//------------------------------//
// Glinsters of the past, hopes for the future. 
// Story: Those who see a different kind of Light 
// by Lazydrill 
//------------------------------//


Glinsters of the past, hopes for the future.




Fog carefully opened the big door with his right hoof. Uncertainty and fear flooded him as the door swung open silently with only darkness on the other side. As soon as the door was far enough open that he could walk through, his ears perked up with curiosity as suddenly a piano and a violin started playing.

While it surprised Fog, he wasn't scared by it. If anything, the music that entered his ears almost felt as if it was telling him a story of old, it sounded like a gentle melody to ease him, or any other pony that would happen to listen. As he set hoof into the throne room and peaked around the corner of the door, he saw one pony illuminated by rays of moonlight that entered through an open standing double balcony door.

The pony that was lighted sat on a small chair and was playing a large piano with care. The pony was wearing the armor that the Lunar guards wore, signifying that he or she was part of his new family and Fog had nothing to fear of him or her. The pony's grey mane and tail waved gently in the wind that came from the open balcony doors, not disturbing the pony in the slightest, he or she even enjoyed it with small swings from side to side with the head.

As the violin started again, Fog's eyes were caught by a familiar pony. The pony emerged from the balcony, a violin pressed gently against her long and slender neck and held by a blue aura. The same aura moved the bow of the instrument softly over the strings, making the tunes that entered the colt's ears. Fog traced with his eyes over the pony's body, seeing her horn emit the gentle blue magical aura. Her eyes were closed as she took soft steps, closing in towards the piano and the pony who was playing it. With each movement of the bow over the strings, the mare swung her head tenderly, seemingly all caught up in the music.

Fog took careful steps into the room, making sure he didn't interrupt the two playing the instruments. Sitting down a bit away from the two, Fog  remained silent while the soft tunes eased his mind. Glancing to his newly found mother, something slowly became clear to him, Fog realized that he wasn't looking at her as a Princess, but as something else... Fog's face churred up sightly as he thought about what he was feeling now; He was looking at the Princess of the Night with a heavy heart, he was given a second chance by her, and all this time there has been nothing but doubt and fear swirling through his mind whenever he was alone. 

He looked up again to her, she was facing the open balcony doors, the moon's rays lighting up her features. Fog saw a faint glimmer coming from her cheek while she kept playing the violin. Fog couldn't help himself at seeing his new mother like that, he stood up and made his way carefully over to her, his very being now wanting to soothe her pain however he could.

However, as he closed the distance, Luna's eyes opened gently. Fog slowly came to a halt a few steps away from her as he noticed. Luna kept playing her violin but turned her muzzle to the young colt. Her eyes made contact with that of Fog, and his ears drooped down as he noticed that dried up streaks were on Luna's cheeks, with small glisters building up in her eyes. Fog was at a loss for words, he opened his mouth multiple times with no words escaping him. How does a small pony like himself consult a Princess? Whatever he had witnessed would be nothing compared to what she would have experienced in her life...   

Fog sighed through his nose and let his wings slowly dangle to the floor, lacking the mental strength to keep them in their place. He felt her pain. Her pain... he didn't know why, but he knew that her pain was immense. Her pain however, was only light compared to her sorrow. Fog's eyes dwindled to the floor, he dared not to look into her deep teal pools, those eyes that would calm the mightiest of raging dragons and minotaurs... Now, they had a sense of sorrow and pain in them that Fog could never understand or even witness in his entire life. But despite that all, he found the courage to look back up to his new mother and look her straight into her caring eyes;


"P-Princess... why are you crying? Is there anything I can do?"


Luna said nothing to answer his question, instead she closed her eyes and focused back on her violin, leaving Fog to sit on the floor. He lowered his head again, fearing he might have made a mistake by speaking out of turn. As soon as he deflated and started doubting himself, a sudden sphere of gentle blue light appeared in front of him, making him look up in curiosity. The sphere floated silently above the ground in front of him. Fog noticed a faint trail of blue magic going from the sphere, following it, he followed it back to Luna's horn, which was letting out several strains of the same magic into the air in separate ways.

