some looks from some of the ponies, others walked up and said hi to him. Flare acted as friendly as he could, even if he could feel the hatred, envy, and malice coming off of some of the ponies glares.

Flare had decided to go to the dessert table to see how the selection of treats laid out for the guests. He wasn’t hungry, just curious. He reached the table, and a few ponies gave him an awkward smile, for which he returned with a smile of his own, though he tried not to show his teeth, feeling that it would make him look even more dangerous and scary. On the table in front of him was a large selection of pies, cakes, cookies, and many, many more that Flare couldn’t imagine existed. He scanned the table once more, but at the same time, felt as if somepony was watching him... or rather two.

Flare heard two sets of hoofsteps coming his way, and out of instinct turned to look at the sounds creators. When he looked over he saw a stallion and mare walking over to him. The mare had a velvet mane and black fur, wearing a simple dress. The stallion next to her wore a dark grey tuxedo, his fur was an icy blue, his mane was white like snow.

The stallion was the first to respond when the two walked close to Flare,” Hello, Flare, is it? My name is Dig Site, and this is my wife,” he pointed to the mare next to him,” is Bone Saw.”

Flare greeted them warmly, although a little uncomfortable by how straightforward he was.

“We’ll cut to the chase,” Bone Saw said,”I and my husband are both interested in you’re history and you’re anatomy, we were wondering if you could stop by the college and share some of this information.”

Flare tried his best not to give them a deadpan stare. He smiled and nodded in response, the couple nodded back and went to go enjoy the rest of the gala.
...

Flare didn’t know what time it was, what irritated him more was the fact that he didn’t put on his watch to see the time. So, he resorted to using a trick Malachite had taught him.

He summoned a Paradox Blaster in his room, and using an old form of telepathy, he looked through the skull’s eyes to see his bedside clock.

...
9:35 pm
...
‘SHIET’ Flare mentally swore, he was going to be late.

He would’ve teleported there, but, he’d never been in the eastern tower before, he’s seen the entry point, but never walked in. He mentally swore once more, vowing that, after this night, he would spend a day or two walking around and getting the coordinates of every nook and cranny that this castle had to offer.

He teleported to the closest place to the eastern tower, his room. Teleporting quickly, he entered his room, scaring the Paradox Blaster. The skull growled and charged up a low charged attack, but was quickly taken back by its master’s voice

“Aye! Aye! It’s me I need to do something,” Flare said, removing his tuxedo. Catching on random parts, annoying him greatly.

...

Flare now half galloped through the hall, towards the eastern tower. The castle had the towers connected to the main body, which made it easy for Flare to find the door and stairwell leading to the top of the eastern tower. The door wasn’t hard to miss, it was the only one not made of wood, in fact, it was made of stone. Why, Flare had asked the question, receiving a shrug or an ‘I don’t know’.

Flare opened the door, slowing down as he walked up the cold stairwell. Each step echoed off the dark purple walls of the castle’s tower. As he rose to the top, he could hear the wind, signaling that he was close to his final destination. He stopped short when he saw the entrance leading to the top of the tower. His worry had caught up with him, making him wonder if he should just... leave.

‘OH HEEEEEEEEEEELL NAH! YOU GOT HERE TO MEET PRIM, SO. YOU. WILL. MEET. PRIM!” Solar Eclipse shouted, startling Flare.

‘What if she left?! I’m late! In ten more minutes, the fireworks will start!’ Flare replied angrily at Solar.

Flare heard Solar sigh,’ Listen, I may be a disembodied voice right now, but I’m your disembodied voice. I care what happens to you, not only because we share the same body, but because you treat me like a brother. You made me happy, even when I didn’t want to be. So, in return, I’m going to help you. The first step is the hardest, and that step is, walking. through. that. door.’

‘But, what-’ Flare started.

‘I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT! YOU’RE ALREADY WASTING TIME! MOVE THROUGH THE DAMN LOVE DOOR!’ Solar shouted.

Flare sighed, knowing that any word that would go against Solar’s ideas would mean he would yell, giving Flare a nasty headache. He composed himself and opened the door.

Stepping out onto the tower, a cold wind slapped him across the face. He looked around the tower to see if Prim was waiting up here for him... there wasn’t any sign of her. Flare’s head drooped down, he’d missed this chance, not knowing if he’d get another one. He walked over to the ledge and waited for the fireworks to begin. He felt something cold glance over his back. He thought it was the wind, but, it was something else.

...

Prim had waited for Flare for ten minutes, each minute passing by making her doubt if Flare was going to show up. She waited though, her determination now sparked, she knew he was going to be here. While she waited, she had an idea. The top of the tower was dark enough for her to hide in, allowing her to surprise Flare, and, to stay out of the cold wind.

Seconds later, she heard the door open, with Flare stepping in. She was about to fly down to greet him, but his solemn look stopped her. She saw his head drop, his red eye disappearing.

She thought that Flare was late because he was having a good time at the party or maybe even forgot, but, whatever it was, he looked upset that she wasn’t there sitting and waiting for him.

His walk to the ledge was slow, looking as if he was in pain. He sat down, his head turned towards the sky, silently waiting for the first explosion of color.

Prim, waited for a second, trying to remember what she was going to say to him, and how she was going to tell him that she was hiding from the wind. She felt the wind start to bend upward, hitting her and making her shiver. With one swift motion, she flew down behind Flare. Gently, she put a hoof on his back, causing the stallion to jump up slightly.

Flare looked back at her, his red eye still gone, two red dots were in the red eye’s place, one for each socket. His frown turned into a small smile.

“Hi,” Prim said shyly, a small smile on her own muzzle.

“H-hey, I thought you left,” Flare replied.

Prim shrugged, moving to sit next to him. Flare shuffled over to allow her room, for which, she took happily. The two sat in silence, however, neither knowing how to start a conversation. So, leaping into the dark, Flare asked the question that was clinging to the back of his mind.

“So, why did you invite me up here?”

Prim squeaked, the blush from earlier this day returning in full force. Her stammering made it obvious that she wanted to tell him something, something that had been on her mind for awhile now,” W-well, y-you see, I-I wanted t-to tell you something im-important.”

Flare didn’t respond, he waited for Prim to continue. Prim, however, had difficulty stringing together a sentence that would be understandable. Her mind whirled with different ways to tell him. Never in her life had her mind been so full of different things on the same topic. It made her rather dizzy.

Finally, she went with the ‘tell ’im straight’ route. With one breath of air, she whispered,” Flare I love you...”

“S-sorry, can you say that again?” Flare asked.

Prim’s blush made her redder than a strawberry, her mind cleared, and her heart started to beat faster than normal. One more time she breathed in, closed her eyes, and turned to face Flare. This time, instead of whispering, she half said, half yelled,” Flare, I LOVE YOU!”

Now, this would’ve been fine, if it wasn’t for the fact she yelled right in his face, which made Flare stumble back. Prim opened her eyes to see a more confused expression on Flare’s face. Her mind working slowly as to why that is. When it finally registered, she held her hooves up to her mouth, feeling as if she had ruined the moment, and, the friendship that the two had.

She started to tear up as she started to stand. With a shaky voice, she said,” I-I’m sorry, i’ll, let myself out. S-see you in the morning.”

She walked away, her mind now cold, nothing going through it, it was as if she had shut it down. The door leading to the stairwell was only a few feet away, but, something stopped her from reaching it.

She looked around as a blue tint filled her vision, a light humming coming from behind her. A voice sounded out the humming,”Prim, don’t leave. I want to tell you something too.”

Prim heard Flare’s voice, it was gentle and calm. Two things that Prim didn’t know made her feel better or not. The magic aura faded softly, allowing Prim to walk freely to either, Flare or the door. She didn’t think, she let her heart take the wheel for once. She turned to him and walked back. She sat in front of him, a single tear rolling down her face as she looked into Flare’s eyes.

“What, do you want to tell me?” Prim said, her voice now on the verge of cracking again.

Flare moved his hoof to her cheek, smiling warmly.

“I wanted to tell you something important. But, I can see that it needs to be demonstrated for it to work,” Flare stated softly, his hoof never leaving Prim’s cheek.

Prim looked at him, confused by what he had said. She looked down, saying softly,” W-well, go ahead and do it.”

Flare moved her head up so she was looking directly at him.

‘What is he doing?’ Prim thought. She opened her mouth to voice the question, but Flare cut her off with something she wouldn’t see coming.

Swiftly, Flare planted his lips on hers. Prim squeaked loudly at this, her mind becoming as clear as the night sky. The fact that this was happening made Prim feel many different emotions at once, however, she chooses to listen to only one. She closed her eyes and wrapped her wing around his back pulling him closer to her.

It seemed like hours had passed, the two felt the world itself slow to a crawl, time almost ceasing. Flare broke the kiss and opened his eyes to see Prim’s reaction. Prim was at a loss for words, she didn’t know what to do, so she kept her wings wrapped around him.

Silence fell upon the two as they both sat there and looked into each other’s eyes.
...

‘Say something moron!’ Solar Eclipse demanded,’ This silence is killing me!’

Flare chuckled softly, Solar had gotten him this far, so he might as well listen to his advice.

“Prim, I love you too,” Flare said softly, embracing her.

Prim smiled as she accepted the embrace with open hooves. She felt happy, relieved, and many other emotions that caused her to be even more confused at what she was truly feeling.

Her smile faded a bit as she heard Flare start laughing softly. Her hooves tighten around him as she felt her heart start to race. Why was he laughing? Was he joking, or was it something else?

“F-Flare, why are you laughing?” Prim asked softly, her grip becoming tighter.

“I’m sorry, It’s just-,” He chuckled,” it’s just how cheesy all of this is. Like a bad romance story.”

Prim had to admit, he had a point. Thinking about more, she began to laugh as well, the thought of being in a story, that was silly.

*Bang!*

The sound of a firework made the two look at the sky. A bright purple flash danced its way through the night sky. Another loud explosion. red filled the air. Multiple colors danced across the sky, making images of different objects. The two turned to face the night sky, their bodies huddling close together.

Prim kept her wing wrapped around him, Flare kept his hoof wrapped around her, the fireworks kept exploding. To Prim, her night was almost done. She felt the warmth of Flare against the cold air, each exploding color lighting up Flare’s face that, when the fireworks died down, his red eyes were the only thing illuminating his face.

Prim had nodded off slightly, her head resting on Flare’s shoulder. As the fireworks slowly faded away, she yawned snuggling close to Flare, who had begun to nod off as well.

Catching the yawn, he looked down at Prim, speaking through his yawn he concluded,” Well, it’s time for bed huh?”

Prim only nodded, and with that, the two got up and headed to one of their rooms. Neither of them knew that a green figure was watching them closely and silently.

“✋︎🕯︎❍︎ ♑︎□︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ⧫︎□︎ ■︎♏︎♏︎♎︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⧫︎♋︎●︎& ⧫︎□︎ ⧫︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ❍︎♋︎❒︎♏︎📬︎📬︎📬︎ 🕈︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ♒︎♏︎❒︎ ■︎♋︎❍︎♏︎ ♋︎♑︎♋︎♓︎■︎✍︎ ✌♒︎ ⍓︎♏︎⬧︎📪︎ 🏱❒︎♓︎❍︎ ♌︎♓︎⧫︎♏︎📬︎📬︎📬” The figure mused, following them to where ever they went that night.

Author's Notes:

Go ahead and leave a comment! I’ d like to know what you people think of the story! And don’t be shy to leave some criticism. I would love to make the story better for you, the readers!

Have a good day!

REMEMBER!
Solar Eclipse is not a different personality, he is his own character, with his own thoughts and actions.
Flare doesn’t have a split-personality disorder.

glad we can clear that up.

OH, MY GOD! This chapter melted my brain a little bit.

Chapter 15: In the Void

Flare and Prim had decided to go to the Flare’s room. It was closer and Prim was already starting to nod off again. To keep her balance, she put her right wing over Flare’s back to keep steady, and Flare held her up by her side with his own. Even though Prim and Flare were tired, they struck up a friendly conversation, asking questions that they would remember in the morning.

“So... what do we call ourselves now?” Prim asked stopping shortly to gain her balance,” Marefriend and coltfriend or a couple?”

Flare thought for a moment, finally, he came to answer that might help,” Well, I’ve seen it both ways actually. We can be marefriend and coltfriend, well, until we go on a few dates. Really, I don’t know... I’m not the best with love titles.”

Prim nodded softly, her head leaning on Flare’s neck, her eyes closing.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep yet, we’re close to my room. I don’t want to carry you to my room. If anypony saw that, I think that’d raise a few alarms...,” Flare said softly, nuzzling the top of Prim’s head. Prim fought to stay awake, but, her eyes threatened to close on her and never open again.

“Why am I so tired all of a sudden?” Prim asked Flare, hoping that his voice and answer with stop the confusion that had built up.

Flare shrugged, giving an answer that made Prim’s half-asleep mind go from confused, to another level of confusion,” Honestly, I believe that the emotions that were shown in the eastern tower caused you to drain the remaining energy that you had after the gala. But, really, I don’t know. I may be an ex-royal scientist, but I wasn’t looking at emotional problems that much.”

“And just like that, you lost me,” Prim replied, as the two turned a corner.

Flare chuckled,” I know. It seems whenever I get tired, my brain decides to come up with complex things.”

Prim sighed, her head rising up slowly as to see where the two are now. Prim spotted Flare’s door, a tired smile appeared on her face as Flare guided her to it.

...

The door swung open as the two walked in. The blaster was still there sleeping away on top of the dark, blue bed.

Prim giggled as the blaster awoke and looked at Flare. She guessed it was happy to see him again, for it rushed over and struck him in the chest. It’s horn missing Flare’s neck by a centimeter. He laughed as he petted the skull, in turn, the skull purred loudly. Prim watched as the skull turned towards her. She swore she saw the skull look at her in a more affectionate way than the last time she saw it. So, reluctantly, she moved her hoof over to the top part of the blaster and rubbed it softly. She too was rewarded with a loud purring noise.

“Huh, I always wondered if Paradox blasters shared emotions with their summoner,” Flare said, amused,” I guess that theory is correct. Let us see if I can get you to juggle.” He poked the skull softly, earning a small yip from it.

Prim giggled at the response, losing her footing and almost falling to the ground. Flare’s magic aura caught her and lifted her up, the skull providing something else for the tired mare to hold onto.

“What do you mean, shares emotions with its summoner?” Prim asked as both the stallion and skull help her onto his bed.

Prim slid under the covers as Flare got onto the bed, all the while saying his theory,”Well, me and... a... friend wondered if the summoners weapons or creatures feel the what their summoners are feeling at a given moment.”

He moved the covers up and laid down on his back next to her, continuing,”He and I thought that a creature with a conscience wouldn’t and a creature who did what its summoner told it to do, without any predetermined judgment, would feel the emotions, thus, sharing them. But, I guess him and I were wrong since little Peridot likes you a lot more than last time.”

Prim moved next to Flare, wrapping both a hoof and wing around the blue stallion. Her head rested on Flare’s chest, as a long sigh escaping from her. Even though Flare wasn’t somepony to mess with, he was a softy, both mentally and physically. Prim thought this was perfect since she had always preferred a soft stallion over a fluffy one.

She felt a hoof hook underneath her and pull her closer to his body. The change from cold wind to a nice warm bed and soft company made her quickly unwind, her wings becoming limper and her hoof started feeling slightly numb. However, her mind came to a random thought, and her mouth moved before she could stop it.

“Flare, I think we can call each other a couple. W-what do you think?”

Flare tapped his chin with his hoof thoughtfully, racking his brain for an answer. He stopped, and turned to face Prim, giving her a soft nuzzle,”I like that, sounds more interesting and less childish than marefriend and coltfriend.”

She responded with a light purr, her grip tightening. She felt the blaster lay behind her, now snoring softly. Right now, she felt the most comfortable than she had ever been. Flare’s softness and warmth, the comfortable covers, the little skull laying behind her, snoring away soundly, it felt more like a dream than anything she could think of.

‘If this is a dream... I don’t want to wake up. Ever,’ Prim thought to herself, purring softly as her mind started to slip into the realm of sleep. Her breath syncing with Flare’s, her heart beating in rhythm with his as well.
...

“💣⍓ ♍♒♋■♍♏ ■□⬥ ⬧♒♓■♏⬧ ♌❒♓♑♒⧫” The green firgured said calmly.

With a quick pull, he grabbed the mares conscience and pulled it with him as his body forcefully retreats into his prison.

...

Cold... it was... cold. Prim opened her eyes. She felt as if she was in a cold forest. Her eyes opened slowly, feeling as if the world was sitting on them. Her body felt like nothing was underneath it. As she opened her eyes fully, she saw where she was. A cold, devoided land of blackness and darkness. She jumped up from the sleeping position she had taken, moments before waking up here. Her mind whirled with fear as she surveyed her surroundings.

Nothing, nothing but a cold abyss of fear. She felt confined, trapped in a small box. Her breathing increased at that thought, knowing that she was here, in the middle of a dark, unholy looking place, it didn’t help her feel better, being int eh unknown like this. She froze, she felt as if something unfriendly was watching her. The sound of slow, heavy breathing caused her to search around the dark void more quickly, hoping to find the creature making it. But... she was alone. Her body began to lock up, her muscles contracting, a dull pain ran through her, for her muscles have never been pulled this taut before. Her voice failed her, just like her muscles.

She could feel the creature getting closer, yet closer, yet ever so closer, to her. Until she felt it was right on top of her. She wanted to scream for help, but it was as if the creature made her hold her breath. The creature was colder than the whole abyss, it felt like a snake, coiling around her and slowing squeezing the life out of her. Her heartbeat increased, her breath became rapid, her muscles constricted even tighter, threating to snap right then and there. Her fears of the unknown, her fears of being inside a small, enclosed space, were these the things making her feel this way? Was she afraid of the creature, or the darkness, the emptiness that surrounded her?

At that point, she didn’t know. Her growing fear lead to the adrenaline flowing through her veins, allowing her voice to open, ready for it to be heard in this unholy silence. With a quick breath, she cried to the heavens, her voice shaking rapidly,” WHERE AM I?! WHERE IS THIS PLACE?! WHY AM I HERE?!”

Her voice reached nothing, or so she thought. The breathing became labored, slow and pained. It sounded like the creature was trying to hide its breath. But Prim knew it was there.

Another sound caught her attention... it sounded... it sounded like a heartbeat, slow and rhythmic. She stopped, her panic faded as a memory flashed before her. The memory was of the first time she had met Flare, the first time she set her eyes on the pony she now loved more than almost anything else in the world. This memory once gave her fear, now, it gave her comfort. Once, she thought of her lover as a random stallion brought to their world for no reason, now... now she thought fate had other plans for him, like some higher being was stringing together their story.

These to things made her feel hope, happiness, and satisfaction. She felt the creature of darkness back away from her, as if it feared the emotions coming off of her. She heard a hissing noise behind her. Quickly, she turned to look at the creature she knew was behind her.

Her heart skipped a beat, as the weight of the situation finally seats in. She realized that, not only that she was alone with a creature made of shadows, but, Flare wasn’t here to comfort her, to keep her happy, and, to make her feel better. This realization made her ears droop to the side of her head. A small tear started to form in her eye, she stumbled backward slightly, hearing the creature give off a hardy chuckle.

She stood firm, however, her body adopting a defensive position. She saw a purple, slit-like eye widen as if it felt fear. She could finally feel sympathy for the monster, she feared it as well. She heard a low sigh coming from the eyes location.

The creature shifted slightly, and finally, said something.

“It seems that you’re not so easily scared, or not as I’d thought you would be. It seems my son has chosen well, finding a mate like you,” Its voice was gruff, deep, and dangerous.

She blushed at the word ‘mate’, the male, she assumed, was talking as if that was her only purpose being with Flare... was to have kids, and spread their genetics to future offspring.

“I’m am not just a simple mate! I’m his lover, we love each other! I’m not a simple foal carrier!” She snapped at him. Her words had the desired effect, the male creature shuffled back.

Another question surged through her mind, so, she voiced it with a small growl,” Also ‘son’? Flare never told me about his father! He only told me about his brother and his changeling adoptive mother! Who are you?!”

“Of course, he would always leave his scattered father out of conversations... I can see why. Who’ve ever heard of a stallion shattered through time and space?” The figure questioned instantly, before continuing with what he was saying,” My name is Fire Hearth Malachite or Dr. Malachite. I’m Flare’s adoptive parent, well, before the changeling took him and his brother in...”

Prim glared daggers at the purple eye. Her body getting down low.

‘I don’t trust this thing’ she thought loudly, growling as the figure shifted once more.

The purple eye scanned left, then right, as if searching for something. Finally, she heard the creature sigh once more. With a lower, more threating voice, it said,” I’m going to show you what I look like. And you and I are going to talk about my son, and what he thinks of you, understand, Princess Prim Star Bite.”

Prim’s mouth tightened, her mind screamed for her to run, but, she remembered something Midnight had taught her. To stay low and get ready to pounce first.

‘Malachite’ moved forward, and to Prim’s shock, he wore a black suit and tie and looked ready to conduct business. He also didn’t look like anypony she had seen before. He looked half dragon half pony, his fur was emerald green, and his hair was a dark, lime green. Not only that, but his hair was also very messy, like Flare’s. He must have expected her to attack him, or try to pounce, so he exited out of the shadows slowly. Every inch revealed more about him, for one, two large cracks were formed in his face. One going up the right side, the other leaving the left eye and heading downwards, ending once it reached the base of his head. His body looked to be melting, even with the black suit on, which also looked to be melting. His right eye had a faded purple slash, like the of a cats pupil. His left eyes glowed a brighter purple, glowing more vibrantly than his right one.

“Here, this is what I look like. Now get out of that pose, you look ridiculous,” Malachite replied.

Prim reluctantly followed Malachite’s orders, slowing rising to a more slacked posture. Her eyes, however, never left Malachite’s form, for she feared that he would attack her.

“Hm, you don’t trust me... good,” Malachite observed, getting a weird look from Prim. He rolled his eyes, replying,” It’s a good thing you don’t trust strangers. What does Flare see in you? I thought he would fall in love with a scientist or historian, not a princess who doesn’t see the obvious.”

“HEY!” Prim began to protest,” I AM NOT OBLIVIOUS!”

“Hmph! You sure act like it,” he growled back, his eyes narrowing.

Prim didn’t hold back, she felt a strong rage for this stallion. With a good breath, she shouted,” Who do you think you are?! What did I do wrong?! I just want to be with Flare! I don’t want to see him alone, I don’t want to see him suffer! But you, you emerald green-”

“Malachite green,”

“Whatever type of green you are! Thinks that you can boss me around?! I just want to live a normal life, a normal life with the stallion I love! Isn’t that so hard to ask?! Why is being royalty so difficult?! ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME?!”

Malachite staggered backward, feeling the emotional magic coming off of the mare as she shouted the last part. He wanted to scream at her as well, but now, he felt that this mare was actually worth his son’s time. And her saying the part about a normal life made him puzzled. Albeit that she just yelled at him, he knew yelling back would do nothing, other than pouring gas on the open, crackling fire so he went with a different approach.

He grunted, his head level with hers as he spoke softly,” You just want a normal life, with the stallion you love? Did I hear you correctly?”

He expected her to yell again, however, her voice now threatened to break as she sat on her rump. With a small whimper, she said softly,” I just want to be happy, I just-just want Flare to be happy. I want to-to repay all that he has-has done for me. He knew that vampony mares become stronger during the heat, but he took a chance with me, he read me a book and made me feel a little better. He didn’t complain when I randomly bit him, then held him like a soft teddy bear... Now, now with you here, I don’t think I deserve him. I’ve done nothing but help him that one time... and that was months ago...”

For the first time, Malachite saw royalty weep. Though it was soft and faint, he could hear it. Did she really want Flare to be happy? Even if what she said was true, she only helped him once, then put him at risk or in fear twice or even three times. All Flare did was help her, in return, he got treated like a pillow/ cooler, and a snack. He opened his mouth to say something snappy, however, remembered something that Trail had told him.

Flashback

It was a cold morning, and Malachite had had enough with the fool scientist. He kept on making mistakes, tripping over equipment, never cleaned up his area, and most of all, never helped with anything, all the monster did was stay in his office, playing some stupid game.

Taking matters into his own claws, Malachite stormed into the office, forgetting the 5-year-old Lightning Trail on his back. The mockery of a scientist jumped as the door slammed open. He was so shaken that he had fallen out of his chair.

A loud game over screen theme echoed throughout the office. Malachite stood firm near the desk of the idiot, who had gotten up from the floor he fell on, a glare in his eye as he spoke to his superior,” The hell man?! I just got the jetpack! The hells your problem?!”

Malachite didn’t hesitate, with a low growl, he roared,” MY PROBLEM IS YOU! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A FAILURE! YOU DO NOTHING BUT SIT ON YOU FATASS AND PLAY THAT GOD DAMN VIDEO GAME! ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU HELP WITH THE DT PROJECT! BUT NO! YOU YELL AT MY FACE SAYING THAT I SHOULD DO IT BY MYSELF, SAYING THAT THE PROJECT IS USELESS! LET ME TELL YOU A FACT MAGGOT, DID YOU KNOW THE KING ASKED FOR IT TO BE MADE? OR DID YOU ASSUME THAT I WANTED IT DONE FOR
LAUGHS-AND-GIGGLES?!”

The stallion went to open his mouth but Malachite slammed his clawed hoof on the table, which formed spider-like cracks in the smooth metallic surface. Malachite glared daggers at the stallion, then continued,” YOU KNOW WHAT?! IM SICK OF YOUR USELESSNESS! YOU. ARE. FIRED!

The stallion stared, wide-eyed and jawed at his superior, with surprise he stammered saying,” W-wait you can’t d-do that! P-please, s-s-sir I’ll do any-anything to keep this job! I’ll work extra hours, I’ll work as hard as I can both on the project and anything else! Please!”

The stallion had both of his hooves together in a pleading gesture. Malachite was about to literally kick the stallion out of the office until he felt a light tug on his ear. Turning back, he saw Trail, teary-eyed and on the verge of crying.

Malachite cursed under his breath. He was about to apologize, but a small blue wing stopped him.

“Pwease papa, he wants a second cwance. He couwd cwange, you doesn’t know what he had gones twrough.”

“Trail, this isn’t for you to-” Malachite started, but stopped upon seeing that Trail started to shed a few tears. Once more the green stallion cursed silently.

With a sharp glare, he stared down at the ex-scientist, who was still in the pleading position. Malachite growled, his eyes narrowing at the stallion. He spoke through clenched teeth,” Fine, I’ll let you stay. BUT! You need to give me a good reason why you’re acting so bitter and useless!”

The last word barely left his mouth as the stallion cried,” I'm so, so sorry that I’m acting this way. My-my wife passed away in an accident, my child is sick with a life-threating illness. This job is the only way I can pay the bills! If I don’t get enough money next week... they’ll, they’ll,” He teared up, but continued,” They say they’ll pull the plug and dust him quickly...”

Malachite’s eyes widened, and his heart ached. Had this stallion really had this happen to him? The part about the illness reminded him of Flare’s worsening cold, not that life-threating, but still dangerous enough for him to be on edge.

With a short cough, he concluded what needs to be done,” Listen, Chemical Reaction, I’ve come up with a decision... I take back my order to fire you...”

The stallion beamed at him, Malachite continued, ignoring the small ‘thank yous’ coming from Reaction,” But, on one condition. You will behave and do everything I say, understand?”

The stallion nodded, and Malachite gave him a small one in return.

“Yes, sir!” he said happily.

“Good, now go to the reactor room, Lily needs some help with the hydraulics,”

“Yes sir, I’ll be on my way, sir!”

End of flashback

This memory reminded him that not everyone as they seem. He looked down at the softly weeping mare, wondering if she truly did love his son.

‘NO!’ cried an angry voice within Malachites head,’ She’s a pony! Her kind is the indirect reason Flare got hurt, and the main reason why we were all stuck in the underground!’

‘Trust her, she hasn’t done anything remotely wrong!’ another voice argued,’ She wants to be with him, she wants to make him happy, she wants to have a happy life with Flare!’

He needed to make a split-second decision, just like he did last time, for fear that the mare will wake up, leaving this time for his original purpose, useless.

He walked over to the weeping mare and reluctantly put a his hoof on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly and look up at him. He didn’t smile, it would be rather creepy for him to do so, with his sharp teeth and all, so he cut right to the chase. With a calming voice he said to her,” Listen, I’m sorry I insulted you. If my son was here, either of them, they would tan my hide. But, that's not the main reason I pulled you in here. That reason is so I can ask you some questions, to get to know you better before I give you any blessings to be with Flare,” Feeling like that came off a little cold-hearted, he quickly added,” I hope you can understand. I’m sure he told you the history of the monsters and ponies.”

She nodded, wiping a tear from her eye as she slowly got up. She shuddred slightly, feeling as if a cold breeze had passed under her. And with her big, red, puffy eyes, she looked Malachite in the eyes, whimpering softly,” Go ahead and ask the questions... please?”

Malachite snapped his fingers and with a loud ‘poof’ a table and two chairs appeared in front of both of them. Malachite took a seat and waved Prim over to the other one, a clipboard now resting in his out-stretched talons. Prim accepted the seat, sitting in it and scooting it closer to the table.

Malachite sighed, looking at what Prim assumed was the first question. Only a moment later was the assumption confirmed.

“Alright, the first question,” Do you have any past regrets that Flare doesn’t know about, but should?”

“No, I’ve been completely honest with him.”

Malachite scribbled the response done with a pen that randomly appeared in his right claw,“Alright, the second question is, have you ever had any form of sexual pleasure with another?”

Prim blushed and blurted,” NO! IM NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING CLOSE TO THAT!”

Malachite nodded, ignoring the outburst. Under his breath, he muttered,” Say that to your X-rated manga comic , princess,”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Third question, what do you plan to do with my son?”

Prim opened her mouth, but then closed it. What did she plan to do with Flare? Marry him? Start a family?

‘No,’ she thought, getting the weird pictures out of her mind of the idea,’ I don’t even know if this will work out... Night’s been looking at him funny as well, kinda, flirtatiously.’

“I plan on seeing where this goes. If he wants to stay with me, then... then I guess marriage? But, it’s too early to talk about that type of stuff...”

“Planning ahead is always a good idea, never let anyone tell you otherwise,” Malachite responded,” Speaking of planning ahead, the fourth question is, would you start a family with him? I need to know, because I’ve seen many outcomes to this question... Living in the void has its perks, but, also its downfalls”

Prim squeaked, her blush growing at the thought she had just gotten out of her head. Did she want to start a family? What would it feel like? How can two different species interact like that?

‘What would he fe-NO!’ Prim mentally shouted, her blush deepening,’ Don’t think of Flare like that! You just became lovers!’. With a calm and as steady as she could make her voice, she replied,” W-well if he wants to, then... then yes... I would love to start a family. It would be something that he and I can hold dear to our hearts.”

Malachite nodded awkwardly, not expecting to get an emotional response from the mare during this particular question. He looked down at his clipboard and saw only four questions left.

“Question number five, what are your future plans? Remember, planning ahead is always the right decision.”

“Well, I don’t have many plans, since I just had to rework them since I didn’t expect Flare’s response. So I guess I don’t have any at this point.”

Malachite hummed thoughtfully, writing down her response.

“Question number six, Do you know the relationships between monster and ponies? Not history type, but, love and romantic type?”

Prim shook her head softly,” No...? Flare hasn’t told me much about what happens when a pony and a monster fall in love. I guess it has something to do with their emotions controlling the magicical flow of their bodies?”

“Correct, If a pony were to fall in love with a monster, the monster's soul would attach itself to the partner. Nothing would happen if either of them got hurt, mainly its only purpose is beneficial for both resipiants. The monster heals faster and the pony, if it was a unicorn, would gain extra magical abilities.” Malachite responded, writing down her response to two questions instead of the one, since she had, inavertantly, answered question seven.

“Last question, this one is important, Do you know about Flare’s family and family history?”

‘I guess not if he didn’t mention me,’ Malachite thought angrily

“Well, he hasn’t told me much, but he said he was cousins with a powerful figure in the underground, has a brother named Lightning Trail, and his adoptive mother is a changeling queen named Crumpet,” Prim replied, giving a soft shrug after it.

“Alright,” Malachite said,” We are done here. I would allow you to ask me questions, but, I believe your own conscience is trying to wake up. So really, we don’t have much time... But, I bid thy farewell!”

Prim opened her mouth to speak but then became dizzy. Her mind whirled in every dircetion and she wanted to vomit. She crumpled to the ground, an audilbe ‘thud’ echoing out. She closed her eyes, covered her ears, and wrapped her wings around her face. The dizzieness had gotten to her as she felt her mind slip into an unconscience state.

...

Prim eyes opened softly. She felt the covers of the bed lay around her waist and a soft form next to her. Her mind felt normal, albeit a little tired from the dream she just had... was it a dream? She shuffled slightly, she felt the soft forms heartbeat start to change from a slow tempo to a rather quicker one. She felt a hoof, hooked around her back, pull her closer to the figure. Finally, it clicked in her head,’That’s right! I’m sleeping with Flare!’

She shifted slightly, trying to get back into a comfortable position. Every time she inched upwards, the memory of the dream began to fade, as if something was trying to make her forget it. She didn’t care though, the dream was weird, and she never wanted to go back to that place again. Finally, her head rested on Flare’s neck, right under his chin. A soft groan escaping her lips as her body settled in with the new position.

Curiosity had gotten the better of her, with a slow turn, she looked over at Flare’s digital clock. On it, it read ‘3:28 pm’. She had slept for a couple of hours, and even then, she felt tired. Whether it was the soft stallion, the warm and cozy bed, or the simple fact that it was three in the morning, she felt tired all the same.

Calmly, she turned back over and laid her head back in its original position, a low snort coming from her. She couldn’t get that dream out of her mind.

‘It felt so real, but, it was just a dream... right?’ Prim thought to herself, a cold chill running down her spine at it,’ No worries! I can just ask Flare when he wakes up.’ She calmed down at the thought, as if knowing Flare would have some form of an answer. Besides, she wanted to ask him a lot of questions when he does.

She sighed, her hoof making a circular motion on Flare’s chest as she slowly drifted off to sleep...

...

“✋⧫🕯⬧ ♑□□♎ ⍓□◆ ⧫♒♓■& ♓⧫ ♓⬧ ♋ ♎❒♏♋❍📬📬📬 ♐□❒ ⧫♒♏ ♌□⧫♒ □♐ ◆⬧📪 ⧫♒♋⧫ ♓⬧📬📬📬 💧●♏♏p ⧫♓♑♒⧫ ⍓□◆■♑ □■♏📬📬📬,” Malachite said softly, watching the screen that lead to their world slowly fade into nothing.

...

-WARNING!-
-UNKNOWN MESSAGE FOUND-

“I don’t care! We are going to find him! And you can’t stop me, Trail! YOU CAN’T STOP ME!”

-UNKOWN MESSAGE-ENDS-

Author's Notes:

Lookie ‘ere! Prim meet the adoptive-father of Flare and Trail! What luck! Or... did she? Good thing he was in a good mood this time around.

Leave a comment, I would like to know what your favorite part( or most liked part) of the story is!

Here, have a picture!

Chapter 16: Flare and Prim Part: 1

Prim had fallen back asleep easily, for she no longer worried about the dream that she had just a few moments ago. However, her sleep was interrupted by a hoof booping her on the snout. Her eyes closed tighter, then loosened, then tightened once more. But, the booping continued. Each time the hoof pressed softly against her snout, she grew awake more and more. Finally, she let off a small groan, saying slightly annoyed,” 5 more minutes, please...”

She expected to hear Night’s or her mother's voice, but a male voice sang softly in her ear,” If you don’t wake up, how am I going to see your beautiful eyes? Hmm, ~?”

Prim muttered something under her breath, she barely heard the voice. She groaned once more, holding onto the soft form that she had snuggled against. Her mind slowly, but surely, started to turn on, allowing her to hear the male’s voice response. She heard it say calmly and softly,” Well... if you don’t want to wake up just yet, I can stay here and keep you company.”

Her mind began to process the voice, allowing her to remember some of the things that happened last night. Finally, when she completely remembered what had happened, she opened her eyes to see Flare. And, she did, albeit in a different position then she last remembered him. He was on his side, his right hoof wrapped around her with his left hoof hooked underneath her. He was laying down, his face to hers with his eyes closed.

Prim didn’t respond, she wanted to enjoy this moment a little while longer. So, she moved closer to him, having her already wrapped wing wrap tighter around him, pulling him closer to her as well. She couldn’t help but feel slightly tingly, she had not only admitted her feelings to Flare but, had also seen and felt that Flare shared the same feelings as well.

For a moment, the two laid there in silence, their hearts beating as one, only once did Prim open her eyes in this silence, and only once did she see that, with her presence, Flare was sleeping soundly. She remembered back to when she first started to grow affection towards the blue stallion, it was during her heat. When she started to fall asleep, she could hear that Flare had irregular breathing patterns when he started to fall asleep. But now, he slept peacefully, he didn’t breath in, wait a couple of seconds, then breath out, each time doing it getting longer or shorter at random, now, he breathed in a constant rhythm.

Among other things that she noticed about the sleeping stallion was that his ear always seemed to twitch softly. Now, this would be fine if her species weren’t hunters who, if they see any twitch of movement, would bite down on their prey, but, that's exactly what her species was. So she had to resist the urge to softly bite and nibble on his remaining ear. And it was a hard urge to resist. So, to distract herself from fantasizing about nibbling on an ear, she looked at his horn, which was smooth and curved upwards. She had always wondered why that was, even asking Flare about it, and, as expected, he told her in a scientific way. Really, she only heard the words sensitive, powerful, and dangerous, because she was looking at a delectable looking owl, which she tried to catch but failed.

The silence ended when there was a knock on Flare’s bedroom door. Prim quickly closed her eyes as Flare began to open his. She felt him nuzzle her and then felt the bed spring up softly, followed by the sound of his hooves hitting the carpet and walking towards the door.

“Huh, a letter from Blood Moon... Prim would want to see this,” Flare said. Prim heard him walk back to the bed. She felt the bed move downward slightly, followed by a soft hoof on her shoulder. She heard Flare whispered in her ear softly,” Prim, wake up~, I got a message for you~,”

Prim resisted the urge to open her eyes, she wanted to see how far Flare would go to wake her up. And the answer she got was all worth it to her. She heard Flare grumble,” Well, since that didn’t wake you up, maybe this will~.”

Prim thought of what Flare might do, and hoped that what he said wasn’t tickling. She was ready to open her eyes when she didn’t hear a response. Out of nowhere, she felt a pair lips connect with hers in a soft kiss. She didn’t need to force her eyes closed anymore, now, they just did it naturally. The kiss didn’t last for very long, however, but, it got Prim to open her eyes slowly.

She tried her best to keep the illusion that she had slept through it, so when she opened her eyes, she glanced at Flare with the best-confused face she could muster. With a confused and innocent voice, she asked,” F-Flare, what's going on? Did you ki-kiss me?”

“I did,” he responded with,” I needed to wake up Sleeping Beuty, didn’t I?”

Prim blushed slightly at the response. Her embarrassment made her stammer a little,”W-well, t-thank y-you F-Flare, I-I.. umm!”

Flare chuckled, pulling his body up onto the bed. Settling right next to her, he laid on his stomach and handed the letter to her, whispering softly,” Bit nervous this morning, huh princess~? Here, you got a message from your father.” He then levitates the letter over to her.

Prim looked down at the letter, her blush fading slightly as she opened it up, inside was a letter addressed to all staff. To put it simply, it said that all ponies within the castle are allowed to sleep in. Prim smiled at this, knowing now that she had free time that she could dedicate to whatever she wanted. But, she already knew how to use this time given to her.

She turned to Flare, her eyes practically glowing with amusement, so much so Flare asked, ”Whats goin’ on in the brain of yours?”

Prim flipped onto her belly and gave him an innocent look, responding with,” I don’t know what you’re talking about! I just realized that we both have time to ourselves! I am just thinking of the ways to spend it.”

Flare then heard Prim growl with amusement, a predatory gaze and smile now dominating her features, though Flare almost laughed as the blush was still prominent on her face. With a sudden jolt, Flare was now on his side, Prim laying down on said side, and nibbling his ear.

‘I got you now! Now you’ll stop twitching!’ Prim thought, lightly tugging on Flare’s ear, being careful as to not bite down too hard on it. In her moment of pure instinct, she had forgotten that Flare now laid underneath her, unbelievably confused at what is happening right now. But, being in a rather good mood, he decided to make a joke out of it.

With mock fear, he proclaimed,” Earington! What have you done this time? Why is the adorable mare attacking you?!” His words had the desired effect, he heard Prim squeak loudly, allowing his ear to do a tactical retreat to the side of his head. He could feel the heat emanating from her face right now, knowing that she was blushing from the compliment.

“You... you think I’m... adorable?” Prim asked softly, laying her head down on the side of Flares.

“Not the response I was expecting,” Flare stated,” But yes, I think you are rather adorable~.”

“Also... you seem a little nervous today. Something changed?” Flare said softly, lifting and turning his head to look her in the eyes.

“Well, you accepting me as the pony you love has made me slightly more nervous. Do you not like it?” Prim asked, nipping Flare’s nose.

“Nah, I like it. I love the shy, small, adorable mare that's laying on my side right now,” Flare replied, nuzzling her neck back softly,” Also, what with attacking my ear?”

Prim blushed once more, igniting the fading one she had just gotten rid of, her own ears falling to the side of her head. She wrapped her hooves around him, saying softly,” I-I’m sorry, it was just instinct... Your ear kept twitching, and...well I couldn’t resist it anymore...!”

She stopped when she felt Flare’s hoof press against her lips. Flare chuckled, moving his hoof out of the way as he spoke,” Prim, I want you to know that, even though it was random, I don’t mind. I know at least a little amount about the risks of falling in love with you. I’m willing to risk it. Besides, next thing you’re going to tell me is that your kind loves physical contact.”

“Well, the thing is...” Prim said, looking over to the side slightly with a small, awkward grin.

“I hit the nail on the head harder than I needed, huh?” Flare replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Kinda... I don’t know much, but from what the history books, Midnight, and Blossom say...,” Prim cleared her throat,” My kind is descended from bat ponies, who, love physical contact... a lot... Where they got this trait is something up for debate...”

“Oh, well,” Flare started, stopping shortly to let the information sink in. When it did, he said calmly,” Well, its good that I don’t mind snuggling, huh?”

Prim smiled, lowering her head down onto Flare’s neck, her body going limp. With a small smile, she cooed,” It’s perfect.”

The two laid in silence, allowing it to breathe soundly. The two, even though they just became lovers, knew each other more than any other couple, they almost knew the in’s and out’s of each other. Yet, they knew enough that they both love silent company, which they both have allowed to join them before in each other's presences, before now. The sound only being broken by the soft pelting of new, fresh rain hitting Flare’s window. Prim wasn’t anticipating a rainstorm, so she hugged Flare closer as more of a comfort object. Both had their own opinions about rainstorms, Flare thought of them as peaceful, he rather enjoyed the soft rumbling of thunder and the cracks of lightning. Prim, on the other hoof, was scared of loud noises, which included thunder and lightning, so her feelings towards the rainstorm are less than pleased.

Prim’s grip kept tightening her grip, each time the rain started to pick up. Flare didn’t mind that Prim’s grip kept tightening, but, at some point, he had to stop her so she didn’t break any bones or cut off his circulation... or make him choke. But, that moment was now long gone as Prim held onto Flare’s neck with a steel grip.

“P-Prim... I... need... to... breathe... loosen... your... GRIP!” Flare choked out, his face turning slightly purple at the amount of pressure placed on it.

Prim looked Flare in the eyes with slight fear, but, she complied, saying sadly,” I-I’m so sorry! I’m... I’m bad at this... why... why do I keep on hurting you?”

“It’s not your fault, Crumpet always gave bone crushing hugs. You weren’t doing anything wrong, you just wrapped your hooves around my neck is all,” Flare replied quickly and comfortingly, patting Prim’s head awkwardly.

“ Still! I don’t want to hurt you!” Prim whined, pressing her muzzle into Flare’s cheek.

Flare sighed,” I have an idea. You said your kind loves physical contact?”

“Yes?”

Flare didn’t say a word as he began the plan. His horn emitted a soft, blue glow, and Prim felt herself being lifted into the air. She was about to panic, but, the floating ended shortly with her being softly put on the bed next to Flare. The plan, however, didn’t stop there, he soon wrapped his hooves around Prim and pulled her close. She shuffled slightly, getting as comfortable as possible, which was easy in the soft grip. She looked at Flare and gave him a warm smile. Once more the two laid together in silence, not needing to say words as their eyes told all they needed to say.

...

*LE CRACK!*

“SQUEAK!” Prim yelled, her head diving under Flare’s chin and her wing retreating from around his back. She began to shake as more cracks of the sky’s whip sounded. Flare even heard the small mare whimper, scooting closer and closer to him, to the point where she was now slightly pushing him off the bed. Flare’s response was to wrap his hooves tighter around her and nuzzle her softly.

“Why are you scared of lightning? Did something happen when you were younger?” Flare asked softly.

“Y-yeah...,” Prim said softly,” I’ll t-tell you, but promise you won’t laugh...”

“Why would I laugh?”

“W-well, I’ll let the story explain...” Prim cleared her throat,” When I was younger, I had a toy named Pixie, she was my favorite, and one day, during the annual rainstorm, which is what’s happening right now, I was playing with her, I set her on a rock and walked away, two seconds later I turned around and saw lightning strike her... I was only a few feet away...”

Flare looked at the shaking mare, his mind running blank. He didn’t really know how to respond, so, he hugged the mare tightly, and kissed the top of her head gently.

Prim sniffed softly. Her soft whimpering was cut short by the loud lightning strike that took place outside of Flare’s room, which in turn caused Prim to squeak loudly as she started to shake rapidly. Flare never really knew how to help with the fear of lightning, growing up in the underground where rain and lightning were as rare as pony dropping into the underground. So, he did the only thing he could remember his real mother doing when he was little, hug him tightly and say that everything was going to be alright the day she did that... that... that was the day he lost her to the ponies cold steel.

Quickly wiping away a tear, he nuzzled Prim’s shaking head, even wrapping his tail around her. And, it worked, Prim shook less and slowly lifted her head out from underneath Flare’s chin. She locked onto his eyes with fear covering her own. At that very moment, he felt like he was protecting a filly, and he didn’t mean that in a mean way. A inner emotion filled him, a feeling that he thought long gone... protectiveness. His heart became like a stone as he stared out at the black sky. His eyes glaring at the clouds, almost as if he was trying to burn them away.

His attention was broken when he heard Prim ask, ”F-Flare? Are you alright?” He looked back down at what he thought was Prim, but laying against him was the filly of Integrity. He felt like he already knew this memory. The filly had been hurt badly by one of the traps, and he went to help her. However, he never remembered being this close to her, she never even called him ‘Flare’, she only called him Mr. Blue. He felt his heart drop, even though he thought he saw this memory before, he could never forget those that had been hurt, both directly and indirectly by him, and each time somepony got hurt, he remembers.

“F-Flare... are you okay?” the filly asked, but, her voice was different, this time it came out in a whimper.

...

“F-FLARE! YOU’RE BLEEDING!” The filly squeaked loudly, and like that, the illusion dropped. He blinked, then winced as he felt a sharp pain slid across his chest. Quickly, he put his hoof to his chest, then lifted it up to see it.

“Yup... that’s blood...” Flare croaked, his red eyes scanning the hoof.

Prim put he hoof to his chest, trying to stop the bleeding before it got worse. She panicked, thinking that Flare had seen something, remembered something, or felt something that made this happen. Thinking quickly she put her other hoof on the open wound. Her reward for doing it was that she finally realized, no blood was leaking out of the wound. The blood on Flare’s hoof was only from touching it. Then, it started to close rapidly, as if her touch was causing it. In only seconds the long, deep gash was gone and Prim stared at the spot it once was at, confused at what had just happened.

“H-how?” Prim asked, staring down at her hooves, cheeking for any blood on them.

“I guess the connection is stronger than I thought...” Flare replied, grabbing Prim’s

“C-connection?”

“Well,” Flare said,” If a monster falls in love with a non-monster, their souls will connect to each other. The monster will heal faster, more effectively, their spells, whether it be for an attack or other, will be twice or three times as effective. The monster’s partner, you, will be more immune to outside magical attacks, like a fire spell that could rival the sun would turn into more of a desert breeze. Not only that but the monster’s spells, the monster that is attached to the non-monster, like healing, would do the stuff of miracles, like mending broken bones, and in some cases, bring their partner back to life. However, the power to bring a monster back to life isn’t as hard... my real mother could do that, it was her best form of magic.”

“W-wow, that’s a lot to take in... I have some questions though...” Prim replied, her free hoof wrapping around Flare’s as she stared directly into the red dots of Flare.

“Hmmm, well, since we did just ‘become a thing’, I think it’s a good idea to ask questions,” Flare replied, giving her a soft smile.

“Yeah... good idea!” Prim agreed, returning the smile with her own.

“So... who goes first?” Prim asked.

“Well, ladies first,” Flare replied.

“Alright... why are you hiding your past from me?”

“Ummm...” Flare responded, looking away from her,” D-don’t wor-”

“Nu-uh! I not having that!” Prim replied, using her hoof to guide Flare’s face to look at her,” If you don’t tell me... I’ll... I’ll use my SPECIAL attack!”

“...What?”

“You heard me! Tell me! Or else!” Prim said, her eyes narrowing.

“... Prim, I hate to break it to ya... but you don’t seem like a mare who would fight...”

“That’s it!” Prim said,” I’m going to use my SPECIAL ATTACK!”

With that, Prim used his weakness against him, cuteness. Within a second, Prim gave him the lethal puppy eyes, a war strategy used by a races female counterpart that could cripple the strongest of any male, it could destroy empires with a single blow! And the devastating effects took hold of Flare and- alright you get the point, I’ll just continue the story... without being weird... maybe. Flare tried to look away from Prim, but her hoof kept his head in place. So he closed his eyes, but Prim wouldn’t be so easily deterred, with confidence that had been building up, she went for the kill... not really.

Flare felt Prim’s lips smash into his, the effect was that his eyes opened wide. Prim’s plan worked, and soon, she gave him the very thing he couldn’t steel himself against. With a snort, he finally broke,”Alright, I’ll tell you my past! I’ll let the story explain why I hide it!”

Prim smiled, closing her eyes as if savoring her first victory against him. However, she knew that it wasn’t going to be used so easily next time.

“Alright, get comfortable,” Flare said, and Prim didn’t miss a heartbeat, her right wing laid on top of Flare’s back her left laying lazily on top the bed, her side pressed snuggly up against his. Flare blushed softly at how fast the small mare had positioned herself just to get comfortable, and the fact that she mainly got comfortable with his character. He cleared his throat softly and began the story,” I won’t go too far back, so I’ll start before I lost my... I lost somepony close. I was on the outskirts of Ponydin, waiting for a pony to exit the Ruins, and just my luck, I ran into a small filly.” He stopped abruptly, giving a small gulp,” I had to help her out of a scuffle, she got injured pretty bad... So, I helped heal her. I only felt that emotion once before I met her when my brother got into a similar scuffle with some bullies at school. I felt protective of her, like I was her brother... that made her death all the more tragic...”

Prim gasped loudly, her hooves went up to cover her mouth. A loud crack of thunder brightened the room for a mere second, revealing a grim look on Flare’s muzzle. Yet, he continued,” She wanted to show me a dancing trick she’d learn earlier. I don’t know why she chose Water Front, but, she did... She did the trick, really close to the edge... she slipped and fell into a pit... to add insult to injury, she fell into sharpened stalagmites...”

“F-Flare, I’m... I’m so sorry...” Prim said softly, a few tears forming in her eyes.

“It’s alright... I’ve gotten over it... somewhat,” Flare replied, wrapping a hoof around Prim and nuzzled her. She nuzzled him back in response.

“W-well, time for you to ask a question,” Prim said, wiping away a tear that had formed from the story.

“Alright, my question is...” Flare sighed softly,”... Why me? In what way would you find love for a monster like me?”

“Because you’re kind to me,” Prim answered immediately, she followed up with,” Because you take chances to make me happy, like what you’re doing right now! You’ve had my back for months, you always make me smile when I’m sad or in a foul mood, you’re really the only one other than my family to care about me so much. To me, you. are. perfect!” She thought for a moment, other reasons coming to light,” Also, you are so laid back, always calm and collective whenever I’m scared, you even help me through it, like with the lightning and such! There are so many things you have done for me, all of the deeds that I want to repay, but, when I see you sad and unhappy, I feel the same way. One day, I’ll repay those deeds, but today, I want you to be happy, I’m happy that you accepted me as a partner, I just want you to be happy!”

Prim paused once more, trying to think of any more reasons as to why she did love him, a single thought came to mind once more. This thought made her slightly hungry though. She licked her lips and stared directly at her partner, and within a second she leaped forward and brought him into a deep kiss. This caught Flare by surprise, which allowed her tongue to slip into his mouth.

‘Boom!’ Her mind cooed, as it finally tasted what she was looking for. The sweet taste of blueberries. She kept the kiss going, hoping Flare would do the same to her, for she always wondered what her taste was...(Get your mind OUT. OF. THE. GUTTER! Yes, you! No, not you, the person next to- ya know what, all of you follow the message!). Sure enough, he followed, although he did it reluctantly. His tongue slipped in through her fangs. After a few more loving moments for Prim and some awkward moments for Flare, the kiss broke, leaving behind a small strand of saliva.

“Not only that,” she cooed,” You taste like blueberries!”

“W-well,” Flare stammered slightly,” That was rather unexpected...”

“Well, ~?” Prim cooed.

“What?”

Prim gave Flare a soft nudge,” What do I taste like?”

Flare blushed,” Well if that’s one of the reasons why you went full throttle for a kiss then, you taste like strawberries.”

“Well, that’s one of the reasons, another one is that I wanted to see your reaction!”

“Huh, well... I still didn’t expect a Prench kiss,” Flare huffed, looking at Prim with a mildly annoyed look.

“O-oh, s-sorry! A-are you mad? Please don’t be mad!” Prim begged, giving Flare her dangerous puppy eyes.

Flare’s look softened, and he spoke calmly,” I’m not mad, calm down.”

“O-oh, okay...”

“Huh, I found another reason why I love you,” Prim cooed, her head moving to press against his chest,” You’re very patient with me~”

“Well, I can be patient if I need to, besides, I’m going to need it because of your timidness~” Flare teased.

“U-UM!” Prim stammered, her mouth and mind failing her. But before she could embarrass herself anymore, Flare pulled her slightly closer and chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it, besides, it’s your turn to ask a question. Ignoring the previous one.”

“A-alright... you never told me if you had an adoptive father, did you ever have one?”

“Yes,” Flare’s tone turned dark, his red eye diming slightly,” That is ALL I am going to say.”

Prim knew that she had hit not one or two, but at least three nerves with that question.

...

*Large hungry groan*

Prim Bite’s stomach let off a large groan. Her blush reappeared as she looked down and back up, trying to avoid Flare’s gaze.

“Well, I guess I can ask something?” Flare said with a bemused smile,” Are you perchance hungry~?”

“Kinda...”

“Alright, I’ll go get something for us to eat,” Flare said, as he began to rise from his position. However, a quick jolt pulled him back down.

“W-WHOA!” Flare shouted as he was pulled into a leathery embrace. Prim’s hooves and wings wrapped around him tightly. Once more, Flare was now forcefully snuggled up to the side, being held like a teddy bear, by Prim.

“NOPE!” Prim replied loudly,” I don’t like lightning! I don’t really like being alone! You are my only way of getting through this right now! Please, don’t leave!” She thought a moment more,” B-besides, we’re comfortable! Yeah, t-that's also it!”

“I keep underestimating your races strength...” He sighed,” Listen, why don’t you come with me? I wanted to go by myself so you could stay comfortable. However, I forgot about the lightning storm outside... Also, you’re afraid of being alone?”

“Yes... I mean, I don’t really like to be alone, not when somepony like you can keep me company! B-besides, I’m not that hungry, we should just stay here and... and enjoy each other’s nice, warm, soft company!”

“Prim, I love you and all, but as your partner, I feel the need to take care of you, call it the basic instinct for a monster.”

“Hmmmm!” Prim hummed nervously,” I-if you do go, how long will you be gone?”

“Even though I’ve been to the kitchen, I’d never got the coordinates to teleport there, so maybe a couple of minutes?”

“You have a horn right?” she replied, poking his horn softly.

“Ow- hey, OW! Please, stop poking the curved dagger protruding from my head! It’s rather sensitive!”

“O-oh s-sorry!”

*Sigh*“I know what you’re going to say, I can teleport with my horn, and yes, I can, but it will still take some time because I’m not really good at raiding a fridge like Night Blossom,” Flare said, rubbing his horn softly.

“First off, how did you know that Night raids the fridge? Second, if you do go... can you get me some bird meat?” Prim asked hopefully.

“Sure, alright,”

...
-Awkward Silence intensifies-
...

“Well, I’ll be right back then,” Flare said, his horn lighting up with magic as he prepared to teleport. To this Prim nodded sheepishly.

-_-In the Kitchen_-_

Flare’s teleportation was a success, he appeared right before the meat freezer. On the side was a rack that contained three thick jackets. The freezer here was really cold, cold enough that if you were a normal pony, going in there without one of these jackets meant that you would freeze to death in thirty seconds. Really, it wasn’t a good way to go out, but it stopped animals like rats and raccoons from raiding it, their bodies were always found and later added to the meat selection.

Flare, having lived in below freezing temperatures (Which was weird because no one seems to be affected by said temperatures) was immune to the freezing cold, more than once he went in there without the jacket, sometimes for more than three minutes, and always came back out with zero injury, well other then that one time him slipped and fell onto a meat hook.

“Well, time to go look for some bird meat,” Flare said as he opened the door and walked in.

There wasn’t really anything in there, just... well meat. However, each type of meat was labeled and dated, more so than needed. So finding the bird meat was easy, all Flare had to do was ignore the pegasus wings and get out of there. After that, it was simply cooking the meat and heading back to his room. He had to admit, this kitchen was kinda lonely when there isn’t a very cheery mare singing outdated songs.

He exited the room once the meat had been cooked. He wanted the meat to cool down so it wasn’t too hot when he reached his room. But, a certain mare would cause him to be held up slightly.

“There you are Flare! I was wondering if you knew something!” the mare asked.

Flare turned around and saw Midnight with a face that she would give if she was skeptical. She huffed and asked,” Did Prim tell you anything... um, important, last night?”

“What do you mean ‘important’?”

“Did she really not tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

*Sigh* “Welp, sis I love you but now its time to end this dumb secret. Flare, Prim loves you.”

Flare raised an eyebrow, before saying,” Oh that? Yeah, she told me that last night.”

For Midnight to have a shocked expression, it took a lot to do it, right now, she looked pretty shocked. Her eyes looked at him skeptically,” Really now? I’m surprised that you aren’t in a forced snuggle...”

“Well, she got hungry and I convinced her to let me get her something to eat.” He replied, showing Midnight the plate of food he got her.

“Huh... alright. I want to tell you something very serious,” Her tone shifted to a more serious one,” Prim was looking for a good stallion for a long time now, she wants to find sompony she could love, sompony who would give back the same love. Don’t screw this up.”

“I won't, you have my word,” Flare replied, just as serious.

Midnight glared into his eye, daring for any sense of unease or lies to show themselves. When she didn’t see a hint of either, she looked away. With that, the two departed.
...

Flare teleported back into his room. Prim laid there with her wings over her head, covering her eyes as she also shook. Most likely the lightning had scared her. However, with the smell of fresh, cooked meat, her head moved upwards to look at him.

“There you are!” Prim squeaked loudly as she jumped up and flew into Flare to give him a hug. Flare put the cooked food onto a nearby stand and he wrapped his hooves around her.

“You said it wouldn’t take that long!” Prim whined, her face now buried in Flare’s chest.

“Sorry, dear,” Flare replied.

‘There is more behind this lightning story, no one is this scared of lightning...’ Flare thought.

To be continued!

---------_)(#$&^%$#@)(_
Message Found!

The queen is angry, she wants to find Flare, more-so than ever.
She thinks that he found a way out of the underground. I don’t believe her. Ever since he left, she became more and more untrustworthy, her anger is easily spiked...
Hopefully, I can find Flare before she does, he’s my friend, and he helped me out of a... problem.
-Dr. Rough Terrain
---------_)(#$&^%$#@)(_

Author's Notes:

Something is happening...

Chapter 16: Flare and Prim Part 2

Flare and Prim had sat comfortably on the bed, both very close to one another. Prim had eaten her meal and had thanked Flare for bringing it to her. Now that she had recovered from her panic-induced lightning fear, though her shaking didn’t cease this time, it was, thankfully, rather faint. Flare wanted to ask what really happened, knowing now that Prim’s fear of lightning didn’t just stem from an experience like that. She had to have something more dangerous happen to her. But, that could wait, now the two began to ask each other more questions, right now it was Flare’s turn.

“So, is your real name Prim, or is it, Primrose?” he asked, nuzzling her cheek.

“Well, yeah! But, really saying Primrose is a mouth-full, so I’m just called Prim!” Prim replied, nuzzling him back.

“Huh, well, I like both names. Primrose is actually a character from one of my favorite books.”

“Hmmm~ you’re going to need to show me those books then!”

“Heh, I’ll show you them later,” he replied, giving her a small smile.

“Anyways~ I have an awkward question, you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to!... What do you think of... marriage?”

If Flare had been drinking anything, he would have most likely spit it out right now. Since his brain didn’t since any liquid within his mouth, it resorted to a more dry-like heave.

“Well, I don’t know what to think about that! We literally just started dating!” Flare coughed as he hit his chest a few times to get the nonexistent liquid out of his lungs.

“S-sorry! I just had a d-dream, and I don’t r-remember much! All I remember is marriage!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! You wanted to know, so, I’ll tell you!” Flare responded quickly and nervously,” W-well, if we do decide that we can work... I’m up to it.”

Prim’s mind went numb for a second,’H-he’s up to it?’

“R-really?” Prim squeaked softly, her eyes now wide.

“Well... as I said if this relationship works.”

“O-okay, hopfully it works out.” Prim whispered.

She gave a small, toothy grin, right before she kissed his cheek.

“Anyways, now it's my turn to ask a question,” He said, he gave her his own smile.

“What is it?” Prim’s tail wagged softly behind her as her mind was now in the clouds.

“How are we going to break this to your parents and siblings?”

And, now her mind had hit the bottom of an old workshop, which had a broken floor, so it fell further. Prim’s eyes went wide as she turned and stared directly at her partner.

“I-I d-don’t know!” Prim confessed, she became more stressed,” W-what i-if they say no!?”

Flare sensed that this situation was going to go this way right from the getgo, so to combat it, he grabbed one of Prim’s wings in his magical aura and laid it across his back. This had an immediate reaction, the wing tightened around his back and pulled him closer, Prim’s hoof then reached behind his head and pushed it down and next to her chest. Prim held Flare’s head close to her chest as she ranted softly, ”What if they don’t want us to be together, what would they do to you?!”

‘This mare is going to be the death of me...’ Flare thought, he shook his head to break free from her grasp.

‘You survived things worse than that, you can survive this small mare. Stop being a little filly,’ Solar Eclipse replied smugly.

‘ Note to self: Mentally punch Solar Eclipse in the face... HARD...’ Flare thought back angrily.

‘ You’ll never punch me alive!’ Solar responded, and the sound of echoing hoofsteps running away echoed within Flare’s head.
Flare then pulled his head free and shook it softly, but Prim’s hooves wrapped around his neck, that in turn caused his head to stop.

“P-Prim, why are you so worried about this, I think your parents like me enough...”

“Well!” Prim replied nervously,” I know, but I still worry! What if they don’t like the idea!”

Flare sighed, Solar laughed loudly in his mind(which was silence by Flare’s mental growl), and Prim hummed nervously. As the two laid there, Flare was trying to think of a way to calm down the now humming mare. Only one idea came to mind, however, it was one he didn’t like it being used but it was the only option he had at the moment. Flare sighed softly and wrapped his own hoof around Prim, causing the worried mare to stop shaking. When the mare did that that, it was his cue to activate the plan. The plan was to change the topic at hoof.

“Hey, let’s drop this for right now, you seem really stressed about it...”

“A-are you s-sure?” Prim whispered softly.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Call me crazy though, you seem to be a lot more nervous since that little confession of yours.”

“W-well, I don’t want you to be hurt or taken away! I saw the ponies faces when they saw you last night, some of them didn’t look like they liked you very much!” Prim proclaimed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Flare said calmly, he gently nuzzled her to calm her down,” Let me worry about how others see me, this has next to nothing to do with you.”

“B-but, since I’m royal, everything that happens within the castle grounds falls on me!” Prim proclaimed sadly.

“Did I fall on you?” Flare asked, raising an eyebrow and giving her a small grin.

Prim blushed profusely and turned away as to not meet his gaze. Though she couldn’t help it, so she stammered softly,” N-no, you just poofed into my life!”

“Are you happy I did?”

“Of course!” Prim responded immediately,” You’ve been one of Fate’s greatest gifts to me! You’ve made me happier!”

“Well, I’m glad that I could help.”

Prim sighed happily as she turned to look back at her partner, a smile covering most of her muzzle.

“Well, I guess it’s my turn to ask a question!” Prim said with renewed vigor, however, when she asked the question, she hesitated and stammered before saying it,” Let's say that I needed to drink some blood... and you... you are the only thing in the room that I c-could get it from... w-what would you do?”

“I wouldn’t mind if you drank some of my blood,” Flare responded in a heartbeat,” I just want to make something clear, Prim...” Flare said, his hoof touching her cheek,” I want you to know that if you need something like that, I would give it to you. To me, you come first.”

“R-really?” Prim said softly, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

Flare nodded and responded calmly,” Yes, I take care of the ones I love, you are no different, if you truly needed blood and I’m the only one who can provide it, I’ll give it.”

“O-okay, thank you,” Prim whispered lovingly, as she nuzzled Flare’s neck.

“Well, i-if you want to ask another question, go ahead,” Prim replied as she rested her head against his neck.

“Well...” Flare looked over at the clock, which the clock read 9:37 am. Flare sighed and looked down at his partner,” We should head to the dining area, see if anypony is there.”

“Wh-what do you mean, it’s not even-,” Prim stopped as she looked over at the clock in confusion, ”W-well, I guess it is late...”

He chuckled and began and rose from the bed, Prim followed soon afterward. The springs in the bed shot up softly as Flare’s large form stepped onto the floor. He turned and offered a hoof, saying calmly,” Ma’lady?” Prim blushed and accepted his hoof. She too stepped onto the floor and shook softly while she stretched, giving off a soft groan as she stood back to her full height.

Prim nodded at Flare and the two began to walk towards the door and leave the room.

...

Flare and Prim had exited the room and had headed down to the dining room. On the way, some staff members gave both Prim and Flare a look when they saw Prim’s wing over his back and her head against his neck. One maid looked on as the two walked past her, in an instant, she put down her cleaning supplies and headed in the direction of the kitchen, then most likely to the seamstress’s room. Prim looked back as the mare trotted away, confusion now on covering her face. Flare noticed this and said that she was a friend of Lemon and Birch, so most likely she was going to tell them about what she saw.

“O-oh no!” Prim squeaked,” W-we can’t let that spread!”

“Don’t worry,” Flare responded calmly, his red eyes(Just to be clear they are more like dots...) looked into hers, he continued softly,” I’ll talk to both of them later.”

“Hmmm-” Prim started to hum, but Flare decided he was done with humming today, so he moved his hoof over to her snout and booped it.

“Prim, why are you humming?”

“I-I sometimes hum when I’m nervous,” Prim blushed.

“Well, if it is about the maid, Lemon, and Birch. Don’t worry, I have it under control.” Flare replied softly, he gazed back to the path ahead of them.

After a few minutes of walking, the two finally found the dining room door. Inside, they could hear multiple voices had been chatting away. The one that stuck out the most was Midnight’s voice. She had to be talking about something really interesting or really passionately for her to be talking as loud as she was. Whichever it was, it scared Prim, for reasons unknown to her at the time. But, she didn’t take her wing off of Flare’s back, and she didn’t scoot away from him, she held firm in her place.

Flare placed a hoof on the door and with a slight and soft push it opened. Once the door had opened fully, the two walked in. As they did so, the others looked at them. Midnight had a smirk on her muzzle, Blood Moon had a look of happiness, which was rare for him to have. Prim’s mother, on the other hoof, had a large smile covering her muzzle, and Night had the same look as Midnight. Flare looked over at Tattered Moon, but al he gave him was a shrug and a confused shake of the head.

Honey Glow spoke, well more like sung first,”Good morning you two~.”

“Good morning, everypony,” Prim said nervously as she sat down next to Flare. She shuffled uncomfortably at how everpony (Except Flare, Tattered, and her father) were giving her a look.

“D-did we miss something?” Prim asked her ears falling to the side of her head.

“No, but I think that you and Flare want to tell us something, hmmm~,” her mothered sung softly.

Prim blushed and scooted closer to Flare, hoping that her face was a bright red as she felt it was.

“W-well... you see...” Prim stammered softly, but she was cut off by Flare’s hoof touching her shoulder, “I can tell them if you want me to,” Flare whispered to her.

“N-no, I-I need to tell them,” Prim whispered back. Prim’s poster stiffened as she sat up straight, her face went from nervous to serious in only a few seconds, but her blush never faded. With a stern voice, Prim made told her family, and Tattered Moon,”Everypony, me and Flare are d-dating now...”

The reactions weren’t as mixed as one is to think they could be, Honey Glow squeaked loudly, Blood Moon smiled, and Tattered looked at his friend with a smile. Midnight and Night looked at each other, Midnight had a large smirk on her muzzle and Night had a meer smile.

“Look who owes me twenty bits~,” Midnight said, her smirk forming into a cheeky grin. Night grumbled, but she didn’t argue and simply put the bits down on the table.

“Well, at least the ship Lunar Bite has sailed!” Night said happily.

“Midnight,” Tattered poked her shoulder,” Did you two make a bet on when the two would get together?”

“Not just me and her, but Prickle Bush and Rose Thorn did too, they and a couple of friends started a bet.”

“I guess Rose is gonna be happy that she gained twenty bits,” Flare said. He overheard the whole conversation.

Midnight smirked,” I’m gonna go tell her the news in a little, but the thing I want to see is Prickle’s face when she hears it.”

“Hopefully she won't throw the couch cushions at you again,” Prim giggled. Everyone in the room now listened in on the conversation about the bet.

“You know she only did that because I scared her!” Midnight argued, Prim stuck her tongue out at her and giggled when she saw Midnight give off a small pout.

“Well, I’m glad that you finally found somepony you love, sweetie,” Honey Glow stated happily, however, she turned and glared at her two other daughters, with a stern voice she said,” I want to see you two later. You know that betting one's money isn’t a good idea, no matter how much you have!”

Midnight sighed and Night grumbled, but both nodded, knowing that, if they accept their fate, it wouldn’t be too bad.

“So, you aren’t angry or worried?” Prim asked in a hushed voice.

“Not at all, dear!” Honey Glow cooed happily.

“Let’s just say that we had a feeling that he was a good choice for you,” Blood Monn said. His statement left the two wondering what he meant
...

“Well, that went better, and shorter than expected,” Prim said happily. She and Flare had left the dining room and were heading to Prim’s room. She had insisted that Flare come to her room so that they could spend more time together and watch some TV, an added bonus was that it was closer in walking distance. Flare agreed and the two had been walking and talking ever since.

“I’m just glad your parents took it well...” Flare said,” But, I’m still confused by what your dad said.”

“We can talk about it once we get to my room,” Prim cooed softly, kissing Flare’s cheek.

“Yeah, alright...”

!@#$%^&*(
M3$$ag3 Found!

Hm, I wonder If I could sneak in another book...
Nah, that last one hit other me upside the head...
But hey! At least he didn’t grow it away.
But who is this... Night Blossom...
Huh, I’ll see if I can scan this AU for any signs of...
Never mind. The viewers are watching me...

-Alpha

!@#$%^^^&&&

Author's Notes:

I’m sorry this chapter is slightly rushed!
But, I will try my hardest to make it up in the next chapter!

Chapter 17: The Next Day

Prim and Flare had woken up from a good nights sleep. They didn’t do much yesterday once they got to Prim’s room. Really, all they did yesterday was ask each other questions, walked around the castle, and took a nice walk through the Royal Garden. They ended their day by when they headed back to Prim’s room and slept. When they woke up this morning, the two went to breakfast and went back to where the too had been earlier, simply so they could watch some TV together. However, the two stopped watching the show they were watching when Prim asked Flare about his family. One conversation went to another and then the two were now talking about Buster.

“Aw, he sounds adorable! Like a tiny foal” Prim cooed softly.

“Well, Buster the Blaster is about half the size of this castle, and a dragon skeleton... so I don’t know if the words adorable and tiny could be used on him easily,” Flare responded, he tried to use his hooves to show Prim how tall the blaster was, but he was a few 200 feet short,

“Well, I still think it’s cute that he has a favorite teddy bear!” Prim huffed, her nose had scrunched up slightly.

“Well, he does sound cute, and he can be sometimes. Though since he is really tall and a walking, talking dragon skeleton, with the powers of the Paradox Blaster no less, he is quite scary. But that's just me,” Flare replied, giving Prim a shrug.

“Well, I wish you could summon him... but I don’t want a hole in the roof, or for ponies to panic,” Prim replied, huffing softly as she laid her head down on Flare’s hooves.

“Yeah, that would get media coverage easily,” Flare replied as he rested his head on Prim’s head.

“Yeah, like if the news about you being with me got out... Thank you for talking to Mrs. Birch and Ms. Zap about it,” Prim said.

Flare chuckled and lifted up his head to look at the TV. He grabbed the remote and looked at how much was left of the episode that they were. When he saw that only a few minutes were left of the episode, he leaned down and nuzzled Prim.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me! We only have a few minutes left on our show, do you want to watch the rest of it?” He asked.

Prim groaned softly for she had just started to fall asleep. Her head had risen softly and her eyes were still closed. Slowly, she opened her eyes to look at the TV.

“Yawn... N-no, I think I have a better idea than sitting here watching TV...” Prim said, as she turned over on her side and looked up at her partner,”Why am do I get tired when I lay next to you, I just want to take a nap...”

“Well, I was thinking, if you don’t want to finish this episode, why not take a walk around the nearby park?”

“Hmm...,” Prim scooted over to Flare and wrapped her hooves and tail around him(Yes, while on her side),”That sounds lovely. Oh! maybe we can see the ancient and mysterious Pony Fountain!”

“Uh...,” Flare said,”Can I ask why it is so mysterious?”

“Well, like I’ve said before, I’m not good with history, but it is said the fountain was made for a pony of great power, and that throwing a bit into it will grant you a wish!”

“A wish... Prim, I don’t want to pop your adorable bubble, but wishes aren’t real...” Flare said, as he looked and grimaced softly.

Prim gave a deadpan expression at the monster pony,”You’re saying that wishes aren’t real... you, a pony made of magic and come from a world where souls are powerful enough to make one of your kind a god or goddess, and you are saying that wishes are fake?”

“Hmm... yeah, that's exactly it... I may come from a place that has amazing amounts of magic, but nothing like ‘throw a bit into the fountain’ or ‘wish on a shooting star’... my childhood was mostly working and watching out for my little bro...,” Flare replied, rubbing his left arm softly.

“W-wow, I-I didn’t know you had such a... umm... well lack for a better word, sad childhood,” Prim said softly and sadly, shifting over onto her stomach.

“Heh, it’s alright... why stay, looking at something that's been gone for years... I don’t want to worry about the past I want to worry about our future...”

Prim sniffed softly and put her muzzle next to his cheek. She whimpered softly,” F-Flare? please don’t be sad... I hate it when you’re sad!”

Flare chuckled softly as he wrapped his tail around the mare just like she had done,”Listen Prim, I’ve told you a lot of things that happened to me in my world, some of the things I mentioned, like never stopping the genocide, haunt me. Believe me, that is in the past, I was different back then, I wasn’t the calm and collected pony you see and date now. Back then, I was lazy, uncaring, and... and depressed. I don’t ever want you to worry about my safety or if I’m sad or not... My sadness spreads like a virus if I let it out...”

“NO!” Prim shouted.

“AH!”

“Flare, I don’t know why you think that I’m gonna stand by and let you hurt yourself like this! If you need to talk about your past or any secrets that bother you... just. tell. me. I care a lot about you, too much to let this virus brew and corrupt you! Didn’t you say that it was this sadness that caused you to become unhinged?” Prim calmed down and pressed a hoof against him,”You don’t have to fight alone... not anymore...”

*Sigh*“Alright...alright, if I need to get something off my chest, I’ll come and tell you...”

---

“Hmm...”

“You alright?”

“I-I’m sorry Golden Wheel, I think I just felt a sad burst from Flare... He’s alive out there... I just know it.”

*Sigh*“... Then I hope we can find him soon... the queen isn’t happy that he’s gone missing...”

“W-we’ll find him! I’m sure of it! If anypony can find him, it's me! Lightning Trail!”

---

“Wow!” Prim gasped loudly. Both Flare and Prim had put on their disguises and were walking around the park. Right now, Prim had stopped and looked at some flowers that she had never seen.

“Wow Swirl, you seem to really like the park,” Flare chuckled.

Prim blushed and looked back up at Flare,” Well yeah! I’ve never been outside the cas- I mean! I’ve never been in town long enough to see and explore it, Neutron!”

Flare rolled his eyes, the two had come up with a story on why they aren’t seen often in town. Their story was that they didn’t live in town and lived only a few minutes away. Not a good story, but one that keeps suspicion off their backs. The two moved on to try and find the ‘Mysterious Pony Fountain’. Along the way, someponies had stopped to look at them, Flare, even in his disguise, was just as tall as he normally was, the same went for Prim. When anypony looked at them, they mostly looked at the large stallion.

“Hey, did I ever tell you why I like and believe in the wishing fountain?” Prim asked, her tail wagging slightly, hoping that Flare would ask why.

“Actually, you never told me...” Flare replied, feeling the gentle airwaves being given off by her tail. Flare chuckled and nuzzled her cheek, he replied softly,” I guess you want to tell me?”

“Yep!” Prim replied, stepping closer to his side, returning the nuzzle,”When I was around 18 years old, I through a bit into the fountain, and guess what I asked for!”

“A Watermelon?” Flare replied jokingly with a smirk.

“No!” Prim giggled at the random response,”I wished for somepony that I can love and that the same pony would return that love to me!”

“Really now?”

“Yes! And I think that my wish came true!” Prim stated happily, pecking Flare on the cheek as they rounded a corner.

Off in the distance was what appeared to be a pony standing on top of a bowl. This was the ‘Mystrious Fountain’, The pony was dark green and the basin to hold and recycle the water was a dark blue.

‘Huh... so this is the fountain... Neat,’ Flare thought.

The two stopped at the reached the base of it. The fountain was quite tall, and you could see that a lot of bits have been thrown into the basin of the fountain, just by looking into it. Prim pulled out a bit and gave it to Flare, who in turn, levitated it up.

“Now Flare,” Prim said softly,”In order for one to make a wish, you need to close your eyes, think of the wish, and then throw your bit into the water! And don’t worry if you get splashed, that is a good omen! Oh, and you can also tell the pony next to you the wish, but you can’t tell anypony else!”

“Hmm... alright,” Flare shrugged. He closed his eyes and thought of the thing he wanted most in life, the thing that would give him satisfaction in doing this simple ritual. Once he found it, he tossed the golden coin into the fountain’s water.

Bloop!

The coin hit its mark and a small amount of fountain water hit Flare’s chest. He could here Prim gasp softly and say,”Flare, you got splashed! Do you know what that means?”

“Yeah, it’s a good omen... right?”

“Right!” Prim said giddily.

...

“So.. what was your wish?” Prim asked as the two walked to a place to eat.

“Well, I wished that all of the ponies that I love and care for will be safe and happy.”

“Aw~!” Prim cooed,”How sweet!”

‘Now to commence the operation’ Flare thought.

“Hey, are you hungry?” He asked.

“Now that you mention it, I kinda am,” Prim said

“Hmm... let us go to a cafe in town, I know a good one,” He replied

“Do you now? I thought you’ve only been out of the castle as much as I have~,” Prim cooed softly as she rested her head against his neck.

Flare chuckled softly, giving her a soft nuzzle. The two had now walked deep into the heart of the town, where all the shops, cafes, and restaurants were bountiful. The center of the kingdom, it’s very core, lived in lively hood. Vamponies didn’t crowd the street like you think they would. Most of them were at their jobs all around the kingdom. The center of the town wasn’t just a rich ponies club, all forms of business, big and small, lived in relative harmony here. To simply describe “The Center” it was different colors, all lighten up by lanterns and lampposts. In the center was a monument of a ‘well known’ vampony figure, who Flare knew next to nothing about. All that he heard about the vampony was that he and The Moon Mother (TMM) worked together to free the vampony race. Also, they brought the fall of the ‘Solar Witch’ and her ‘Solar Nightmares’, whatever that meant.

The two found a small cafe called ‘Chill’s Morning Bite!’ which was owned by a friend of Night. Prim and Flare took a booth seat near the back of the cafe so they could be left alone.

“Hmm... something isn’t right...” Prim said as she took a seat next to Flare.

“What do you mean?” Flare asked, trying to sound innocent.

“Hmm... nice, calm walk in the park... and now you take me to a cafe, saying you’ll pay for the meal...” Prim put a hoof to her chin. Finally, it clicked, she looked Flare in the eyes and asked,” Fla-um Neutron..., is this a... date?”

“Welp, ya caught me red hoofed,” Flare said, giving her a small smirk,”Yep, this is a date. I thought that we needed a date to get to know each other and eat at the same time.”

“F-Flare!” Prim squeaked, she blushed,” If you told me, I could’ve worn something nice for you!”

“That’s what I don’t want,” Flare replied, much to Prim’s confused. Flare cleared his throat and continued,” Prim, I don’t want you to put on makeup and a dress just for me, I want you to feel comfortable. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“O-oh...,” She said,”Flare... I wouldn’t mind...”

Flare chuckled, he replied softly,” Then I’ll tell you next time, alright?”

“Yeah, okay. S-still, thank you for this,” Prim replied, she snuggled up against him, she rested her head on his shoulder and her wing wrapped around his back.

..._-_...-_-

The waitress had come by and asked them what they had wanted, took the menus, and left the two to be alone with each other once more.

“F-Flare?” Prim asked,”I have a question about the underground...”

“Shoot.”

“Did... you ever talk to the king?”

Flare’s face went dead and cold, every bit of happiness or calmness that was once on it was now gone.

“Yeah, I did... Little did I know it would be the last time...”

“D-do you want to talk about it?”

“No... I already ruined the mood, let’s not destroy what is left of it...”

“...”

“...”

‘He’s hiding something, something that hurts him deeply... maybe I can get it out of him when we go home...’ She thought.

The rest of the time there was simple silence as the two later got their food.
.̶̮̱̱̎.̶͙̓̎͌̏.̸̧̯̻̠̎͠

‘W̷̫͚̞̹̉̓͂͘h̴͕̞̅̅y̶̨͈̠͊͘?̵͎̞̱̤̿̈ ̷͇͕̼̈́͠͝W̴̩͑̈̕h̸̳̝̍́͘y̷̭͉͆̉̋ ̵̼̞̭͛̿͛d̶̢̦̙͆o̷̠͈̿͗ͅḛ̵͈̑s̵͙͈͇͌͑n̵̳̯̺͈̅̆͗͑'̵͇́͂͝t̷͙͉̥̒͘ ̶̢͖̫͍̊͐́̕h̸̩̗̒͑e̴͍̮͕̽͌̍ ̷̝̩̑̊̿̐t̸͉̼̗̉̔̓͆ȧ̵̯̹̝l̴̗͔̣͐̄̃̚k̸̡̮̄ ̷̧͔̼̄̀͝t̸̪͋̀ô̷̯͠ ̸͍̲̇͌̐̚h̸̢̭̙̽e̴͈͇͌̓̇r̴̺̍?̶̹̥̻͐͘̚,” asked ???

‘Because he doesn’t want her to worry,’ replied Solar Eclipse.

‘Í̸̧̫͖͗́t̶̞̂͊͋'̵̬̱̲̇s̶͎̎ ̷̮̙͋͊͋n̸̨͓̝̙͑̀o̷̡̘̼͌͘̕ẗ̵̝̮̪̫́̓ ̶̖͑͌̽g̵̨̯̬͎͊͠o̵͓̗͔̒̑͘o̵͎̞͈̼̒d̴̡̧͇̪̓̚̚ ̷̬̜̤̒́f̴͇̝̠͔͋̋o̴͑ͅr̸̛͔͕̓̑ ̸̢̩̩͓͑͋͘h̶̤̼̩̓̄̇͝i̵̙͍̮͗̂s̸̡͊͑̇ ̷̤̘̓̾̾̚m̸͎̱̗̜͝e̷̗̖̟̱̊̅̀n̷̡̳̈́͊t̶̙̆̔å̷̘̪̈ĺ̵͇̼̈̊ ̴̧̼̖͕̒͐̈͠h̴̢̘̜́ͅê̶̘͙͓̮̎a̶̜̠͑̊t̴̢̠͍̞̽͛h̷̩̦͂ ̷̙̉̅͠t̸̢͙̳̀͜͠h̸͎̄̚̚͘o̷̧̬̜͉͑̂͐͋u̸͉͓͐̌̾ǧ̴͇̘͚̓̈́ḧ̵̘̻́͘.̷͔̫̫͐́.̷̺̬̹̘̉̆.̸̞̺̅,’

‘He knows that, but you know Flare, he goes the extra mile so that nopony feels his pain,’

‘.̶̜͓͊.̷̻̼̈ͅ.̸̧̛̜̱̙̒̒̉ ̴̱̺̈́͆̈́̂L̴͍̗̞͚̅ĩ̴͙̤̐k̵̨̤̬̏e̷͎͚̝̎͌͠ ̸̘̒͠͝h̸̠̀ͅḙ̷̠̏̀͝ ̸͙͔̳̽͐̚d̷̘̊̌̋̑i̶̖̞̠̝͠d̸͚̲͕̂̓̄͛ ̷̺̪͇͖̄f̷̮̱̜̫̆̾͗̀ö̴̦́̋̉ͅͅr̶̪̅ ̷̨̟̤͍͛͝u̵̯̍͠s̶̯̄͒?̸̡̙̣̲͛’

‘... Yeah... like he did for us...,’

...

Flare and Prim had exited the cafe and went back to the castle upon noticing how late it was. The two headed to Flare’s room, but not in silence, rather, they headed to his room in laughter.

“Wow! I-hehehe- I didn’t know your brother could do that!” Prim giggled happily.

“Heh, if you meet him, you’d understand that I’m not the only one who can bend reality,” He replied.

“I wanted to ask you about that as well, what do you mean that you can ‘Bend Reality’?”

“Well, I actually wanted to tell you some things about my family.”

The two rounded a corner and headed straight for Flare’s door. Upon reaching and opening it, the two walked inside. Prim walked over to his bed and laid down, Flare moved to lay next to her. Once the two got comfortable, Flare cleared his throat and spoke,”Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? When I was just a child, my father was killed off in a battle during the Pony-Monster War.”

“O-oh... Flare I’m-,” Prim was cut off by Flare’s hoof.

“Please, let me finish,” Flare said softly, moving his hoof around her to pull her closer. With that, he continued,”Only a day later, my camp was attacked as well, they killed most monsters, captured only warriors, killed anypony that wasn’t one. I remember my mother holding me close and saying everything was going to be okay... Of course, the ponies heard it and broke into our tent. My mother killed some of them with her fire but others got to close and dusted her as well... They left me to rot in the tent...”

Prim looked horrified and felt angry all at the same time.

‘How could they do that to a child?!’ She thought angrily.

Flare sighed, signaling that he was about to continue. With a deep breath, he did so,”I don’t know what happened after that, but I remember being with my new adoptive father... Dr. Malachite. He was the new underground kingdom’s royal scientist. I was coming home one day, walking along an old beaten path back to my house, when I heard a shuffle inside a small bush. Curiosity got me by the tail and I went to go check. That’s when I meet my new brother, Lightning Trail.”

“W-well, at least the story went from bad to good!” Prim said happily as she wrapped her tail around him.