Luna turned away from Fog and back to the balcony, her horn still emitting the magical energy. Fog stayed still as the sphere became a bit bigger and began to take a shape. The ball of magical energy became transparent- and formed four stumps underneath it while a second ball grew out of the sphere with a bit of magic connecting it with the original. The second sphere grew what seemed to be a mane while the first one in the back grew a tail. The four stumps formed legs and hooves with the main sphere forming wings on the side as well. 

Fog couldn't believe what was happening in front of him as the the sphere began to fully take shape of a small filly that was half of Fog's height. The muzzle's features began to take shape, making Fog's eyes widen at the sight. He couldn't believe it... He didn't want to...


"It can't be... I..."



"It has been some time big brother..."



Fog's eyes filled slowly with small tears, both of joy and sadness, his breathing came in faster and more sporadic at seeing the small filly he hadn't seen in years. As the magical energy that formed his younger sister stood in front of him, he remembered the other strings of energy that Luna emitted from her horn. As if on cue, the filly in front of him glanced to the Princess as well. Fog trailed the other many strings of magic which were at least more than thirty as they traveled through the room and phased through the walls and disappeared. The colt's eyes followed one of the blue trails down to the pony who was playing the piano. He was stunned to see a transparent mare sitting next to the armored pony, as they both played the piano together. They seemed to play in absolute sync, as if they were one pony. Fog gazed back at his little sister that was still in front of him, his eyes full of disbelieve;


"M-Mist...? Is it really you...?"



"It is me, Fog... Not really me, but as much as Princess Luna can help me with appearing in this world..." 


Fog was shocked, overjoyed, sad and confused at the same time. His sister saying that she could visit this world thanks to Luna's input filled him with mixed emotions, but what he felt above all was sudden appreciation for his new mother...


"I...I don't know what to say... What can I s-say..."



"You don't have to, brother... Seeing you now tells me everything you want to say. I'm proud of you. Mom and Dad are, too."



"H-huh? Proud of what...? What did I do?"



"You have changed. I can see your doubt and fear flashing though you, but you're doing something good, and will certainly do great things." 



"How do you know I will?"


Mist said nothing as she simply took a step to the side with a gentle smile and Princess Luna came into Fog's view. She was still playing the violin with the strings magical energy shimmering through the air from the tip of her horn. It slowly dawned to Fog that Mist was referring that Luna would guide him and stay at his side through everything that would be thrown his way. She would aid him, take care of him...


"As long as you'll have Princess Luna to care and watch over you, I've all the confidence in Equestria that you'll be up for anything."


Fog heard the pride and determination in his little sister's voice, and couldn't help but stretch his hooves to hug his sister. Only for his ears to droop together with Mist's ears as his arms went through her. He remembered that she was not actually in his world anymore... He sighed as he put his hooves back to the ground and resigned his attempts he had to embrace her.

He felt a tingling on his shoulder in time with a shimmering in the corner of his right eye. Looking there, he saw the transparent hoof of his sister. Fog raised his own hoof and tried to hold it, but again, it phased through it and landed on his own shoulder. Brining his hoof back to the ground, he ruffled his wings and looked into her eyes.


"I'm sorry, Mist. I'm sorry that you, Mom and Dad aren't here anymore... if only I... if only..."



"Ssshhh- Don't blame yourself Fog. There was nothing you could've done that would have changed what happened. The only thing that could have changed was that Equestria had lost another pony..."



"But... I could have done something... anything..."



"You can do something now, and you are. Remember, you can help make Equestria a better place. That is the truth."