“Well, I hope that you keep that optimism through the rest of it,” Flare said with a smile. He leaned down and nuzzled the mare before he continued,” I waited for my father to come home. While I waited, I played and fed him. Let’s just say that my dad was confused but accepted the colt into our family. There aren’t any orphanages in the underground since monster parents are very attached to their kids, and Mala didn’t want him to starve.”

A heavy silence fell over the two as the information settled in. After a few seconds, Flare spoke again softly,”The next day, he brought the colt with him to the lab to see what type of monster he is. When he came back, you could see the puzzlement on his face. He told me ‘This colt is part skeleton and is a rock monster as well. The reason why this was so surprising is that Malachite and I were both skeleton type monsters, so me, my brother, and Malachite are the only remaining skeleton monsters left...”

“W-wow, so... your kind is endangered?”

“Take it or leave it, I guess.”

“D-does it bother you that you are the only one left here?”

“Yeah... a lot...”

“...”

“I’m just going to continue the story if you want me too...”

“O-oh, y-yeah! S-sure!”

“Alright... Well, after learning that, our family became closer, since we are the only ones left. When I was around ten and Trail was just turning eight, I lost my Malachite to one of his machines... The Core, the thing fueling the Underground from thermal heat, had ruptured a pipe going to the cooler. I was helping him there when we heard the sirens go off. My father was the one who built the Core, just by using old runes, I knew he wasn’t going to let it go up in flames like that. He rushed to the control room and I followed blindly. When we got there he saw that the Core was about to bust, he tried everything to turn it off...,”

Flare stopped, he could feel his heart pounding, full of pain from this memory of losing another family member. He sighed and looked Prim dead in the eye,” He told me to run, but I didn’t... That’s when the whole structure shook violently and knocked him into the boiling lava below... It promptly exploded with me next to it... I don’t know how I survived, but I did. I didn’t leave it unscathed... I gained the ability to see past our realm and see LV, FUN, and EXP, stuff normal monsters couldn’t see. I could see the world rest because of an F#$%#@^ flower who wanted to make us feel pain... When I got home that night, Lightning Trail ran up to me and hugged me, I could tell he had been crying... I’ll never forget what he said... ‘Papa is gone... isn’t he?’...”

Prim put a hoof on his shoulder and wrapped a wing around his back to try and comfort the stallion. Flare remained silent for a moment. He took a deep breath before he continued,” Let’s say that Trail and I had to leave the house before anything else bad happened, we had to search for food. Now to say we starved is false, we never really starved because I found a place called Crumpets... You can guess who the owner is. One night, I was getting some grub and I guess I made too much noise and-”

_-_FlashBack-_-

*CRASH!*

“O-OW!”

“HEY! Who is out there?!” A Purple monster changeling yelled as she burst through the back door.

“AH!” Flare screamed as he turned to look at her.

“AH! What are you doing!” The changeling hissed. She walked over to the scared colt and held him in place with her magic.

She lowered her neck and stared him straight in the eyes, with a low growl she said,” What are you doing digging in the trash?! Hasn’t your mother or father told you not to do that?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Ms! I-I just n-need some food to feed my brother!” Flare stammered.

The changelings stare soften slightly,” Why aren’t your parents feeding him?”

“W-well,” Flare sniffed,” W-we don’t have any...”

The changeling's eyes went wide,” O-oh dear!”

“P-please Ms! L-let me go, I-I won’t come back! I-I promise!”

“Oh no, you don’t! You are not leaving!” she said sternly,” If you are hungry or if your brother is hungry, you will come with me, I will get you something that is better than this garbage!” She finished by picking him up and placing him on her back. With a few strides, the two entered the building. Inside was a lot of webs, and some had huge spiders on them. The place was also different shades of purple, much like the changeling herself, tables, doors, and even glasses that were set out for cleaning wore the color.

“Ah~! Here we are little one!” the changeling stated happily. She set the colt on the floor and pushed him forward slightly. Flare looked up and saw a large selection of foods and treats, each one with a different shape and even color!

_-_ Some Time Later-_-

“I am so sorry little one if I could help in any way just tell me...”

“You’ve already helped me enough, Ms. Crumpet.”

Flare hadn’t eaten anything, really, he just packed it up for his little brother to eat when he returned. Flare pushed the chair he was sitting in, back and hopped down. He waved to Crumpet as he turned to leave. When he reached the door, he heard her sigh loudly. He then heard her chair move, he looked back to see the nymph walking towards him.

She had covered the distance easily and when she was right behind him she said,” Lunar Flarion, do you have any clothing? It would seem that you don’t have any, does your brother have any?”

“N-no ma’am, Trail and I don’t have any, well, any that don’t have holes or rips in them.”

“That is what I feared...” Crumpet sighed,” I can’t allow this, you are a kind child, and your brother sounds like the sweetest little colt ever, if your words are to be trusted. If you want... I would like to adopt you into my family.”

“M-Ms, I can’t s-say that that isn’t a generous offer, but I’m sure that you wouldn’t like me and my brother to bother you!”

“Nonsense! I can’t let children starve and be cold if I can help it! Please, I don’t want you two getting hurt, not any more than you have been!”

Flare looked at the door, then back at the changeling, was she really offering to take them in? Or was this some kind of crud, horrid joke that changelings pull on fillies and colts? The young colt sighed, he wanted to believe that he could finally have a family again, that his brother could be happy once more. They have already lost so much, what else could they lose? Flare put the bag on the ground and turned to look at the nymph. With a voice as calm as he could make it, he replied,” I-I would need to ask my brother if he is okay with it... I will return in the morning to tell you what he said... I-if that is a good time!”

“Of course, little one,” she replied calmly.

_-_End of Flashback-_-

“I asked Trail and he was more than happy to say yes. So I returned to her house and brought Trail with me. When Crumpet saw the both of us, she gladly let us in. I told her that we accepted her offer, and later that day, we were apart of the Crumpet family,” Flare concluded

“That was nice of her! And a lot different than what I’ve heard of changelings,” Prim said happily.

“Well, this chapter is almost over and so is the story,” Flare said as he ruffed Prim’s hair.

“H-hey! Haha!” Prim said.

“Anyways, the story ends with me talking to my cousin, just before... he... bit the dust, but it wasn’t the kid's fault, it was that damn flower. And... you know the rest...”

“W-well, I’m glad you told me this. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“Hmm...,” Flare tapped his chin,” How about we sleep, it’s pretty late.”

Prim nodded, she walked over to the covers and slid under them, Flare followed shortly after. The two got comfortable and soon Flare fell asleep. Prim stayed awake, waiting for him to do so. Why? She needed to tell her sisters what Flare had just told her...

...
‘PffffHAHAHA!’ Solar laughed loudly,’Mate! I-hahaha- It’s like! It’s like he knew what you were thinking, and did it anyway! Just to annoy you!’

Ĩ̵͙̈́'̸̨̛̤͕͔̰̮͑̓͘m̴͖͂̈̊̋̍̑͝ ̸͕́̾͜j̶̛̗̳̦͖̲̗̝̆̊͊̌̔̾ṷ̵̠̙͐̒ṣ̵͓̣̆̉ț̵͎̋ ̶̧̧̱͑͑̓̊̀́g̶̼̑l̷̯̟̹̺̖̾͂̆̕͝ą̷̢̤̙̩̣̹̈̃͌̋͊d̵̛̥̱͍̾͗̑̆̕͜ ̶̨͖͙̪̃̆̕h̷̰͇̾e̵͙̭̖̦͂́̒ ̵̛̼̤͊̿͑͛̈́̾t̸̨̼̭̺͍͔̮͌o̵̼̱̿l̸̡̦̜͓͎̱̐̿ͅd̴̡͚̫̠̯̉͐͊̚ ̷̨̰͈͇̓͆̓̉̃̀͘š̷̭͎̄̃͜ͅỡ̷̜̪̥̻͗̒̀̆͘ṁ̵̨͕̜̗͓͇̾́̈̾́ẹ̵̟͈̣̳̞͖̊̓͋̓̈́͝p̶̧̢̼̉͗͂̈́̾̿͑o̷̬̲̯̬̓̄̏̅́̅͘͜n̴̘̞͍̞͌́̊͌͌y̴͔̼̺͓̯͆̇̈́͊̿̿͜͠.̵̘͖͐̓́̑̚.̶̢͓̻́.̶̤̤̌̆͘͘'̷̲̮̖̭̬́̕’

‘I-I know, I am too,’

...

!&^@&%*%!@

Hmm... maybe I should encrypt these messages so that the viewers don’t know what I’m saying...
Well, I’ll think about it...
...

@&!&@((!@^

Author's Notes:

Flare’s history isn’t all sunshine and rainbows...
I hope that this chapter isn’t too weird or out of the blue for ya.

Chapter 18: The Sister's Meeting

Prim waited for a few minutes for Flare to fall asleep so she could go and tell her sisters this. Why now? She wanted to tell them this information for fear that she’ll forget some of the details of it in the morning. After waiting a few more minutes, she could tell that Flare had finally fallen asleep. She slowly slid out from underneath the covers and Flare’s grasp. She had to shuffle slightly to get her hoof on the ground. When she did, she pulled herself over the edge and fell face first onto the floor. The floor emitted a low squeak and Prim gave a sad groan. She got up and rubbed her muzzle softly. She looked back at Flare with less worry than what she normally would. Nevertheless, he didn’t wake up from either noise.

‘Good, now I need to get Midnight and Night’ Prim thought.

She stood up and moved to the door as silently as she could, but the night seemed to be against her, every step she took made a soft squeaky noise. When she reached the door, she looked back at the bed to see if Flare was still asleep. To her delight, he was, so she continued on with her plan. She turned the doorknob quickly, and thankfully it didn’t make any noise.

She walked out and shut the door behind her silently. She turned and began to walk to the sister who was closer to Flare’s room. The closest sister was Midnight, who was closer to Night. She walked to Midnight’s room without any interruptions other than a maid dusting a vase full of flowers. The two stopped and looked at each other. Prim pretended to sip her mouth and then pointed it at her. The maid nodded and continued cleaning the vase and Prim continued on with her mission.

After a few more minutes of sneaking around, Prim had finally reached Midnight's door. She knew that if she knocked, nothing would happen, not this late at night. She put her hoof on the doorknob and slowly turned it. Once the knob was turned fully, Prim pushed the door open. Once the door opened fully, Prim walked inside and pushed the door to were there was only a small crack. She snuck over to the bed, on the right side, in hope of waking up Midnight and not Tattered Moon.

As silent as a bat hunting its finale meal, Prim stalked the right side of her sister’s bed. When she could see the headrest of it, she stood up straight and looked at the form that slept, her sister. She raised both of her front hooves and naturally had to stand on her back ones for support. She moved both of them and placed them gently on her sister’s side or back. With her hooves in position, she shook the mare softly, whispering,” Midnight. Midnight wake up. I need you!”

*Sleepy Groan*” P-Prim... go away, you’re not a filly anymore... you can’t sleep here... you’re twenty-one...”

*Growls*”Midnight, wake up!” Prim whispered furiously, shaking the mare a little harder. The mare refused to wake up though, so Prim had to think of a different strategy. Prim looked on as the sleepy mare covered her face with the blanket, the only thing that remained outside the blanket was her ear. Prim groaned, she had to think of something, what would get this army mare up?

‘Oh! Right!’ Prim thought happily. She leaned forward and whispered the following into her exposed ear,” Midnight, the guards had gotten into the food rations again~.”

“HMPF!” The mare woke up with a large jolt. Large enough to push herself off the bed and onto her little sister. Prim squeaked as the weight of her older sister came crashing down on top of her belly.

Prim gasped for air as Midnight shook her head to get rid of her dizziness. Once the dizziness faded she looked down at her younger sister. Prim said hoarsely,” Midnight, I love belly rubs, but this isn’t what I meant...”

“P-PRIM!” Midnight yelped as she looked down at her. Midnight scampered up and helped Prim to her own hooves.

“H-hey, Midnight,” Prim coughed out as she rubbed her stomach,” Um... I hope I didn’t interrupt anything between you and Tattered...”

“W-what? Tattered Moon hasn’t slept in my room in a long time, sis.”

“W-why not?”

“Well, with him not being in the barracks at night will cause some suspicion. Besides, we’ll sleep together when he retires and when we get married...” Midnight’s eyes went wide and she faced hoofed at what she just let slip,” Ah, fudge.”

Prim’s eyes went wide and her hooves shot up to cover her mouth. A large blush covered her face as she said softly,” Y-you guys are getting married?!”

“A-AH! S-SHUSH! Mom, dad, and Night don’t need to know! P-please, c-can you keep a secret? For your big sis?” Midnight said, trying her best to give a warm and calmed smile.

“Oh, just like how I ask you guys to keep secrets but you never keep them?” Prim replied sharply.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, don’t tell anypony and I’ll keep all your secrets from now on! Guards Honor!”

“Hmm... Alright!” Prim said as she hugged Midnight tightly and comfortingly.

“Thanks, Prim.”

“Besides,” Prim said as she released Midnight from her hug and stood up. She booped Midnight’s nose and stuck her tongue out mockingly,” You know that I will always keep your guy’s secrets~!”

“All right... so what do you need?”

“Well, I need to tell you some things that Flare had told me! Meet me in the gaming room!”

Midnight nodded in understanding. Prim returned the nod, got up, and walked to the door. She had one for hoof clutched to her chest as she exited the room. Once Midnight saw Prim leave and shut the door behind her, she turned to go back to bed...

“Where is my pillow?” Midnight said upon gazing at her bed. She sighed and mused aloud,” Clever girl...”

---

Prim had done one of the most dangerous things you could do to Midnight... take her pillow. Why was this dangerous? It was dangerous because Midnight really liked her pillows, and would allow somepony to borrow one, but only if they ask. Prim took the pillow without asking, and she felt dirty for the robbery.

“Well, no going back now...” Prim said softly,”... Onward to Night’s room!”

She had exited Midnight’s room a few minutes ago and was now only a few feet away from Night’s door. She reached the door in only a few seconds and grabbed the doorknob. She quickly turned it and walked in, this time, not bothering to shut the door behind her. To Prim’s surprise, Night’s lights were on and the mare herself was drawing or writing something down on a piece of paper. When she heard the door open, Night quickly turned the paper over and looked over at the noise.

“Oh! Prim! Hey, how are you?” Night said nervously.

“Um... good... what are you doing? Why are you wearing a t-shirt?” Prim replied as she raised an eyebrow.

“Well... I’m wearing a t-shirt because I don’t have Fl- a coltfriend to snuggle with at night.”

“Well, I’m sure you can find one soon. Anyways, can you meet me in the gaming room?”

“Ok!”

The two stood there in silence for a few minutes. Night saw the random pillow in Prim’s hoof.

“Why do you have a pillow?” She asked

“Oh!” Prim said,” I took this from Midnight so she would come too.”

“Wow, I never thought you’d do that...” Night said as she got off her bed. She walked over to Prim and hugged her, saying softly with a sniffle,” I’m so proud!”

Like that, the conversation ended. Prim wiggled out of the hug and nudged Night in the direction of the door. Night complied and walked towards it. Prim followed suit, however, she couldn’t help but look back at the paper that Night had been using. She had to remember the task at hoof. The two exited the room in silence but continued to the gaming room.

---

Prim, Night, and Midnight now all sat in the gaming room. Prim had given Midnight her pillow back and Midnight gave her a stern talking to about taking something that isn’t hers. Night giggled and sat down as Midnight finished up.

“So,” Midnight said as she sat down next to Night,” What did you want to tell us about Flare?”

“Well,” Prim tapped her chin. What should she start with? ‘Well, I guess I should start with the whole ‘Endangered Species’ thing.’”Well, I wanted to tell you, first and for most, that Flare is endangered, both in this world and his own...”

“Wait... WHAT!?” Midnight’s exclaimed.

“H-he’s the last one... both here... and in his own world... oh dear,” Night said as she put a hoof to her mouth.

“Yeah, he is here, but there is only one more in his world... and I think that's the reason why he’s so sad...” Prim said as she looked down with a frown.

“Is there anything we can-” Night started but was cut off by her youngest sister.

“No, there isn’t, well none that you guys can help with...” Prim said sadly, her gaze remaining on the floor.

A long and pregnant pause settled over the three royal sisters, each one thinking differently about the same situation, but each thought had something in common.

‘What can we do to protect him?’ Midnight thought to herself.

‘Maybe I can help... make... maybe... maybe if Prim was okay with it?’ Night thought, she hid a blush that now covered her cheeks.

‘How can I... we... us? Ensure that he’s happy? Ensure that he won't be the last one? Wait... why are they surprised that Flare is the last one here?’ Prim thought.

Midnight broke the silence as she cleared her throat,” Well... we have to do something, it’s the law to protect endangered species, but we can’t really do much to help him. So Prim, what else did you want to tell us?”

“Oh, I also wanted to tell you that Flare was... scared... for lack of a better word by a machine that his adoptive father created. I think it was called The Core...”

Night looked at the table in the center of the room, there on it, was the book that Flare had given her. She reached out for it and grabbed it. She opened the book and went to the ‘Machenery’ section. Midnight and Prim started talking about something else that Flare had told her. Finally, after a minute of searching, Night found what she was looking for. There, smack dab on the right page, written in bold words was ‘The Core’. It contained a blueprint of it’s inner workings and it even listed the staff that worked there.

“There!” Night proclaimed as she turned to the staff section. Midnight and Prim both got up and walked over to their sister. As the two sat down, Prim started to study the page.

‘This book contains The Core and its working staff?’ Prim thought happily,’ Maybe I can find Dr. Malachite! Wait... why does that name sound familiar?’

“Huh... I didn’t expect such a large machine to have a small staff...” Midnight stated.

“Yeah, the reason for that is, is that there weren't many scientists in the underground or engineers for that matter, so they had to operate on a small staff!” Night replied, slightly angry at how careless the monsters seemed.

Once Prim found the name Malachite, she pointed to the page and said,” That’s him, that's the pony that made the machine... all by himself.”

“That’s impossible!” both Night and Midnight replied, Night continued off of that,” It’s impossible for one stallion to make a thing this big!”

“Yeah, that's what I thought too, but when Flare told me about how he used these ‘ancient runes’ to construct it, I was a little more on the side of believing him,” Prim said nonchalantly.

“Ancient... runes... the tarturus are runes?” Midnight asked, giving Prim a deadpanned expression.

“Oh! Oh! I know! I know!” Night replied eagerly as she raised a hoof.

“Yes, Night?” Midnight said in a mock teacher voice.

“Runes are ancient forms of pony writing that could be used for magic! They are very powerful, and could match and overcome powerful magic that we have nowadays!”

“Congrats! I don’t know if you’re right so... A+!” Midnight concluded in her teacher's voice.

The three mare laughed happily at that. Finally, after the laughter died down and the three sisters could speak without interruption Prim ended the small meeting. She got up and stretched, her eyes felt heavy and her body ached to get back to bed and be with her coltfriend. Midnight grabbed her pillow and Night grabbed her book whilst Prim stood up.

“Well... I guess we should all go to bed, we all have something to do in the morning.” Prim said with a tired smile. Midnight nodded, but Night, Night just looked at Prim with a mile long stare. Prim looked at Night, who looked away once under her sister’s gaze. Midnight flopped the pillow on top of her head and exited the room, humming an unknown tune. Prim turned to follow but Night stopped her.

“Prim... I think I can help with Flare’s ‘endangered’ problem...”

“Wait, really?!” Prim said happily.

“Yeah, but... I need to know if it is okay with you...”

“Um... okay, what is it?”

Night went silent for a bit. Finally, she breathed in and said in a short burst,” IthinkweshouldherdwithFlare!”

“... What?” Prim said as she raised one of her eyebrows.

“I-It’s kinda embarrassing to repeat but... I think we should...” Night stopped abruptly.

“We should... what?”

“I think we should... herd with... Flare...”

Prim’s mind went blank, she stared into to Night’s eyes. ‘She wants to... herd? With Flare?’

“No...” Prim said.

“H-huh?” Night replied with a confused expression.

“I mean... I’m not sure if Flare would be okay with it...”

“So... if Flare is comfortable with it... you’ll be okay with it?”

“Maybe...” Prim said,” I mean, me and Flare have just started dating... and... and then there’s mom and dad...”

Silence filled the room for a small amount of time. Night hated this silence, so she broke it.

“O-okay... I just wanted to tell you-” Night began, however, she was cut off.

“Do you love him?” Prim asked.

“Yes... well it’s more of a crush if you want to know since you love him already!”

“Okay... well goodnight, I hope you have sweet dreams, Night.” Prim concluded.

She turned around and left the room, she felt embarrassed and... jealous. She didn’t like being jealous, so she tried to focus on Flare as she walked to the bedroom. Though, the thought of her sister taking Flare away made her angry, was she being protective? Territorial? Whatever it was, she couldn’t help but feel wronged. This feeling followed her, even when she entered the bedroom where Flare laid.

-_- After Prim gets in the bed-_-

Prim wrapped her hooves around Flare’s back and held him close, her muzzle nuzzled soundly against his neck. Prim felt the large stallion wrap his hooves around her back and his muzzle moved next to her ear.

“How was your little get together~?” She heard him whisper.

*SQUEAK!*”Flare! H-have you been awake this whole time?” Prim whispered back.

“I felt you up and leave so I waited for you to return~,” Flare replied, he nuzzled her ear.

“Well, I’m glad you aren’t mad~,” Prim whispered as she nuzzled his neck.

“...Flare, tomorrow night, I want to test something with you... is that okay?” Prim asked sweetly.

“Sure...” Flare replied tiredly,” Just nothing too wild... alright?”

“Alright~.”

The two held each other close that night, but fell asleep quickly, their night went by peacefully. The next night will not be so peaceful as this one.

(Somewhere in the Razorwood Forest)

“Filthy werepony, do you think you could get away?!” A vampony snarled, a blade was held by their mouth.

“Stupid pony! We should’ve killed your kind long ago! Then we could rule as the worlds, rightful rulers!” The werepony growled and lunged forward to sink their teeth into the vampony’s neck.
...

!@^%*%!$@
L zloo qhhg wr vkrz Sulp Ioduh'v phprulhv...
Exw li kh zloo qrw vkrz khu wkhp doo, L zloo

-Doskd
!#@^#^%!$#%^&!

Author's Notes:

That text at the bottom of the page is not random letters, they mean something!

Chapter 19: Tough Negotiations

A sharp ray of moonlight struck Prim’s closed eyes. The small mare huffed sleepily as she tried to escape the light, but, wherever her body shuffled to, she couldn’t escape it. Not only that, but a large blue stallion was blocking the right side of her bed. So, she was in a conundrum, she wanted to sleep more, but she didn’t want to wake Flare. How was she going to solve this? Well, with her tired and half functioning brain at work, she moved her head to rest in between Flare’s chin and collarbone. This move effectively got rid of the moonlight problem and made it to where she was comfortable.

Prim sighed dreamily as she tried to enter back into the land of dreams. She was about to succeed but a monster by the name of ‘Alarm Clock’ started to beep loudly.

‘Curse you clock!’ Prim thought angrily, she imagined herself shaking an angered hoof at the fiend. She had forgotten that she had set the clock to go off... Sometime around seven in the morning. Today was Friday, one day off from both Flare and her sleeping in a little bit longer than normal. She shuffled slightly, as she tried to aim her one of her wings at Flare’s uncovered ear. She opened her eyes when she felt that her wing was within reach of it. She didn’t want to hit Flare in the face, so she had to aim carefully. Finally, when she felt that her wing couldn’t hit Flare, she slowly and gently pulled it from Flare’s back. When the wing wasn’t touching Flare, Prim quickly moved it over his ear, hoping that the leathery appendage muffled the noise.

She heard Flare groan softly, she knew that, even with her wing, he would wake up soon. Last night the two fell asleep for a few minutes, but both awoke again with little to no explanation. So they both blamed it on an unrememberable nightmare and stayed awake until it was around three in the morning. By then, their exhaustion had caught up to them. She wanted him to sleep in, she felt responsible for making him worry last night. However, she couldn’t do that if the alarm clock was going off.

The beeping then stopped, she knew nopony else was in the room, other than her and Flare. She heard Flare grumble as a hoof came up to rub his eye.

“Prim... Come on... It’s time to get up.” He said he didn’t open his eyes, however.

‘He’s still tired! Maybe I can use this to my advantage!’ Prim thought.

She moved her hoof and cupped his cheek with it. Flare shuttered slightly at the touch, but his instinct demanded to lean into it, so he did. With Flare seemingly cooperating, Prim knew that she had to take it. She said to him softly and sweetly,” Flare, go back to sleep~. You need it~.”

“Prim... No...” Flare said, he tried to push himself up, but Prim used her other hoof to keep him from rising to his full height.

“Oh no, you don’t~,” Prim cooed softly,” You need to sleep in, you’re too tired. Right~?”

“But Prim-” Flare started, but he felt Prim’s gentle hooves push him softly back down to the bed.

“’But Prim’ nothing. You spend too much time taking care of me, let me help you. Please, go back to bed~.”

*Sigh*” There’s no way out of this... Is there?” Flare asked sleepily, he rested his head back onto the pillow.

“No~,” Prim confirmed,” But I can help you sleep~.”

“Really?” Flare huffed softly.

“Yes~,” Prim confirmed once more. She leaned forward and gently planted a kiss on his forehead. She proceeded to wrap a wing around him and hold him closely. She could feel Flare trying to stay awake, but they both knew what would happen eventually. To her enjoyment, her plan had the desired effect as Flare began to fall back to sleep.

Prim laid there for a few more minutes. Once again, she wanted to make sure that Flare was actually asleep this time. After waiting a long period of time, she finally felt that Flare had fallen asleep. She shuffled out of his grasp and placed a pillow where she was, she hoped that Flare would still think she was there. With that out of the way, she exited the room and headed for the dining room.

---

Prim entered the room with food on her mind, but when she looked around and saw the worried faces of her parents, she knew something was up.

“Oh! Good morning dear, how did you sleep?” Honey Glow asked. She smiled as Prim Bite sat down.

“I didn’t sleep that well... But I had help from Flare with that~.” Prim said with a loving sigh.

“Speaking of him, where is he?” Blood Moon asked as he saw that his daughter entered the room without him.

“Oh! I told him to sleep in. He needs it.” Prim replied.

“If you say so...” Blood Moon said glumly.

“Is everything alright?” Prim asked, to which Midnight answered her.

“Not really. We got a message from King Fang, another tussle ended with a wereponies death.”

“Oh dear... Who is King Fang?” Prim asked.

“I asked them the same thing!” Night said as she gave them a pouty face.

“Well... King Fang is the king of the wereponies,” Midnight said,” And before you ask why you didn’t know about it. It’s because it’s not your job to worry about them.”

Prim and Night look at each other, then back at their parents. Silence fell upon everypony in the room. One lingering question hung above them all. Prim knew what it was and she asked it.

“So... What’s going to happen?” Prim asked.

Midnight looked over at Tattered Moon, who was eating breakfast. He looked up as he felt Midnight’s stare. Without saying a word he looked over at Prim as he tried to find the right words to explain what was going to happen. Once he found those words, he said,” We are going to have a meeting to discuss how we can prevent this from happening again. But, wereponies are hard to negotiate with, so if it comes down to an agreement... Let’s just say that we are going to need to be on our A game...”

“Yes, and as royalty, we all have to be there.” Honey Glow stated.

“They say that they are going to be here this afternoon...” Midnight added,” So we have some time before they arrive. Prim, I want you to make sure Flare doesn’t wake up and stumble in during the meeting.” Prim nodded, though she had to wonder how she was going to do that.

“Night,” Honey Glow continued,” Would you inform the staff about the wereponies pending arrival?”

“Of course!” Night chirped as she got up from her seat.

Honey Glow smiled, Blood Moon nodded, and Midnight and Tattered Moon went back to planning.

With that Night and Prim departed to do the tasks at hoof.

.:---------------------:.

Prim walked back to her room with a few sheets of paper and a pencil. She had to find a way to make sure that Flare didn’t get up and stumble upon the meeting. So she thought she would leave him a note! She walked over to a desk and set her supplies down. She took a seat and sat down, she knew that this was the best way to tell him, without him waking up. There was another problem though, she didn’t know how to start it.

‘Curse me for never thinking ahead!’ she mentally cried. She pouted as she looked down at the blank paper, which now taunted her lack of foresight. She tried to think of a way to start it.

‘Well... I can start it like a normal letter and move on from there!’ Prim thought happily, she moved the pencil over to the paper and started writing.

:. A couple of hours later.:

Prim Bite had finally written the perfect letter. It took her a long time to do it, and when she looked at the clock she nearly panicked. The clock read 11: 34 am. She needed to sign this note, put it where Flare could see it, and then hurry to the meeting room. She looked back down at the note that she had written and finished it off with her signature.

“There we go!” Prim said triumphantly. She grabbed the letter with her mouth and walked over to her sleeping coltfriend. She got up to the side of the bed and placed the letter right over his eyes. She adjusted it slightly and when she was done she sighed and nuzzled him.

“Two things down, one more to go!” Prim smiled. She went to the door and exited the room.

:...:

As Prime walked to the meeting room, she saw that both her parents, Midnight, and Tattered Moon had worry all over their faces. Night was the only one that didn’t, in fact, she looked rather excited to meet these wereponies. Prim saw that they were seated in a circle, four chairs were left open on the opposite side of them. One of these chairs was next to Night Blossom, who looked like she wanted to talk badly, really, to anypony that was there.

*Sigh*’I resign myself to my fate...’ Prim thought as she moved to sit down next to her sister.

“Sis!” Night whispered as Prim sat down,” I can’t wait to see them! I’ve only read about them from Flare’s monster book!”

That peeked Prim’s curiosity, she whispered back,” I thought you didn’t know they existed?”

“Well not in our world I didn’t!” Night whispered back dismissively.

“Well, what did it say?” Prim asked, hoping that the others were to busy worrying that they wouldn’t take notice.

“It says that they, along with skeleton and changelings, were on the front line in the Pony/ Monster war!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Night nodded rapidly,” They were almost as powerful as the skeletons!”

Prim raised an eyebrow,” What do you mean ‘almost as powerful as the skeletons’?”

Night rolled her eyes, Prim Bite knew that she was about to explain something that she thought was simple and obvious, but in truth, it made little to no sense,” Skeleton ponies were dangerous warriors! They couldn’t feel pain, they could resist most magic attacks and, they could unlock something equal to a controlled berserker mode!”

“...Wat?”

Night sighed softly,” That beserker mode makes them even harder to kill, while also making them stronger! But it would make them insane, causing them to not see friend from foe. But, skeletons or at least some of them could control it!”

“They sound dangerous.” Prim and Night both looked over at Midnight, she had listened in to their conversation.

“Were you eavesdropping?” Night asked, now gaining the attention of the others in the room.

“I wasn’t at first, but then you said something about wereponies.” Midnight pointed out.

“Yeah, do you know something we don’t?” Tattered Moon asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Well... Where Flare is from, he has a werepony working in his town. He also had a book that had the different species of monsters in it,” Night said defensively,” Also, what are you doing here?”

“What does the book say about the wereponies?” Tattered questioned.

“Answer my question first~,” Night replied smugly.

“Night Winter Blossom! Please tell us what the book says this instant!” Her father said.

“No no, she has a right to know,” Tattered Moon interveined,” I’m here because I’m second in command of our army.”

“Alright, that’s all I needed to know~,” Night replied,” As for what the book says on wereponies, they are powerful monsters that use more physical than magical attacks. The magical attacks they do use consists of ice-based elements. They could survive the harsh winter elements and would help the skeletons in winter raids. However, most of their kind, including the skeletons and changelings were wiped out, leaving a few monster variants left.”

Midnight nodded and her mother motioned for Night to continue. Night took a deep breath and said slowly,” They were vicious in battle, known for ripping out the throats of any that got to close. In some cases, they would get so enraged that the skeletons had to get involved and put a leash on them. But when the battle of Mt. Firestorm happened, most of the wereponies were wiped out by the ponies. Before you ask, there’s nothing else about them, no records of how they act outside of combat.”

“So we know how they act in battle...” Midnight said, she sighed and continued,” That’s still good if our negotiations go south and they wage war on us-”

Prim whimpered softly and shrunk down into her seat at the thought of a war. Everypony noticed and looked back at Midnight. She bit her tongue but continued,” S-still, I have good faith that this meeting will go well! Just in case! We can train our soldiers, just in case-” she stopped herself from saying ‘war’, she gulped,” Just in case they don’t agree with us!”

Prim nodded, she wasn’t as afraid of war and these wereponies until she heard what they could do. Night began to argue that they shouldn’t trust everything this book said since it was from Flare’s universe where they could be totally different. Though, just as the argument started, the sound of two heavy doors opening echoed throughout the castle. An announcer like voice proclaimed,” Now announcing the arrival of King Fang!”

The royal family looked over at the door to see a large, grey werepony with a crown made of platinum, encrusted rubies walk in. He was flanked by two werepony guards, one male, the other female. Their armor looked crud and was bent in different places. Midnight and Tattered Moon held in a scoff upon looking at the horrid armor. The two guards carried spears that looked to have been broken, fixed with tape and glue, then broken again with the same repair.

“Good evening King Blood Moon and Queen Honey Glow!” The wereponies voice boomed. His voice sounded gravelly and could rival with the sound of two rocks grinding together. He and his guards bowed as the two vampony royals got up.

“It is good to see you, King Fang,” Blood Moon and Honey Glow said in unison, they bowed as well.

“Well since the formalities are out of the way, shall we talk about the... Recent problems?”

“Ah yes, of course! Please, take a seat.” Honey Glow said, her hoof grazed over the three empty seats.

The three wereponies got up from their bow and walked over to their seats. Upon sitting down, King Fang noticed the three sisters and Tattered Moon.

“Who are you?” he asked, he pointed to Tattered Moon first.

“Your majesty, my name is Tattered Moon, I’m the lieutenant of the Royal Vampony Guard.” Tattered Moon bowed his head for a second before he picked it back up.

“Hm... And you?” Fang pointed towards Midnight.

“My name is Princess Midnight Bite, I’m the captain of the Royal Vampony Guard, your majesty,” Midnight hissed the last part softly, she already didn’t like him.

“You?” He pointed to Night.

“I’m Princess Night Blossom, your majesty.” Night said.

“And who are... You?” he finally pointed to Prim Bite.

“M-my name is Princess Primrose Bite... Your majesty?” Prim responded as she hoped she said the right thing.

“As pretty as the flower itself.” The male guard said as he gave her a sly smile.

“... T-thanks?” Prim bight shuffled uncomfortably in her seat as the guard's eyes watched her.

“Eh-hm, Saber Tooth, no,” Fang whispered, he leaned in and whispered,” She’s a vampony, don’t forget that.”

“I know!” he whispered back,” I’m tryin’ to make her uncomfortable, dad.”

“Well stop it! If you continue, we wont get what we want.”

“Fine.”

The female werepony giggled at the twos banter. Saber Tooth glared at her and Fang growled. The vampony family just looked on at the scene with many different opinions. The wereponies whispered angrily at each other for a few more seconds before Fang stopped it. He smacked his son on the back of his head and growled at the female. Both of them backed down as the king cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry for the interruption, shall we continue?”

“Of course.” Blood Moon replied.

“Alright, as you know, one of your vamponies killed one of my subjects... again!”

“Yes, I am quite aware of that. But I do believe that your subject started it first from the eyewitnesses there.”

King Fang snarled,” What witnesses!? Your murderous subject?”

“No,” Blood Moon replied calmly,” There were the subjects friends and parents at the scene. One of them saw the whole thing unfold.”

“And did nothing to stop it?!” King Fang pointed out.

“Your subject had a weapon, neither witnesses had one. Or that is what I’ve been told.”

“Hmpf! Looks like your subject lied! We wereponies don’t need simple weapons like a blade!” Fang huffed,” Besides, we don’t allow our subjects outside the military to own weapons!”

“Hm... then something is clearly wrong here.” Blood Moon concluded.

“Yes, something is very wrong!” Fang’s son roared.

Midnight glared at the stallion, who, upon noticing, glared back. Prim and Night both looked at each other. It was as if they could read each other’s mind,’ They act the same in battle a the do outside of it... aggressive.’

“Okay, okay!” Honey Glow shouted,” Let us talk about what needs to be done! Not bicker back and forth with next to no goal!”

“Hmpf! Fine, you have a point!” Fang admitted,” Let us talk about what ‘needs’ to be done!”

“Yes, how are we going to stop this from happening again?” Midnight asked.

“Well, us wereponies don’t have much land! We need more of it so we can grow!” Fang smiled slyly.

“How is this going to stop the problem?” Midnight and Tattered Moon asked.

“Well, we need to expand our territory so we don’t feel trapped! That is what needs to be done!”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t just give up land, it is occupied,” Night said as she floated a notebook in,” Most of the land is used for logging and mines.”

*Growl*” I know you have some free land!” the king roared.

Prim Bite jumped slightly at the voice. From here, she could hear as /Midnight ground her teeth.

“I’m sorry, but can you tell us where this ‘free land’ is?” Midnight asked, she didn’t hide the fact that she wasn’t in the best mood.

“Outside the Razorwood forest to the- OW!” Saber Tooth rubbed the back of his head. Fang had smacked him in an attempt to shut him up.

“Shut up!” Fang growled quietly into his son’s ear.

“Wait... how do you know that?!” Tattered Moon asked as he pointed a hoof at the king.

“I-I, u-um!” Fangs stuttered slightly. He glared at his son just before he grabbed him by the collar and growled into his ear again,” You told them! So it’s up to you to tell them that!”

His son gulped softly as he felt all eyes face towards him. He shook his head and cleared his face of all emotion, he said in a clear voice,” A group of werepony guards were investigating a monster complaint and were sent in to deal with it, later did they found out that the area was vacant, a large portion of it too.”

Blood Moon put his hooves together in front of him and leaned his muzzle into it. He gave a soft groan as he took in what had just been said. The wereponies entered his land unannounced, searched it, and left without saying anything... that was unacceptable and it violated their peace agreement.

“King Fang,” Blood Moon’s voice went from calm and collected to cold and harsh,” You had soldiers investigate on our land, for a monster? Not only did you not warn us in advance, but you did not tell us at all! Not only that, but your soldiers also scouted the area without any form of permission from us? This has violated the three of the many territorial rules that our agreement stands upon.”

A bead of sweat ran bow the three wereponies faces as they knew that they were in deep trouble. The female werepony, the one who has been silent during the whole meeting sat up straight and as calmly as she could, spoke,” Your majesty, the group that had done that was p-punished for breaking the rules.” That wasn’t a complete lie, the group did, in fact, get punished, but the one who lead it and his close friend was not.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that you kept it from us!” Prim Bite spoke out, much to the surprise of everypony else,” If you would have told us sooner, or told us that you sent a team to investigate the problem, then that problem wouldn’t be here with you!”

.: In Prim’s Bedroom:.

Flare shuffled in place as he slowly began to wake up. His mind woke up faster than his body, he could feel something covering his forehead and eyes. He groaned and forced his hoof to reach up. When he grabbed it he felt that it was paper.

“What the?” He pulled the paper off of his face to examine it. When he did, he saw that it was a note addressed to him. Curious he started to read it:

Dear Flare,

If you are reading this then you are awake! I’m writing this so I don’t have to wake you up! I need to tell you that there is a meeting going on and that you need to stay in my room. Don’t worry! I bet the meeting is going to be over soon, but if it isn’t, please wait for me to return to my room. Sweet dreams~!

xoxo,
Prim

“Huh...” Flare said as he finished reading the letter,” Knowing Prim that must have taken an hour or so...”

He glanced at the clock to see what time it was. He nearly facehoofed at how late he had slept in. Right now, it was 3:24 p.m. He got up from the bed and started to walk towards the door out of pure instinct. Before he could reach the doorknob he snapped out of his trance. He remembered that he was to remain here until Prim Bite arrived. He groaned softly as he went to go sit down on the bed.

“What to do...” Flare asked nobody.

‘You could talk to me~.’ Solar said.

“I’d rather go insane, I know what memories you like to make me see...” Flare replied as he looked over at Prim’s bookshelf.

‘Y'all ready doin’ it!’ Solar exclaimed.

“Oh shut it you orange eyed copy.”

‘Wow... RUDE!”’

“Why you gotta be so rude~!” Flare smiled as he sung the lyrics.

‘NO! IMMA LEAVIN’!’ Solar yelled back. He hated that song and Flare could never find out why.

Flare chuckled as he looked over the books on the bookshelf. As he expected, most of them were adventure or romance styled. He chuckled as he remembered the first time picking a book off of that shelf. Who knew it was going to lead here? Still, he looked for the book he read to Prim since he never got a chance to finish it. He looked at the spot he remembered Prim pointing at, and sure enough, the book was there.

The book itself was slightly dusty, Flare could tell as he pulled it out since a small dust cloud poofed outwards. The book softly levitated to bed. Flare placed the now open book into his hooves as his eyes scan for any form of bookmark that could’ve been left inside. To both his enjoyment and his disappointment, there didn’t seem to be one.

‘Well, the only place to start is the beginning.’ Flare thought. He opened to the first page and began to read as he waited for both Prim to arrive and the conclusion of the meeting.

---

“Are you accusing us of treachery?!” Fang asked, his anger rising.

“Yes, I am! You betrayed our trust and set hoof on our land without our permission, then proceeded to scout and leave it. That is treachery!” Blood Moon argued back.

Saber Tooth growled at the king, his eyes narrowing as if he was ready to pounce and sink his teeth into Blood Moon’s neck. Midnight’s glare could have cut through steel as she glared at the prince. Tattered Moon had wished he had brought a sword, the wereponies were getting more violent every passing second that they denied them land.

“We have done nothing but respect the agreement!” Fang growled dangerously,” It was your great “Moon Mother” who gave you all that land!”

The vamponies gasped at the denouncement of the Moon Mother. This time, it was Night who would shout,” YOUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WORKED ALONGSIDE HER TOO! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DENOUNCE HER!”

“WHY I OUGHTA!” Saber Tooth growled, he was stopped by his father’s hoof smacking the back of his head.

“Fine. Yes, our great-grand parents did serve her, we only wish to claim what is rightfully ours.” The Kings shift in tone scared the vamponies.

“I told you before!” Night started,” That, that land is going to be occupied soon by a logging company!”

“Don’t you vamponies already have enough logging companies?” The female werepony, whose name was revealed earlier in the meeting to be Jewel Finder asked politely.

The politeness caught everpony, including the wereponies, off guard. Night had to force herself to not have her jaw hang open. Once she felt that it would pop open, she replied,” No actually, we don’t. The forest that we are next to is dangerous for any form of logging company to be established. And that land you “Found” was going to be used later for one, since it was considered safe.”

“Well... maybe you can reconsider and relocate them to another area?” Jewels asked politely once more, she gave them a small smile.

“Sorry, but we can’t, they have been fighting to get there for a while now.” Honey replied.

Jewel was about to talk again but her king cut her off.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” He hissed in her ear.

“Trying to get a deal, sir,” Jewel replied,” You asked me to be here just in case things go south.”

“Well... do we have a chance of getting what we want?” Fang whispered back.

“No, I don’t think so, your majesty,” Jewel replied.

*Growl*”Fine,” Fang looked over at the Royal Vamponies. They could see the hatred in his eyes as he spoke,” We are going to need to cut this meeting short, I have important business to deal with at home...”

Blood Moon raised an eyebrow in suspicion, he asked,” More important than settling what can be done to prevent this?”

Fang scoffed,” Yes, like dealing with the family that lost one of their own kin to one of yours!”

The three wereponies got up from their seats and turned to leave. Fang and Saber Tooth didn’t look back, but Jewel did. When she did, she caught the eyes of Prim Bite. If Jewel could stay behind for a bit longer, she could tell them something important, but she had to stay with the king, lest she wants to raise suspicion.

:..:

The group of wereponies got into their silver and gold chariot and drove away, leaving the castle with a looming sense of danger over it. On their way back the King growled in anger and slammed his hoof into the side of the chariot, earning both a groan from the chariot and a muffled pained grown from himself.

“If they do not want to give that land over!” Fang roared,” Then we’ll have to take it from them!”

“Your majesty, I highly advise against-” Jewel said, but was cut off by Saber.

“No, you shut your mouth hybrid! That land is something we need desperately!” Saber claimed,” And if they won’t hoof it over then we’ll take it from them!”

“Yes, your majesty,” Jewel said, she hated being called that. One question lingered in her mind and she decided to voice it,” Your majesty, if I may, why do you require the land? I thought we had enough to make the kingdom large enough for thousands of packs?”

“Yes, and I believe it is a good time as any to tell you what we really want,” Fang puts his hoof on the back of Jewel,” As the royal advisor and guard, I will tell you that the land we seek contains the name of the Moon Mother herself! I believe that it is located in that area!”

“Isn’t the Moon Mother a myth?”

“HOLD YOUR TONGUE!” growled Saber,” She is real, and we want to know her name!”

“But what is important about her name, if I may inquire, your majesty?”

“If we find out her name, the legend goes that she will grant us a wish that will last for millennium!” Fang smiled a toothy smile.

‘Then I must not let you find out her name...’ Jewel thought as they reentered the Razorwood Forest.

.::.

“... Well, I’m glad that meetings over with,” Midnight said as she put her hooves on her hips.

“Yes... but I wish we could’ve gotten to an agreement.” Honey Glow replied.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, they left.” Midnight said.

“Well... I wished they could’ve left on a happy note...” Prim said sadly.

“Well... Tattered and I could help with that...” Midnight said as she cleared her voice.

Tattered Moon jumped up slightly at the mention of his name. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Um...” Tattered leaned in and whispered into Midnight’s ear,” Are you sure that now is a good idea?”

“Yes,” Midnight leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“What are you talking about?” Night asked.

“Yes, would you please tell us, dear?” Honey Glow asked.

“Well, Tattered and I have been talking about... certain things,” Midnight gulped softly,” Me and Tattered Moon... are going to get married soon and we need your condolences...”

“... Wow... I...” Blood Moon’s mind went blank. He looked over at his wife, who had the largest smile he had ever seen on her face.

“Really?!” Honey asked the family could tell that she was holding back her joy.

“Yes...Tattered prepare to have the life squeezed out of you like a ripe lemon,” Midnight whispered the last part to Tattered, who in turn, looked at her with a terrified expression.

“Wait... what?” Tattered could only watch as the queen lunged over the table at the both of them to hug them.

The hug felt similar to that of a python squeezing the life out of its prey. Any air that was in Midnight’s or Tattered’s lungs were now forced out. Prim and Night held back their laughs as Blood Moon got up to try and remove his daughter and future son-in-law from his wife’s grasp. Honey Glow didn’t budge and she only squeezed them tighter. At this point, it was unlikely that anypony could get the two out of the queen's grasp, so the only thing left to do was wait it out.

:Few seconds later:

When the two lovebirds thought they would breathe their last, the queen let them down with a large smile on her face. Tattered Moon and Midnight gasped for air as they rubbed their sides in pain. Honey Glow giggled, her excitement had not wained in the slightest. She looked over at Night and said happily,” Night, would you be a dear and help plan the wedding~!”

Night looked at her mother, a smirk clearly present on her muzzle,” Sure mom.”

“Oh!” Honey Glow turned back to look at Tattered Moon. She said,” I can’t wait to meet your parents! I wonder what they’ll think!”

Midnight, upon hearing that, cringed slightly. Tattered Moon sighed sadly as he turned to face Honey. He choked up slightly as he told her,”... My queen... my family isn’t here right now... they left for Neighpan...”

“Oh... well... when will they be back?” Honey Glow asked with a small smile. Her excitement now wained.

“They... won’t... they left for a family matter... and they said they couldn’t come back...” Tattered Moon looked away as he held back a tear.

“Oh... I’m so sorry,” Honey Glow said as she readied another hug.

Tattered Moon quickly responded as he saw her about to squeeze the life out of him again,” It’s fine! I’m Fine! please don’t kill me...”

“Well...” the family turned to look at a very happy Prim,” I’m happy you two are finally getting married! I can’t wait for it!”

Tattered Moon nodded and Midnight merely chuckled,” Well, I can’t wait for it either~.”

: End of Meeting :

Prim and Midnight were the last ones out of the meeting room. Prim waited for Midnight since she wanted to talk to her about something. Once Midnight exited the room Prim tapped her back with her wing to gain her attention.

“Midnight,” Prim said,” Why did you decide to say you were going to get married today?”

Midnight merely chuckled at her younger sister,” Prim, do you know how long it took for us to come to this desision?”

“No...?”

“To put it simply, five days after dating. We knew each other for a long time, sis~.”

Midnight patted Prim’s shoulder as she turned to catch up to her coltfriend. She started to walk away but Prim called out again which caught Midnight’s attention.

“Midnight... I have a question...” Prim said. She sat down and tapped her hooves together.

“Sure sis, what is it?” Midnight asked as she walked back over to Prim.

“Do you... do you think...?” Prim stopped herself

“Do I think what?” Midnight responded.

“Do you think Flare and I could get married? Or at least have a chance?” Prim asked as a small blush appeared on her face.

Midnight smiled,” Wow, already thinking of the big picture, huh sis~?”

“Midnight... do you think I have a chance with Flare?” Prim asked more in a more serious tone.

“Well,” Midnight started,” I think you do have a fair chance. Flare loves you a lot, and you love him a lot as well. Not only that you trust each other almost unconditionally. If I was an outsider, I would have thought you were already married!” Midnight laughed as she imagined it.

“So, you think I have a chance?” Prim asked hopefully as her face brightened up and her tail started to wag back and forth.

“Yes, but I don’t think you should pop the question to him yet, I think you should spend some time together on a few more dates~,” Midnight said. Her saying that made Prim deflate slightly. Midnight put her hoof on her sister's shoulder, her voice was calm as she said softly,” If you give it time... I’m positive that Flare would love to...”

“Thanks, Midnight,” Prim said, she leaned forward and hugged Midnight softly. Midnight almost jumped back at the hug, her mind flashed back to her mother's death grip.

Prim ended the hug and the two departed. Prim headed back to her room in pure happiness at the conversation she just had. This gave her confidence to try what she wanted to try with Flare this evening. She turned a corner and made a beeline for her room. She was about to open the door but stopped as she heard Flare saying something from the inside. It was muffled but she caught some of what he was saying.

“There is no way... Pegasi can’t do... not with a broken wing...”

Prim was now curious, she wondered why Flare was saying that. When Prim walked she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight before her. Flare was face first in a Daring Doo book, he looked rather irritated at it though. Flare looked up from the book and looked over at Prim. He smiled as he put a sliver of paper in place and put the book down on the bed. He got up and walked over to her, he spoke calmly,” Hey, how’d the meeting go?”

Prim’s bright face dimmed slightly at the mention of the meeting. She didn’t have to say anything to convey that it didn’t go well. Flare say her crestfallen look and walked to her side to wrap a hoof around her. She leaned into his side and had her muzzle touch his neck in an act of comfort. Prim sighed sadly as she nuzzled Flare’s neck. Flare moved towards the bed with Prim in tow.

“I’m guessing the meeting went south pretty fast?” Flare asked as he settled the mare on the bed.

“Yeah... the wereponies wanted land that we couldn’t give up...” Prim said sadly.

“Wait,” Flare said as he settled next to her,” You had to negotiate with wereponies?”

“Yes...?” Prim replied, confused.

“I could’ve helped. I know what they want.”

“What would they want?”

“A bone~,” Flare smiled as Prim giggled.

“Hehe~ wow, I never thought of that,” Prim replied, she stuck her tongue out in a joking way.

Flare chuckled softly,”Well... you guys were in there for a good long while, and it’s time to sleep.”

Prim looked nodded in agreement,” Yeah... it is really late, and that meeting did drain me...”

“Well, let’s get in bed,” Flare said as he started to shuffle around.

“Wait,” Prim said which caused Flare to stop. Prim blushed softly as she continued,” Can I try what I wanted to try?”

Flare raised an eyebrow as he tried to remember what she meant, once it clicked, he nodded.

“Good, now... can you lay on your back? At the top back of the bed?” Prim asked softly.

Flare nodded and did as she commanded. He laid down on his back with his head rested on a pillow. Prim sat there, her body unmoving as she had to force herself to do the next part. She slowly crawled towards him, much to his confusion. She got to him in mere seconds and started to move up his body at a slow pace. Flare started to get even more confused and slightly scared at what this mare was doing. Once Prim now loomed over the blue stallion, both now wore a large blush as the mare slowly descended. Her chest touched his as she rested on top of him. The mare finally stopped as her body completely rested on top of his. Flare finally had enough and asked,” Prim... what are you doing?”

“I’m trying a new type of snuggle... I lay on top of you and you... put your hooves on my hips...” Prim spoke silently.

“... Can... can you repeat that last part?” Flare asked with an awkward smile.

“... You.. put your h...hooves on my hips...” Prim’s blush was brighter than a ripe tomato. Flare looked up at her with a confused expression as he tried to understand what she just asked him.

“Prim... where did you learn this from?” Flare asked.

“A movie I watched with Night and Midnight... why?” Prim answered innocently.

“I... um... nevermind,” Flare said,” So you want me to put my hooves on your hips? Like... hold you?”

“Yes... is... is that alright?” Prim’s head rose from its rested position as she looked into Flare’s eyes with worry.

“No, it's fine!” Flare responded quickly. For some unknown reason, he struggled to wrap his hooves around her hips, but finally, moved his hooves and wrapped them around Prim Bite’s hips.

Prim Bite squeaked as she felt him hold her tightly. This caused Flare to loosen his grip, much to Prim’s dismay. She leaned forward and whispered softly,” Flare... please hold me tighter...”

Flare’s face glowed bright red at the request, but, he did so. His grip tightened around her waist and he swore he could hear a soft moan come from her. Though he didn’t have time to think about it as Prim whispered into his ear once,” Can I try something else~?”

“Um...” Flare looked into the bright pink orbs and said,” ... Sure?”

“Alright~ I want you to rub the base of my wings~.” Prim’s voice seemed to lose some of it’s innocents.

“A...Alright?” Flare didn’t know what was happening here, but he once again did as he was told and used his magic to rub the base of her wings. This time, he could hear the moan that she emitted.

Flare rubbed them softly for a few more seconds and then stopped. Prim purred softly as she snuggled up on Flare’s chest. Flare laid there with Prim snuggled up on his chest, and he was very confused. Prim nuzzled his chest before she looked up slightly at Flare. “Thank you~. That meeting really made me stiff and uneasy,” her tone was now back to an innocent one.

“No problem,” Flare replied as he kissed Prim’s forehead. Prim giggled at the soft feeling of his lips.

*Yawn*” Good night, Flare...” Prim saidly dreamily.

“Good night, Prim,” Flare replied tiredly. He used his magic and pulled the covers over them. They slept happily that night.

...

!@!#@#!$!

Plgqljkw dqg Wdwwhuhg'v pduuldjh lv lq wkh qhaw fkdswhu~

- Doskd
!@!#@@#

Author's Notes:

Wow! You Exist!
Once more I apologize that this took so long to write.

Chapter 20: What Comes Up

: Months after Chapter 19 :

The autumn air was nice and cold, the smell of pinecones and sour apples was ever present as the town readied for the wedding of Tattered Moon and Midnight Bite. The moon was bright in the sky on this November night. In the Royal Garden sat the event in its full glory. White with a few strands of dark pink was the color scheme of the event. Night walked around and checked the decorations and food that was available. She wore a simple white dress with her mane in a bun. Rose and Thorn were walking around with her, mostly to check out the food that was available. A few guards who knew Midnight and Tattered well stood guard at the entrance, but instead of wearing their usual armor, they wore black suits with thin plates of steel sewed into it. Prim, however, was with the bride herself, along with the seamstress. They were getting her ready for her big day.

Birch Tree had finally groomed Midnight’s mane and was just now putting down the comb. Midnight's mind was buzzing with excitement but other emotions, such as nervousness, lingered inside it. It was her dream to marry somepony, one who cared about everything she cared about. Somepony who could handle her, keep up with her. She remembered the first-day Tattered Moon signed up for the job. He was nervous, soft-spoken, but a good stallion looking to defend his home. She didn’t really take that much notice of him, he didn’t seem to be the type that would get into too much trouble. To her enjoyment, he grew tougher and tougher every day and one day, she felt a longing for him. She couldn’t place it, but it felt like she found the one for her. Today reflects on that, and she could finally feel her heart be complete.

She sighed dreamily(something that isn’t normal for her) and gave a small goofy grin. Her mind was in a place of peace and joy for once, but Fate, being a cruel mistress, caused her to snap out of it at the giggling of the other mares in the room. Midnight looked back to see the two mares giggling at something.

“Um... whats so funny?” Midnight asked as she turned to her body to face them.

“Nothing really,” Prim said with another giggle,” It’s just your so cute when you think about Tattered Moon today~.”

“She is quite right, princess,” Birch Tree said as she held a hoof to her mouth.

“First off, Birch, you don’t have to call me princess in here, we’re friends. Second, I am not, an I repeat, I am not cute!” Midnight said crossly.

“But you are~!” Prim complained softly.

“Aye, you be careful with what you say today, missy~! I may do the same for your and Flare’s wedding~,” Midnight said with a large grin.

*Squeak*”W-what?” Prim asked as her face started to turn red.

“My prin-,” Birch started but stopped as she saw an annoyed look on Midnight’s face. She cleared her throat and said again,” Prim Bite, it’s really no secret that you and Flare have been going on a few more dates, and your talk of marriage is no secret either.”

“O-oh... at least the paparazzi doesn’t know!” Prim said as she closed her eyes and gave an awkward smile.

“Yeah well, there’s a bunch that is going to show up to this event so I would be careful if you don’t want it to be known.” Midnight said.

“Yes, I would advise against giving those meat heads any form of attention. Besides, if the news knew, some would be against the idea, others would be in the middle, and some, thank the moon, would be excited and happy with it!” Birch said. She then turned to Midnight and looked her over. She felt that the dress was missing something, so she turned to Prim and asked with a sly smile,” Do you think we should put a pretty pink bow in her mane~?”

Prim smiled widely and looked over at her sister. She giggled as a thought came to mind,” Yes, I do think so, maybe a nice purple one to show her soon-to-be husband that she isn’t all rough and tough~.”

“NO.” Midnight said flatly.

“You sure, sis~?” Prim asked with a smug grin, a grin Midnight knew she got from Flare.

“Yes, I am SURE!” Midnight said crossly.

The two other mares giggled, both of them knew well that Midnight hated bows and ribbons. Prim even more so because when she was a little kid, Midnight was playing with a very large bow and then got tied up in it. The memory of this made Prim giggle, causing the already annoyed Midnight to be more annoyed. Midnight shook her head and rolled her eyes. She wondered how Tattered Moon was doing.

---

“So... how do I look now?” Tattered said as he adjusted the cuffs on his suit for the hundredth time.

“Keep adjusting your cuffs and they might as well be made of metal,” Flare replied with a smirk.

Tattered Moon deadpanned,” Well, at least I’m not walking a rut in the floor!”

Flare shrugged,” You’re right, I already stopped that from happening, but seriously, stop adjusting your cuffs.”

“Ugh, fine...” Tattered removed his hoof from the cuff of his suit.

Flare stared at the lieutenant, normally, this wouldn’t get under his skin, but this was a big day for him. It also didn’t help that the paparazzi and news stations were here to watch the whole thing unfold. It didn’t help as well that this was the fifth suit he had put on. H3e sighed, he needed to get Tattered’s mind off of it right now.

“So....” Flare said, catching Tattered’s attention,” Midnight really wants kids.”

“Yeah... she really does. She says she’s ready for motherhood,” Tattered said with a chuckle.

“Well, are you ready for mot-fatherhood?” Flare asked.

“Well... Midnight thinks I am. I’ve said that after we are married, that whenever she wants a kid, to just tell me...” Tattered Moon said, wearing an awkward smile.

“My friend, my brother! You have sealed your doom!” Flare said with a smile.

“Oh ha ha!” Tattered shot back.

“Well, when you’re in the bedroom, I hope that you survive the night,” Flare said with a smile,” and when you’re limping in the morning, I’m going to be worried about your health and see if you need to be checked into the doctor.”

“I...” Tattered Moon looked at Flare with a deadpan look, his mind confused by what the blue jokester stallion just said,” I... that... that wasn’t what I expected you to say... Okay, who are you and what did you do with Lunar Flarion?”

“He’s right here, looking at you,” Flare replied back.

“Okay... so what time is it?” Tattered Moon asked.

Flare lifted up his watch and smiled,” 14 divided by 7 and 23 times 1.”

“... what,” Tattered’s head leaned to the side.

“It’s 2: 23 pm, you have an hour and seven minutes before you walk out there and kiss the bride.”

“Geez... that long?”

“Well, that is what ya get for having Night plan it, she will give you time to enjoy yourself before you get married,” Flare said.

“Well... it gives me time to collect myself... and try on another suit-,”

The door to the changing room glowed blue then slammed shut. Tattered looked back at Flare whose eyes were replaced by his giant red one.

“Two lettersN.O.” Flare said with a dark grin.

“Okay, okay!” Tattered Moon replied quickly,” So... what do you want to do in the meantime?”

“Hm... wanna play some War? I got a deck of cards!” Flare said with a smirk.

“You’re on! I never lost a game of 24!” Tattered said with a cocky smile.

“I’m going to make you eat those words!”

---

‘Flare had that 5 of spades up his sleeve, I know it!’ Tattered thought as he waited for Midnight to walk down the aisle. He stood underneath the old ivory covered archway, one that the royal family has used for years. The royal garden and its many colors created the perfect picturesque scene for all to enjoy.

Tattered Moon stood next to the altar. Blood Moon stood in the center while Night stood next to him as the mare of honor. A song now filled the air as Tattered Moon turned his head to look down the aisle. The white figure walked slowly down the aisle, her head held high as her eyes scan the crowd for familiar faces. Each face she found made her feel less nervous and happier. She reached her destination in higher spirits than when she started the small walk. She looked at Tattered Moon with a smile that she tried to hide. Tattered returned her smile with one of his own. The crowd gathered there looked on in happiness and the news stations rolled the cameras as their king began to speak.

“Citizens of the Vampony Kingdom, we are all gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Princess Midnight Bite and Lieutenant Tattered Moon. Today, they combine their souls in harmony to live together from now, till the end of time.” Blood Moon’s voice echoed over the citizens as he let it sit. Once he believed that the words have sunk in, he continued,” Today, these two will share their futures, and make a new one for those to come!”

Blood Moon’s gaze landed on Tattered Moon. Tattered Moon didn’t know what to feel when the crimson eyes of the king fell on him, so all he did was listen,” Tattered Grey Moon, do you take Midnight Rosetta Bite as your lawfully wedded wife?”

Tattered Moon stared into the eyes of the king and said happily,” I do.”

Blood Moon nodded and looked over at his daughter with the same stare. Though she stared back with the same stare as her father said,” Midnight Rosetta Bite do you take Tattered Grey Moon as your lawfully wedded husband?”

Midnight didn’t waste a second, she stated proudly,” I do!”

Blood Moon nodded once more and called out,” Bring down the necklaces!”

Prim Bite with a small pillow in her mouth brought forth the two necklaces, one a deep, beautiful purple that could rival the nebula in space, the other a fiery orange that could rival that of a roaring fire. Tattered Moon picked up his necklace and Midnight followed his lead. The two looked at each other as they put their necklaces over their lover's neck. Prim backed away and went to find her seat next to Flare. The only thing left to seal their souls together was a kiss. The two leaned forward and their lips connected for a few seconds. The sound of vamponies cheering echoed throughout the town, the after party was now started as the newly wedded couple kiss broke.

---

Near the maze was a dance area for all those who enjoyed the music to enjoy dancing. Next to it was the food table and next to that stood Flare and Prim. Both Prim and Flare had been asked to dance by many vamponies, each time they denied them, much to the other ponies disappointment. The two stood there and talked about both the wedding and themselves. The news stations were more focused on the new bride and groom than they were them, which worked to their favor. They could talk in relative peace, but they still had to talk quietly about more personal things.

“I’m still surprised that I was asked to dance,” Flare said as he shook his head.

“Still, I don’t like those mares, they look prettier than me,” Prim huffed.

“Aw, don’t be like that, I still love you~,” Flare said silently.

*Purr~*” I know~,” Prim cooed softly, she looked around to see if anypony was looking at them. When she thought nopony was she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

*SNAP!* Unbeknownst to them a worker for a well known and loved news station snapped a picture of the scene. The mare giggled as she looked down at the photo. She turned to leave but ran into the chest of something very large. She looked up into two glowing yellow eyes of a stallion that looked similar to the one she just took a picture of. The things that were different were that his coat color was gold and so was his mane.

“I’ll take that~,” the stallion’s voice was deep but calm,” We wouldn’t want this little thing to spread~.”

“H-hey!” the news mare complained as the stallion pulled the photo out of her grasp. She scrunched up her nose and looked the stallion directly into his glowing golden eyes. She reached for the photo but her red dress prevented her from doing so.

She watched in horror and anger as the stallion lite the photo on fire in a golden glow. She growled at him angrily,” No! Don’t you know what that could’ve done for my career?!”

“Yes, I do. Did you also now that once that photo gets out that Flare over there will be hunted down by angry anti-monster groups?” the golden stallion said,” Listen, I know that you don’t want to ruin another ponies life, so I did this to prevent that.”

The voice he used was calm, caring, and full of worry. She didn’t know why but she soon felt sad that she took the picture, she had a feeling deep down that, that may happen but she didn’t listen to it. Now, it was as if the stallion of gold opened her eyes and showed how much damage could be done by it. She shook her head and replied soft,” I-I’m sorry... I didn’t know that was going to happen...”

“It’s okay, just be careful of things like this... also, don’t be that guy who takes a picture and ruins another’s life since they wanted to keep it secret,” he said calmly. This whole situation gave her a weird feeling that this shouldn’t be happening, but she couldn’t pin it down as to why.

“Thanks, mister...?” she asked, hoping to get his name.

“Names Alpha, be careful of what you do in the future.” Alpha winked and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

The mare blinked rapidly, feeling as if she was supposed to do something important, she looked down at the camera she held and quickly remembered. The sadness she felt was replaced by anger as she turned to see if the two were still there. To her disappointment, they weren’t, now nopony was going to believe her. She took in a deep breath and decided to continue on with her mission to snap pictures, then return home and sleep with her own husband.

---

Midnight and Tattered Moon now headed back to their room, Midnight enjoying the little piggyback ride that her husband gave her. The two laughed and talked the whole way to their room, both in a carefree state of mind. However, Midnight’s mind was now dead focused on one thing as they neared their room.

The door creaked open and closed as Midnight slid off of Tattered’s back. As Tattered took off his tuxedo, he noticed that Midnight had a strange look on her muzzle and a strange, yet oddly sweet smell was faintly present. Tattered grew suspicious as Midnight got out of her dress completely. She sauntered over to him and pressed her muzzle rather forcefully against his. He felt Midnight’s hoof move up his chest and stopped right under his chin. At this point, the strange smell was getting stronger and Tattered wondered if Midnight was the one giving off the smell. It was at this moment, Tattered knew what he had gotten himself into.

...

*In the Werepony Kingdom*

“Captain, when is the invasion ready to launch?” King Fang asked

“My Liege, it will be ready tomorrow,” she said

“Good, then those vamponies will finally give us what we want!” The king looked back at the captain and dismissed her. Tonight, they rest, tomorrow, they take the land!

Author's Notes:

Now you see who left behind the BOOK!

Chapter 21: Must Come Down

BANG!

The sound of the castle doors being forcefully opened caused the remaining guards to charge at the intruders. Though they all fell when sleeping darts hit their exposed body parts. Six figures carrying blowguns walked in, their king behind them. The royal vampony family had scattered except Tattered Moon and Midnight who rallied the remaining troops to fight the heavily armored werepony troops. They only lasted a few minutes until they were both captured, tied, and thrown into the main lobby.

Flare, Prim, and Night ran towards the back of the castle, three of the six guards ran after them. One of them was the female werepony named Jewel Digger. They couldn’t aim their blowguns accurately enough to hit them so they had to resort to chasing them down until they tired. The group got to a split in the path and Night split off and went right, while Prim and Flare went left. One werepony broke off and chased the mare to a dead end. She tried to fight her off but the werepony was stronger and finally tied her down to be put with the others.

While the three ran away, the King and Queen fled in the opposite direction. Despite their age, they ran faster than the wereponies. Whenever one of the two wereponies got too close, Blood Moon shot a beam of magic at them, which struck them in the chest. However, the wereponies bulldozed through it, barely affected by the blast. As their run was throughout the castle continued, they called upon guards that have not fallen, which were few in numbers. The wolf guards were slowed down but their darts knocked them out. Even though the wereponies were outnumbered, the vampony guards fell like flies. The two were captured shortly afterward, hoping that the rest other their children are safe.

---

“Give it up!” The female werepony roared as Prim and Flare neared a locked door.

“Prim, I need you to get behind me!” Flare commanded as they stopped.

The two female wereponies stopped a few steps away from the two. Jewel grabbed her blowgun as her friend did the same. Flare glared at the two as his horn glowed a dark blue. They took aim and shot the darts at Flare. His glowing aura grabbed the darts which turned them around and chucked them right back at them. The two dodge them and took aim again with the same result. The two wereponies looked at each other and nodded, they had to charge and overpower the unicorn.

On three, the two charged him, Jewel, slightly behind her friend. Flare’s aura wrapped around the friend and slammed her into the wall. Jewel jumped and grabbed the stallion around the neck. He shook violently, trying to get her off. In response, the mare jumped onto his back, she tried to grab a sleep dart so she could jam it into his neck. She soon was stopped by the stallion standing up on his hind legs and rammed his back into the wall. She didn’t let go, even as he kept ramming her against the back. She grabbed the dart and was about to do the deed, but she felt something violently yank her arm. She looked over and saw that her arm was engulfed in a dark orange color. With a quick and much more powerful pull, she flew off the stallion’s back and into her friend’s body, who had started to get up.

“Oh ho ho! I don’t think so!” the stallion’s voice was different, it was cockier.

Prim looked at what she assumed was Flare. Though there was a difference that she could not ignore. For one, Flare’s left ear was back, his coat was lighter, while the blue in his mane was a darker blue than before. He was slightly shorter than Flare, but that didn’t make him any less imposing. Prim scooted to the side to see the side of his face, and sure enough, his eyes were different as well. Instead of one glowing red eye or two little red ones, he had two bright orange eyes that glowed like fire.

“Man! It feels good to use this body again!” ‘Flare’ said.

“ W-what?” Prim said with great confusion. The two wereponies looked at him with the same confusion. However, unlike Prim, the two wereponies recovered from it quickly.

“Oh, Flare never told you about me did he?” he asked,” Well, the name Solar Eclipse! Nice meeting ya!”

*Fwoomp!*

The sound of the blowgun being used grabbed the two’s attention. Mainly Solar’s since he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see a dart in the center of it. He looked up to see the two wereponies advancing slowly, for which he mentally chuckled,’ How adorable, they think I’m going to be affected by that~!’

When the two got in range Solar struck. A large white, sharpened spear-like object burst from the ground in front of them, causing them to jump back. This elected a loud laugh from him, his orange eyes now settled upon Jewel’s friend, who started to load another dart into her blowgun. Quickly, a blinding white figure rammed against her and pinned her to the wall nearby. She looked down to see a large skull with three horns, two on the sides and one in the middle. The middle one was hooked underneath her armpit while the other scraped dangerously against her armor. Jewel didn’t look at her friend as she aimed her own blowgun. She had a clear shot, with one puff of air the dart flew out... but it was blocked. A similar spear-like object burst from the ground and stopped the dart dead in its tracks. A loud metal pang was the only noise the pole gave off.

“What the!?” Jewel yelled,” What is that thing!?”

“Sharp!” Solar roared as the object rose out of the ground. The back of it was in a diamond-like shape with a strange blue jewel in the middle. With great force, the thing flew towards her, she ducked out of the way, barely dodging it as it clipped the top of her ear.

The other mare tried to push the heavy skull away with little to no progress. She looked down at the floor, her Blowgun just out of hoofs reach. She mentally face hoofed at how blind they were, attacking a unicorn with nothing but blowguns. This thought only fulled her rage as she started to kick and hit the skull, hoping that it would back down from the blows... it didn’t even budge. Jewel looked over at her struggling friend, and when she saw that she didn’t have her blowgun, she looked for it whilst dodging Solar’s attacks. When she saw it, she dove for it, narrowly dodging another sharp spike. She picked it up, tossed it to her, and dodged another spike.

The trapped mare reached for the for another dart. Though it was harder since her right arm was pinned upward so she had to grab it with her left hoof. When she finally felt it, she grabbed it but it slipped out of her grasp. She growled lowly as she went to grab another one. She looked up to see how the fighting was going on, and she wasn’t sure who was winning. Jewel had gained some ground, Solar Eclipse had lost some, and Prim was cowering behind him. Once again, she dropped the dart, furious, she slammed her hoof onto the skull creature, earning herself a loud crack. She looked down and saw tiny fissures climbing over the top of the skull. With that, she heard a loud grunt come from it. She hoped that now it would back off, and it did... until it opened its mouth. She watched on in horror as the skull charged up something.

*WHIRL... BOOOOOOOOOOM!*

She barely managed to dodge the beam of pure death as it punched a hole through the hall where she once stood. The skull glared down at the mare. Jewel, Solar, and Prim looked over at the large hole in the wall.

“Shiiiii-,” Solar looked back at Prim and changed what he was going to say,”-z... Three! YOU SHOULDN’T BLOW HOLES IN THE WALL!”

‘That’s 3.14, not 3...’ Flare’s voice echoed to Solar,’ And I would suggest looking at the mare with the blowgun cause...’

*Floomp!*

Another dart flew and hit Solar dead in the neck. He reached up and quickly pulled it out, his mind becoming slightly foggier than before. Another dart hit him, this time in his shoulder, he then started to stumble slightly. Solar heard voices, but they became more and more muffled as the final dart slammed into the base of his neck. His vision started to darken as he felt hooves on his side. As the world turned and grew darker, he looked back at where the two wereponies were, hoping to get a last hot on them, but all he saw were three or four thick black shadows coming at him. That is when he fell to the ground, unconscious.

...
In Flare’s Mind
...

“WELL! THAT DIDN’T WORK!” Flare yelled angrily as he helped the wonky Solar Eclipse up.

“Be thankful that they didn’t kill anyone,” another voice echoed.

“VAT NOESN’T EAN DA DTAY WON DU IT!” Solar said, the darts took effect rather quickly.

“Is... is he... drunk?” the voice asked as he walked into view.

“No, he’s just having a bad time with the darts...” Flare responded.

Flare looked over to one of the many, MANY, empty spots of his mind and thought of a couch. In a second, a dark red couch appeared and Flare guided his inner demon to it. Solar took the couch happily and passed out because of the darts. Flare looked up from the sleeping form and to the darker figure. His eyes glowed brighter as the dark figure grew closer.

“Listen, I can help, give me control and I can help them!” the figure said.

“No, not after what happened last time!” Flare said with a pointed gaze.

The figure’s eyes glowed a dark blue as he said,” I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do it!”

“But you still did! Even after I told you not to!” Flare argued back.

“I couldn’t help it!” he argued back.

“No... Yes? I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it!” Flare said back as he turned his back.

“Fine, then I guess this conversation is over!”

---

“W-what do you want from me!?” Prim asked as she watched on. Flare or Solar Eclipse was now tied up by the head of the group while the other walked towards her with a rope in her mouth.

“We need to bring you and lug nut back to the lobby,” She said as she pinned Prim down.

“N-no! Let me go!” Prim struggled but the mare pinning her was far larger and heavier than her.

The mare grabbed Prim’s wings and soon began to wrap the rope around them and the rest of her body. Throughout that, Prim continued to struggle, blocking out most of what the two were talking about. Even as she heard something about an overthrowing, she continued to struggle, believing that they were talking about her families overthrowing. Though the conversation that the two where having wasn’t about the vamponies being overthrown.

“So... you’re saying that the stallion is the key to getting rid of the prince?” Jewel asked.

“Not a doubt in my mind, it said in the old text of the alicorns, something dark shall free the light!” the mare exclaimed happily as she finished tieing Prim Bite.

“You sure... he looks to be a dark blue, not dark, Bones...” Jewel replied.

“Hush, who read the ancient text? Me or you?” Bones asked.

“Um... I did, you just took it as fact even though the book is hundreds of years old!” Jewel said with a deadpan stare.

“Hush! Don’t worry, if that doesn’t work, we have enough in our pack to take down the prince himself- HEY STOP STRUGGLING IT'S GETTING ANNOYING!” Bones snapped at the princess.

Prim whimpered and looked at Flare’s body, hoping silently that he was fine. Bones noticed this motion and leaned down to whisper into her ear,” He’s fine, trust us.”

Prim looked up at the mare with a confused expression. She opened her mouth to speak but Bones’s hoof rested on her lips, silencing her. She shook her head, telling Prim to not say a word when they would enter the lobby. Prim merely nodded as she was taken away to the lobby. Flare and Jewel were left behind for Jewel had to wake up the stallion. She had to be honest, the whole chasing thing was really just to throw off the prince, but she guessed she got caught up in it and let her body go into auto pilot, cause this only made her job more difficult.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance, cursing herself for letting her instincts drive her into this delicate mission. She looked for an anti-sleep dart, something that sounds fake, but is real. It’s a dart jack-full of everything that can wake somepony up. She searched her armor for it, but didn’t find it, she thought it may have come loss during the fight. So, she looked for it, overturning some wall that had been blasted. To both her luck and horror, she found the dart, but it was broken into pieces.

“No... NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!” She begged as she picked up the broken pieces,” NO! That was the only one!”

---

“You hear that?” Flare asked the dark figure.

“Yes, I hear a distressed mare...” the figure said,” It’d be a good idea if we act now!”

“Er... just... no! Yes? I still can’t decide... I... can I trust you?” Flare asked.

“Yes,” the figure said with a smile,” If anything goes wrong, you can blame me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll already do that,” Flare said with a dark smile.

“Alright, give me your hoof...”

---

“Okay! You can do this the old-fashioned way!” Jewel said with an awkward smile. She walked over to the stallion and got sat on top of his belly. She raised her hoof and slammed it against his cheek. The heavy sound of it echoed off of the walls and Flare’s head slammed sideways onto the floor.

When she did this, a small amount of black fluid sprayed from his mouth and eye sockets, which splashed onto Jewel. She gagged as she felt the cold and thick fluid hit her face. She tried to shake it off but it wouldn’t budge, so she reached up and forced it off of her face with a hoof. The goop slid off onto her hoof, which she held up to her nose to smell. One sniff was all it took as she gagged louder, it smelled like burnt rubber with a side of decaying wood. Two smells she thought could never go together to make something worse.

Leaning as far as she could away from her hoof, she wiped it onto the stallion’s chest. That is when something caught her attention, the black fluid/ goop started to gather around the stallion’s head, slowly moving down to her back hoof. Noticing that the thing was alive she jumped off of the stallion and almost bolted out of the room... yet something stopped her. The same smell and cold feeling hit her hard as the black mass grabbed onto her leg. She looked back to see it covering the stallion, the blackness turned his fur void black, and the strip of black in his mane had vanished and turned a dark blue.

She heard a sicking pop and crack as the body started to spasm uncontrollably. His head cracked with each violent tremor, and with each movement, she tried harder and harder to move away from him. She then heard a voice in her mind as it’s growl turned into a horrid whisper. Its voice grew distorted after each second, and after each second, the stallion grew less and less twitchy. Then, it roared into her ear, and she screamed. This time, she pulled herself out of the void and began running, running faster than she has ever ran before... only to be stopped by the black void wrapping itself tightly around her chest and stomach. She was forced to look back as the void turned her around.

She squeaked loudly at what she saw. She was face to face with what looked like a demon made of shadows.

“Well well well~, what do we have here?” the voice of the demon was deep and had a lighter-voiced echo to follow it up.

“Please! Don’t hurt me! I’m trying to help!” Jewel squeaked as she covered her eyes to hide from the creature’s completely white ones.

“Help?” the creature mused,” You are doing a rather sh!@#@ job of DOING IT!”

“Please! I need your help!” Jewel yelped.

“Why should I help you? A pony that invaded and took Flare’s... friend?” he asked dangerously.

“So that we can end a tyranny!” Jewel said, giving the demon a large yet obviously forced smile.

“That doesn’t mean I should help you, cause I don’t trust either!” the figure smiled as Jewel’s faded, he was enjoying the worry that she was giving off, she could tell.

“Okay... okay... I’ll give you a short version!” Jewel took a deep breath and started,”I and a pack called the Outcasts are trying to get rid of Saber Tooth, the prince of the wereponies. We don’t trust him and we don’t believe he deserves to be crowned king... So I started a pack with wereponies who thought the same way. We infiltrated the palace and I found myself looking at plans for an invasion, so I’m here now to help stop it!”

“I’m just going to say that is barely believable...” he replied.

“LISTEN! I CAN GET YOU THE PRINCESS AND FAMILY BACK!” Jewel yelped in desperation,” All you have to do, is scare the king into leaving and get rid of the prince!”

“... Fine, since I don’t have any other options...” the figure slowly put the mare down, but the darkness kept hold of her.

“Thank you, mister...?”

“ The name is Forbidden Light,” he said,” Now tell me, where did they go?”

...

“What are you going to do with us now that we are defenseless?” Blood Moon asked.

“Well, you serve no purpose to us! So we are going to throw you into the dungeon and let you wilt away with no food or water!” Saber Tooth said with a sly smile.

“I have a feeling that you’re going to eat those words!” Prim said.

“Really now?” Saber said,” Who can stop us!? There aren’t any magical skeletons in that flimsy book of yours to come and stop us!”

‘That’s where you’re wrong, fleabag!’ was the thought that ran through the whole family’s mind.

“You know what? I don’t have time for you filthy things. GUARDS! Take these prisoners to the darkest cells they have!” Saber ordered, not looking back at the two guards.

No movement... no noise. The prince turned back to see why the guards haven’t moved, only to find that there weren’t any there.

“WHAT THE-!?” He shouted, but a deep voice cuts him off.

“I’d suggest you surrender now, you have no one to protect you...” the voice sounded from every corner of the room.

“What the!? Who’s there!? By my royal blood, you will show yourself creetin!” Saber ordered.

“I don’t normally take commands from a RUNT, but I guess I can do that for you.”

The echoing of hoofsteps sounded behind him. The prince turned around and grabbed his sword. He froze at what he saw, and the vamponies looked on in both horror and happiness at the black figure. Happiness because it was a familiar face, but horror, cause he looked evil. He was taller than normal, his eyes glowed an eerie white as they could see his pointed teeth. Saber unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Forbidden Light, who merely laughed at it.

“You think a simple sword is going to stop me?” he asked.

Saber roared and charged at him without a second thought. He reached the figure and swung the sword to the side, hoping to cut the fiends head off in one swipe. That is what he expected, but what happened was that a thick black shadow shot up and wrapped itself around the sword. With a single movement, it shot away and slammed into the crystalline wall, embedding itself deep into it. The royal family and werepony looked at the sword with fear. The prince slowly backed away from Forbidden Light but his attacks weren’t done yet. He bared his teeth and lunged forward bite down on the unicorn’s neck.

“Nope,” Forbidden Light said, he stopped the prince in mid-air, just before he slammed him into a nearby pillar. The stallion let of a groan as he tried to stand back up.

“Listen, if you don’t give up I’m just going to wrap you up and let the royal family decide what to do with you,” he said,”So be the bigger stallion and give up.”

“Not... until... I WIN!” Saber roared as he lunged towards Forbidden Light again, this time, the black figure had enough, and did simply what he told Saber he would do.

...

Saber Tooth, now wrapped up in rope, the werepony king now retreating, and the pack that revolted cheering, Forbidden Light felt that the day was almost complete, but one thing was getting to him. Flare’s body was low on energy, so he had to find a place to rest soon, but he couldn’t leave the royal family tied up, so he walked over to them to set them free. Midnight, Blood Moon, and Honey Glow grew slightly fearful as he got closer, but Prim and Night grew more comforted, and Tattered Moon... he didn’t know how to feel.

With a sharp flash and the glow of his horn, the ropes fell to the ground cut to ribbons. Prim got up and ran to hug the pony she believed to be Flare, Night looked on at him, her mind filled with questions. Tattered helped Midnight up while the two parents looked on at the Forbidden Light.

“Thank you Flare!” Prim said happily.

“Nope, I’m not Flare...” Forbidden Light replied.

*Squeak!*” W-who are you then!?” Prim asked as she jumped away from him.

“My name is Forbbiden Light, I’m a friend of Flare,” He said, he gave a small smile.

“That's... nice...?” Honey Glow asked as she stepped casually towards him. She stopped when he looked directly at her.

“If you think I’m going to hurt you, don’t. First off, Flare would have my head if I did anything to hurt you. Two, I may look evil, but I’m not,” he said calmly.

“Yeah, sure,” Midnight said with a scowl,” Listen, it may just be me, but I don’t trust DEMONS... anyone else agrees?”

“He’s not a demon!” Prim argued.

“How is he not a demon?! Tall, evil-looking, powerful, scary! He has it all!” Midnight pointed out.

“Yeah, but he isn’t evil!” Night rebuddled.

“You don’t know-!”

“Midnight, calm down, please?” Tattered asked.

“... Fine... but I’m not done with you yet!” Midnight growled.

“Well... that was interesting... I knew I would cause alarm but I didn’t think I’d cause this much alarm...” Forbidden Light said before he got hit with a wave of nausea,” Ah...”

“Is something wrong?” Prim asked.

“Yes... I need to... need to get to a... bed...” Forbidden stated wearily,” Before... I use up the rest of... of Flare’s energy...”

“Oh! Head to my room, it’s not far from here, just go down the hall and to the left!” Prim said.

Forbidden Light nodded then walked off to the location. Midnight glared at him as he left, then glared at her sister, saying firmly,” You are letting him, sleep. in. your. ROOM!?”

“Yes, I am!” Prim shouted back,” He needed a place to rest, so I gave him a place to go to!”

“Prim, please, understand that I want to keep you safe, and I trust Flare, I really do! But I don’t trust that thing that has control over his body!” Midnight said honestly.

“Well, if you trust Flare, then you should trust his decision to trust Forbidden Light!” Prim replied back calmly.

“I just... don’t want to you get hurt!” Midnight replied, her parents, Night, and husband stood by and watched.

“I won’t... cause I know Flare would never hurt me,” Prim said with a cheery smile.

Prim smiled and walked off to her bedroom. The others looked at each other awkwardly, feeling that the tension from the fight was still there. Night smiled calmly and said,”Welp... it’s late so... imma head to bed! See you guys in the morning!”

“Yes... I believe that sleep is the best option right about now...” Tattered Moon replied as he nuzzled Midnight whole softly nuzzled him back.

“You go on ahead... we need to give our new guests a place to rest then we’ll be heading there ourselves!” Honey Glow said with her usual chipper smile.

...

Prim opened the door to her room slowly. Her mind replaying the events of today and how Flare sent two powerful creatures to protect both her and her family. Once she opened the door she stepped in and closed it, her body now begging to go to bed since of her close proximity to it. Following her bodies command, she turned around and walked towards the bed. Of course, there was already sompony on it, but it wasn’t Forbidden Light, it was the pony she knew and loved. Happily and with a newly found tiredness, she hopped up on the bed and snuggled closely against him, her wing wrapped around his back as her head rested next to his.

She soon started to doze off, and with her final amount of consinceness she cooed softly,” Good night... my knight in shining armor...”

Author's Notes:

I’m tired... Imma gonna go to bed now...

...

Forbidden Light REF sheet, for those who want to see the character up close!

Chapter 22: Exile Begins

Author's Notes:

IMPORTANT!
Hello!
I wanted to tell you, the amazing reader, that this story is gonna be postponed for a little while since I am working on another project. But, do not fear, for if you do like the story and wish to see more, I will update it and chapters will come out to continue it until its final!
But, I also wanted to thank you, the reader, for reading this story. I wanted to thank you for taking time out of your day to read a random story about monsters and vamponies. I am truly thankful for it!