Fog's eyes were carrying small tears, but he refused to let himself cry in front of his sister that showed such fate in him. He could not let her nor his parents' fate in him be misguided. He sniffed and looked determined up into his sister's eyes. Mist, looking back at him with care, smiled happily. No words were spoken as an unspoken conversation took place between them.

Fog's ears flicked as the sound of violin and piano stopped and was replaced by the distinct sound of clip-clopping hooves that came closer. His sister let go of his shoulder and stepped aside for Fog to see behind her. The Princess was slowly walking towards them, her horn still emitting the tendrils of magic. Her horn shone a bit brighter and the violin that was hovering in her magic faded in to thin air.

As the Princess walked ever closer, she bowed her head gently to Mist, who in turn bowed low for Luna. Fog's eyes let go of the tears they both held, the small droplets flowing over his cheek, only to be caught by a silver horseshoe.


"'Tis, mine dear child, is why we shed our tears."


Fog leaned into her caring hoof, looking with his own eyes in to those deep pools of teal which were filled with motherly love and compassion. He nodded absentmindedly, knowing in the back of his head what she meant. A single tear flowed down Luna's cheek, leaving a tiny trail of damp fur behind. The pegasus, while hesitating, slowly raised his bare hoof and gently wiped the tear of his new mother away. The Princess gave a slow nod with closed eyes before she rose to her full hight again.


"We art afraid that thine time in this world has come to an end, our dear Mist, for now."


Mist stood up from her bow and gave a sole nod. She then turned to Fog who sighed at hearing Luna's words, however, hope rested in his chest knowing she said that it was for the time being, meaning she would be able to come back again in the future. But Fog was still distraught at the mention that their short time of being together had ended, but at the same time, an invisible weight had fallen off of his withers, knowing that is family was proud of what direction he was going and watched over him. Fog managed a weak smile towards Mist;


"Thank you sis - you, Mom and Dad, for having fate in me."



"Stay strong brother. Know that we will always be at your side when it gets rough. Besides, a sister needs to look out for her big brother, doesn't she?"


Fog couldn't help but laugh softly at the teasing in her sister's voice at the end. Laughing... How long ago has it been that he laughed even the smallest bit like that? Months? Years? He couldn't even remember. He knew however, that he missed it dearly. And this little bit was enough to encourage himself to press on.


"Mist... we art afraid 'tis truly time. Bid thine brother farewell for now."



"I have, Princess. I'm ready."


Luna gave Mist a gentle nod and closed her eyes, her horn starting to glow brighter. Fog sat with a sad look on his muzzle at seeing his sister slowly fade away, the tendril of magic that was attached to her slowly becoming thinner. Mist turned one last time to her brother, giving him a reassuring smile before finally disappearing. The thread of magic that came from Princess Luna slowly returned to her horn, just like the other streams of magic that she had conjured. Fog glanced over to the pony that had played the piano together with the spirit, seeing the pony him or herself sitting next to the piano instead of on the bench that stood in front of it.

The pony's ears were splayed along side the helmet the pony wore. Fog wanted to head over to him or her and try to see if he could help, but before he could, the pony stood up, it's ears perking up again. The guard turned around and made its way to Fog and the Princess, the steps the guard took to them were slow and gentle, almost as if he or she was slightly reluctant to come closer, but went on anyway. The pony stepped into the rays of moonlight, surprising Fog as the moon revealed the stallion. 


"Onyx...?"




"Hey Fog. My apologies for the sudden intrusion between you and the Princess."


Fog wanted to say something but remained silent as suddenly multiple sounds of clip-clops were heard throughout the room. His ears flicked in multiple directions, making him turn around quite franticly as he became afraid. Then... then that feeling washed over him, that feeling of being wanted... that feeling his brothers and sisters gave him when he was around them. Fog slowly calmed down and breathed steadily through his nostrils.


"My children, thy know thou art forgiven. Onyx, we thank thee for accompanying us with thine melody, thou art gifted in the ways of music." 