“Prim... wake up,”

Prim felt a soft poke, she groaned softly as she tried to wake up. Another soft poke and another, each one caused the young mare to gradually grow more awake. The starting point of the pokes was her belly, yet they slowly moved up to her face, and once she felt a poke to her cheek she finally woke up. With a soft yet angry glare, she looked over at the pony who was poking her. Even though her vision was slightly blurry from a rude awakening, she could make out the form to be Night Blossom. She yawned and stretched before she got herself up, from the looks of it, Night Blossom was tired as well. Prim’s eyes finally came into focus as she gave Night a confused look.

“Family meeting...” she said.

“It’s... four in the morning...” Prim complained as she tried to snuggle back up against Flare.

“It’s five...” Night said as she grabbed Prim and tugged her off the bed.

“NoOo!” Prim complained as half of her body hit the floor.

“Prim... family meeting... get up I can’t carry yooooooou....” Night complained.

They both groaned as Night tried to drag her off the bed. Prim gave little resistance as the rest of her slipped off the bed... they’re very professional when they are tired.

...

Prim and Night walked tiredly to the meeting room. Nothing happened other than the two holding each other up when they tripped or fell. Upon reaching the room, they opened the door, stepped inside, and sat down at the large round table made of wood. Tattered Moon, Midnight, Blood Moon, and Honey Glow sat around the table as well, each one at a degree of tiredness. Honey Glow, who would normally smile and greet them didn’t say anything and her smile was more forced than anything else. The rest of them had a more serious look on their muzzles.

“Alright, since we’re all here, let's talk about... the problem,” Midnight said.

“What problem?” Prim asked.

“...Well... the problem is... Flare...” Tattered Moon explained,” Well, his friend... Forbidden Light.”

This caught Prim’s attention,” What do you mean?”

Night chimed in as well,” Yeah!”

“Well... the truth is...” Honey Glow said.

“He’s dangerous,” Blood Moon finished,” We don’t know what he is capable of.”

“If that’s what you’re afraid of, I can go ask him!” Prim replied.

“No, that doesn’t remove the danger of the abilities he has,” Midnight countered,” I believe we only saw a fraction of it yesterday, and even then, it’s strong enough to block a blow from a sword and embed it into a CRYSTAL WALL!”

Prim was silent when Midnight finished, she had a great point, they barely knew the true strength of Forbidden Light. Though that didn’t deter her much since she knew that Forbidden wouldn’t hurt any of them. She straightened up her back and said firmly,” Flare wouldn't hurt us! And neither would Forbidden!”

“You don’t know that!” Midnight argued. Tattered Moon jumped slightly and put his hoof on her back, he tried to calm her down. Midnight didn’t look at him, her gaze both worried and stern that was aimed towards Prim.

“Well, if he wanted to hurt us he would’ve done it already!” Night said with a soft smile.

“First, why are you defending him? Second, he could just be trying to butter us up, then he would strike!” Midnight replied.

“I have to agree with your sister,” Honey Glow said.

“Yes, we know Flare would never hurt you, but we don’t know how much control Flare has over Forbidden Light,” Tattered Moon said calmly.

Prim was taken aback and slightly angered by their thought that Flare would only protect her. She was about to argue back but Night beat her to it,” First off, Flare would protect you as well! Two, it’s obvious that Flare can control Forbidden Light since when I went to get Prim for this “Meeting” I found Flare not Forbidden Light!”

“So? You don’t know how long it took for him to become Flare-”

“It took at least a few minutes because when I went to my room he was Flare!” Prim countered.

“OKAY ENOUGH!” Honey growled, her hooves slammed onto the table,” We are getting nowhere with this! This isn’t a trial on if Flare is going to attack us, this is about his friend!”

“You’re right... but we just can’t trust him... Forbidden Light I mean...” Tattered Moon said calmly, which caught Midnight’s gaze.

“The only way... the only way to solve this is by a vote on what to do with him...” Honey said.

“Before we do, we need to know our options!” Night replied.

“Yes, so it’s either he stays, or he gets kicked out of the kingdom, or, we lock him up and make sure he isn’t dangerous,” Midnight said, she rose up and firmly planted her hooves onto the table.

“WHAT!?” both Prim and Night yelled.

“What did he do to deserve banishment!?” Prim growled.

“He didn’t break any laws! We can’t lock him up!” Night argued.

“It doesn’t matter, he is dangerous!” Midnight argued back, Tattered Moon pulled her back and kept a grip on her arm.

“She’s right, we have three options,” Blood Moon concluded,” Let’s vote about this.”

Prim and Night looked at each other, both knowing what option they were going to choose. Midnight looked over at Tattered Moon, her eyes glowing softly with determination to protect her sisters. Tattered had to look away since he knew that Midnight would read him like a book, he didn’t feel the exact same way as her, but he knew he had to protect his people... and his wife. Blood Moon and Honey Glow both felt saddened by this, even though they didn’t even vote yet, but they have a feeling that, whatever happens here, will affect them.

“Okay, those in favor for keeping Lunar Flarion here?” Blood asked.

Within a second both Prim and Night’s hooves shot into the air. The rest looked on, all of them expecting this. Once their hooves fell, Blood Moon said,” Those in favor of banishment?” Every other hoof shot up into the air, other than Tattered’s.

Blood nodded and asked finally,” All those in favor of temporary imprisonment?”

Tattered’s hoof slowly came up. Midnight was slightly annoyed at her husbands choice, but she was happy that he didn’t vote in favor of keeping Forbidden Light out and about. Honey Glow looked over at Night and Prim,” I’m... so sorry Prim dear, but, Flare needs to go...”

Prim growled loudly, causing everypony in the room to move back slightly. Her eyes started to burn as tears started to form, but, she turned her head towards Midnight and the growl grew deeper. Midnight’s head slowly moved backward as the growl grew louder and louder. Prim’s growl soon died as she hung her head in defeat, she got off of her seat and walked out of the room. The whole room felt colder than ever as the mare exited, all of the ponies there felt sorry for Prim, but not more so than Midnight. Midnight’s stone cold deminer cracked slightly at how her sister looked, a pang of guilt ran through her as she looked on whilst her sister walked away in defeat.

Midnight thought for a moment, then looked up with a firm look,” I’m going to go talk to her, you tell the guards about Flare, dear.” Tattered Moon nodded as she got up and walked towards where she thought Prim was going.

...

Midnight walked for a few minutes, looking for her saddened sister. Every second that passed, Midnight felt guiltier for her decision, but she kept telling herself that this was for her sister’s protection as well as the kingdom’s citizens. She kept walking, her mind dead set on the closest room that wasn’t always occupied, the gaming room. As she looked for the room, she could see small wet droplet son the floor. Her guilt worsened as she knew of their origin.. her sister.

Once she found the gaming room, she pressed her ear against the door to try and hear if Prim was in there. The soft sound of a mare crying could be heard, Midnight knew, she had found her sister. She opened the door slowly, it gave off a light creaking noise as she walked in. Once she was inside, she scanned the room for her sister. That, however, didn’t take long. Midnight saw Prim laying on the couch with her hooves covering her eyes and her wings wrapped around her body. Midnight walked slowly towards her, each step she could hear her sister’s cries grow louder. Finally, she reached the couch and climbed onto it. Prim’s weeping form did not budge as Midnight scooted closer to her.

Midnight looked down at her sister, trying to think of a way to calm her down. She thought of telling her straight, hugging her, even snuggling against her to keep her calm like she did when they were younger, though she didn’t want to do any of that, cause it’d right out of the blue and make her feel uncomfortable, which is what Midnight didn’t want. So, she put a hoof on her sister’s back, but her wings pushed it away. Midnight said softly,” Prim, please, understand that I’m doing this to protect you.”

Prim’s voice was filled with sadness, more so than before, as she spoke, a small tear slide down her cheek,” He... didn’t do anything wrong...”

Midnight didn’t have the heart right now to tell Prim that it wasn’t that Flare didn’t do anything wrong, but it was more out of the fear that he was dangerous. Instead, she chose a different idea,” Well... how about we go see him? You can say goodbye to him”

*Sniff*” I would, but you probably told them to tell Flare to leave...” Prim started to calm down slightly.

“I did, but you can still tell him bye,” Midnight said calmly.

Prim didn’t say a word, she only nodded as her sister helped her up. Though, in her mind, she thought that she could tell him to meet her at a spot. She forced her smile away at it, she shall congratulate herself later with the leftover wedding cake. Midnight looked over at her sister, she saw that she was trying to hide her smile, and she smiled softly, thinking that her idea made her sister smile. The two decided to walk to Prim’s room to find Flare, really, the only place he could be right now, the entrance hall. Midnight knew that the guards would’ve escorted him to there so that he could leave without much difficulty. Though... every step they took closer to that hall, the more if feels like they weren’t going to have a moment with Flare...

...

Two guards sat there, their gaze distant and their minds cluttered with emptiness as they recounted what they had just seen. The stallion of another universe, willingly giving up and only asking a simple favor. The stallion that was almost everponys’ friend or at least mild acquaintance in the castle, now gone without a trace of where he once stood. The final favor of which he asked was to tell Prim that he was sorry that he couldn’t stay, and that he’ll miss her. Their gaze was averted by the sound of their captain calling out to them.

“Holly! Clover! Where is Lunar Flarion?” she asked. The two turned and saluted her, both noticing Prim, who was looking over and around them. They both knew she was looking for Flare.

“He... um... he!” Holly stumbled over her words.

“He... just left, your majesties!” Clover finished.

“WHAT!?” Prim shouted and glared, causing the two guards to shake. Prim’s eyes had both rage and sadness in them.

“If I may, Princess Prim, he has left a message for you!” Holly replied shakily.

Prim’s glare softened, but not by much,” What is it?”

“Flare said,”Tell Prim that I’m sorry for my departure and that I’ll miss and love her.” That is all, Princess Prim,” Holly replied.

Prim looked at them with a look of pure confusion as she processed what they had just told her. The two guards, trained for most dangerous situations, prepared themselves in ways that didn’t look too obvious. Midnight’s ears fell to the side of her head as she saw the gears finally start turning in her sister’s head. The three held their breaths as Prim’s eyes widen, they waited for her to shout at them, but nothing came, nothing but a rather soft, “Oh...”

Prim turned around slowly and walked away from the group, her ears flat against her head as she sniffed away a tear. She didn’t look back as she said,” I... guess I’ll be in my room... alone...”

The group released their breath in a collective wave of relief. They all looked over at Prim, whose head was down. Clover felt guilty, he looked over at his captain, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. He tried a second time, and this time, he spoke...

“I’m sorry, Princess Midn-” Clover started.

“No, you did your job, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Midnight said,” Dismissed.”

The two guards saluted and walked back to the barracks. Midnight looked over to where her sister was now walking, but, she didn’t see Prim. She knew where Prim was, but she felt that she overstayed her welcome near Prim at this point. Though, her sister instincts told her, yelled at her to go and comfort her. She tried to ignore them, and walked away, to the dining room to see if she could find Tattered Moon to talk to... privately.

...

Prim’s slow walk to her room was most painful, for she thought of the fact that she couldn’t even talk to Flare anymore, even more so that she couldn’t even see him anymore. She didn’t want to, but her mind recounted their moments together as both friends and as marefriend and coltfriend. Each memory made her feel both happy and sad at the same time, but, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the thoughts out of her head. Each thought was either a question or a memory, the questions hurt her the more she thought about it.

‘Why would he leave without putting up a fight?’ Prim thought,’ Does he actually love me? Or does he care to much about me that he didn’t want to see him hurt others?’

‘Where is he now?’ One thought yelled above them all. She felt as if her mind had cleared in that instant, she could only focus on that one thought as everything around her was drowned out. She later ran into her bedroom door.

-_-

*Somewhere in the Razorwood forest*

Flare had teleported to a random location. Why this location happened to be the deadly forest called Razorwood still confused him. He could’ve sworn that he wanted to teleport to the abandoned castle of the Solar Witch and the Night Bringer. Though he guessed his teleport got interrupted by something. So instead, he tried to look for at least a path to somewhere, anywhere. He walked over tree roots, under large trees themselves and went near a patch of poke-dotted blue flowers, that he sensed had trickster type magic connected to them. He wasn’t sure if he was going deeper or not into the forest, but he still continued his trek. Though he could feel that he was being watched by something, something powerful and magical, he could never pinpoint its location.

After searching for a good hour or two, Flare had finally found something, a tree with Tiki Masks around it and a door. He knew that it was about to get dark since the forest started getting darker. He didn’t trust the building though, simply because he didn’t know why it was here in the first place. Though he didn’t get time to pack anything, and he didn’t have any form of shelter other than the creepy hut.

“Tsk, creepy hut or outside?” Flare asked himself.

*Growling*

“Creepy hut it is!” Flare said, walking straight towards the hut. He looked back at where the growl came from and saw to glowing blue eyes staring at him, and he could swear, within the moonlight that was left, he could see that the creature had scales that were bright, light blue. Flare still walked inside, after running into the door first, thinking that he’ll think about it inside the safety of this ruined house. Once inside, he could’ve sworn that was the thing stalking him. It felt powerful, looked powerful just from the eyes it had, and he could sense a lot of magic from it.

He found a place to sit, an old chair. He had to admit, whoever used to live here had a knack for potion making. He could see a giant couldrin in the center of the room, potions on nearby shelves, and rotten ingredients with a small number of books. His interest grew greater about the books. He was sure that nopony was going to be back in a while... or ever, so he picked up a book and levitated it over to himself. The cover had a thick layer of dust on it, which Flare blew off. He opened the book and found a name, or what he could assume it to be. It was mostly faded to a point where it was the same as the page color, but what he could pick out was Z. O. A.

‘Probably the previous owner of the book...” Flare thought. He flipped the page and saw more another name. This name made him scratch his head, it was... Twilight Sparkle.

‘Great, another mystery to unravel, just my luck,’ Flare thought, annoyed,’ Maybe this book contains some answers...’

...

‘My queen, I have found the target!’ The light blue creature thought.

A female voice echoed back,’ Luminous, please, I’m your friend. Also, I don’t like it when you use the word “Target”, sounds like you’re going to kill somepony...’

‘Sorry... but I have found him!’ Luminous thought back,’ What should I do?’

‘Keep watch over him, and slowly lead him to the sanctuary,’ the voice responded,’ I can wait for him myself. I also don’t want him to panic.’

‘Yes, my q-... friend,’ Luminous replied,’ I will...’

‘Thank you, dearie,’ she replied,’ Though I can say that I cannot wait to meet him! I would like to talk to him about her~!’

‘Prim?’ he asked.

‘Yes! I can see that their relationship is growing!’ she replied happily,’ I just want to help it stay strong!’

‘Yes...’ Luminous replied,’ Shall I see you when the moon rises?’

‘Yes, and please, take your time with this one!I don’t expect him to come in just two chapters without a time cut...’

‘Yes, madam! Luminous, over and out!’
...

Chapter 23: The Past

The small castle sat silent, the Royal families decision has been met with both criticism and love from all types of vamponies. The ones who dislike this idea were public about it, saying that the monster that they banished was a hero for repealing the attackers. The ones who didn’t like the monster said that he used evil magic to repeal them, therefore, he was dangerous, but if he was evil was debated. Some even opted to hunt him down and kill him, since some of them believed that he should have perished for his usage of evil magic. Misinformation, rumors, and the like spread quickly throughout the kingdom, but to say this was a crisis was an over exaggeration. Many vamponies, though in different opinions were rather peaceful towards others, the ones who opted to hunt Flare weren’t claimed by either side, both thinking that it was both dumb and meaningless to attack him when he is no longer in the town or the nearby towns. The Royals remained mostly silent, and so did their staff and guards.

Prim Bite, though she lost the only pony she loved, hid most of her anger and sadness, thinking that, in time, she could cope with this, but, certain things always got to her. Her sisters noticed that she started to not eat as much, nor drink as much. Her parents talked to her about it, but she denied help, saying that she was fine. Though they all knew she wasn’t, they all knew she wanted him back, which worried them. Night was worried about the fact that Prim might become impulsive, acting without thinking first. Midnight thought that Prim is eating less because he left, a thought that was later confirmed by Night after she was done counseling Prim. Her parents worried, simply because their child was saddened by their decision. They felt doubt grow in their minds, thinking they acted without true reason to, without asking questions, only giving into their fear of the unknown, they acted without proper thought. Prim simply thought they were overthinking things just a little bit.

It had been three days since Flare’s exile, the growing reports of vamponies trying to find him grew slightly, some of their subjects questioned if they acted out of nothing but fear. This was a problem, and this only helped the seed grow its roots into their minds... They thought they did something right, and in truth, they kinda did, they wanted their citizens safe from harm's way, but if the wereponies figured out that not only did the Vamponies give up Flare, they could recruit him into their ranks. Though this was highly unlikely, it still worried them.

------

Flare had been wandering farther and farther out of the small hut. He had read the books, each one containing different types of potions brews, herbs, spices, and the like. Only after discovering that diary did he find out about the history before vamponies. To him, he was shocked to see that the sun actually existed in this world, thinking that the moon was the only celestial body in the sky. He thought about this, and how, in every other history book he had read here, the sun was next to mythos, like the vamponies were afraid of it. He could think now, think about the world he was in. Though this proved a challenge, as he looked for different roots and such to make a cure for the Poison Joke he had stepped in by accident. To say the cursed flower did something to him was an understatement, it played a cruel joke. Others, from what the books had said, were affected physically... he was affected mentally. All he could think about was bad and horrid thoughts, his time in the woods where Reaper left him to die. The angry beasts that clawed at him, howling to have fresh meat. Only one got a good swipe on him, and that is the main thing that is prevalent. The three scratches on his right side... yet that wasn’t where it had ended, no, when he had gotten out and had the marks healed to scars, Reaper struck again, hitting his head with the spear that caused all of his problems.

*Bonk*

“Ow! Geez...” Flare growled, he was too in thought that he had just run head first into a tree. Glaring at the tree, he walked around it, tripping slightly on the roots.

*Sigh*” Well... look at yourself Flare... you found love in a princess who loved you back... and now...” he chuckled sadly,” You’re nothing more than an outcast... wondering how she’s doing without you, with those crazy bats hunting you down for reasons you don’t understand. When did my life go downhill?”

‘... it is my fault...’ Forbidden’s voice echoed softly,’ I messed up badly... and it costed not just me... but Solar... and you... I should’ve given you back control to talk to them, tell them I’m no threat to them...’

‘Forbidden, it is over and done, no need to be sad now,’ Solar’s voice interrupted.

‘He’s right bud, it doesn’t matter now.’ Flare thought back as he turned to head back to the hut.

*Sigh*’ There isn’t much going on here, and I can’t seem to find that fungus we need for that potion.’ Flare grumbled.

‘Let’s just head home... I think that is the better option.’ Solar stated,” You ain’t getting that mushroom today.”

“You’re probably right... I have been searching for a good few hours...” Flare admitted.

‘I guess we head back to the creepy hut,’ Forbidden said.

“Yes,” Flare answered,” Though I have no doubt more of the hunters are here, I’m going to have to move camp soon.”

‘Not only that but the guards that are sent to stop them seem to try and get you as well,’ Forbidden growled,’ Either they are trying to subdue you, or take you out of an equation we know nothing about.’

‘There we go again,’ Solar said,’ No more theories!’

The sound of the two arguing echoed in Flare’s mind as he turned and headed back towards his hut. Only to hear something from just beyond the bushes. He stopped and listened in, and he heard a voice, male, adult most likely. Then hears another voice, a female one.

“He is- No, he is not hurt- Poison Joke, that is all,” The male voice said, and echo following it.

“Find the mushr- Yes, and try not to scare- he can be dangerous if messed with,” The female voice called back.

“A- you wish, Mother M-,” The voice cut off as Flare walked closer.

*CRACK*

*SNAP*

“HEY!” Flare shouted as he heard the thing flee, and hearing the racket it made, it was big. Flare thought for a moment, was it a guard? One of the bigger ones that the Vamponies had, or a werepony guard? Both had been patrolling the area, he evaded the werepony ones much easier than the vampony ones, but maybe he done goofed up this time.

He looked at the direction of the noise, weighing the options. Chase something that sounds to be bigger than him and most likely walk into a trap or go home and sleep while hoping fate gives you the mushroom... and then get stuck in a trap. Flare didn’t look out with a deadpan stare and sighed.

“Welp, it’s at times like these where I need to trust my gut,” Flare said, hoping that it could guide him.

...

Okay, time to head back to the hut with a less chance of death. Flare took one look back and then walked towards the hut. Even though the walk was silent, other than the occasional forest noise, Flare couldn’t help but feel like he was being followed. As if each step he took was being copied by somepony or thing off in the woods, out of his sight. He tried not to focus on it, allowing his mind to drift as well as it can without going too far into the bad thoughts that had been accumulating over time. His walk slowed from a normal pace, his heart started to slow as well, and he felt calm, he felt like nothing bad could happen, even as he had just started to stop walking... He knew something wasn’t right, he had never been this calm, and the bad thoughts should have entered and tormented him by now, yet they didn’t. He unfocused his mind for a second to see the world around him everything was the same, and he was now standing in front of the hut. The hut was a good thirty minutes away from where he was, yet he felt like it had only been a few seconds.

*Sniff sniff*” Wait... this isn’t right...” Flare said, he looked around once more and saw the woods closing in on him, everything was turning white... and he felt the cold once more. His heart started to race again as he turned around in his place. Then he saw it... on the ground and in the trees...

Snow, a fresh blanket of it... now covering the forest.

*At the castle*

“Prim!” A joyous Prickle Bush said as she hugged the princess, a bright smile on her muzzle.

“Hey Prickle Bush,” Prim said, a small smile forming on her muzzle,” Hey Rose Thorn!”

“Hiya!” Rose said with an equally bright smile,” How have you been? You look...”

Rose looked at Prim and noticed she had lost some weight, but still looked the same,” Different!”

“Oh...” Prim said, looking down,” Yeah... sorry... some ‘stuff’ has happened lately...”

“Oh! Well... hows Flare?” Prickly asked.

Prim didn’t say anything as she looked down at the ground, an aura of sadness and anger formed around her, making the sisters worried something has happened to their relationship. Yet, Prickly, being rather nosy this time around, asked,” Prim, what happened?”

*Gasp!*” You didn’t break up did you?!” Rose asked as she covered her mouth.

“W-What?” Prim looked up,” No! No! We didn’t break up... but we were forced to be separated... by a royal decree...”

The two sisters looked at each other than her. They both said in unison,” What?

“Well... the attack from the wereponies had gotten my parents and...” Prim gave a low growl,” Midnight scared of powerful forces... namely Flare... even though he saved them... I’m surprised you didn’t know!”

“Well... me and Rose here have been exploring a rather interesting place!” Prickly said, trying to have a happy mood.

“Yeah, it's an ancient farm!” Rose said with a smile,” From all the trees, I guess it was an apple farm!”

“Yeah! And we were thinking of letting you join us, ya know... to make you feel better!” Prickly said.

“Yeah, wanna come?” Rose asked, hitting her sister in the shoulder.

“...Sure, I guess I could leave this dull place for a little while!” Prim said, gaining back a smile for herself.

“Yeah!” the two sisters said at the same time.

“Oh, tell Midnight that you’re leaving, and where we’re going!” Rose said.

Prim snorted,” I’m a grown mare, I don’t need to tell Midnight where I’m going!”

Rose sighed,” I’ll go tell her, you just get your disguise on! We need to leave before the night settles in!”

“Alright!” Prim said.

*Back with Flare*

He had been following the trail of blood for a while now, he didn’t know where it lead to, but he followed it none the less. He looked up every once and a while to observe his surroundings, each time, they looked more and more familiar. He had a bad feeling about this... something wasn’t right. He found the blood trail after seeing a beartrap in the snow. Since there was no bear, he thought that maybe he could find somepony by following the trail... but who would be out in the woods when it was snowing this heavily?

That’s when the blood trail stopped. Flare stopped as well and looked up to see... his home... his home in Ponydin. His eyes shrunk as he looked around, the snow fall clearing slightly to show the town in it’s full glory. His heart started to pound harder and harder and he felt a splitting headache. He looked back at his house and ran towards it, not caring for the howling of the cold wind. With a quick flash, he teleported into the house, with one, deep breath he shouted,”LIGHTNING TRAIL!”

...

His voice echoed throughout the house, but no response came. His heart skipped a beat and he ran upstairs to Lightning Trails room. With a great slam, he opened the door, breaking it off its hinges as if it was old and rotted. The room looked the same, nothing noticeable, the bed, the computer, the bloo-.

“Blood?” Flare asked as he leaned down to examine it. It had stained the carpet and the trail that had followed it had lead in a circle. He was sure that there was no blood trail heading up here, but he had to double check. He turned and looked outside the room... a trail of blood. However, this one was different, it had lead down the stairs and Flare didn’t know why. It just felt like it did. He followed it again, once again, blindly. He ran down the stairs and through the front door, this time, the trail was thicker. He ran, following to where ever this trail went, past the house, past the puzzles his brother had made, past everything until he was in the cold mist where his brother... had confronted... the fallen one.

“NO!” Flare shouted as he ran headfirst into the mist, the mist grasped his lungs, making it hard to breathe as he headed in deeper. The blood trail had now gotten so thick that it was like a carpet or a blanket. He ran faster his eyes narrowing as the mist got so thick, that he couldn’t see a foot in front of him. Then, as he ran, he tripped. He had tripped on something cold... with fur... and he felt a scarf touch his leg as he did so. Landing face first into the snow, he plucked his head out and shook the snow off, then looked back to see the silhouette of something pony-like in the mist. He got up, but slipped, the snow had somehow turned slippery. This only was a slight set back as he glided across the snow to see who this form was. Once he slid close enough to it, he stopped himself and leaned down... he saw his brother’s scarf...

...

“Hey Prim! Catch up why don’t ya?” Prickly said jokingly.

“Heh! Sorry, It has been a while since my last midnight flight!” Prim huffed as she flapped her wings harder to catch up.

They had been flying for what seemed like hours, the two sisters, with their eagerness driving them, did not feel tired at all. Prim, on the other hoof, was feeling tired and had taken some breaks to recharge a little.

“Come on! It’s right... HERE!” Prickly said as she dive-bombed towards the ground at a quick pace. Rose followed her, but with more grace as she flew down. Prim didn’t care how it looked, she practically just fell with style and landed next to them. Taking a few breathes, Prim looked at the sisters, who had looks of glee on their muzzles. With another short breath, Prim walked closer to them, gaining their attention. The place looked creepy, a low fog hanged across the ground and the sky looked to be near black. Even if the sky had blackened, she had her trusty night vision to help!

“Prim,” Rose said, beaming,” Can you believe this place existed right under our noses!?”

Rose pointed at what looked like a large iron gate, though it had been rusted through and through for Moon Mother knows how long. Rose just smiled as she lowered her hoof and walked closer. Prickly and Prim followed behind her allowing a brief moment of quietness. Then, with the most annoying noise any metal object could make, a loud creaking noise that echoed throughout the area they were in, the gate was pushed open by Rose.

With the gate now opened, Prim, Rose, and Prickly walked through and immediately noticed the barrels that lay near the door. Rose smiled again and raced towards the barrels, giving them a quick look over. The label was old and rotted some, but still readable.

“Prickly! Prim! Come ‘ere!” Rose yelled.

“Yes?” The two asked as they looked at the barrel.

“I’ve only heard legends of this place!” Rose said,” Do you know where we are standing!?”

“A haunted apple farm?” Prim asked.

“ An old apple farm that may have ghosts?” Prickly said smugly.

“NOOOO!” Rose said, her smile fading into a disappointed frown. She pointed at the barrel and read aloud what it said,” Apple cider from Sweet Apple Acres!”

Author's Notes:

Welp, here ya go, enjoy!

And sorry for the late night post.

Chapter 24: Nightmare or Dream?

Prim, Rose, and Prickly had walked farther up the trail. The trail had lead to a house that looked beyond abandoned. Next to the house was an old and rotted barn that looked to have years old hay inside. Prim and the two sisters had smelt something coming from the barn, something old and probably rotted like the barn, yet none of them wanted to head inside, questioning the old barns stability and wondering if the smell was really worth seeing. So, instead of heading there, the headed to the farmhouse. Which, despite it looking to be here for more than hundreds of years, looked in decent condition. At least on the outside.

“Okay...” Rose said,” Who wants to go first?”

Prim looked at Prickly and Prickly looked at Rose. Rose had a feeling that she knew what Prickly was going to-

“NOSE GOES!” Prickly shouted, booping her nose quickly. Rose immediately followed, knowing this trick well. Prim was left, her nose un-booped and very confused.

“What?” she asked.

“Nose goes,” Prickly explained,” If somepony says ‘nose goes’ then you have to boop your nose! But if you don’t, or are too late, then you have to go!”

“Wait...” Prim looked down at her hoof,” OOOOOH! I have to go?”

“Yes,” The sisters said in unison.

“Well...” Prim said,” Darn...”

Prim looked at the house and got a good look of it. The house’s front door had looked to be kicked in... maybe collapsed in on itself when a massive storm came in? The paint that might have been there was now completely gone, the windows, shattered, and the shingled roof, near barren. Prim gulped and looked once more at the house.

“This house is the spitting image of NIGHTMARE FUEL!” Prim stated, giving the two the most deadpan look that she could muster.

“Yeah!” Rose said,” That is why we are having YOU go in!”

“Of course...” Prim said,” I-I... I’ll be right back.”

Prim gulped down her fear as best she could and walked towards the front door. Each step she took, she felt colder, as if the house was telling her, the air, something, was telling her it wasn’t right, but she denied it and managed to reach the door. With a push, the cracked and splintered door opened, finally meeting its breaking point. The low creak and loud snap made Prim’s ears twitch with alertness as she stepped beyond the threshold of the house.

Inside... it looked way better than the outside, more so than Prim thought it would be. The floor wasn’t in the best condition, but it was still stable enough to where Prim didn’t have to fly. She tested the boards once more, smiling as they sounded far from breaking and continued forward, scouting the place for anything, anything useful. She wasn’t going to rob this place, that would be disrespectful to the old inhabitants that once lived here but she will show them to Rose and Prickly.

At first, there were two ways to go, one that looked like the kitchen, a really old-fashioned kitchen, the other leading to a living room. She looked at either one and smiled as she went for the living room first. Why? She could smell the rotting food from here in the kitchen, and she hoped to find something to plug her nose with. As she walked into the living room, she noticed a small table with a picture frame and picture sitting on it. It was knocked over so Prim had to grab it too see the actual picture. The picture made her confused. The ponies in it didn’t have fangs... or bat wings or horns, they looked like a vampony without the fangs. Gently, she grabbed the frame and popped it open, making the picture flutter ou and onto the ground. Prim grunted lowly and leaned down to pick it up.

*HIIIIIIISSSSS!* A rat hissed at her, making her jump slightly at the noise.

“Gerrrrr! STUPID RAT!” She shouted, her voice booming well above the rats hissing, scaring it away. She leaned up and touched her throat, she felt strange. Normally, doing that would hurt her throat a little, but now... it felt natural like it was some ancient power coming to her. She was sure the sisters had heard her so she quickly picked up the picture and wandered out again. With a quick and hasty tone she told them what had happened, and before they could reply she went back in to explore the kitchen, the upstairs having to wait for last.

...

Flare had the small form by the neck as he pulled it out of the mist. He knew it wasn’t his brother, the form was too tiny. Yet he did know that the form WAS alive, even after the blood they had lost. he could hear their heartbeat. He exited the mist quickly, his vision returning in full as he set the body down... it was a filly.

A bat filly to be more specific, she had a light purpled coat with a dark blue mane. She was small, around seven to eight years old. He felt his heart skip a beat and pure instinct wash over him as he wrapped himself around the filly to keep her warm. He used his magic to find the wound, it was on her lower right hoof and it was definitely from a beartrap. With a quick teleportation spell, the two appeared in the bathroom where Flare had no doubt the medical supplies were. He opened the cabinet and pulled out the first aid and quickly set to disinfecting and wrapping up the foals wound. With that done, he picked the filly up and set her down gently next to the fireplace. F8lare focused his magic and the fireplace bloomed to life, the soft cracking of magic and the warmth it brought was amazing. Yet Flare had no time to admire his work, he grabbed the filly and put her closer to it as he summoned a blanket and some pillows from his room for the filly to use.

“There,” Flare said calmly as he looked down at the filly. She had already begun to gain back her color, she moved ever so slightly towards the fire. He nodded and left to make something warm for her to drink and eat...

...

Prim gagged heavily at the smell coming from the broken down fridge. However, the contents fueled her curiosity and she opened it. Inside were many apple, or what looked like, apple themed products... and a dead bird. Prim glared at the bird and looked around the fridge for anything that might have been left in here... nothing, well, nothing that wasn’t so rotted it would fall apart upon simple touch or give her some unknown illness. She walked back and slammed the fridge shut, the smell still hung in the air sadly.

“Man... either this place was abandoned like a war was happening or some-” Prim bumped into something, causing what looked like a letter to fall on the floor. Prim, confused once more, leaned down and picked it up. She gave it a good look over and saw an apple stamp in the corner of it with an address she could no longer read. Swiftly, she tore it open and pulled the contents out eagerly... what came out was a letter addressed to someponies called the “Ape Faily”.

She looked over the letter, which read as follows:

Dear Apple Ja ,

We have been informed that the b-onies have set an attack on your arm. As princess I humbly invi ou to a shelter. Bu yo can not bring your family.

Signed,
Princess Cel

...

The letter seemed damaged in most places The words, no matter how little there was and for the most part, were either washed off and torn out. She knew though that this was important, whoever this ‘Apple Ja’ was got a letter from a Princess name Cel. So either this mare or stallion was very important or knew the royal family. She grabbed the letter and put it gently back into the envelope then sealed it using some weird tape that was greyish.

Next and finally was upstairs. She knew that walking up there was not an option, just by looking up at the decayed ceiling. She also didn’t want to take a chance and come across a small opening that she couldn’t get through and fall through the floor onto Moon Mother knows what. So she went outside and told the sisters that, that was all she could find.

“You could only find a picture and a letter addressed to Apple Ja?” Rose asked.

“That name sounds dumb,” Prickly said as she crossed her arms.

“Well... honestly, the night is fast appraoching and I don’t want to be caught out here during that time,” Rose stated,” So let’s head back, I’m sure Midnight and Night would love to see what we’ve found!”

“Isn’t that stealing?” Prim asked, eyeing the letter and picture.

“Not if the ponies aren’t here anymore and haven't claimed it!” Prickly said with a toothy grin.

“...Fine, but when we come back, I’m putting these back where they belong!” Prim huffed.

“Fine,” Rose said,” Now let’s get home, I feel like I’m being watched by something...”

The two ponies nodded and they took off. Yet the weird feeling of being watched followed them for a good time, even after they exited the outskirts of the kingdom...

...

“There it is again...” Flare said, his ear perking up as he heard a distant noise. He knew it wasn’t the filly, she had just fallen asleep after eating her soup.

”FLARE!”

There it was again! Flare stood up and that seemed to help hear the voice a little better.

”FLARE! WAKE UP!”

“Wake up?” Flare asked. He turned and froze... the wall of the house wasn’t there anymore... nor was the filly he was caring for.

“BLOODY HELL! FLARE DUCK!”

Flare heard the voice and did so.

*FWOOOOM!*

Something fast came inches from his head as the house and Ponydin started to... melt before him. He was in the forest the regulare one, not the snow one. He blinked, his eyes focusing on anything they could. Was all that a dream? Hallucination?

“FLARE!” Solar shouted.

“WHAT!?” Flare growled as he looked back at where he heard the thing go... and saw an arrow stuck to the trunk of a tree. His pupils shrunk as he turned and saw three or four vampony hunters run out of the bushes and in front of him.

A unicorn held a crossbow. He aimed at Flare for a brief second, then let the arrow fly. Flare jumped out of the way, the arrow grazing his arm, making a small cut that trickled fresh blood.

“Well well!” the unicorn said,” Looks like this thing can dodge!”

“So?” a female vampony asked as she stomped the ground,”Let's just bag ‘im and get the Tartarus out of here!”

“Fine!” The unicorn growled as he pulled out a small hunting knife,” This outta be FUN!”

Flare raised an eyebrow, then snorted,” Listen. I don’t want to hurt you, but if take another step... heh... well...”

Flare looked to the side then smiled. With a quick turn he looked back, his glowing red eye now easily seen,” I’m going to have to give you a very NOT enjoyable experience!”

“Oh haha!” the mare mocked,” He has jokes! So what? You’re gonna give us a bad time?”

“Yes, if ya wish,” Flare said, his smile growing wider.

“BRING IT ON!” another vampony said as they charged him.

“Heh...” Flare laughed as he looked down, he had written something for them

...

“WHAT THE!? WHERE’D HE GO?” The vampony asked.

He looked down at the ground and saw the note that Flare had written for them, it said,” Sike!”

The vampony roared and told the other’s to spread out to find Flare, but they didn’t know that he was already long gone at this point.

...

“Well how about that! HE WOKE UP AFTER AN HOUR!” Solar yelled,” THE HECK!? YOU JUST STOPPED WALKING LIKE... LIKE... I’M TO ANGRY TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING!”

“I don’t know...” Flare said as he opened the door to the hut,” All I know is that... whatever it was... wasn’t pleasant in the slightest...”

“What was it about?” Forbidden asked

“...Well... It started with me back in Ponydin...” Flare began.

---

“And that is why I’m not going to be eating soup for a while...” Flare said as he finished his tale,” I’m surprised you guys didn’t see it...”

“Well... there could be many reasons for this,” Forbidden said,” Most likely somepony used a form of mind alteration to make you see things.”

“We both know that that cannot be done to me,” Flare pointed out as he walked over to the make-shift bed.

Solar was still angry, so he tried to ignore Flare by sitting in the corner of his mind while Forbidden tried to make sense of the situation... but he couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t have many plot holes in them. So for the next few hours, Flare and Forbidden tried to figure it out, going from daydreaming to eating something that he wasn't supposed too. They continued until Flare actually passed out from exhaustion.

He wouldn’t be having nice dreams that night. That weird nightmare thing came back again...

...

...

...

Prim yawned as she got ready for bed. Truth be told, not much has changed here other than her fluffy pillow and coltfriend was no longer here but somewhere she could never find him. She yawned once more then walked over to the bed when a sudden knock resonated from her door. She groaned and walked over slowly and opened it. There, on the other side, was Midnight herself, who seemed tired as well.

“Hey... sis,” she said with a weak smile,” I just... wanted to check up on you... see if you’re okay!”

“Midnight,” Prim said with a hallowed tone,” I admire that you still check up on me, even at this age. But I will say that if you are looking for me to forgive you or say something like that to make you feel better about the current situation... You’re lucky that I’m in a good mood.”

“R-right...” Midnight said,” I... thought I could just... check on you and tell you that... I’m having second thoughts already...”

“Good,” Prim said,” But, even if you did go back on your vote, it won’t help now, Flare is up and gone and-”

Prim choked a bit as she said that,” And I don’t think that any of your guards can bring him back.”

Midnight nodded sadly and looked at her. Wit a calm voice she said,” I’m... sorry...”

“Midnight...” Prim said,” Just... go to bed, it is late.”

“Alright...” Midnight sighed.

Prim closed the door. She felt her heart break a little as she walked back to bed.

---

“May I ask why you didn’t give him the mushroom?” she asked.

“Because he is jumpy after that... scene of his,” he responded.

“Hm... well... place the mushroom outside his door. Make it look like it grew there as to not raise too much suspicion,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded his head and set off to do what he was told.

“One day... Flare, we are going to get you either here, or back to where you belong,” she said with a dead-serious tone

Author's Notes:

Hey hey hey! Have another chapter!

Chapter 25: The Past and The Move

Author's Notes:

For those who don’t know, there is now a discord server for ANSP (A New Starting Point)! Just thought I’d let you know!

Invitation:
https://discord.gg/xAndqRS

Also, one more thing:
I am really thankful that you, or whoever is reading this, have come this far to read a story like this. I’m grateful that it has even gotten this far! So, what I am saying is, thank you to all who read this, whether you enjoy, read it just cause, or even don’t like it. I am grateful that you took the time out of your day to read my story.

For everybody, both who read this and don’t, I wish you have a good day!

“Wow you’re really blind,” Solar snickered with a large grin,” The mushroom was right outside the house and you didn’t see it!”

Flare rolled his eyes once more as he poured the potion into a bowl that he could drink out of. That was a strange night to be sure, but what made it stranger was the fact that the mushroom he had been looking for had been right outside the front door and underneath a root of the old tree. He tried not to look too far into it since the hey, free mushroom that is needed for the potion! So after he had gone throw, mixing, chopping, stirring, and yelling at Eclipse to shut it, he finally got the potion completed.

“Well... the book says that it will NOT taste good...” Flare said as he gave it a small sniff, he whipped his head away from the horrid potion. Flare gulped as he looked back down at the potion, and came to grips that he was going to have to drink it. With a frown, he said,” So... through the teeth and over the gums, look out stomach, here it comes!”

He plugged his nose and downed the concoction in three gulps. It tasted horrid, and that is coming from a stallion who would have eaten nearly anything to survive the famine in his old world. He gagged slightly and slammed the bowl down onto the floor, all while slamming his free hoof to his mouth. He held back the urge to throw up the potion as he gulped the remaining liquid down. To say it tasted horrid was an understatement of the whole century. It tasted like a dead, rotted rat that had been left out in the sun for a week, thrown into the sewers, then forcefully covered in garbage. The simple thought of this explanation made him gag.

‘That bad?’ Solar asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“Of course it's that bad!” Flare groaned as he uncovered his mouth with his hoof,” Would you like to taste it?”

‘I’m not one to pass up an... amazing drink, especially the potion you just drank, but for the sake of my own stomach and the fact you don’t want more gagging, I am declining your... amazing offer!” Solar said, giving a dry heave as he caught a whiff.

‘It is not as bad as I would have expected...’ Light said,’ Way better then one I have had to try.’

‘Oh look at you!’ Solar mocked,’ All high and mighty since he has an iron stomach!’

“Now is not the time to be fighting,” Flare growled,” Right now, we should be planning to move from this location to another.”

‘Why?’ Solar asked

‘The hunters have been hitting closer and closer to home then would be considered safe.’ Light explained.

“Exactly,” Flare confirmed,” We have to get moving soon, if they find this place, they would undoubtedly search it top to bottom for any trace of life.”

‘But... we finally stopped thinking it was creepy!’ Solar complained.

‘You and Flare did,’ Light stated.

“Not now,” Flare growled once more.

A low, thick, silence fell upon them, none of them spoke as Flare looked around the room, thinking of what he should take. He spotted some important things such as the potion book, the journal, the few flasks of living fire that starts fires, and a pillow from the bed. He then looked for something to carry the objects in. All he could find from the place he was standing from was an old tiki mask and a weird green eyeball, the cauldron, and a shelf. He shook his head, none of these would work. He walked around the small hut, as he looked for anything to carry the objects with. He pushed old and withered objects out of the way for his search. At one point, he looked out the window and saw a wagon.

“Not fast enough,” Flare mumbled as he continued his search, hoping to find a ripe fruit that was something to carry objects.

---
The Castle
---
“Princess Prim Bite, may I ask what it is you need?” Mrs. Zap asked.

“Well... I’ve been searching the castle for answers, and I can’t seem to find what I’m looking for...” Prim said as she handed the picture of the family over,” Do you know these ponies?”

Lemon Zap looked over the picture, then her eyes widened as she opened her mouth in shock,” My goodness! This is a picture of the ancient Apple Family! The ones who grew the rare Zap Apples!”

“Do you know their names?” Prim asked, stepping closer.

“I only know one, her name is Apple Bloom, the last known Apple member!” she said as she grabbed the picture.

“What happened to her?” Prim asked.

“She... I...” Zap looked up, her eyes slightly glazed,” I... do not know! I’m so sorry, princess!”

“It's alright... a least I know a name...” Prim smiled gently,” Apple Bloom, correct?”

“Yes, Princess,” Zap confirmed.

“Thank you, Zap,” Prim Bite smiled warmly and turned to head out the door,” Have a good day!”

“You too, princess!” Zap said in kind.

Once Prim had reached the hallway, she went straight for the library. She knew where the archives were, the place of every record that had happened, even before the Moonlit Kingdom came into power, before the fall of the Solar Empire. She was focused, much more than she had ever been in her lifetime. Not only did this take her mind off of current problems, but it also told her a story she had been wondering about for years. Who and what was the Solar Empire? Why was it brought down? Who brought it down? Finally, what happened to the ponies or creatures that lived their once?

Her hoofsteps echoed in the halls as she walked past two guards who were on post. The two saluted as she walked by, and she gave them a small smile, but quickly returned back to a slight frown. Ever since the attack, guards have been stationed at most exits and entrances, in the towers, and posted around the castle at more, as her sister put it, tactical advantages. Not only that, but some guards wore thicker armor that covered the neck, joints, and almost the whole body. They carried pouches with small darts of their own to knock out any targets. The spears, almost all of them, were now serrated to do more damage to flesh. Prim, though not too vocal about it with Midnight, was slightly scared of the guards in the new armor. They looked like monsters from an old forgotten land, who had to defend against an evil overlord.

She shook her head as she rid the thoughts from her mind. Now was not the time to be thinking of that fateful day or the guards' new armaments. Now was the time to turn the corner and to enter the library. The library doors had been busted down in the fight, so they had to replace them with new ones, the old ones were meer chips. The new ones were a lot prettier, and actually matched the structure, the cold crystal floor, and roof. The doors, though now fitting the design of the castle, weren’t too special, just made of out wood painted the color of the castle with a design of a moon that would split in half once the doors opened. One of the more nicer things in this castle.

The library did sustain too much damage, some books were torn or knocked off shelves, some taking the shelves with them. Yet, the library still looked the same as ever. They had a royal librarian to check out books, keep track of them, and make sure nothing is taken for too long. There were two, one for morning shift the other for working the graveyard. The funny story behind this was Night always taking the books and never returning them. Even though the Royal Family was small, other staff loved to come by and read books when their shift was done or when they had no other work. So that was why there are two librarians because Night didn’t want to return any books.

Walking by the librarian, Prim waved at her, and she waved back. A gentle smile in the mare’s lips as she asked,” Why hello, Princess Prim, how may I help you?”

“Hello, Mrs. Scroll,” Prim replied cheerfully,” I’m just going to the archives.”

“Alright,” Scroll nodded,” Just remember, bring them here for me to check them out.

“Alright, I’ll be right back,” Prim chirped as she walked on to the archives.

The Archives... boy did she not want to be here. They were old, older than almost everything in this town, and yet, each scroll was perfectly kept and contained, now faded ink, barely any torn parchment. Walking in here made Prim feel like she had stumbled upon an entry to the past, deep within the heart of the olden castle. She had opened the door and walked down the many steps of the horrid castle steps, the smell of old parchment hit her nostrils as she touched the last step. Though it was dark, Prim had no problem seeing the countless number of shelves containing scrolls of the past.

“Now, the name ‘Apple Bloom’ should be around in the A section,” Prim muttered,” Or the Apple family themselves...”

So her search began, the name only helped in finding itself, which made Prim happy that she wouldn’t have to search for hours.

---Back in the Forest---

Flare had found a bag made of a weird material. The bag could expand like it was made of rubber, yet it was as tough as sundried leather. The items he carried looked to be heavier than what they actually weighed in the bag. This came as a slight surprise to him, but he still had bigger things to worry about at this point.

The scene that grew around the stallion was, he had to admit, rather beautiful. Just a few moments back he passed by a little creek that was being fed by a small waterfall. The water seemed to be rather clear, vastly different than the swamp of old and murky waters that housed giant crocodiles made of rock. He thought monsters were weird... till he got his leg chomped on by a giant rock. He escaped, thankful to have a good amount of hp and attack to get rid of the beast. As he remembered the moment, he tripped and fell. Something flew up and hit him in the nose, which bounced off and landed a few inches in front of him...

*WHAMP!*

A large pair of metallic teeth slammed upward. It scrapped his nose, leaving a small, yet bloodied gash all the way up it. He quickly got up, whit his magic, he lifted the covered ground up, then, with a forceful slam, grounded the objects down. Fifteen... sixteen? Possibly even seventeen traps went off. In the distance, as the weight of the situation dropped onto his shoulders, he heard a voice roar in excitement.

“COME ON, BOYS! WE GOT ‘EM!”

Flare growled for he knew that voice. He bolted through the traps, not watching the ground as he did so. The ground felt weirder as he ran on, ultimately, he came to a rather steep hill. His heart was pounding as he looked down, he didn’t know where it led, what part of the forest, and if it was dangerous... well, all he had to do was take a leap of faith since walking isn’t going to be easy at all here. He had to choose quickly since the voice roared in anger.

“WHAT THE-!? HOW!?”

He had to act now, and act he did.

---Back at the Castle, in the Archives---

Prim had found two scrolls, one about the Apple Family, the other about a pony named Applejack. Right now, she was reading the scroll about the Apple Family and she had to say, for ponies who founded a town and raised it up, they got little hold in the town itself, not only that but many ponies tried to cheat their way around rules and laws to get the farm. Though she did find the information she was looking for. Apparently, Applejack was the element of Honesty... she knew instantly she was going to have to find the scroll... or foal book talking of the elements. Though, as she read through the scroll, she found that Applejack had a younger sister and older brother, all being raised by their grandma. Prim found this adorable, though old that she wasn’t living with her parents.

The scroll went over their daily life, their names, their friends, and so on. She learned a good bit about this mare simply from the scroll, so she wondered how the scroll about her. Though, her setting in which she was reading these scrolls, she felt like she was being watched. She looked around the old room, the feeling getting worse as her mind seemed to play tricks on her, making shadows look like they were moving. She grabbed the scrolls and quickly walked up the long staircase, right back up to the actual library. She walked over to the librarian and set the scrolls down on the desk.

“Would you like these to go?” she asked with a smile.

“Yes, please?” Prim asked.

The mare nodded as she put the name of the scrolls down in a book, then nudged them towards her princess. Prim smiled as she grabbed the scrolls with her wings and left, bidding the mare a good day. She walked out into the hall and saw two guards, both wearing the old armor(Most likely recruits), came towards her. They saw each other and the two new recruits saluted as they walked by, most likely on patrol. With a slight pep in her step, she walked to her room, the two scrolls held snuggly against her side. She could finally read them... hopefully at least, in peace. Well... unless Midnight came in to check on her. That’s when she flinched softly, and the lil pep disappeared. She grumbled a bit... but had an idea of what to do. She finished her walk to her room and found a pen and paper. She wrote quickly on it, telling Midnight that she was not going to be in here for the rest of the night. The reason for not telling her where she was going was so that she would be left alone. Also, so that she doesn’t worry that Prim had left and was gone.

Once the note was written, she laid it on her bed and walked to a room that hasn’t been visited ever since Flare left... his room. Prim, with the scrolls at her side, she left her room and went straight to Flare’s room.

---In the Forest---

WELL THAT COUD’VE GONE BETTER. Flare had gone down too quickly and had tripped. So he started to roll down the hill. He ended at the bottom of the hill. His face was planted in the ground, his flank was now in the air. He was dazed, but still found a way to get up. He stumbled a little bit, and he put his hoof against a nearby tree as he waited for the world to go back into focus. His bag was... somewhere between here and half way to another dimension. The voice of the hunters was far and distant, but the new growling of a beast was ever present. Once the world stopped spinning on its heels, Flare could finally focus on the two faint, yet glowing green eyes that pierced the darkness. In an instant, Flare froze as the memory came flooding back.

He and the Queen were alone in the forest, something to do with finding a lost foal. They got surrounded by Timberwolves, as soon as he noticed the wolves, the Queen was gone, she had left him for dead. He barely made it out of there alive. He had gashes and bloodied puncture wounds up and down his hind leg and back. His brother helped heal him, but some of the marks, though his fur covered them, were still there. He felt a cold and growing hatred start to rise throughout his body as the wolf dared to step into the light. Flare felt pain shot through his front legs, and he forced himself to sit down. He saw what was wrong, his veins started to become more visible, yet they were a deep black, a small number of others were a light blue, slightly visible against his blue fur. He heard a soft crackling, like a fire slowly burning and destroying the wooden fuel source.

Flare felt his mind lose grip of his body like he was giving it up to something else. That is when he heard it, a voice echoing in his mind, saying one thing, over and over again.

Hatred, hatred, HATRED!

He felt his mind kick back and his body was no longer his own, he had given into his hatred, his desire to kill that he had held back for so long, he wanted those wolves to hurt as he did. The wolf lunged forward and then yelped in pain. The ground erupted with a barrage of pointed metallic spikes, the punctured the wolf’s feet which kept it in place. Flare walked over, and the beast tried to snap at him, which the monster did not care for. He used his magic and slammed the wolf’s mouth shut, its own teeth tearing into the gums of its mouth. It didn’t even see the blinding light, as it was burnt to a crisp.

He took a deep breath, and everything came back into focus. He trembled slightly, the energy that took up was far more than he thought it would be.

“WHAT. WAS. THAT!?” Solar shouted,” WHY DID YOU GO FULL IMMA KILL THIS SUCKA!?”

“He gave into-” Light started, but Flare cut him off.

“I gave into my hatred...” Flare said calmly.

“Your hatred seems to be stronger than I thought it would be,” a deep voice rumbled.

Flare turned, his eye glowing a fierce red at the voice. He looked around for this voice’s origin and stopped as he stared into large, blue, reptilian eyes that stared right back at him. He could see a hint of blue light coming off of the figure, which looked to be rather big. Flare glared at the figure.

“Who are you?” he asked

“My name is Sithis,” The figure said,” I would like for you to come with me.”

“No,” Flare said simply,” Not until you show yourself!”

The figure walked out of the bushes and showed their true form.

---Back at the castle---

Prim opened the door to Flare’s room... and dropped the scrolls at what she saw. There, hovering above the bed, and glaring right at her, with a charged laser. Once the blaster saw her, it slowly uncharged the blast and floated over to her and gave a small bark. The skull nuzzled the mare as she unfroze and petted the skull. She leaned down and picked up the scrolls. Tonight... was going to be an interesting night for reading scrolls…

Chapter 26: Truth and Lies

---At the Royal Vampony Castle---

Prim had read through every book, every scroll, every piece of paper that had been in the Royal Archives that pertained to the history of the Solar Empire, all of which painted another small piece of a larger picture to what it was. She learned about the Elements, or at least what she had read pertaining to her research. Each time she got a book, she went back to Flare’s old room and read on. The Paradox blaster seemed to be interested as well in the scrolls and books and seemed to read alongside Prim. Every time she came back to the room, even with a book of something not related to the topic of study, the skull still seemed interested in what she had brought. At some points, Prim had even thought of bringing the blaster with her to the library, but the idea was immediately squashed by the ever-present guards that roamed the halls at night. Though this didn’t mean she hadn’t tried, though she also learned that said skull was rather noisy and had a rather itchy trigger... hoof? Blast? Something, but, she had to cut it short not just due to the guards, but the fact that the skull was startled by a mouse and nearly blasted the wall to the next town over.

Prim sighed as she slammed the book shut. The skull gave a small whirl and whine as it appeared to have been reading it. Prim looked at the skull with a deadpan expression. The skull looked back with an annoyed glance, the glowing eye seemed to have a slight bit sliced off the top as if it was making up for the lack of eyebrows. The two stared at each other for a short moment, then Prim gave a snort as she realized that she was staring at a skull that was floating that had laser beams. The skull gave a sharp bark and nudged her shoulder playfully.

“I can’t get over that I’ve made friends with a flying skull,” Prim chuckled.

The blaster agreed with a sharp whirl and a happy-ish looking glance. Truly, they had gotten speaking down very well, one could even say, ‘down to the bone’? Bad jokes aside, Prim got off of the bed and grabbed the book. Once she made sure it was secure in her wing and comfortable to move with, she exited the room and went to the library, right back down to the Archives. Her hooves echoed off the crystal walls, once again she walked past two guards at their post, these ones wore the old armor but carried the serrated spears. She smiled and waved, earning a salute back from the guards. Once she entered the library, she turned the books in and went down to the Archives.

“They need to make this place more friendly...” Prim muttered as she walked down the staircase. The air felt stiff, heavy, and cold, these didn’t sit well with Prim. The entryway at the end of the staircase was illuminated by a torch she had hung up on the wall. The reason being that it provided both warmth and made it to were Prim didn’t need to use her night vision to find a book.

She went forward and found a bookshelf that contained the history of this kingdom and the old empire. She saw a book that seemed to be of interest, labeled “The Fall of the Solar Monarch”. She stood on her hind legs and reached up to grab the book. The shelf wobbled a bit but Prim had grabbed the book with her hoof. She was so focused on the book, she barely heard the thump of a heavy object on the other side of the bookshelf.

“What was that?” Prim questioned aloud. She placed the book on her back and went around the bookshelf to find the source of the noise. There, laying on the floor was a hardback book laying open, the pages hugged the floor. She walked over and picked the book up. She blew on it, which made the dust fly off of the book’s cover. Her eyes widened at the cover.

“Our Dear Daughters”

She flipped the book over and saw a picture of a young Midnight wearing armor, besides her was a younger Night and her. A memory came forward, this was when Midnight joined the guard! She remembered she was still a filly. She also remembered the joy of the sight of her biggest sister in the armor, at that age, she looked so cool! Prim smiled back on the memory. With the happy memory now present, she started to look through the book and started from the beginning. She saw filly Midnight and Night they looked a little different but all around the same. Then she got to her pictures... and something was wrong.

---In the Razorwood Forest---

“Tell me again how far away this “magical land” is?” Flare asked as he jumped over a fallen log. Ever since the dragon had shown himself and told Flare to follow him, he had been rather confused. The dragon went on about some land that most can’t see, where he lives with others of a forgotten past... or whatever that actually means. The forest scenery had changed slightly, the leaves of the trees seemed to carry a rather faint cyan glow. It was easy to miss, but on second glance, you could easily see it. The dragon, named Sithis, had told him some stories about the place they were going to, how it was a lost city, a forgotten home. One thing that made Flare question the dragon’s sanity was when he told of a magical alicorn that raised the moon every night. Truly, Flare had seen many things in his life as well as heard many things, but that was just plain silly. Though Sithis argued on in favor of it, and soon the two had an argument of whether gravity was the actual helper in this case or was it a mare of high power moving the moon across the sky.

“From where you stood, it is a three-day trip,” Sithis replied,” We are almost there.”

“Alright,” Flare nodded, then asked,” So, why me?”

“I told you,” Sithis looked back at him,” It is not for me to say, that is for the Moon Mother to explain.”

Flare gave a deadpan expression at the name. Sithis grumbled,” I know that the family you stayed with didn’t mention her much, but still, you at least have to have heard of her!”

“I have,” Flare admitted,” Doesn’t mean I know who she is.”

Sithis opened his mouth to counter, but closed it and thought for a moment. He shrugged and replied,” She is the one who finds lost souls and allows them to live in a city she had created. She is old, much older than you or the royal family.”

“Hm... so she is kinda a big deal?” Flare asked, now this had caught his interest.

“A very big deal,” Sithis snorted out some smoke,” She is the only reason I’m even able to be talking to you, that and her mother’s blessing.”

“Mother’s blessing?” Flare asked.

“Yes, her mother was powerful and with her final breath, she created a sanctuary for creatures like me and my own family. As well as others ever since the Solar Empire faded.”

“For a name that seems rather friendly, the ruler wasn’t that kind, was she?” Flare questioned as he looked off into the woods.

“She once was, but she was corrupted by something that was unknown,” Sithis replied,” A virus that contorted her way of thinking.”

“Hm,” Flare hummed,” So this virus made her a bloodthirsty monster?”

Sithis growled,” Do not speak ill of the dead, for they can’t bite back.”

“Where I’m from, the dead does bite back... most of the time...” Flare countered.

“I keep forgetting that you aren’t one of this world,” Sithis raised a claw and facepalmed.

“You make it sound like I’m an alien,” Flare said with a chuckle.

“Anyways,” Sithis went back to his normal self,” She is long gone, though I wished it didn’t have to lead to that option.”

Flare sighed as he looked down at the path. Everything had been a blur that past three days, his stories were ones of an old place with the Sun and Moon in harmony, then something happened to the Solar Monarch, which he now just found out was a virus of some sort. This lead to a period which Sithis barely talked about, which finally lead to the creation of the Night Kingdom, but some details had been left out, Flare was sure of it. Flare suspected that Sithis was lying about something.

“We are nearing the entrance,” Sithis said as his speed increased.

“Alright!” Flare replied as he trotted to catch up with the dragon.

---Back at the Castle---

Prim’s eyes narrowed as she looked through the book once again. The pictures of her looked like her, but something was off, she had red eyes in the pictures, much like her family, but she doesn’t recall having them. From what her mother told her, she was born with pink eyes, not red. The longer she stared at the picture the more it confused her. Her mother had said that, but the pictures show the opposite. Also, why was this in the Archives? More importantly in a place, no pony would think to look? She stared long and hard and tried to find the reasoning for the story mix up. Maybe it was just the camera they used? It was a weak argument to her, but it still brought her a little comfort. Maybe... maybe she could ask Night? Maybe she had the answers to this problem.

The skull hovered above her and looked down at the pictures. It too showed visible confusion because of the pictures. It looked back and forth between Prim and the book, then finally growled and floated off to a corner in the room. This didn’t distract Prim too much, but the questions did. Finally, having enough of the confusion, she decided to grab the book and head off to Night’s room for answers. Her hoofsteps echoed throughout the halls as she passed by the many rooms. Her mind had drifted on as she walked she still tried to find answers, even though she knew she would be heading, hopefully, towards them.

---

Prim knocked on the door to Night’s room. Inside she heard her sister’s voice shout out,” Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Prim replied.

“Oh! Come in!” Night shouted

Prim turned the handle, opened the door, and headed inside. Night’s room was painted a dark purple, her bed was up against the wall and her desk was covered in papers and pencils. Night was a rather busy mare at some points, but today she seemed to have gotten an easy day. Right now, Night laid on her bed whilst holding a pillow, her glasses perched upon her nose as she looked at Prim. Prim walked in and shut the door behind her, then walked over to her sister’s bed with the book on her back.

“Hey, whatcha got there?” Night asked as she noticed the book.

“A book with some of our baby pictures,” Prim responded.

Night’s eye twitched a bit when Prim said that. With a calm and quiet tone,” Where did you find it?”

“I found it in the Archives,” Prim answered truthfully,” It was on top of a bookshelf for some reason.”

“Alright,” Night said with a fake smile,” So...”

Prim grabbed the book and opened it to her baby pictures, wit ha gentle hoof she laid the book down and pointed at her eyes. She asked as clear as day,” What happened to my eyes? Why are they red here?”

“I... um...” Night stuttered as a bead of sweat ran down her brow,” I... don’t know why, sorry...”

“You obviously know something,” Prim replied sharply,” You don’t normally stutter and you aren’t the best liar out there.”

“Shoot...” Night muttered under her breath,” L-listen... I wasn’t there when it happened, go ask Midnight, she can give you the full story.”

Prim’s eyes narrowed,” Tell me what you know, now.”

Night’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks, but she sighed and gave in, “ You went to the hospital after something bad had happened to you... I don’t know what happened, but I do know that the magical medicine used to help you was what turned your eyes pink.”

Prim was shocked, something bad had happened to her that she was hospitalized because of it? She needed to get to the bottom of this, and the only other pony was Midnight or her parents, but she knew that Midnight most likely wasn’t busy at the moment. Though it was still true that she didn’t like Midnight’s decision to banish Flare, she was still her sister and she still loved her dearly. With new goals in place, Prim thanked Night, grabbed the book, and went on her way to the Tactics Room, most likely Midnight would be in there working on paperwork or something.

Her hooves carried her quickly to the room. She didn’t even knock as she entered the room. Prim saw Midnight sitting at her desk with a quill in her hoof and a confused look on Midnight’s face.

“Uh...” Midnight looked at Prim with a small smile,” Heya... do you need something, sis?”

“Yes,” Prim replied, though she did so a little colder than she had hoped.

“Alright, come in and shut the door please,” Midnight said.

Prim did so and walked up to Midnight’s desk. The book felt heavier and Prim felt a pit in her stomach... like she was going to find out something she doesn’t want to.

“So, whatcha need?” Midnight said with a larger smile as she placed the quill back into the jar,” The guards' new armor isn’t bothering you too much, is it?”

“No, it’s not the armor,” Prim replied,” It’s this.”

With that, Prim grabbed the book with her wing and set it down in front of Midnight, right dead center of the desk. The simple fact that Midnight’s face held a small look of fear made Prim worry.

“Where did you-” Midnight started, yet Prim knew what she was going to ask.

“I found it in the Archives, on top of the first bookshelf,” Prim replied,” Though that isn’t what I wanted to know.”

Prim opened the book right to the baby pictures of her and her red eyes. Midnight’s face now showed, not just fear, but sadness and pain... why?

“Why do I have red eyes here,” Prim said, then pointed at her eyes,” But not here?”

Prim’s words felt like jagged pieces of glass that cut deep into Midnight’s heart. Midnight thought of lying to her, telling her that it was a trick of the camera, yet she knew that Prim must have already thought of it. What would have made it worse was the fact that Prim most likely went to Night for answers. She looked down and twiddled her hooves, not daring to look Prim in the eyes.

“Well?” Prim asked,” Night told me that something bad happened to me that sent me to the hospital and that the magical medicine did this to my eyes. So tell me, just what was this accident?”

“I-I...” Midnight stuttered, her mouth then closed as she held a hoof to it gently.

“Just tell me... please,” Prim’s voice turned gentle as she looked on at Midnight.

“A-alright,” Midnight replied shakingly,” I-I’ll tell you... but please, remember, this hurts me just as much as it will hurt you...”

“Alright,” Prim sighed calmly,” Alright.”

Midnight took a shaky breath, and began,” It happened when you were four or five. It was time for the annual rain, but you insisted on going outside and playing with your little toy friend, Pixie. So, being the protective sister I was, I told you no many times, but you won me over... we went outside in the rain and you happily ran around with Pixie. I watched you play with her and run around all happy, but when you got tired, you went over to a rock and sat on it and laid Pixie on the ground...”

Midnight choked up a bit, but continued,” I looked away for a second and then... I heard a loud boom, I looked back and you had been... been... been struck by lightning... I ran over and grabbed you and took you inside, I was scared, I was angry at myself for allowing that to happen to you... I took you to the medical room. The doctors hooked you up to so many machines I swore you looked to be more robotic than organic. Mom and dad were alerted as well as Night. They all came into the room terrified, mom was in tears and holding and brushing your mane, begging for you to be okay. I told them what had happened and dad told the doctors to use medical magic to help heal the wounds... They used it, and it had a side effect that made your eyes turn pink...”

Midnight stopped for a second as a tear ran down her cheek,” I-I... thought I lost you, I was so angry at myself that I shut myself away, I only ever came out to eat, drink, and to visit you and make sure you were okay. I was grounded, but I didn’t care in the slightest, I just...”

Prim held her hooves to her mouth as a few tears forced their way out and don her cheeks. Midnight had now stopped completely and sniffed, she was shaking. She got out of her chair and around the desk to Prim, who was still in shock. Without a warning, Midnight wrapped her hooves around Prim and pulled her into a hug. Her wings closed around them both as Prim slowly came out of her daze. She felt the shaking of her sister, she felt the anger of the lie, but the sadness and regret in her sister’s voice. All Prim could do was hug Midnight back. It started to piece itself together, she most likely had no recollection of what had happened and might have barely remembered anything from her foalhood, but instead of her family telling her the truth, which would most likely have scarred her even more, they instead told her that she was just born with it. Midnight let go with her hooves, but her wings still were wrapped around her.

“I never wanted to lie to you... I never wanted to at all...” Midnight wept softly,” B-but you barely remembered anything after you woke up, you didn’t know my name or dad’s name... we had to teach you most of the stuff you didn’t remember... that was when mom and dad hid the truth from you, they didn’t want you to be affected by it.”

This was too much for Prim, her body started to shake and her body felt cold. She tried to collect herself, which was harder than she would have liked it to be. Midnight still embraced her with her wings, but when she felt Prim start to shake, she embraced her once more with her hooves. The shock had started to get to her, but Midnight wouldn’t allow an accident, like her falling over and injuring herself, not after she had to tell the haunting memory again.

Once Prim stopped shaking, and felt relatively normal, she ended the hug and thanked Midnight for telling her the story. Though now, she just wanted to be alone... or with a skull that didn’t talk... either way, she just wanted to think to herself without too much noise. She got up and left the room, leaving behind a saddened Midnight and a book of her baby pictures. She found Flare’s old room and entered it, then locked the door behind her, she gently placed herself down onto the bed and curled up, then finally, she started to think... and this thinking made her start to cry... had her past been a lie? What other things did they lie about to her? Her cry had attracted the skull, who tried to console her with gentle nuzzles and ear nips.

Chapter 27: The City and Consoling

Flare looked over the large, cyan glowing walls with a curious look. He hadn’t seen anything like this before. Sithis had told him when they were nearing the walls of the city that they would be glowing bright cyan, so he followed the light and the massive dragon. Flare barely started to realize that, the closer they got to the wall and giant entryway, the less Sithis seemed to emanate the cyan hue he had on him. Soon, he started to look more grey, his scales darkened and the jagged spike coming from his head faded to a light grey.

“Wow...” Flare said as he looked at Sithis.

“This is how I truly look,” Sithis admitted,” Once you enter the city, you will realize that all of the ones in there have the same effect.”

“Alright,” Flare replied,” How do we get in?”

“Like this,” Sithis gave his first toothy grin and shouted,” Hey! I have the Stallion of the Underground!”

With that, the doors of the large entryway started to clank and creak as they opened up. Flare and Sithis stood in the in front, in the middle of the doors. Once the doors opened wide enough to allow both of them in without issue, two guards, or what Flare assumed were guards, walked towards them, their spears held high and their armor gleaming because of the walls glow. Their masks covered their faces and when they spoke, the suits seemed to hide their voices.

“Welcome back, Sithis,” one of the guards said,” You know the rules, drop all weapons at the checkpoint.”

The second guard looked at Flare, and he felt as if the pony’s cut right through him. With a much more hollowed voice, they said,” Do you think we should get a magic nullifier ring?”

“No, she trusts him,” The first one replied.

“Hm... alright,” The second one replied,” You may come in.”

As Flare and Sithis passed by them, he couldn’t help but remember two guards that once stood post to the Reactor’s elevators. He was... more than upset when they both passed away due to starvation. As the two went through the gate, the guards turned and followed them, then yelled for the gates to be closed. The doors creaks echoed behind Flare as he went to the checkpoint. The checkpoint itself was a single building that was not too big, yet not too small and a large gate with a fence that stretched from one part of a distant wall to the other part of the same distant wall, just opposite to the other. As they walked up to the counter, a mare greeted them happily. This mare took Flare by surprise, since she had feathery wings and not leathery wings that all the others had, as well as regular eyes, not slits. She had light purple fur with a sorta turquoise mane. She smiled and told them to leave any and all weapons behind at the checkpoint so. Apparently, Sithis had ways of hiding a sword on his person without Flare even noticing, he only knew that when Sithis laid the sword down on top of the desk. Flare gave a deadpan look at the sword, then at Sithis, who merely chuckled at his confusion. The mare grabbed the sword and put it below the counter. She then clicked a button, and a faint buzz came from within the building. The door leading out of her room opened to reveal a rather large stallion who was a unicorn, he bore the same eyes as the mare, not ones of the bat ponies that he had gotten used to. He was rather buff, his fur was a dark grey, much darker than Sithis’s scales, his mane was a light, almost neon yellow. His horn glowed a soft amber color and Flare felt the magic encompass him completely. He remained still and calm as the magic aura faded.

“They’re clear,” The stallion’s gruff voice stated.

“Alrighty,” The mare chirped back happily. Her hoof reached under the desk, a soft click came from under there. The gate opened up quickly and Sithis bid the two farewell and walked on. Flare followed, and soon, they exited to the checkpoint and went right to the city.

---

The city wasn’t like anything he had ever seen before. It was huge, many homes lined some streets, but you could see in the distance a castle and what looked to be office-like buildings. Many ponies and even non-ponies walked the streets. Dragons, ponies, bat ponies, griffons, even changelings and minotaurs! Some looked on as the two walked past, Flare’s senses kicked into high gear and he soon grew nervous with all the eyes that stared at him. Sithis looked around and smiled, some of the residents waved at him or just batted an eye and nodded in a friendly manner. For Flare... well, he stuck out like a sore hoof when it came to how he looked. Some of the foals that ran around seemed to stop and look at him with both awe and slight fear.

“It seems they like you,” Sithis whispered to him with a grin.

“No,” Flare whispered back,” I can feel their fear and see it as well.”

“Well, fear or not, we need to get tickets to the castle,” Sithis stated.

“Why?” Flare asked as Sithis started to slow down.

“So that the Moon Mother can meet you,” Sithis replied calmly.

The two walked on for a little while longer, by this time, most of the gazes didn’t land on Flare or Sithis, they landed on what they were doing at the time. The walk to the train station wasn’t too far from the main entrance, and when it came into sight Sithis, once again, sped up which made Flare have to trot once more. Once Sithis stopped at the ticket booth Flare finally managed to catch up. He had asked for two tickets and paid the fee required. The pony, or more accurately, changeling was handing the tickets over to Sithis as Flare walked up. The changeling looked at Flare for a moment, then shrugged, as if this was normal.

“Come on,” Sithis said as he gave Flare the extra ticket,” The Moon Mother waits for you.”

Flare didn’t say a word as he accepted it, all they had to do now was wait for the train to arrive. In the meantime, Flare would take the time to reflect and ponder what this place was and how it remained so well hidden.

---At the Castle---

Prim had gone back and grabbed the book from Midnight’s desk and went to her room to look over all the pictures. She felt a sharp pain in her heart at the thought she had been lied to about something like this if they lied to her for 10+ years... then what else would they lie about? She hoped that the pictures would both give her answers or prove her wrong. The room was quiet, too quiet, but she didn’t care as she stared headlong into the book. She had gotten past her own pictures and on to the main pictures with her and her sisters. Faint memories surfaced as she turned each page. A small birthday party for Midnight when she turned eleven, Prim was seven and Night was ten. Another one caught her eye, it was of her and Night playing what looked to have been tag. A smile crept upon her lips as she kept on with her search. Till a sharp knock came from her door.

Prim’s head rose and looked at the door, calmly, she asked,” Who’s there?”

“Your mother,” the familiar voice replied sadly.

“Mom?” Prim asked as she jumped off of her bed and trotted over to the door. She opened the door to reveal her mother, who had a sad look on her face.

“Hello, dear,” She managed a weak smile,” May I come in?”

“Oh! Of course!” Prim replied as she opened the door completely to allow her mother to enter.

Honey walked in and looked around Prim’s room, then at her bed where she saw the book.

“So... you did find out,” Honey uttered sadly.

“Yes,” Prim said as she shut her door.

Honey walked over to Prim’s bed and gently picked up the book. She glanced over the page that Prim had been studying prior to her arrival. Honey sat down and gently placed her hoof in the book, a look of grief ran across her face, much worse than the one she had as she came inside. Prim walked over and sat next to her mother, her eyes scanned her mother’s face.

“I’m sorry...” Honey muttered gently as she turned back to the page of pictures with mini Prim. Honey’s voice shook a little,” I was worried when Midnight told me what had happened, both that fateful day and today... I never wanted to keep secrets from you... but-”

“I understand,” Prim smiled calmly,” You feared that I might become more scared if you told me when I woke up...”

“I didn’t want to put you back in that hospital bed...” Honey admitted, her wing extended and wrapped around Prim. She pulled Prim into a side hug, then continued,” The doctors said that... the trauma of saying that to you when you woke up could already worsen your heart and put you back into a coma...”

“I- wait, my heart?” Prim questioned as she put a hoof to her chest.

“The lightning nearly stopped your heart,” Honey chocked slightly,” When they told us that you could die at any moment in your coma... I... I nearly broke. I stayed by your bedside nearly every day and night, making sure you were still breathing and that you were okay. Midnight came over almost every day to do the same.”

“She told me that as well,” Prim replied as her wing slowly extended to hug her mother back.

“When you woke up, it felt like a weight of great proportions was lifted off of my shoulders,: Honey smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek,” My little filly was awake and alive, Midnight was so happy that she cried for an hour, it was one of those rare moments whenever your oldest sister cried.”

Prim took in a breath to say something, but her throat tightened.

“I wanted to tell you, but the doctors said it could put you back into a coma,” Honey stopped for a moment, her mouth slightly agape,” A-and that you wouldn’t wake back up from it... the trauma would have been too bad, it would’ve been too much stress for your little body to handle... you were only just a filly! Four or five! To be alive after being struck by lightning is near impossible! Though it didn’t come with side effects. Your eyes changed from red to pink, your growth was slightly stunted, you had to be left alone for most of the day while you recovered... the worse of it was that you had slight amnesia.”

“I didn’t know it was that bad...” Prim spoke, flabbergasted.

“W-well... all that matters now is that you’re okay and that you know,” Honey managed a weak smile as she kissed her daughter’s forehead.

Prim felt like a filly again, being talked to by her mother, but this time about something bad and sad, whenever it was something that made Prim sad Honey would always kiss her forehead. It always seemed to comfort her, as it did now. Yet a question still tugged on Prim’s heart.

“Just... why didn’t you tell me when I was older?” Prim asked as Honey’s wing tucked itself against her side.

“Well... because I didn’t want you to be hurt... or scared,” Honey answered honestly,” I would’ve told you, I was going to... but then the attack and... and Flare...”

Prim looked down for a moment, all this time, he had been in the back of her mind and she had kept him there. She still loved him, she still wanted to be with him, but with the current situation, she couldn’t. This was one of her reasons for reading up on the old world, to distract herself from what had happened. Honey slowly realized that she had put forth a memory that her daughter was trying to bury or hide. She realized it too late for Prim’s posture had sunken a little bit. That seed of doubt had grown already, but now, it felt like it was about to bloom. Prim softly shook her head, as she swept the idea of Flare back into the corner of her mind.

“I’m sorry for bringing him up again!” Honey quickly apologized,” I hope I didn’t...”

“No... no, it’s alright...” Prim reassured her mother,” I’ll... just go back to reading a book or something like that, maybe talk to Midnight or Night.”

“Please, I know that something is bothering you,” Honey replied as her hoof rested gently against her daughter’s shoulder,” Tell me what it is...”

Prim sighed and told her mother how she felt about the whole situation, how she had been reading books to keep him off her mind and how this seemed wrong, as well as how Flare might get killed by the less than kind bat ponies who think of him as a menace. Honey could only listen as her daughter listed off her problems, her worries, and her fears. The menace part hit Honey in the gut, for it was kinda their fault for they gave him that status when the exiled him from the kingdom. Once Prim told her last problem, Honey tried to give her advice in ways she thought might help, such as talking to somepony she trusted as she did now or to write it down in a journal to keep her mind clear. Prim took her mother’s advice to heart and with a final hug and a loving nuzzle, her mother departed from her room. Yet, with the talk of Flare, she couldn’t help but wonder where he was now.

---Entrance to the City’s Castle---

“Shiny,” Flare replied as he looked on at the tall castle. It’s walls looked to be made of very light blue crystals, the castle stood tall amongst all the other buildings in the immediate area for it stood on top of a large hill. The view of not only the castle but the surrounding forest was beautiful, even though it was dark. The road leading up to the great castle was that of cobblestone with lamps illuminating the path for those who wished to visit at the late hours of the night.

“Yes, it is rather shiny, isn’t it?” Sithis replied with a slight chuckle.

“Yeah,” Flare admitted,” I’m surprised that this city hasn’t been found, enchantments or not, this castle is rather bright in the night.”

“The original creator of the city made sure it was hidden well,” Sithis explained as he finally pushed open the door.

“Do I smell a story?” Flare said with a smile.

“No,” Sithis replied with a smile,” Not this time anyways, any and all stories might as well be told by her.”

“Playing the Pronoun game are we?” Flare replied with a smirk.

Sithis rolled his eyes as he walked in with the smirking stallion in tow. The inside of the castle looked rather nice. Two Purple banners hung on the side of a staircase that branched off in two different directions. The floor was a was a simple gold hue and the inside walls were painted a more royal purple and white. The air was still as Sithis took in a deep breath. It wasn’t long before he moved forward towards the staircase, in which Flare groaned and simply teleported to the top. Once Sithis reached the top, he motioned for Flare to follow him, in which, again, he did, it was what he mostly did for the past three days. As they moved forward, they had entered a long hallway, there were doors on either side, but not as many as the castle where he used to live had. The doors were spread apart evenly, there were some tables that held lit candles. As soon as they entered the corridor of doors, it came to an end. The room soon spread out a little ways away from the opening. The room wasn’t as long as the one behind them, but it had an eerie feel to it. For one, there weren’t any light sources in here or at least none that were lit and visible. Second, large stain glass windows that bore six colors on either side. The colors went in order as such, purple, pink, orange, cyan, pure white, and finally, a buttery yellow. The windows converted the light from the moon into each respective color of the glass window. The two moved forward, passing under each pane of glass until Sithis stopped in his tracks.

*Fwoom!*

Two torches facing each other lit automatically, a blue flame sprouting from the once lifeless wood. Flare’s eye shrunk to the size of a pinprick as he scanned the area behind him. That was when the torches started to burst into flames faster, each set increased the speed of the next set, till finally, the whole room was alive with the blue flames. Flare looked on and saw a throne of gold, and somepony sat on that throne, their head covered by the purple cloak they wore. All that could be seen from under the cloak were two pink slit eyes. Sithis bowed deeply at the figure, Flare, however, did not, for he didn’t know who he bowed to.

“Bow,” Sithis hissed at Flare when he saw that he did not move.

“I will not bow to one I know not of,” Flare spoke clearly.

Sithis was about to argue, but a soothing, female voice came from under the hood,” I can agree with your idea, though it is rude to not bow to a ruler.”

“I do not mean to be rude,” Flare smiled,” But before I bow, I would like to know who lies under the hood.”

“Hm...” the figure mused,” I see why the royal family liked you, you listen and are kind, but you don’t break and go to every beck and call.”

With that, the figure removed the hood. Flare’s suspicions were correct, under the hood was a mare, a unicorn to be exact. Her mane was a light purple while her fur was nearly the same shade of dark blue as his own. The mare seemed to wear her mane in a ponytail. As Flare looked her over, she told Sithis to rise, in which he did slowly. She then turned and looked down at Flare, a smile formed on her lips,” Hello, my name is the Moon Mother, but you may call me Star.”

Chapter 28: Settling in and Regrets

Flare looked down at the food that had been set in front of him. It was a steak with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower. The mare, Moon Mother or “Star” had told Flare that dinner was going to be served and that he would be able to stay at the castle. When they had walked up to the dining hall, Star had asked Flare about himself. Flare went through the whole story, though leaving out some details like his family and the Pacifist way. He told her about how he tried to slow the evil spirit down, but they were too quick and not only cut his chest open but slit his throat in an effort to kill him in a much more painful, albeit quick way. Star had grimaced when he told her the story, and he could hear a low growl come from Sithis who walked behind the two. Once they had entered the hall, Star told some tidbits about herself, how she raised and lowered the moon, watched over her subjects, dealt with some nobles that thought they ruled the place, but were quickly mistaken when she threw them out and told them to leave the attitude behind and come back with respect. So that got a chuckle out of him. As they all sat in the dining room, they ordered their food, and this is where Flare sat, his thoughts blocking out any noise Solar or Light were making.

“Is something the matter with your food?” Star asked as she ate some mashed potatoes.

“No, just thinking,” Flare replied as he gripped his fork and knife with magic and cut into the steak.

“About what,” Star asked as she swallowed,” If I may ask.”

‘How about the simple fact this is too good to be true,’ Flare mused within his mind.

“Simply everything that has happened to me over the past few days...” Flare admitted.

“Right, I heard of the attack,” Star admitted as well,” I knew the wolves were hungry, but not that hungry.”

“Eh,” Flare shrugged,” Guess we shoulda thrown them a bone before then?”

This earned a snort from the mare and Sithis tried to hide his smirk as he rolled his eyes. Flare smiled in response, it was good to hear a laugh after a while.

“Well, I see that we have a jokester,” Star replied with a smile of her own.

“It seems so,” Sithis replied with a nod.

An awkward silence fell upon all of them as they ate. Flare looked up and around the dining room every couple of minutes. This couldn’t have been real, maybe it was the mushroom? Maybe he had been captured by somepony or one of the hunters and they have him sedated. Yet the food tasted real, he could smell Star and Sithis’s food, so that helped relieve the tension he felt. Once again, Star noticed his movements.

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?” Star asked as her fork was laid gently against the table.

“He might think this isn’t real,” Sithis offered.

Flare looked Star dead in the eyes, she felt as if a message should’ve been sent, but all she got from the gaze was a slight fear from the glowing red eye.

“Is that true, Flare?” Star asked,” Do you think all of this is too good to be true?”

“Yes,” Flare finally answered,” I was kicked out of one kingdom with what looked to be your kin to this city’s citizens, and you heard of the attack, so you must know of my exile. Is there some string attached to this?”

Star sighed and told Sithis to leave the room for a little while. Sithis followed the order immediately and left, he took the plate of food with him though. With the dragon gone, Star sat up straight, and her eyes gaze off a serious look. Yet her gaze matched the same intensity of Flare’s, so they were even in willpower. Star cleared her throat, and Flare waited patiently for what she had to say.

“It is true that we know of your exile,” Star admitted,” It is also true that some of the citizens of my small kingdom may relate to ones of yours. However, the reason I brought you here is that of your importance.”

“Importance?” Flare mused,” Other than being not of this world, what other importance do I have?”

“You are important to my- to Primrose, correct?” Star asked.

“Yes,” Flare nodded.

“To her, you are very important, not only to her but to Night, to Shattered, who couldn’t have proposed to my- Midnight.” Star continued,” It seems that you are rather important to at least two ponies, but let us remind you how you saved the kingdom from the invasion or at least a specter of yourself. To me, you have importance to many. I found it rather disappointed that the king and queen would exile you over such magic, though I can’t also blame them too much, for I have seen the darkness corrupt a pony whose will was strong.”

“So, I’m here because you thought my exile wasn’t truly justified?” Flare asked.

“Correct,” Star nodded,” We- I had come up with a way to get you back into town, but it seems that my plan wouldn’t be needed.”

“Wait... what plan?” Flare asked, his eyes narrowed, ”What do you mean by it won’t be needed?”

“Because Mid-” Star started.

“No... something isn’t right, how did you know that without my help Midnight wouldn’t have been engaged to Shattered? How do you know of me and Prim’s relationship?” Flare slammed his hooves onto the table, which startled the mare,” Tell me this, have you been spying on the kingdom? More importantly the Royal Family? Also, what is with this “my” then cutting yourself off?”

Star was quiet for a moment, then started to laugh. With a breath, she said,” I’m glad young Prim found a rather smart one!”

“Huh?” this had taken Flare by surprise.

“Well, I guess I should stop being so cryptic, hm?” Star mused,” To answer your first question, yes, I have spied on the Royal Family, but I can assure you it was for their own protection... after an incident. Second, now I wished to have told you this long after you have settled in, but I will tell you my secret now.”

“Go ahead,” Flare said.

“Primrose, Night Blossom, and Midnight are all my great-grandchildren,” Star stated.

This caught Flare off guard completely, his jaw dropped and he became speechless.

Star smiled,” I bet you didn’t expect that. Though I can understand that you now have some questions... again.”

Flare’s jaw closed and he thought, yes he did have questions. He took in a breath and agreed that he did.

“Yes, my first question is, do they know your their great-grandmother?” Flare’s first question came out jagged.

Star seemed to be barely phased by the question and the jaggedness of it,” No... they don’t, they know of me as a myth or legend.”

“Then why don’t you visit them?” Flare asked, this time a little calmer than before.

Star looked at him and sighed,” Because I don’t know how the-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Flare interrupted,” They’re your family, you should spend with them, your great-granddaughters should know their great-grandmother!”

Star gave him a sad look,” I would like to, but... I still fear what may happen if I do. My kingdom is for lost souls of the Solar Empire-”

“What!?” Flare semi-shouted.

“I’m guessing Sithis wasn’t too detailed with his stories?” Star smiled,” His son is just like him in that sense.”

“Anyway, yes, every soul you see here were once apart of the Solar Empire or lived during that era. At first, tensions ran high, but soon they settled down. Now, every pony and creature that lives here lives here happily! If my grandson and granddaughter-in-law were to find this out, I don’t know what might happen. The wereponies were searching for us, for whatever legend they found out about me that may not be true.”