Fog looked to Onyx who gave a respectful nod to Luna. Luna's horn began to shine bright and a few seconds later a couple of blue flames ignited around the throne room, revealing Lunar guards spread throughout the room. Fog's eyes went wide as he saw all of the guards sitting on their haunches, their eyes all following the Princess as she walked with grace to the throne. Fog couldn't count them all, but Fog estimated that there would be at least forty guards in the room.

A gentle hoof landed on his right shoulder, making him turn his attention to the source. The hoof that touched his shoulder was a dim shade of white. Following the hoof, Fog met the deep brown eyes of a mare that was maybe three years older than him. She had a braided mane consisting of largely blue with a silver streak running through it. Fog's cheeks flushed at the sudden eye contact and avoided her gaze by looking at the ground. He was never good with fillies, and never had any courage when it came to talking to them.

However, his ears heard the soft clangs of armor as the mare stood up and went to sit next to Fog. He peaked at her as he felt her tail brush passed his legs and she lay it around her haunches. He was still blushing, and he was sure she could see that through his coat as has been said to him multiple times.

"Hi, I'm Summer Waves," she introduced herself while extending her hoof to Fog. He looked up to her and into her eyes. The mare smiled gently with her hoof towards him, waiting for Fog to do something with it. Fog hesitantly raised his right hoof and gently bumped it against that of Summer Waves. As Fog put his hoof back on the ground, Waves looked pleased at what he did while she brought her own hoof to the ground. "You are Fog, right?"

Fog nodded slowly as his eyes were glued to Summer Waves' eyes, making her giggle a bit with a blush of her own, "Uhm, I... yes, my name is Fog." He gulped almost audible as he finished talking. His ears perked up that around him the other guards that had appeared also had started talking idly.

While his ears flicked about at the random conversations his brothers and sisters had, his eyes were on the mare next to him. "Sulfar was right then, you are the youngest. I was the youngest before you came, you know?"

Fog tilted his head to the side, "Really? You were the youngest?"

"Yup." Summer said with a happy nod. "I've been told you are sixteen now, is it true?"

Fog lowered his head a bit, old memories resurfacing slowly as he thought about his age, "...yeah."

Summer's ears drooped down to the side of her head and she looked apologetically at the younger pegasus, "So young..." Summer stood up, her armor's plates shuffling over each other as she stood up and sat down closer to Fog. Fog tried to scoot away, fearing he might be in her personal space but was unable to as he was suddenly pulled into a warm hug, "I'm sorry Fog, I didn't want to stir up bad memories." 

Fog's cheeks were burning as he felt Summer Waves' arms wrapped around him, pulling him gently and comforting against her armor. He was stunned and didn't know how to react to her hug, should he hug back? Should he pull away? Should he say something? And how did she know it resurfaced bad memories of his past?

"Don't worry brother, you are safe now." Summer released Fog and gently placed her left hoof on his shoulder, Fog glancing at her with mixed feelings, "Know that we will always be at your side Fog. We all will. We are now brothers and sisters, children of the night and Princess Luna." Fog began to smile at her words. 

She washed his doubts away and answered his questions that had lingered around his mind. He now had a new family. He had new brothers and sisters that would take an arrow for him, and deep inside, he felt that he would do the same for them any day.


"Our children, mayest we have thine attention if thou will?"


Fog's ears perked up at the motherly voice of the Princess who sat now atop of the throne and looked over everypony in the room. As the young pegasus' eyes left that of Summer and glanced over to the Princess, he noticed that all guards had their helmets off and looked like, what Fog assumed, their natural self. Every race was seated in the room; unicorns, earth ponies, pegasi and even a few thestrals Fog thought. As soon as Luna requested the attention of all, everypony quiet down gently and gave their undivided attention to the alicorn of the night.

Fog sat in silence with his family as they listened to what the Princess wanted to say. He felt something inside of him, something he never felt before for anypony...


Devotion.