“I can see how that is a problem, the wereponies did say, at least from what I’ve heard, they were looking for something,” Flare stated“...I was never told about the sisters’ grandmother or great-grandmother either.”

“Yes, though I never understood why they never told them about me or my children,” Star said sadly,” That is why I watch over them, I make sure nothing bad happens to them. They may not know me, but I would love to know them... maybe one day, even meet them in person and tell them old stories!”

Flare cracked a small smile, the bitterness slowly faded away,” I think they would love to see more family.”

“Maybe...” Star grinned, but then changed the topic,” Remember the plan? I told you how it seemed to be needed, but now it isn’t?”

“Yes,” Flare’s grin dropped,” What do you mean by it.”

“I was going to tell you,” Star smiled slyly,” But you cut me off and we got side-tracked~!”

“Oh... right,” Flare grinned awkwardly,” Sorry about that...”

“No worries,” Star assured as she pulled out a small crystal ball,” Come closer.”

“You going to tell me my fortune or something?” Flare joked as he got up from his chair and walked over.

“Hm, in a sense, yes!” Star smiled as her horn lit up.

The ball started to glow a dark purple aura, soon a clear image started to form in the crystal surface.

---At The Other Castle---

Midnight sighed as she got back from training her soldiers, her body ached, and she had a slight stomachache that she hoped went away soon. As she walked to her room, she continued to think about what had happened after they sent Flare away, she felt weird about it, not in a way of not understanding, but in more of “did, I overreact” type of weird. The thought came to her when she overheard some of the recruits as they told about their experiences in the invasion. She told them to get back to work or it was extra laps, yet the seed was already planted. She fought back the urge to think about it as she trained them in hoof-to-hoof combat. Now that she wasn’t training them, now that she could think of anything else, the thought burst through. The thought brought up points such as Prim’s attitude towards her, then Prim barely leaving her room or not even being in it. Then when she found out about the... past. They were connected and Midnight was upset that she didn’t see it. As time passed, the thought became more evident that what they did was not right, nor fair. Finally, she reached her room, yet she did not open the door, her hoof did not lift for the doorknob. She turned suddenly and walked to the throne room, her mind cleared, and her reasoning forward.

---Back at the Glowing City---

“What is she doing?” Flare asked as the ball went back to its normal coloring.

“Feeling regret,” Star stated,” She is starting to see the wrong behind her choice.”

Flare deadpanned,” What...?”

“She is going to renounce her vote of your banishment to her parents.” Star explained,” She is finally seeing straight.”

“Oh...” Flare replied.

“Hm,” Star hummed,” Would you like to know anything else?”

“Yeah,” Flare replied quickly,” Was there a reason you sent Sithis out?”

“Eh, he doesn’t need to hear about my family ties with the Royal family,” Star stated,” I’d only told you because you and my great-granddaughter are together. Also, kinda goes with it, but it was also a kinda warning that you shouldn’t do anything bad to them.”

“If you threaten me with bodily harm,” Flare chuckled,” To me, it’s an old friend.”

“A friend you shouldn’t have,” Star joked.

“True,” Flare shrugged,” Should we bring Sithis back in or?”

Star shook her head,” He is most likely in his room eating his dinner with his family, we shouldn’t impose.”

“Fair enough,” Flare replied,” So, can I still ask questions or is there a one question per hour wait time?”

“Nah, the only time limit is when I’m tired,” Star smiled.

“Alright,” Flare said, then he pondered for a moment on what he should ask. After a good moment, he asked,” What are with the Wereponies here? Why are they so violent?”

“Well,” Star started off with a hint of sadness in her voice,” To answer that, we need to start at the start. There was a war between a corrupt ruler of the Solar Empire, the forces of the Night, the dragons, griffons, and even minotuars all banded together to fight them. We won and divided up the land we gained into evenly placed chunks for each kingdom based on how much they lost in the war. The least casualties were the wereponies, so they got the least amount of land. Of course, they got upset, they have been rather territorial ever since they were first created. Yet, my mother talked them down and gave them the diamond mines and a place of good hunting and safety, the mountains. They lived semi-happily there, but I guess in recent years, that foolish prince decided to take what was not his, but they had you to help and stop them.”

Flare listened closely, each word sunk deep into his soul as he analyzed the more important bits. Once that was finished, Flare asked another question,” Who were your children? I might have heard of their names somewhere.”

“My children...” Star said with a gentle voice, one that contained sadness,” My children names were Silver Lining and Bright Sky respectively, Silver Lining was a smart mare who founded the kingdom you found yourself in that fateful night. Bright Sky was more headstrong, yet he was caring and found ways to settle arguments, with or without fighting. He wasn’t a ruler of a kingdom, but he did not care. Soon, my daughter gave birth to Blood Moon, I only saw him for a few minutes before a... powerful enemy attacked. My son fought them off, but he was killed due to his injuries... my daughter was filled with grief, but took care of her son with her late husband. She later died to an injury as well...”

“I’m... sorry to hear that...” Flare stated as sharp pain slashed at his heart.

“It is alright, but after that attack, I left, I could barely stand in the kingdom of my daughter,” Star stated,” But you know the pain as well, losing one you hold close, for you have lost three if I’m not mistaken?”

That phase Flare as she said that, he just simply replied,” Yes, my mother, father, and adoptive father. Technically I’ve lost four since I’m no longer there with my brother.”

“It seems we have found a common ground,” Star smiled.

“Seems so,” Flare admitted.

“We should probably go and check up on Midnight, see how she is doing,” Star offered.

“Right, right,” Flare agreed.

---Other Castle---

“I’m renouncing my vote on the Banishment of Lunar Flarion Glow.” Midnight stated firmly to her mother and father.

“Is that so?” Blood asked.

“Yes,” Midnight stood tall,” I have been thinking about it for a few days, and Ib realized that we acted out of fear.”

Blood Moon said nothing as he looked over at his wife, who seemed to be in thought. Honey looked up and at her daughter.

“I... think we did act of haste,” Honey replied,” We did act of fear.”

“Hm...” Blood lowered his head, now the one in thought.

“Father please, he saved us from the invasion!” Midnight retorted.

“That excuse is useless when you use it since you felt strongly the same as we did during the council.” Blood retorted back,” But, if you wish to renounce your vote, then so be it.”

“Does that mean?” Midnight asked,” Does that mean he is fre-”

“No, for we have two other options other than banishment, he is free to live here, or he is imprisoned here,” Blood stated.

“Then I vote for him to come back and live free here,” Midnight stated with a snort.

“Though there is a slight trouble...” Honey butted in,” We need to find him to get him back here.”

“I’ll send out a search party for him,” Midnight offered.

“Would that be wise?” Blood countered.

“I’ll send ones who are hunters and have hunted in the forest themselves, there are more recruits that fall in that category, so I can send them out.” Midnight responded.

“Well, assuming he isn’t dead by now,” Blood replied,” He will most likely think those are hunters after him, if they wear guard armor, he may run, maybe thinking we sent guards to “finish the job” or such.”

“I’ll see if I can have them wear none hunter attire and see if that works.” Midnight countered.

“Alright, then it is settled,” Blood stated.

“Flare is welcomed back into our kingdom,” Honey finished happily.

---Glowing City’s Castle---

“It seems you have been pardoned for a crime that wasn’t there,” Star smiled,” Though the suits may take a day or two before they are done, and the guards sent to retrieve you won’t be sent out til then. So you will have to stay here... unless you wish to go back into the forest.”

“Yeah,” Flare responded with a deadpan expression,” that’s gonna be a no to the forest.”

“That is what I thought~,” Star smirked,” Since the night is rising and I have to lower the moon soon.”

“Hm, I want to see you “lower the moon” as you say,” Flare replied, still suspicious about the truth of it.

“Then follow me!” Star replied with a large smile.

---Other Castle---

Prim had flown around the castle to clear her mind a little bit. This was not the first time she had done this before Flare had arrived she had done this almost every time she couldn’t sleep. As she made another round, she spotted her sister, Midnight telling orders to four of her soldiers, three mares, one stallion. She wondered what she told the group since they didn’t seem to be in trouble, they weren’t flinching or nearly in tears. She flew down as quiet as she could and ducked behind some nearby equipment and listened in.

“Your mission is to find Lunar Flarion, he is somewhere in the Razorwood Forest, most likely heading to the mountain range. You will be issued special suits a day from now, any questions?” Midnight’s voice was cold and demanded respect.

“What weapons are we allowed to bring?” one of the mares asked.

“Nothing too big, Flare is fast and rather intelligent, he is more of a skilled hunter than most of you, yet he won’t harm you. Keep it down to a dagger and or crossbow.” Midnight stated.

No other questions arose, so Midnight shouted,” Alright, dismissed!”

The soldiers saluted and walked back to where ever they were before the small meeting. Prim stood up as the four exited earshot, and walked over to Midnight, who jumped slightly at seeing her sister.

“Sis!?” Midnight flinched.

“What was that about?” Prim asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Well, I’m guessing you heard it all already,” Midnight sighed,” Flares coming back home.”

Prim had a feeling that there was a catch, and she was open about it,” What’s the catch?”

“There is none,” Midnight explained,” Flare’s coming back here to live in peace, you can have him in your life again. The only problem is that we only have a rough guess of where he is.”

Prim gave a silent sigh, a small rush of joy ran through her. Her small moment of joy was interrupted by Midnight.

“Go to be, sis,” Midnight ordered as she hugged her for a moment,” You need your rest.”

Prim was now in too good of a mood to decline and gave Midnight a hug back. Prim went off to bed, a smile on her face, that night.

Author's Notes:

Wow... kinda hard to think this but ANSP is near the end of its storyline.

Chapter 29: A day of fire, week of rest, and going home

---A few hours after chapter 28’s end---

Star flapped her wings through the night air, her cloak around her figure and her hood up to block her image from those below. Her hearts slow, rhythmic beat matched that of her wings. The moon had fallen below the horizon with her magic. She held a frown on her face, though gave a slight chuckle at Flare’s reaction to her lowering the moon. Yet, the smile faded quickly, for what she went to go do was more heartbreaking than any knife or sword could bare. Though this was important to her, even as the cold wind snapped at her exposed wings, she continued on to a nearby hill, not too close nor far from her castle.

She flew for an hour, and finally, she had reached a few feet short of her destination. Little Moonlily’s blanketed the hill, each smelling beautiful. She looked up, her destination in sight and her heart skipped a beat. There, standing at the top of the hill, in full view of the sky and henceforth the moon once it rises, were four gravestones. Star’s heart ached, and she felt as if a crack had formed in it. Using her magic, she plucked four Moonlilies from the ground and walked over to the graves. She sat in front of them and laid one flower on each. There was no sound, no wind, the air stood still as she let herself calm down, to allow that crack to heal slightly. Finally, with a shaky breath, she looked at the first grave, and said softly,” Hello, mom...”

She turned to the next,” Hello, dad.”

Then the next and her throat tightened,” Hello, Silver Lining... my beautiful daughter.”

Finally, she turned to the final grave,” Hello, Bright Sky... my handsome son... Happy birthday.”

She fell silent as if she hoped to hear their voices again, yet the hope was wasted, for no voices came. Her head fell slightly as her wings moved to close around her. She felt a tear force its way out and down her cheek. Her hoof moved and gently landed on the stone surface. It had been nearly fifty-three years since his death. Blood Moon was only 1 year old at the time, he never got to know how great his uncle was. That is when she felt another tear drip down from her cheek until she started to sob softly. Her sobs echoed down the hill, yet became faint for there was no wind to carry it to town. Her cries lasted an hour, then finally, she got her calmed down and used her cloak to wipe away the tears from her eyes. She stood up and lit her horn, for she didn’t carry enough energy to fly home, yet just enough to teleport home. With a flash, she disappeared, and as the flash illuminated the area, her mother’s grave shown to bare one name.

“Luna”

---Next morning---

Flare awoke in his room, right off the bat, he felt weird. The room felt much bigger than it actually seemed to be as if this was once a storage room for something, but the walls were covered in wood than painted over with the color of choice, which in this rooms case, was a rather dull grey. Other than that, the room was rather empty, there wasn’t any natural light since there wasn’t a window either. A few simple, electric torches were the only forms of light that the room was given. Flare stretched as he got out of bed, the bed had the familiar feel to that of Prim’s bed. Though this one made his back disagree in pain. He left the room, not sure of where to go, maybe to grab some breakfast? He was kinda hungry and could go for some pancakes or waffles.

“Well...” Flare quipped as he looked down the hall,” Time to find the dining room again.”

“Well, I think I can help with that,” A familiar female voice stated.

“Hello, Ms. Star,” Flare replied as he turned to look at the mare.

“Hello, Mr. Flarion,” Star mocked light-heartedly back.

“Heh, nice try,” Flare smiled,” But my last name isn’t Flarion.”

“Star isn’t mine either,” Star smiled back.

“Then we both failed.”

“That we did.”

...

The two snorted at the rather bad joke.

“Just follow me, I wish to speak with you,” Star said as she started to walk.

At this point, Flare felt like the main character in a game who has to follow AI around, but he did it nonetheless.

“What do you want to talk about?” Flare asked.

“Well,” Star started,” My s... son didn’t get his fighting nature from nowhere.”

“I’m not fighting you,” Flare stated.

“I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy,” Star shrugged,” But I have seen from that little book you gave Night that skeletons of your kind can go “berserk”, correct?”

“Yes,” Flare confirmed.

“Have you ever done it?” Star asked,” Have you ever gone berserk?”

“I’ve gotten close,” Flare muttered,” But never close enough, I’ve let my hatred go, but that was a mistake since it wasn’t the one I am normally supposed to get.”

“What do you mean?” Star inquired.

“I’m part fire elemental, when I go berserk like I’m supposed too, I’ll most likely be engulfed in flames,” Flare stated,” Don’t ask how I know that.”

“Hm... would you like to see that?” Star asked,” You know, for a study or an experiment!”

“You really just want me to fight you to see what my powers are, don’t you?” Flare asked, obviously not amused.

“Tsk...” Star replied,” Stop being able to see through my plan!”

This made Flare chuckle,” Fine... how about this, after breakfast, we have a little fight.”

The mare smiled.

“On one condition,” Flare smiled as he said that.

“What?” Star replied, a challenger-like smile placed on her muzzle.

“I make the rules,” Flare stated.

“As long as they are fair!” Star chimed back.

“Fair enough,” Flare smiled as he pointed at her wings,” You can’t fly during the fight, but you can use these to propel yourself forward.”

Star smacked her lips and thought about it for a minute, then nodded,” Alright, that seems fair.”

“Shake on it,” Flare said.

“Alrighty,” Star replied, she grabbed his hoof and gave it a firm shake.

------

As the two ordered, ate, and finished their breakfast, Star had started to think of a good place to fight. Of course, the fight was more for fun, and she couldn’t help but be driven this way, her son loved to play fight with her, no matter how many times she won, he always came back with a better plan to try and defeat her. She has fought with Sithis in the same way, but with more violence involved, though that had gotten boring to her after a few days. After all, he may have been one of the best Dragon Guards but that didn’t mean he could take on an alicorn when she was trying. However, Flare seemed to be different in a way. She had spied on that book and found that most of his body, if not all, were made of pure magic. His attacks would be stronger than that of an average or even slightly above average unicorn. Physically, she wasn’t sure if magic affects that trait.

“Hm... maybe we could fight at the old fighting ring,” Star mussed. The old place was deep within the mountains, it was where she trained with her mother, where she trained her foals. The place was well protected, the thick rocky interior and exterior were perfect for absorbing alicorn blasts that were at a decent charge.

“Old fighting ring?” Flare asked, which broke Star’s thoughts.

“Yeah, very good place for practicing powerful attacks,” Star stated,” I think it would be the best place for our fight.”

“All righty,” Flare shrugged,” So, where is it?”

“Well,” Star horn glowed,” It’s far from here-”

*POOF!*

Flare stumbled a bit as the world faded from one place to another. A heavy darkness settled upon them. Flare felt cold stone and the room felt way larger than any he had been in before. He looked around, the red glow of his eye fell upon Star’s face.

“-But with a simple spell, we can get there in a blink of an eye,” Star smiled as her voice echoed.

“Mind turning on the lights?” Flare asked, his voice echoed as well. His eye may glow, which allowed some sight in the darkness, however, he felt he is going to need to see much clearer if he were to fight Star on an equal field of battle.

Star chuckled and her horn glowed once more. Soon, hundreds of pink lights filled the open room. Flare was taken aback by the sheer size of the room or more accurately, cavern. In the light pink lights, he could see stands on either side of them, in front of him, right behind Star stood a large metallic door large enough to probably allow Buster to enter this cavern. Another thing that caught his attention was the fact that they stood upon an elevated surface, the ground around the large square platform had been dug out. This was definitely meant to host fights, there wasn’t a doubt about that fact.

“Okay,” Star smiled, her voice echoed once more,” Since you are a guest, you get to have the first attack.”

“Weird way of treating the guest...” Flare admitted,” But all right.”

The attack happened in an instant, dulled metallic objects crashed through the floor below the mare. She was taken off guard and rose quickly with the objects. As they climbed, Flare quickly lowered them and Star was forced to join them, however, she didn’t move past and under the floor, as they did so she splatted against the cold stone.

50!

The red number shined brightly as Star got back up. She was slightly dazed, but she held a firm smile.

“I forgot that you had magic,” Star joked, ”It has been a while since I fought a magic user.”

“Well, you can attack next,” Flare didn’t waste a second, he didn’t hear her comment. His eyes were firmly planted on the mare’s body as he waited for her to attack. For him, time slowed as she lunged forward with great speed, her hoof held high and ready to slam against his muzzle. He quickly rolled out of the way and Star’s hooves scratched against the ground as she came to a sudden stop. Flare got back up on his hooves, his heart pounded against his chest, he looked down for a quick moment. This time, Star saw an opening and took it. She sped forward once more and slammed her hoof into his chest, this sent him clear over to the other side of the platform.

110!

The pink numbers flashed against Flare’s mind as he stood up. He grunted as the pain started to fade, he didn’t expect that, he thought they were taking turns. That’s when it hit him... again. Star appeared to his side and slammed her hoof into his shoulder, which sent him flying again. However, Flare recovered quickly enough to disappear and reappear to her side, and he didn’t hold back. He pulled back his hoof and slammed it right into her lower jaw. She didn’t go flying, but she was downright dazed from the punch.

96!

50!

He smiled and winced at the number. He smiled since it was an increase from his last attack, but winched since he didn’t know how much damage she could take. He took her daze and used it to “check” her stats. His eye narrowed as he checked each stat.

Mother “Star” Moon

Attack: 100 Def: 30 HP: 10,000

Yeah, she could take a beating from him. Though he had to watch his own health carefully, since he wouldn’t like to feel the pain of being dusted again. His original HP sat at 2,500 now it sat at 2,340.

She soon fell out of her daze and her head was now back in the game, though she did hesitate a moment before she attacked to rub her jaw. She disappeared from the ring for a moment, then appeared at the center of it. Her horn glowed a bright pink as she raised the front half of her body. In an instant, she slammed her hooves down and created a large shockwave that made Flare stumble, then she let loose her charged attack. Flare fell to the floor in a vain attempt to dodge it and dodged it he did, though he hissed as the tip of his horn was singed by the blast. He got up in time to dodge another beam attack and counter one with his own. The skull that appeared quickly opened with a torrent of low charged blasts. Star put up a shield which blocked most of the attacks, yet what she didn’t expect was the skull to ram its own horn so hard against the shield that it cracked a hole right through it. She felt a rush of adrenaline as she used her magic and threw the skull back at its summoner, who grabbed it as well and set it right. She should be feeling fear, but she wasn’t, whether it was the cold adrenaline that rushed through her veins, or that fact she hasn’t had a fight like this in a while, she couldn’t help but crack a large grin.

“Why are you smiling?” Flare’s voice came out in a low growl, something he didn’t intend to do.

“It’s been a while since I had this much fun in a fight,” Star smiled wider, then remembered why she was here, not just to fight, but to get him angry enough he goes berserk. So far, with her unfair attacks, it seemed to have chipped a bit at him. That book did help a lot since it said that attacks in his universe take turns for each opponent.

She felt the ground shake beneath her and rolled to the side as a barrage of hundreds of slightly less dulled object jutted through the ground. She jumped back again as another set broke out from underneath her. She felt a hoof slam against the back of her head. She stumbled and picked up the stallion and threw him across the platform, his body gave a hard thump as he landed.

“Come on!” Star bellowed,” Is that all you got!?”

Flare’s form shuttered a bit as he stood. In the pink light, Star could see black veins start to appear on Flare’s body, but they quickly disappeared as Flare took a deep breath. Flare looked at her and his red eye gave a slight hint of blue.

*Ding~*

Star felt the gravity alter around her like it became heavier than before. She looked at Flare, whose hoof was pointed directly at her chest. She looked down and saw a small heart glowing a dark blue placed in the center.

“This is your soul, the very culmination of your being,” Flare stated coldly,” You see, some monsters have a way of manipulating the soul of another creature, mine is to alter and manipulate the gravity of the area around you to make it hard for you to move. This magic will damage your soul and lower your hp, as well as let me do... this. ”

His hoof shot up quickly and Star felt her body jolt into the air. Just as quickly as it started, she felt the sudden stop and grunted as she hovered in the air. Then she felt the gravity around her increase and she slammed into the ground. Once more, she let off a grunt and slowly got back up.

“You’re holding back,” Star spat.

“So are you,” Flare stated as the numbers finally showed themselves of his last two attacks.

190!

“I’m holding back cause your...” Star thought of an insult,” Weak! One blast and you’d... you’d be BEGGING for mercy!”

“Your attempt to anger me by insults isn’t working,” Flare responded as he let her gravity go back to normal.

“Right,” Star muttered as she stood up,” Your cold, hard to anger since you’ve locked away all of your emotions? You just let them simmer.”

“Enough,” Flare spat,” I don’t want to fight anymore, it isn’t worth it, I don’t want to go back to the pony I once was.”

‘The pony you once were... the pony you once were-’ Star thought for a moment, then gave a devilish grin,’ The pony he once was makes him angry... I just hope he’ll forgive me for this.’

Star looked up and her horn glowed brightly, the simple spell she was going to cast would help Flare unlock his inner monster. She was blinded by her desire to not only to “help” Flare unlock this power, but she had grown thirsty for a good fight. Flare stepped forward, he thought the spell was going to teleport them back to the castle... he was wrong. When he got close enough, Star let the spell go and it crashed into him, pink tendrils wrapped around his horn and his eyes glowed an eerie pink. He stumbled backward and let off a low growl as he tried to shake the spell’s tendrils off. She was surprised the spell didn’t instantly take hold and did its work, maybe this stallion could fight back against mental manipulation? She watched on as the tendrils wrapped around his neck and he finally stopped his fight.

The cavern grew silent and Flare’s body started to twitch and spasm. He took a step back and let off another low growl. That was when Star noticed the black veins once again as they slowly climbed up Flare’s front legs. She then noticed another color started to rise through his body, a light, teal blue color clashed against the black as if they both fought for dominance of the body. First, it was the black that gripped the throat and moved around his jaw, the blue followed shortly behind. The pink tendrils flickered, it started off slow, but soo it was apparent that the spell was going to drop. As the spell flickered, she saw that the glowing red eye and the red dots of past turned into a bright white, like the stars of the night. She felt a burst of energy as the blue finally caught up.

Next, there was a blue light that blinded Star. She roared in pain and covered her eyes as the light intensified beyond any light she had seen before. Maybe a nightmare spell wasn’t the best course of action. She gave a low hiss as her wings covered her face. Then, when the light started to fade and she could see a little bit more, she heard a soft crackle, like a new fire that roared to life. She finally, she laid her eyes on where Flare once stood, but a large cloud of smoke blocked her vision. The crackle got louder and she could hear a low and angered breath came from within the wall of smoke. She waited for a second, and in that second, she swore she could see a faint blue light... and it got brighter and brighter. She then realized what it was and ducked quickly as a powerful beam of blue fire slammed into the metallic door. The smoke started to swirl like a twister, faster and faster till she felt herself start to be pulled into it. She didn’t know when it was going to end until it blew her back into the cavern’s thick rock wall. She winced and gave a squeak of pain as her wing was cut deeply by a jagged stone. She teleported just in time to dodge another blast of blue flame. She stumbled back onto the platform and then inhaled sharply as she looked at Flare.

Her jaw dropped at what she saw. There stood a skeleton of a tall unicorn, the horn was curved, there was a large hole in the side of its head. Yet what made her jaw drop was the fact that it was surrounded by a brilliant blue flame. She knew it was Flare, yet she felt as if she had let a monster, a true monster loose. The stallion turned, the hollow eye sockets filled with a white flame that swirled violently. She stepped back, her heart now pounded with fear, no longer was this a friendly fight, this was a fight to snap him out of it and hope to be forgiven. Flare let out a horrid roar that dissolved into a screech as he charged forward, his hooves leaving behind a trail of fire. She teleported to one of the stands to escape the stallion. She heard the stallion give off a low snort as he looked around for her. He found her scent and looked directly at her, his eyes pierced her very soul.

Flare gave another horrid screech and, instead of using his horn, held open his mouth and fired off another wave of blue fire. Star squeaked as she jumped out of the way. She heard stone crumble and crack from the fire’s force and looked down. In a flash of blue light, she felt a hoof slam against her head, this sent her flying til she came to a stop as she crashed into the giant metal door. Flare had hit her chest and she held back a cry as her chest sizzled from the fire’s contact. Her body indented in the metal and her whole body ached. She opened her eyes as the pain washed over her, yet Flare wasn’t done yet. With a start, he ran at full speed and headbutted Star through the thick metal door. This time she roared in pain as she fell onto the hillside, she landed on her wing and tore another membrane on it. Flare’s body crashed onto the ground which left a small crater. Buts of the broken door fell on top of Star and she hissed with pain at the hot metal. She got herself up and stumbled a bit to keep herself upright. She heard grass sizzle behind her, she turned and stared death right in the eyes as he slowly approached.

She thought for a moment that she was dead, there was no way to calm the monster she had let loose down... Until she remembered. Prim, one pony he cared about dearly was her. She opened her mouth to speak but flinched as she tripped on her hoof, it had been sprained in the fall. As Flare closed in, she forced herself through the pain, with a weak voice, she asked,” F-Flare... s-stop... w-what would P-Prim think if she saw you like this?”

Flare stopped for a moment as if the words had gotten to him. Star wanted to smile, but she couldn’t, she had to put all of her energy into her speech.

“Flare,” Star said,” You aren’t a monster... I’m not your enemy... no pony is anymore... you’re safe... calm down.”

Flare gave a low groan and the fire started to fall.

Star got back up and walked over to him as the fire soon died down, that of which left only the bones. His head forced its way up and its hollowed eye sockets gazed into her eyes. Flare’s right hoof slowly raised up and Star gently grabbed it. A small and nearly unseeable flame rushed up from his arm and onto hers. It penetrated her skin, leaving behind another scorched mark. She felt her body start to feel energized, her sprained leg felt a little bit better, now it just felt sore. She stumbled back and looked on as the flame started to heal her body. She looked back at Flare, whose body was now back to normal... yet he wasn’t breathing, no movement. She started to panic.

---
2 hours later
---

Flare laid in the hospital bed hooked up to an IV and some other machines. The monitor slowly beeped away. Star sat next to the bed, her chest and wing were wrapped up in bandages and she was going to have to take them off so that she could apply an ointment. She watched as the doctors went to work, as they tried to make him stable. His heartbeat dropped to zero and they used all forms of magic to bring it back up. They said that he was going to be in a coma for a week, and she couldn’t feel any worse about what she had done.

*Knock knock knock*

Three soft knocks came from the door as a mare in doctor’s attire walked in, she held a clipboard.

“My queen,” the mare stated with a bow,” We have found out why Flare had suffered such damage to his body internally.”

“Why?” Star asked.

“His soul, it is as you said, it is made of magic,” the doctor explained,” He used up too much magic and his body went catatonic after he gave you the healing flame”

“Is there anything I can do to make his recovery faster?” Star asked,” He is expecting company soon.”

“No ma’am...” The doctor replied sadly,” The best we can do is wait for a week to go by and have his magic restore itself naturally.”

“I understand,” Star replied,” I must go, I have duties to attend, do not let him get any worse... okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the doctor replied with a firm nod.

This week was going to be a long one...

---
Day 1 (After incident)
---

Star had received word that the ponies sent to collect Flare and bring him back home had been dispatched to the forest. She told them to let them look around and return back home with whatever they had found. She finished up any paperwork, talked with Sithis, and went for a walk around her castle grounds, her mind still tortured by what she had done. She didn’t sleep soundly that night.

---
Day 2
---

The guards had found a trail that may lead to Flare early the next morning. Star had told her officials to once again, not interfere unless they get close enough to the city that they can be allowed access without alerting any others to the city’s whereabouts. Star visited Flare later that afternoon, who seemed to be doing a little bit better. His heart rate had gone back to normal, but he was still hooked up to the machines. She sat there for an hour and asked for Flare to forgive her. Even though there was no response. She didn’t sleep that night at all, instead, she focused on the four guards who had set up camp near the house Flare had lived in before he came here.

---
Day 3
---

The guards had found his trail that lead to the moment where Flare met Sithis. She gave a weary smile as they followed the trail with new hope. When she left her chamber, she barely talked to anypony and went straight to Flare to check on his condition. Like yesterday, it had gotten better. A few citizens stopped her in the streets and asked if she was okay, for which she always told them she was. That night, before bed, she watched as the guards set up their mobile campsite. They were two days away from the city.

---
Day 4
---

Nothing happened that day that was noteworthy, Flare was stable, the guards were on the trail and so forth.

---
Day 5
---

The guards were close enough to the gates of the city, so Star sent out two of her own guards to come and collect them. She went to check up on Flare, who had finally begun to move, if only slightly in his dream-like state. She didn’t welcome the guards when they entered the city, she didn’t tell her guards to take them to the castle, she just ordered them to be taken to the nearest hotel. Star went to sleep that night with a headache.

---
Day 6
---

Star met the guards at the hotel and took them to the castle where she explained where Flare was and what happened to her. She had nearly forgotten about the bandages, she had grown used to them. She offered the guards food, water, a place to bathe and finally a room to stay in for the night. She told them that Flare was due to wake up tomorrow, so they would have to wait. One guard questioned her, a female by the name Pale Aura questioned if they could trust her. Star reluctantly showed them to Flare. They asked more questions that night than hours of sleep they had gotten.

---
Day 7
---

Flare woke up in a hospital room and right off the bat had a headache. He looked around his room and found that no pony was there. Why was he in here? He didn’t want to get up since he was hooked up to a lot of machines at the time. So he waited for an hour or so, finally, a nurse walked in and he asked for the reason why he was here. After the nurse’s shock went away, she told him what happened. As Flare heard the story, he looked away from the nurse every once in a while. He was still too tired to feel angry at what had happened. The nurse told him that Star would be over soon with four ponies that were had looked for him. Once again, he played the waiting game as the nurse left the room.

---

“Right through here, your majesty,” the nurse said as she opened the door.

“Thank you kindly,” Star smiled as she and the four other guards piled into the room. Her eyes landed upon Flare, who held a rather upset expression at the sight of her.

“Hello, Star,” Flare said.

“Hello, Flare,” Star gulped,” These are the ponies sent to escort you back home.”

As Star said that, the four guards saluted and one stepped forward, it was Pale Aura.

“Lunar Flarion, be the behalf of the king, Queen, and three royal sisters of the Vampony Kingdom, you are hereby allowed to return,” Aura stated, ”My crew and I here are to take you back safely, since we found you and have the coordinates to the Castle, we can teleport there instead of taking the long trek back home.”

“Alright,” Flare replied,” First, I need to get these machines off of me.”

Aura and Star nodded and called in the doctors, who unhooked the machines and allowed Flare to get out of the bed. When he tried to walk, he stumbled and fell. However, Star was there to catch him and help him along the way. After an hour or so, Flare finally could walk normally. Star smiled and told them to stay put, that she had something for the four guards and teleported away. For a mere second that she was gone, Flare looked at each guard and noticed that all seemed a little jittery. When Star came back, she held in her grasp four potions.

“You’ll need to drink these before you leave the city,” Star explained,” Unlike Flare’s body, none of you hold enough magic to leave this place alive. So drink these now.”

The guards were reluctant to do so but drank the potions, none of them wanted to test that theory or risk their lives more than they had to already. With the last bit of potion gone, the two unicorns in the group prepared to teleport Flare and the others back to the castle. Yet Flare had one departing gift for Star.

*Smack!*

Flare gave a firm smack to the mare’s cheek. She looked at him and gave a soft chuckle,” Yeah... I deserved that...”

“Still, I would like to thank you for your hospitality,” Flare said as he offered his hoof.

“My pleasure,” Star smiled and accepted his hoof shake.

“Come on, Flare,” one of the unicorns shouted,” We’re burning moonlight!”

Flare nodded and waved back at Star. He stood next to the guards, and with a poof, they disappeared back to the castle. Where Flare finally got back with his love, Princess Prim Bite.

Author's Notes:

Sorry if this chapter seems rushed, I’m just reallly tired...

Chapter 30: Back home and the final date

Author's Notes:

IMPORTANT I think...
I’m going to be taking a small break to get myself back in order since I haven’t been getting that much sleep lately. Until then, I hope you all have a good day/night!

In other news, we’re nearing the end of the story, a few chapters from now and... well, that orange “In progress” bar will finally turn to a green “Completed” bar.

Once Flare had gotten back to the castle he knew what he wanted to do first and foremost, he went straight up to Prim’s room to see her. He told the guards where he planned to go and they nodded and told him that they would tell the rest of the family that he had arrived and where he was now. Flare smiled and went on down the familiar hall in search for the pony he loved. With a single knock on the door, he heard her voice.

“Coming!” Prim shouted as she opened the door.

“Hey, Prim,” Flare greeted with a smile.

Prim’s ear twitched at the voice and she looked right into his eyes for a moment. Her jaw dropped slightly as she stared on. Now Flare was getting rather uncomfortable.

“I’m back,” Flare said, his grin grew awkward.

Prim’s mouth closed and the air stood still. Flare could hear his heartbeat in his ears at that very moment. It was the only noise for a few seconds, till a sharp and maybe happy scree hit his ears. He fell backward as the small mare lunged forward and wrapped her hooves around his neck and gave a firm squeeze... did I say firm? I meant she squeezed so hard Flare turned a darker shade of blue than he already was. Flare gasped for air as the mare started to ramble.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Prim squeaked with joy,” It’s only been a week but it felt longer than that!”

Flare wanted to agree, but the mare’s hooves and grip proved a challenge for such a task. Instead, he nodded as the mare nuzzled him with affection. Flare couldn’t lie, though the pain he felt was bad, he rather enjoyed the love and affection Prim had given him. When she let go of his neck and he got a deep breath, Prim pushed her head against his and kissed the tip of his nose. She was in near disbelief that Midnight would actually get Flare back, even though she hated the thought, somewhere deep inside her she felt as if he had died by a beast of the woods. Yet, here he was, in the flesh and alive.

Flare reached around her with his hooves and pulled her into his own hug, though much more gentle than what she had given him. She accepted this hug happily as her wings wrapped around him and pulled him in just a little closer. The two felt the sound around them fade away as they joined into their own little world together. Prim adjusted her head to lay on his shoulder while Flare’s laid on her’s. The two didn’t hear the sound of hoofsteps that approached them. At least Prim didn’t. Flare’s eyes snapped open and he looked to where the hoofsteps’ origin. There walked a mare he knew as well.

Midnight.

She held a smile as she looked upon the two, though it fell a bit into more of a sad or guilty frown as she saw Flare’s reaction to her presence. She stopped and spoke, a little cheerful tone could be sensed from her voice,” I told you I’d find him and get him back here.”

Prim’s head snapped up and she looked at Midnight with a small blush. However, the small mare nodded and thanked her sister for doing so. Midnight couldn’t help but replace her awkward smile with a sincere one as her sister gently nuzzled her coltfriend’s chest. However, she had to break this up for she had some news to tell Flare... Though she waited for a bit as the two went back to enjoying each other’s company a little bit more. The two seemed to love it, though they did not notice it. Yet finally, it was up to Midnight to break it to tell Flare to follow her.

She cleared her throat and said,” Flare, I need you to follow me for a briefing.”

“O-oh... right,” Prim muttered as she looked at Midnight,” That...”

Midnight looked at her with a small grin,” I won’t take him too long, don’t worry.”

“One more thing before he goes?” Prim asked hopefully.

“As long as it is short,” Midnight replied.

Prim nodded and looked at Flare. In an instant, faster than Flare could’ve reacted, Prim lunged forward and planted her lips against his and gave him a deep kiss. Flare was caught off guard but managed to quickly recover and enjoy the kiss for the few seconds that it lasted. Midnight just snorted as the two pulled away. Prim nuzzled Flare’s cheek once more and whispered to him softly,” Meet me in the Living Room, I wanted to have another date... this time I made it.”

Flare whispered back,” I’ll be sure to make it there, at what time?”

“Seven o’clock pm, sharp,” Prim replied,” Now go with Midnight, it is important.”

Flare nodded and go up to follow the eldest sister. He nuzzled Prim goodbye as he followed the mare. He felt that they had no exact destination, that Midnight simply wanted to talk to him about something important. So he waited for her to start up a conversation. Minutes had passed and the two continued to walk in silence, they had walked down two halls and seemed to have been heading for another room. The silence made Flare feel awkward and unnerved, after being in a coma for seven days with his mind empty of noise, he didn’t want to go back to an awkward silence, he didn’t like it when other ponies were silent when they could have started up a conversation. Yet the silence continued, continued until the two found a balcony that fasted the whole kingdom. Flare propped his front legs on top of it and stared out whilst Midnight simply watched on.

“I first off want to apologize for the decision to banish you,” Midnight said out of nowhere, this broke the forever present scream of silence.

“It’s alright,” Flare responded as he looked back at her,” You and your parents were afraid and I can’t really blame you for that. You started to question if I was safe to keep around, and you all feared for Prim’s well-being.”

Midnight looked dumbfounded,” How did you know?”

“You may be a guard, but I can still read you like an open book,” Flare chuckled as he told her.

Midnight sighed,” I should’ve figured.”

Midnight walked over and sat down next to the small rail that stretched around the balcony’s platform.

“So what is this thing of great importance you wanted to talk to me about?” Flare asked as he looked at Midnight.

Midnight shuffled a bit at the eye contact, but told him,” You are liable to get a Medal of Protection from us, it is one of the highest-ranking medals we give out to civilians when they have shown true courage in protecting others. You repelled an army, cut the head off of the snake if you will.”

“Hm, so you made me follow you to a balcony to tell me I won a medal?” Flare asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Midnight replied dryly,” Is something wrong with that?”

Flare just chuckled and shook his head,” I don’t need a medal for what I did.”

“What?!” Midnight shouted, this wasn’t normal for ponies to deny such a high honor, but she then realized... this was Flare, and he wasn’t normal.

“Yeah, I don’t want nor need it,” Flare shrugged,” And if you have anything else to tell me, I’d like to hear it now.”

“Hm... right,” Midnight muttered, then spoke aloud,” Flare, I want you to be the Royal Protector of my sister, you will get armor to hide your identity and a good amount of pay for doing so. Not only that, you will be with Prim 24/7. You will dawn the armor whenever she leaves the castle but not go out into public unless it is a public event, then you will follow her while wearing the armor. Other than that, you won’t have too, you can just carry around a dagger and watch out for her when she is in the castle or just use your old disguise whenever you and she ever go out.”

“Wow... that is a lot to take in...” Flare muttered as he took a second to process it,” So you’re telling me that you would like me to be Prim’s personal guard?”

“Give or take, yes,” Midnight nodded. Flare’s head fell as he started to think about this. The ups and downs where there, he most likely wouldn’t get any downtime, yet he could spend it with Prim. The other downside is that he didn’t know how Prim would react to this if he were either to accept or deny it. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that it was the right thing to do for him to accept this job.

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” He said as he offered his hoof for a shake.

“Good,” Midnight replied as she shook his hoof,” I’ll get the paperwork for you to sign and have you sent down to the blacksmiths’ armor shop to have them make your armor. Other than that, I’d like for you to walk around the castle again, my parents want to see you first though.”

“Alright,” Flare said,”Where might they be?”

“Most likely in the throne room being complained at by a noble,” Midnight replied,” I’ll see you later.”

With that, Midnight got up and left Flare to watch the moon as it slowly rose in the sky. He wondered what exactly did those potions do? If it is true that they only made it to where the guards could leave then wouldn’t Star have put her city in danger by letting them leave? Though that was her problem, and he knew the potion wasn’t poison, she didn’t look or act the type to do so. Where was he? Right, he had to head to the throne room to meet the king and queen.

---

The walk there wasn’t too long, Flare did see that the castle was more heavily guarded than the last time he was here. Most guards had new armor and spears, serrated, an interesting choice to say the least. Some guards, though their eyes so that Flare couldn’t see them, did give him some looks, he felt some look at him with a burning gaze while some other’s looked at him as he passed by. He would always look at the guards as he walked by them. Bad memories started to surface back from the underground, though the guards didn’t have serrated spears there, their armor made them look almost twice as big then they normally were. Not only that, you couldn’t see their faces nor their eyes, something to do with an enchantment. He found himself lost in thought once more and quickly cleared his mind. Normally, Solar and or Light would have said something about his thoughts, Solar something snarcky while Light something analytical. Once again, Flare found himself in thought, yet he wasn’t too far in so he was able to rid the thought quickly from his mind. Just in time too, since he nearly walked past the hall that led to the two monarchs.

---

He entered the room, or, just like back at the other castle a long corridor. Thankfully, this corridor was light and didn’t have a bat alicorn that waited in the dark for a small jumpscare. He looked down the corridor and saw the two monarchs, both sat on thrones equal to each other in height. In front of them was a white bat pony mare who seemed to on a rant about something. Flare sensed that he wasn’t needed yet so he started to leave. However, he stopped when he saw Honey look at him and gently move her head, she had asked him to move forward. Flare did so, albeit slowly. As he did so, Moon also noticed his presence and looked down at the mare.

“I believe we will have to cut this meeting short, Mrs. Chill,” Blood Moon’s deep voice echoed.

“Oh, alright,” Mrs. Chill said,” Sorry for the long rant, when might you be available for another talk?”

“Next week on Thursday,” Honey answered.

“Okay, I’ll mark it down~,” Mrs. Chill responded with a sing-song voice. She turned around and jumped at Flare, who stood right behind her.

“Oh, hello!” Mrs. Chill greeted,” Are you Lunar Flarion?”

Flare looked at the two monarchs with a questioning look. They nodded and Flare answered.

“Yes, I’m Lunar Flarion,” Flare replied,” Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Mrs. Chill replied,” I have to go, I hope you have a good day now!”

Mrs. Chills left the room. Flare shrugged, she seemed friendly.

“Hello again, Flare,” Moon’s voice echoed once more and it was aimed at him, it was not cold, yet he couldn’t feel any joy behind the welcome.

“Your majesty,” Flare replied.

“Hello~!” Honey smiled in her normally cheery nature, her more bubbly personality clashed slightly with Moon’s much colder one.

“I heard you would like to speak with me?” Flare asked.

“You’ve heard correctly,” Moon replied.

“Dearie, please don’t be like that,” Honey replied,” Be a little happy.”

“Fine,” Moon’s tone gained at least an emotion, of what, Flare didn’t know.

“Where was I?” Moon asked,” Ah, yes, Flare, we would like to give you a formal apology for our decision. At some points, we need to realize that fear shouldn’t run us... but we let it.”

“Yes,” Honey continued,” You should have been at least rewarded for fending off the wolves, if not saving us from the iron shackles of our own dungeons.”

“I don’t want a reward,” Flare replied,” I didn’t do it for one, I don’t expect one. Thank you for your offer, but I must decline.”

“Hm... you aren’t the first, but you are rare, not many ponies would deny a reward for their efforts,” Moon complimented.

“The reward I got from it is Prim being okay and not hurt. To me, that is more valuable than a medal or another object that can be lost,” Flare said.

“Your love for our daughter makes us happy,” Honey smiled,” You already have my blessing for marriage!”

This caught Flare off guard, and if he were to have a drink, he most likely would’ve spat it out,” What?”

“Don’t pretend like we don’t know~,” Honey giggled,” You two do seem to like the idea of marriage, and you already have my blessing~!”

“I should’ve guessed,” Flare replied with an awkward smile. He turned to look at Moon, who looked back at him with a steely gaze.

“I’m still thinking about it,” Moon stated,” Though you have shown to be a good stallion at heart, I believe it too early to say if you have my blessing, I’ll make my decision in a day or two, by then prepare for my call.”

“Yes, sir,” Flare nodded,” Is there anything else you need of me?”

“No,” Moon responded,” You may leave, I take it you know the castle has changed, feel free to explore.”

“Will do,” Flare nodded as he left the throne room.

---

Flare had walked around the castle, he walked by more guards than he would’ve like to, but he couldn’t blame them for putting this many guards on duty. He first went to find Night, he felt it was at least fair for all the sisters to know that he was here. So he went to her bedroom and knocked. When the door opened, Night let off a squeak and greeted him happily. She told him that she was glad he was here since Prim had been down and had covered most of it up with her research about the past of the kingdom. This had gotten Flare interested and he made a mental note to talk to Prim about this whenever they were together, just not during the date... it might be the final one, one that is checked off till something important. Night then went on to tell him that his arrival back into town and him now allowed to be free had really ruffled some non-existent feathers of some bat ponies. He wasn’t bothered by this and simply told her that as long as they didn’t hurt Prim or anypony else, he couldn’t care less. Other than a few minor things, Flare left her room and waved her goodbye, he had been in there for around 2 hours at least. He decided to find an old friend, Shattered Moon...

“Hey, Midnight told me you were back!”

Or that old friend would find him. Flare turned around to look back at the Lieutenant. He had grown a little bit, that was for certain. Flare walked over and Shattered offered his hoof, to which Flare gave it a firm shake. Now, it was time for a little bit of catch up with his old pal.

“How have you been?” Flare asked.

“I’ve been all right,” Shattered said,” Though Midnight is a little bit feisty right now.”

Flare’s eyebrow raised,” May I ask why?

“Heh... well, you know how we went to our room after the wedding?” Shattered said with an awkward grin.

Flare took a moment to piece together what Shattered was saying. Then it hit him,” Didn’t Midnight’s heat start early this year?”

“Exactly,” Shattered said.

Flare smacked his lips,” I’m not sure if I should be happy that you’re gonna be a father or worried that you are going to be a father.”

“Hey!” Shattered smiled and jabbed Flare’s shoulder,” Not cool!”

Flare smiled,” Heh, but still funny.”

The two gave a hearty chuckle at the joke. Another chuckle, Flare felt happier.

“Other than that, nothing much has happened to me,” Shattered shrugged,” The guards been decked out in new armor, new weapons and such to prevent another attack. We also found out the reason the Wereponies got past the defenses.”

“How did they?” Flare asked.

“They poisoned the water supply at the checkpoint with a sleeping elixir, knocked the guards out cold.” Shattered grimaced,” Cheap tactics... but I hate to say this, but it worked, they caught us off guard. That’s why the guard now has a well under the checkpoint for fresh water, and to make sure that the water supply can’t be tampered with. Not only that but the guards have been supplied with large amounts of water jugs to use to refill any canteens they have.”

“It seems like you’ve got this down,” Flare mused.

“I hope we did, I don’t want another attack like that again for as long as I live,” Shattered replied.

“Heres hoping,” Flare agreed.

The two went on to talk about Flare’s experiences in the Razorwood Forest, how he survived, where did he live etc. Flare told him how he did so, he stayed at a house far into the woods which had food. He would go out for food, but that was rare since he didn’t want to be caught by the trappers, nor did he actually need to eat. He told of how the forest was laid out, how certain parts are more dangerous than others and how these parts would shift every other day. he told about how he met a timberwolf, even though he was far from any of their territory. He also told him on how the forest seemed to be alive as if it could hear him. That was when Shattered told him about how the guards don’t remember much after they picked him up. He said that the guards only remember finding him somewhere deep within the woods.

To Flare, the potions’ secret had been revealed, memory alteration potion. To Shattered, Flare simply told him that was what had happened, he didn’t know if Star was nearby, so he didn’t want to take a chance to tell where her kingdom lie. They talked back and forth, soon they had stepped away from what had happened in the forest to what the future might hold. Both had a positive outlook on the future, Shattered believed that the future would hold better fruit and goods for them if they remained fair and just, and Flare felt the same way. The topic had started to change once again, once more they talked about something new, even referred back to a topic they had been talking about. At this, a few more hours had passed as they chatted away.

---

To Flare, the day was kinda fast and slightly confusing. It had been a while since he had been at this castle and with all the new changes, it looked as if it was going to take Flare a little while to get used to them. He and Shattered had just departed, and he now headed to his bedroom. He wasn’t sure if anything had changed if they ever went into his room. He hoped they didn’t since he thought he had left behind another old friend of his. This became more apparent when he opened the door and a skull came up and slammed into his chest. He let out a gasp of air as the horn narrowly missed his throat, but the skull didn’t seem to care as it nuzzled him.

Flare gathered his thoughts together and smiled,” Hey buddy, long time no see, huh?”

“Rrrrrrrruff!” the skull agreed as it backed away to look Flare in the eye.

“Sorry I didn’t bring you along...” Flare said as he scratched the nose of the skull.

“Ruff ruff!” The skull barked angrily at him.

“Hey! In my defense, they got me to leave before I knew what was going on!” Flare retaliated the skull’s hurtful statement.

“Rrrrr,” the skull growled.

“Don’t you give me tone young sir lady!” Flare growled back,” I’ll go get a newspaper!”

The skulls red eyes opened up into near perfect red spheres as it whimpered softly. Flare stood up and looked at the floating skull.

“What?” Flare asked.

“Ruff!” The skull replied, its look of fear disappeared and was replaced with a deadpan expression.

“Oi, watch your language!” Flare chastized the skull.

“Ra raa ra ra!” The skull replied in a mocking tone.

“Someday, I’m gonna make you eat those words,” Flare replied as he narrowed his eyes.

“Ra ra, ra ra ra ra ra ra~!” The skull mocked once more.

“Fine, be that way,” Flare groaned as he made the skull disappear back to wench it came. He forgot that that skull could be rather sassy. He rubbed his temple and sighed as he entered his room. Inside... well, the inside of the room definitely had changed. The covers were moved around, crumpled pieces of paper were strewn across the floor. His pillows had been moved around to face the doorway and so on. He could explain the pillows and covers, but not the paper... unless the blaster had secret hands or learned how to crumple up pieces of paper with its jaw. Either way, it wasn’t the blaster that did it. Somepony had been in here. Flare reached down and picked up a crumpled up piece of paper and unfolded it. It had been written on, and Flare knew the pony who had written on it, for her writing style was rather obvious, it was Prim. He read the paper to find out what she was writing about, but only found a few notes on something called the Solar Empire and its collapse. Now his urge to ask her grew stronger.

“What time is it?” Flare muttered as he looked at the clock. Instead of finding out the time, he just looked up and saw that the clock was unplugged. He could hear the blaster laughing now. He plugged the clock back in, when it turned on, it appeared to have reset itself. He groaned in dissatisfaction and went off on a not so magical journey to find a clock.

---After a long 10 minutes of looking for a clock---

The clock read 3:45 pm as Flare found it. He had three hours and fifteen minutes before his date. Yet, there wasn’t much to do around the castle. He had already chatted up with old friends, most likely the seamstress and cook were busy so he couldn’t talk to them at the moment, and he didn’t want to bring the blaster back out. So Flare opted to do something he hadn’t done before. He decided to go and try out the maze. He remembered that he was found in the middle of it, yet he never saw the middle and he barely ever saw the inside of the maze. He closed his eyes and focused on the entrance of the maze, his horn glowed lightly, then started to grow brighter, till there was a sharp crack and he felt the world around him morphe and change until he felt the soft grass under his hooves, a much better feeling than the cold floor of the castle. He opened his eyes to find himself where he wanted to be, under the bright moon and in front of the maze. For the next few hours, he was going to find his way in and out of this maze.

He looked at the outside one more time before he started walking into the maze. The walls were high, high enough that at the angle the moon was at, the inside of the maze was near pitch black. The only light came from the entrance, and soon that started to fade as well until it completely disappeared when he rounded a corner. There, the maze already branched off into two different directions, straight ahead and to the side. Flare pondered for a moment on what path he should take, it was too early on to find a pattern of the maze, so he marked the intersection with a thin piece of his metallic needle and went down the path to the side. He reached the end of that path and it turned straight, like the other path in the maze. Once again, he summoned a large metallic needle, but this time, it was a different color, a light green. He placed it firmly into the ground and followed the path. Soon, as he reached another branched path, he found the pattern. If you find a branched path, the path on either side will go to a one-way path then branch off themselves. This wasn’t too hard to find out, but Flare still had difficulty navigating the maze. When he found a branched off path, he went down the one that seemed to lead closer to the middle, but then the maze broke its pattern, in the middle of the path was another opening, another path leading away from the one he was on. He had to summon another needle and place it down, then he followed the path. Time seemed to warp in the maze, Flare felt as if he had been in the maze for nearly a few minutes, yet, little did he know he had been in there for an hour, he had tried to find the center for an hour. He had yet to reach it, though, through much trial and error, he managed to find a path that hadn’t ended in a dead end itself. He followed the path and felt like he had walked in circles when he saw another path opened on the side of this one. He did what he had been doing and placed down another needle. He wished he had brought a watch with him so he could check the time so he isn’t late for the date. He grumbled as he walked down the path. He then found himself standing in an open area, there was only one exit to it, he had found the center of the maze! He couldn’t help but jump as he looked around. Several different types of flowers lined up and against the wall, all different colors, all different types. The walls here were definitely higher than at the start.

“Now that I found the center of the maze, I can just backtrack and exit the maze to kill more time!” Flare stated to nopony. With the center found, he began to backtrack slowly through the maze as he removed any and all needles he had placed along the way. This took him another hour to do so, all the needles had been collected, and he felt great for having gotten to the center of the maze and back to the start. He didn’t know how much time he had left, so he teleported back to the castle, right where he had found that clock. He appeared in the room and looked down at the clock and it read 5:56. He had about an hour to kill since he had already conquered the maze, he might as well go and tidy up his room and set his clock back to the actual time. He used his magic and picked up the many crumpled up pieces of paper and teleported them to a nearby trashcan. He fluffed up the pillows on his bed and laid them at the hea of his bed and straightened up the covers. Now, that the room was cleaned and Flare killed a total of 10 minutes. Flare groaned and he laid down on the bed and waited for the time to go to the Living Room.

---

Flare walked into the Living Room with a grin on his face. He didn’t dress out, Prim really didn’t say anything about it. All she said was to meet her in the room. Yet, as he walked in, Flare didn’t see her. What he did see was the large TV turned on with what looked to be the selection screen of a movie. He walked over and sat on the couch and wondered if he had gotten here before Prim or if Prim went to go do something and would be back. Either way, he waited for her.

-In the Kitchen-

Pop!

The bag of kernel popcorn popped its final pop. A large bowl had been set to the side and an eager mare sat and waited for the popcorn to finish popping. Once it did, she quickly grabbed it and opened it, the freshly popped popcorn poured out into the large bowl and nearly filled it to the top. She wasn’t sure if Flare liked salt on it so she grabbed the salt shaker and the bowl of popcorn and speed-walked back to the Living Room, she had hoped she wasn’t too late. When she got to the Living room, she found the door slightly cracked open. She nudged the door open and walked in.

“Hello,” Flare greeted Prim with a smile.

“Hello~,” Prim greeted back,” I have popcorn~!”

“Nice,” Flare replied,” So, what do you have planned for tonight?”

“Well...” Prim sat next to him on the couch,” I planned to watch a movie with you~!”

“May I ask what the movie is?” Flare asked.

“Well, I went through a bunch of old movies,” Prim said and scooted closer to him,” And... well I found a movie called The Bloodied Ring, I think it’s a horror film of some kind!”

Flare furrowed his eyebrows,” Are you sure you want to watch a scary movie?”

“Of course!” Prim replied,” I may not like lightning and I may be shy, but I love a good horror film!”

Flare felt like he should have facehoofed, but Prim had started to talk once more.

“So, do you like horror films?” Prim asked as she nuzzled his cheek.

“Eh, I like them as long as they are good,” Flare admitted as he returned the nuzzle.

“Well, I never watched this one before, so we’re both going in blind.” Prim explained,” So we can both bond over that fact we know nothing~.”

“And maybe a blanket since it might get cold in here?” Flare asked as he summoned a blanket.

“Well, I do have you to keep me nice and toasty,” Prim giggled,” But blankets work too.”

Flare chuckled and laid the blanket on top of both of them. Even though the blanket was big, Prim and Flare had to move closer together to get completely under its soft cover. Not only did the soft blanket cover Flare’s back, but a gentle leathery wing accompanied it as well. Flare placed his hoof next to Prim’s as she started the movie. Flare looked at Prim who watched the screen intently, he couldn’t help but chuckle at how she watched the screen like a hawk. After the old-fashioned intro ended, the real horror started and Flare turned his head to watch as the movie unraveled.

The movie went a little like this, a grave robber dug up a body of a noblemare and stole her vaubles, sealed back up her tomb, and sold the valuables on in the market. Among the valuables were a golden pocket watch, a pearl necklace, and finally, a ruby red ring the robber called the Bloodied Ring, just to give it an interesting name. Along comes a stallion looking for the perfect ring to give to his lover when he proposes to her. So, the robber sells the stolen ring for 200 bits and the stallion pays for it. He later goes back to his house with the ring inside a makeshift ring box.

“Two hundred bits for a ring!?” Prim gasped,” That is way too much! Why did he even pay for it? He could’ve gone down and bought her a nice tungsten ring for 50 bits!”

Flare preposed a counterpoint,” Maybe the stallion was running out of options, maybe the store was closed and he wanted to propose to her the next day!”

Prim booped his nose in defiance,” That still doesn’t a count to the horribly high cost! Ruby rings like that are only around 100 to 130 bits!”

“Maybe it was a very rare type of ruby,” Flare shrugged as he kissed her nose.

“Well, let’s just keep watching the movie,” Prim replied with a smile.

The stallion had placed his ring down onto the counter in the kitchen and went off to bed. Even though he turned off the lights and left, the camera still stayed focused on the box. Flare couldn’t help but smile as he saw a figure’s body flicker in the corner of the room.

“I bet you there is gonna be a jumpscare right about... NOW!” Flare said.

Just as he said the word “now” a full body of the dead mare appeared on the screen. She was pale, her eyes were blood red, and she had a black and white mane, a common horror trope back in the underground.

Prim jumped a little then chuckled,” I should’ve expected that!”

“I wish most movies in the horror genre didn’t rely on jumpscares like that,” Flare sighed,” But that is what I think.”

“Well,” Prim replied as her hoof wrapped around his,” Sometimes they do it to keep the audience on their hooves!”

“Hm... that’s fair.” Flare shrugged as they continued to watch the movie.

The movie cut to morning, right as the stallion had gotten out of bed and got ready for his big day. He grabbed the ring and walked out of his house... and was nearly hit by a runaway cart. Flare had to admit, he didn’t see that one coming. Even though the stallion just had a near death experience, he still held high hopes and walked into town to find his fiance. On the way, the stallion seemed to look as if he felt he was being followed since he looked back every couple of seconds or so. Till finally, the stallion walked onto a bridge. Flare had a feeling he knew where this was headed.

The TV echoed a low crack as one appeared on the bridge’s surface. Then a few more, until the stallion finally noticed it and ran. However, the bridge gave way and the stallion fell into the rushing water under it.

“Uh oh...” Prim said with a sad tone.

“Not the best way to go...” Flare agreed.

The scenes switched to the shore of a small lake where the ring had washed up.

“Oh, it’s going to be one of those,” Flare said with a surprised face.

“What, the movie where the cursed object gets passed between different hosts?” Prim asked.

“Yup,” Flare nodded.

“Oh! I like those types of movies!” Prim replied excitedly.

The rest of the movie was what you would expect it to be, the cursed ring was passed on to different hosts, each one met their end in dramatic or gory ways. Near the movie’s end, both Flare and Prim had grown tired. Flare had opted to lay on his stomach to rest his head on the couches hoofrest. Prim had taken the blanket and wrapped herself into a small bat burrito. The movie had gotten boring and it was getting late. Prim gave a muffled groan as she unwrapped herself. She held up her head to keep herself from sleep’s grasp. She looked over at Flare, who seemed to be moments away from sleep himself. That’s when an idea sparked. She grabbed the blanket and drapped it across her back then slowly crawled up to him. Flare noticed this movement and looked back to see Prim crawling towards him.

With clear confusion, he asked,” Eh... what’s up doc?”

“Get on your back,” Prim ordered with a smile.

“Why?” Flare asked as he saw the blanket shift slightly.

“I have an idea~!” Prim chirped happily.

Flare simply stared at her as he rolled over onto his back. Prim smiled as she crawled up and laid down on top of his body, the blanket now draped over the two of them as Prim’s muzzle was mere inches from Flare’s. She rested her body against his as she let her hooves wrap under and around him. She purred softly as she snuggled close to his chest.

“So soft and fluffy~,” Prim purred.

“I guess it was inevitable,” Flare replied as he gently brushed her mane.

Prim smiled as he did so. He continued until the mare fell asleep, however, he would stay awake for another hour or so, his eye a deeper shade of red than it was before. In that forest, he had to keep one eye opened at night, just in case. He wrapped his hooves gently around the mare. When he finally went to sleep, he felt as if his body became lighter and warmer. With the last bit of conscience, he looked down at the Prim, he knew he had found the one.

Chapter 31: Proposal

The town was alive today. Ponies hustled around left and right for items they had on their shopping lists or things they wanted to buy or get. Though there was one pony who looked for something very few had looked for this fine day. A ring to propose to the one they loved. Lunar Flarion was in disguise as he looked around the shop for the perfect ring. He had gained some bits from working as Prim’s personal guard, around thirty bits an hour. When Prim had heard of this, she was surprised and a little angry that Flare accepted it since Midnight didn’t tell her about that, only about the medal. However, she couldn’t stay mad for long, especially when Flare calmed her down and told her it was something he would do without a problem, and if she wanted to be left alone he would do so.

That was nine days ago, and Flare worked a good ten to eleven-hour shift, so he had a good amount of bits he could spend on the ring. Midnight and Night heard of his plan and asked Prim if she were ever to get a wedding ring, what type would it be? Prim told them how she didn’t really care about the ring, all she cared about was the pony who bought it, she then questioned why they would ask and they had an amazing comeback... Just a random thought they said. Flare had to chuckle when they told him the story.

As of now, Flare was, as stated, in disguise as Neutron Star as he looked at different rings within his price range of 200 bits. He looked at different rings of all types, diamond, gold, ruby, sapphire, and now he had his eyes on tungsten. A few other vamponies were in here as well, both male and female, all looked at the rings and other jewelry the small corner shop had to offer. One of the jewelers of the shop had helped Flare look for different types of rings, of course, they tried to sell him the more expensive stuff to gain a more favorable profit, however, they showed him the less expensive stuff, stuff that wasn’t over 300 bits. That is how he landed on the tungsten rings. The jeweler stated that if he were to buy one, he could have something written on it. Flare nodded and knew already what he could put on it. After he had searched for a good few minutes, Flare found a rather lovely looking ring and waved the jeweler over.

“Have you found the ring you wanted, sir?” the jeweler asked.

“Yes,” Flare replied as he pointed at the ring,” I would like that one, if I may.”

“Of course, sir.” The grabbed the ring and walked it over to the counter,” Would you like anything inscribed onto the surface?”

“Yes,” Flare replied,” I want Amica mea to be written on the surface.”

The jeweler nodded and lit up the horn. A golden glow covered the ring and it slowly started to have the words engraved into the metallic surface. Once the jeweler was done, they placed the ring back down and said,” My love? An interesting thing to engrave on a ring, are you planning on proposing?”

“Yes, to a pony I love dearly,” Flare responded as he placed the amount the ring cost onto the table.

the jeweler bagged the ring and put the bits into the register,” Then I wish you luck.”

“Thank you,” Flare responded as he took the bag in his magical grasp and left the building.

The cold November air lightly ran over his fur as he exited the building. The Moon hung highly in the sky for it was noon. He walked down the small set of steps and out onto the street. Many foals ran around the town some wore thin coats as they chased each other or talked. He heard school was out due to a holiday he hadn’t heard of before, a holiday called the Falling Sun. Normally, he would be confused by the name, but he had asked Prim about the things she had read and she told him about the Solar Empire, more than what Star had told him previously. She then went over the upcoming, or soon to be an upcoming holiday called Falling Sun, which celebrated the fall of the empire. When Flare asked to see the Royal Archives, Prim told him that only her family had the ability to go down there, it was kinda an ancient spell set on it that anypony not of their royal blood will be flung backward and no spell could counter it.

Two small vampony foals ran by him and he stopped and watched them play along the cobblestone road as they giggled and ran in a game of tag. He watched a little as the two foals ran around each other as one tried to confuse the other so they wouldn’t be tagged. He couldn’t help but smile at the child-like innocence these foals held, something he kinda wanted back but knew he couldn’t gain. So he enjoyed the moments when others held it when others used it. Even as he walked on. Few ponies stopped and looked at him, something he expected since he wasn’t exactly normal here, he hadn’t really worn his disguise out in public all that much and was rarely shown in public for the matter. Though most just went about their business and he went about his.

He entered Town Square in a few short minutes, the many trees held brightly colored leaves, or at least what was left of the brightly colored leaves since most had fallen from the trees. Still, it was a beautiful sight, one Flare had never seen before much like most other seasons like Spring, Summer, and Autumn, other than a little bit last year. Truth be told, the first time he had ever seen them, he was absolutely amazed by the colors and the feeling of warm winds. Lavafracture, the place that held the mighty Core, was hot, yes, but it wasn’t the nice and comforting warmth of the Summer’s winds. The Square was most awake this time around, many of the townsponies hung up decorations of a moon covering up a sun or a red sun. He remembered what Night had actually told him those two mean, the Red Sun symbolizes the end of the fiery torment and the moon covering the sun symbolizes a new dawn. So it was a big deal, this holiday. Some shops sold different types of candy and food while others sold hats and clothing. Some of the shops tried to sell him some of the stuff and Flare gave in and bought a few treats for Prim then made his way back to the castle.

The outside of the castle got an upgrade of sorts, a large fence with spikes at the top roped around the whole castle and two guards stood at the entrance to a large gate door. As Flare walked up he removed his disguise and the guards allowed him entry back into the castle. Once he got past the two guards and heard the gate slam shut, he walked up to the castle doors where another set of guards waited. One checked Flare to see if he really was who he said he was while the other checked for weapons. When the found the ring, he noticed a small smile on the guard's muzzle since they wore the old armor and they simply plopped it back into the bag and handed it back. Flare gave the guard a sideways glance and walked inside. Now was once again the time to wait for the perfect time to propose to Prim. Maybe at moonset? When the sky was a brilliant shade of light and dark blues? Flare smiled as he imagined the scene, it was simple, yes, but it was lovely.

“Now, all I have to do is hide the ring and make sure Prim won’t find it,” Flare muttered to himself as he found a small pocket watch chain to wrap through the ring and turn it into a necklace.

‘Maybe you can stick it up in a high place.’ An all too familiar voice chuckled.

‘Don’t be rude.’ Replied another and a small yelp came from the first.

“Bout time you two came back,” Flare replied as he opened the door to his room,” Where’ve you been?”

‘Should I tell him or should you?’ Solar asked Light.

‘I’ll tell him, you would just be a jerk about it,’ Light replied.

‘Flare, when you went berserker on Star, that flame... it kinda... killed us for a while,’ Light said,’ We only came back since you survived.’

“Oh...” Flare replied as his eyes widened in surprise.

‘Yeah, hurt like hell and such,’ Solar snickered,’ I’m not sure if you meant to do it or not buuuut~.’

Flare vision grew black as Solar appeared in front of him. With a cold voice, he said,”Never. Do. It. Again.”

Flare gave a deadpan expression to Solar for his hard work. With a similarly cold voice, Flare replied as he towered over Solar, the blood red eye growing small and sharp,” Last time I checked, you aren’t in control and NEVER will be in complete control.”

Solar gave an awkward smile as he cowered under the stallion,” True, very true!”

The vision faded as Solar disappeared. Flare looked back at the bag, then around his room. He didn’t have many places to put the ring in, but he felt he had a good hiding place for it, one where Prim wouldn’t find it, even if she had gone to look for it. He placed the ring in the closet and hid it with anything he could find, which happened to be a bunch of books and DVDs. With that mission completed, he made a mental image of it so he could summon it when the time was right.

It was half past noon at the current point in time, so he had a little while to wait. He would’ve gotten the ring later rather than earlier, but all the shops were closing for the holiday. He heard there was going to be a parade going through the town tonight, maybe he could take Prim? The idea was up there, but Prim was shy and didn’t really like being around strangers all that much less she had to. Most likely she’ll stay at the castle with her family, though it may be hard to get her away from them to propose and he doesn’t want to make a big scene out of it, especially since Honey Glow and Night Blossom will be there. What he doesn’t want is Prim to get too embarrassed that she passes out or something of the sort, and he knew Night and Honey were going to have a field day if he does.

“Huh... Who knew this much planning went into a simple gesture of love?” Flare wondered a loud to nopony.

‘Nah, everything you do is complicated,’ Solar’s voice was distant as he replied,’ Go fish.’

‘Darn...’ Light’s voice was also distant,’ I thought I had you...’

“Are you two seriously playing Go Fish right now?” Flare asked, not sure whether he should be amused or not at the random game.

‘Yes, and I’m winning!’ Solar shouted trimphantly.

‘Only because this is more of a game of chance than skill,’ Light replied with a growl,’ Unlike chess or checkers.’

‘Somepony just has a thorn up their nose cause I’m beating them~,’ Solar cackled a fake cackle.

“Not how you normally say it,” Flare sighed as he sat on his bed.

‘Sush, I’m winning,’ Solar replied.

Flare shook his head and continued to plan to propose to Prim with the least amount of pressure on either of them. His plan had two paths. One, if Prim did come with him, then he could propose and hope she would say yes. Two, if she wouldn’t, he would pop the question right then and there and hope nopony makes too big of a scene. He looked at his clock, no more than 5 minutes had passed. Maybe he could use this time more wisely and spend it with Prim, not as her guard for today but more as her lover. She had dismissed him from guard duty, something he thought only Midnight could do. His plans now set, he got off the bed and went to Prim’s room.

---A few hours later---

The Moon hung a little over the horizon as the Royal Family sat at the dinner table. A small feast had been made for them and after it had been set on the table, all the cooks were given the rest of the day off. The family chose from different options of food, turkey, chicken, ham, mash potatoes, carrots, and so on. Prim sat next to Flare and happily ate some turkey and ham, Midnight and Tattered sat together as well, finally, so did the two monarchs as well. Prim and Flare saw Night as she sat alone and happily invited her over to sit with them. Other than that small little thing, the family was alive and happily chatted with one another. Soon, the conversations went from between certain ponies then out to where the whole group was involved.

“Still, kinda bad that it happened twice!” Night grumbled.

“Trial and error help,” Flare shrugged,” Even if my bro looked like a giant pile of feathers and fluff.”

“Did he not test it?” Honey asked.

“He tested it hundreds of times on himself until he got it right,” Flare shrugged,” Sometimes there were random side effects, he didn’t have much fur like us and he didn’t have any feathers either so he couldn’t have seen that coming.”

“Then why-,” Night started with her hooves together.

“Because the other scientists were working on other things and he was also too busy to ask them, so when he saw that there was no lethal, harming, or lasting effects, he allowed us to try the potion out,” Flare responded,” I turned purple for a day and my bro’s wings looked like a cloud threw up on them. Also extra fluffy.”

“Well, it wasn't all bad, was it?” Prim asked as she looked at him.

“Not really,” Flare responded with a gentle smile,” He was a great guy, whenever we were sick, he’d take a day off to make sure we were fine, he loved to play games and he didn’t have much of a problem if we came to the lab either, just as long as we didn’t touch anything that is.”

“Well, it’s good to know he was a good stallion,” Honey replied.

“Yeah...” Flare’s smile dropped a bit,” He was.”

“Did something happen?” Night asked.

Flare looked at Prim and she looked at him, silently, they agreed to tell them the fate of his father. Flare cleared his throat and simply stated,” My father... fell into one of his machines, a weird machine he thought could traverse time... it didn’t work. Instead, he fell into the power source and was evaporated.”

“And scattered across time and space,” Prim added on.

The table went silent, Night wanted to ask more questions, but she felt that now wasn’t the best time to do so. Midnight and Tattered tried to imagine being presumed dead only to be scattered across time and space. Honey and Moon didn’t know what to think of it, so their minds stayed empty.

“How about we change the topic, at least from this or the underground?” Honey asked as she looked at everypony at the table. They all nodded in agreement, yet didn’t know what topic to talk about. The past few weeks had been weird, the sudden return of Flare, making him into the royal protector, and so on. The Wereponies attack still had a few after effects. Some houses were burned down and some in other villages had seen similar damage. Though they stayed away from this thought, and all of them tried to find an idea to lighten the mood.

“So... the weather is nice,” Midnight smiled.

Night snorted while the others gave more of an awkward smile. Midnight looked around with a confused look,” What?”

“Nothing nothing~!” Night replied.

Midnight looked at Tattered with the confused look and he only shrugged. She pouted and looked down at her plate.

“Well, the weather is all right, isn’t the best but isn’t the worst,” Flare answered.

“Yeah, your “comfortable” range is between -45 and -200 degrees!” Night joked with a sharp smile.

“Nah, if it was, I’d be spending more time in your so-called freezer,” Flare countered with his own smile,” Seriously, how cold does it need to be?”

“Cold,” was Night’s only answer, for dramatic effect, she squinted her eyes at Flare.

The got a giggle out of Prim. The group had found a new topic to talk about, the weather and a... freezer. It wasn’t much or the best, but it is what they came up with to not think about any other bad thoughts.

---

The night had finally begun to show. The family had finished their meal and were out to watch the festival from the balcony of the castle’s top floor. The lights danced in the air, streamers lined the houses and shops, and down below were many vamponies that seemed to enjoy the rather large festival, though the family could see why from their vantage point. It as kinda like Nightmare Night, bobbing for apples, little mini-games were set up, and so on.

Prim’s face held a bright smile and was filled with a filly’s joy as she looked down upon the festival. Flare looked on as well, the many lights reminded him of home, so a warmth had washed over him and he smiled as well. He had enjoyed today very much so, so much in fact that he almost forgot that he was going to propose to Prim. Almost, since a certain “friend” gave him a friendly reminder.

‘Hey, four eyes, you gonna propose to the love of your life or na?’ Solar asked in his sarcastic tone.

Flare’s eyes shot open as he remembered. He looked over at Prim and lightly tapped her shoulder.

“Hm?” Prim hummed as she looked at him.

“Could you come with me?” Flare whispered,” I have something to show you.”

Prim looked over at her family then back at Flare and whispered back,” Where are we going to go?”

“Somewhere private... maybe another balcony?” Flare shrugged.

“Hm, all right,” Prim nodded and smiled.

“Okay, follow me,” Flare smiled as he walked away from the balcony.

Prim quickly followed behind him. Night looked back at her, then quickly looked away as a smile started to form. She lightly tapped Midnight’s shoulder and told her what might happen. Midnight nodded and told her to behave and not to do anything that she would normally do. Night scoffed a little, smiled, then silently went on and followed the couple who seemed to have gone to a nearby balcony, out of sight from everypony else. The two doors closed to the balcony by Flare’s magic, so Night had to push her ear against the thick wood to hear anything. Though slightly silent, whether it was them talking silently or the door, she could still hear them talk.

---

Flare had sat down near the rails of the balcony, a smile covered his muzzle as his horn lit up. He had found a good area to see the full night sky in view, the moon was large and the stars that were visible were bright. Though, due to the light pollution nearby, not all the stars could be seen. Prim sat next to him and gazed alongside him into the starry night. She wrapped a wing around him and pulled him closer. To her, this was a moment between the two of them. Even if they had spent a lot more time together these past few days due to his job, this moment still felt special since it wasn’t for a job.

She looked at his horn and lightly tapped it,” So, why is your horn glowing, mister~?”

“Heh-hey!” Flare chuckled as he caught her hoof,” No touchy~!”

Prim gave a cheeky grin and kissed his cheek. He returned this kiss with his own and looked back into the starry night. Calmly, as he looked back into the stars’ fiery glow, he spoke calmly,” Prim, there is a reason I brought you up here, to show you something.”

“You mean it wasn’t to show me the pretty stars with you?” Prim asked.

“Not exactly,” Flare looked away from both her and the stars as a slight blush hit his cheeks. His horn stopped its glow as he summoned the small box. Inside laid the tungsten ring with a silver chain. He gave a silent sigh as he continued,” I wanted to ask you something important. We’ve been dating for a while now, for around a year?”

The tips of Prim’s ears turned red, he couldn’t be... could he?

Flare nodded,” Around a year or so. I wanted to say that it’s been a while. So, without a long and cheesy monologue, I wanted to ask you.”

Flare turned around and presented the ring and chain that laid comfortably in the box,” Will you marry me?”

Prim was in silent shock as Flare presented the ring. Her wings uncurled and shot out as she looked at it. Flare thought he had shocked her a bit too much for her lack of movement for ten seconds. However, she slowly recovered from her shock and picked up the necklace. Her smile was bright, brighter than the festival’s bright lights. She gently put it around her neck and looked back at him. She could barely hold still from how gitty she felt, finally, she let it loose and tackled him with a bear hug.

“Of course I will!” Prim replied as she crushed him with her hug.

Flare croaked loudly as he felt his ribs start to crack from the hug as all the air in his lungs were pushed out of his body. He was glad he didn’t have to breathe, but he wasn’t too keen on having all of his ribs broken. Yet he couldn’t really fight back since she had him pinned. So he accepted his fate. Which lasted all of a few minutes, Prim finally let go and let him breathe once more. She was like a foal in a candy shop with it, all happy and bubbly that she tired herself out emotionally.

On the other side of the door, Night happily listened to what had happened. She had her news to send to her family, so off she went to tell them. Just in time as well since the door to the balcony opened. Out walked the two lovers, Prim laid on Flare’s back tired whole Flare walked them back to her room via her request. In the morning, they would start to plan their wedding, and Prim’s family, soon to be Flare’s, would happily join in to help set it up for the two.

Author's Notes:

Sorry if the chapter is a little wonky.

Chapter 32: The Wedding (Good Ending)

The wedding was beautiful and lively. The small white alter sat at the edge of the maze, a place Prim and Flare had chosen since they met each other there. The decor of the wedding was of a pure white. The tables were covered with a fine cloth for the guests that had come to see the two wed. However, unlike Midnight and Tattered’s wedding, the two lovers didn’t announce it to the public, they kept it hidden so that no news outlets or reporters coming in and ruining their day. That is another reason why it was in the Royal Garden, so that the ponies who would bug them would stay out and away. Not only that, they didn’t want any of the monster pony vamponies to crash the wedding or attack Flare, something that had happened a little while ago when Flare was walking the streets without his disguise. The pony was arrested for assault, of course; yet that didn’t stop the two from proceeding with their wedding. Nor did they let it dampen their spirits.

As the moon began to rise into the air, the two walked down the aisle and stood at the altar. As they walked down the aisle, they saw the faces of their friends and some relatives. Mainly Tattered Moon’s mother and his siblings had come to the wedding, even though they barely knew anything about either of the ponies being wed. Yet, they gave happy smiles and waved to them, as the two walked by. As the two finally got comfortable next to the altar, Blood Moon began to speak. He told them their names and thanked the small crowd of ponies for coming to their ceremony. He told of their hardships and challenges that they have faced together. He told them about the love that had blossomed forth from friendship. So on and so forth went the stallion, until Flare slowly tuned out as he saw a small bird that stared down at them from the castle window. It didn’t take long before Flare recognized the glint in the bird's eyes, they gave a soft pink twinkle. He didn’t move his head as he looked at Prim, though he dulled his eyes a bit, which amused Prim slightly since she had slowly tuned out as well. Yet, she didn’t notice that his eyes were trained on the bird. He couldn’t help but smile, as he knew who really watched on as the scene unfolded.

“Flare,” Blood Moon asked,” do you take Primrose as your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” Flare answered in a heartbeat.

“Primrose?” Blood Moon looked at his daughter, even as he failed to contain his joy. Smiling, he asked,” Do you take Flarion as your lawfully wedded husband?”

Prim, much like Flare, gave her answer quickly,” I do!”

“I pronounce that your wedding vows are sealed and you may henceforth be known to all as husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride,” Blood Moon said.

Flare leaned forward and kissed Prim softly on the lips, the ceremony had ended, but the wedding had only just begun.

---Several Months Later---

A small, cloaked figure, wearing thick eye protection that hid her eyes, was hanging from the top of the castle, as they looked upon the large city below them. They held something for Prim and Flarion, a gift that a...friend had failed to give them the night of their wedding. To say that this figure knew him and Prim was an understatement. She knew a lot about them, in the friendly, non-stalker kind of way, like a close acquaintance or family member. Their wings held close to their side, as they began to slide down the large castle roof and onto the nearest tower. The idea to get into the castle wasn’t the hardest part about giving this gift to them. No, the hardest part was that they didn’t make a lot of noise so that the heavily armored guards didn’t know they were there; so when they jumped onto the roofing that was made of crystal, they soon found out it wasn’t the best idea. Though, like their father, they were kinda impulsive though they did have a rather small frame, thanks to their mother. This was helpful to land on pure crystal and not make it sound like London Bridge was falling down My Fair Lady. As they jumped from the tall ledge, they tried to angle themselves properly...but failed and faceplanted onto the roof.

They gave off a low groan and said, ”Well, aren’t I just the fairest lady of them all?”

Luckily for her, her flop and fall didn’t make too much noise. They got up and were a little happy that they didn’t alert any of the guards that were watched from the tower they fell onto. Though she did overhear the two or so guards, as they spoke about the night shift and a rather pesky owl. The figure looked around to see if they could spot said owl since it could help them get into the castle because, if they were to fly, that would easily put them easily in the guards' sight, something they didn’t want to happen. Once she spotted the owl, the figure’s lips closed together and they did an owl call. The hoots echoed and alerted the guards to the owl, one of them even cursed and tried to get the bird to leave. This was going all according to plan! The bird came over to them and, with a soft hoot and coo, the figure let the bird fly down to the guards and begin to distract them. They knew their idea was a success, when the guards started to curse and swear as their blades unsheathed. The figure spotted their chance and dove down, past the guard tower and into the open field next to the maze. They didn’t have time to recover from the fall, as two more guards came by on patrol. As they walked by, the figure held close to the shrub they had found and waited for them to walk by. Soon, the figure opened their wings and flew upwards at a quick speed, which spooked a guard that stood guard at the balcony. They heard a shout and quickly swooped back down and slammed the back of their hoof onto the guard’s neck; they squeaked softly and held their hoof, as pain ran up and through her arm. This hadn’t been apart of their plan, though they had to make do. Even if it did mean they had to knock out a guard or two. Once the guard was laid silently to the ground, the figure noticed that their hood wasn’t on completely, so they quickly straightened it and ran into the castle.

It was pitch black inside, yet that didn’t stop them as they ran as silently as they could through the halls and avoided the occasional patrol, the figure found their way to the dining room, where Prince Flare and Princess Prim sat alone and talked. The figure sensed that this was their only chance to give them the gift and the only best time to escape through a nearby window like some sort of hero, minus the grappling hook. With slow steps, the figure tiptoed into the room and clung to a wall opposite of the two. They silently watched their movements, mainly to see if they sensed their presence. The twitch of the Prince’s ear now bothered the figure, their urge to grab and bite it slowly grew. Yet, they yielded against their nature and stepped a little bit out of the dark shadow. As soon as they took a step out, the Prince’s horn glowed and they felt a pressure surrounding their heart and soul as they flew into the air.

“AAAAAH!” The figure screamed as they found themselves thrown into the air by their soul before quickly being slammed into the ground.

“Who are you?” Flare’s words shook the ground and showed how he felt about the figure towards the unexpected visitor.

The princess held close to him, her wings had wrapped quickly around his form, as she glared at the figure. Said figure slowly got up from the quick assault, somehow overcame the soul magic and standing up straight. They felt a soft draft hit their ears, too soon they realized that their hood had come off, yet the eye protection hadn’t. They gave a soft chuckle, much to Flare and Prim’s confusion.

“I’m a friend... well... more than a friend,” the figure’s voice was feminine.

“I don’t know any “friends” that run around in a cloak, wearing stupid goggles, and breaking into the castle at two in the morning!” Flare’s voice carried a weird power that made the mare flinch, as if she had been talked down to by a figure she held in high regard.

“I understand your confusion... but I am here to give you a gift! One a friend of mine could not give you on their own accord!” replied the mare.

This had caught Prim’s attention, she asked, ”A gift? What type?”

“The magical kind!” the mare giggled.

“How do we know you aren’t an assassin sent after us?” Flare questioned as he glared at the mare.

“Do I look like an assassin?” The mare snorted… then realized what she wore,” Don’t answer that!”

“Exactly,” Flare growled.

“Okay, okay,” the mare sat on her flank and held up her hooves,” How about I take off the cloak?”

“And the goggles?” Flare asked pointedly.

“Sorry, no can do on that!” the mare stated,” My friend told me not to remove the goggles at any cost.”

“I believe we hold more power than you friend, if they are to be a pony,” Prim responded.

“In a way… they do hold a little more power,” the mare shrugged,” So, do you want me to take off the cloak or nah?”

“Might as well,” Flare replied as he stood up a little straighter.

The mare nodded and unhooked the small chain that connected the two sides of her cloak. The cloak slid off of her sides and onto the floor. There stood the mare in full view of the two. Her coat was a blueish grey and her mane was purple, blue and a strange mix of it near the left side of her mane, she held a toothy grin. She was… rather fluffy to say the least. Even though she had shown herself, there was still the elephant in the room, apparently a rather small elephant if the small thump was to be believed.

“Oh! That’s right!” she gasped as she grabbed the cloak once more. With a quick search, she pulled out a small silver box with a pretty pink bow. She slowly walked over and presented the gift to the two.

“This gift, when opened, will allow you to travel through different timelines and universes!” the mare announced proudly.

The two stared at the gift, before Prim started to giggle. Flare, on the other hoof, looked very unamused. With a similar unamused tone, Flare growled” You believe that we will fall for that?”

“Nope!” the mare quipped,” But, please, at least open the box?”

Prim looked at Flare and he looked back at Prim. Both silently agreed to open the strange mare’s gift. Flare looked down at the silver box and slowly pulled the pink bow till it loosened and fell off the box. With some hesitation, Flare opened the box and looked inside. Inside were two necklaces that held a small crystal. One glowed a soft blue, the other a light purple, Flare felt a strange form of energy from the crystal, yet, the energy felt familiar to something of his past.

“Ooooh! Shiny!” Prim smiled as she grabbed and picked up the pink necklace and slipped it around her neck.

Flare wanted to tell her to stop, but sighed and grabbed the blue one and slipped it on. He felt a strange energy flowed through his body. Soon, the crystal of both necklaces stopped their great shine and faded.

“It worked!” the mare smiled,” Now, if you think of a place or somewhere you wish to be, just think of it and believe really hard, then POOF! You will appear there!”

“Hm…” Prim hummed as she tapped the necklace.

“Well, I have to go!” the mare replied,” Sorry I can’t stay longer, but I am needed somewhere before dinner!”

“Uh… thanks for the gift… I guess,” Flare gave the mare an awkward grin as she walked away.

“No problem,” she nodded. With a flash of blue light, she disappeared and left the two rather confused.

--???--

The mare groaned loudly as she flopped onto her bed. She stretched and hugged one of the soft pillows that were on her bed, she heard a small caw from the bird that sat on a stand in the corner of her room. She shooshed the bird with a small treat. Finally, with a satisfied sigh, she grinned at the air as the lights turned out and she fell asleep, her mission completed.

You chose:
The Good Ending!

Author's Notes:

I want to thank all of you who have stayed with this story till its finish. I truly want to thank you for it.