//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Soldiers of the Night // by bahatumay //------------------------------// Luna flapped her wings, lifting herself higher above the clouds. She had ordered a saddlebag filled with provisions, and she had taken off after a short nap. She was going to go find this settlement herself, no matter how long it took. Have fun. Just don't forget to raise the moon tonight, Celestia had said. Psh. As if Luna would forget the thing that brought her the greatest joy. Celestia. Luna shook her head and flew on, her wings beating a bit faster now, trying to leave thoughts of her sister behind. Her path took her higher, away from the plains, headed towards the mountains. It was dark, but she could see clearly. That didn't mean she was looking forward to this, though. She had entered a few other dreams in her search for any hint to their actual location, and from what she could tell, they lived near a very tall mountain, tall enough that it could only have been in this forsaken area of Equestria. She shivered. It was really cold up here, and it only grew colder as she flew on. * * * Luna landed lightly on the snow. She ruffled her wings to get the snow off and folded them back down. She looked around, chewing on her lower lip. This place seemed a conundrum. Though the snow swirled outside, it didn't here. The way the mountain was, it formed a little protective cove, almost inviting in this weather. She was veritably relieved to step inside. There was a small clearing inside the cove, holding a forest of tall trees. Luna stepped slowly into the forest. It was eerily calm. The snow and trees muffled sound so well that Luna soon realized that the strange thumping sound she heard was her own beating heart. She continued her journey deeper into the forest. Snow crunched beneath her hooves as she walked, the sound oddly loud in the silence. And then she froze. Something had changed. Something… something wasn’t right. Had she crossed a ward? Awakened something? Was she being watched? She slowly spun around, lit horn held high; but the only sound she heard was the snow underhoof. She bit her lower lip, cast her eyes round about once more, and then walked on. She had come too far to turn back now. The trees seemed to thicken, forcing Luna to weave her way through the trunks. The wind seemed to pick up a bit, sending flurries of snow swirling around her hooves, and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. And then the trees thinned out, leading her closer to the mountain. She continued forward, sensing that she would be close. And then she nearly ran into a stone wall. She took a step back, bringing up a hoof to brush against her muzzle. That could have been painful. Wait. No, it wasn’t a wall. It was the mountain. Odd. She’d thought she’d been going around it. She shrugged this off. Mountain ranges were very oddly shaped. Perhaps she had just gotten disoriented. She turned to the right and continued. She continued around the mountain and then stopped short. There was a little steely-blue filly there. She was standing, her back towards Luna, bent over, nosing the snow away to grab a stick. She was gathering firewood. Luna paused. She knew what to expect, of course. The dark fur, the dark tail, the leathery wings; everything was as she’d expected to see, but actually seeing them in the waking world was something entirely different. And then, though Luna had remained silent, the filly suddenly spun around, one hoof raised, teeth bared, ears pinned and wings flared out to make herself appear bigger than she actually was. Luna stared. That wasn’t an attitude she’d expected of a little filly. The little filly stopped and stared, too. She dropped her hoof, and she tried to make sense of this. Her eyes flicked to Luna’s wings, and then stayed fixated on her horn. She squinted. What, had she never seen a unicorn before? The filly took a skittering step back, then turned and fled, taking to the air. Luna quickly spread her wings and followed. She couldn't help but grin; this was a stroke of luck. She'd find their town in no time. She followed the filly back, making sure to hang back enough to not present herself as an active threat, but still close enough to not lose sight of her. She was closer to their settlement than she'd thought; it was only a few moments before she heard snatches of conversation that could only be about her. After all, who else could be a strange pony with a stick in her head? The conversation shifted as another pony, likely her mother, scolded her for telling such tales. Luna made her way around the corner and into open sight. It was oddly pleasing to have everypony present stop what they were doing and pay attention to her. The only sounds were the wind blowing the snow around, and the voice of a little filly hissing, “I told you so!” She took another step forward. She recognized a few of them from the dreams she'd visited. But ponies are not supposed to have so many ribs showing… “You.” Luna spun around. She recognized the mare standing there; though her appearance was more gaunt than in her dream, her eyes were a bit more sunken in, and her little foals stayed huddled by her hind legs. “I know you,” she said, eyebrows knit together. She took a small step forward. “I dreamed of you.” Luna nodded. Others murmured in agreement, saying they recognized her or had dreamed of her as well. She looked up. “Who are you?” she asked in a whisper. Luna lifted her head high. “I am Princess Luna, diarch of Equestria, Guardian of the Night, Keeper of Dreams.” “Equestria?” she repeated, confused. The word was unfamiliar. “This land is now called Equestria,” Luna explained. “I rule with my sister, Celestia. I have come because I have visited you in your dreams, and I know you are suffering.” Cheers, of course, had been too much to expect. Polite stomps would have been pushing it. But the blank stares she got were a little less than she was expecting. She coughed lightly. “If you would,” she tried, “I would like to bring you all with me, back to Everfree City.” Luna was no stranger to being ignored. Ponies did always seem to favor her sister’s day over her night. But to be outright rebuffed—ponies chuckled under their breath, turned away, went back to work, tending the fires and hauling things—was most irritating. She scowled. Even the strange-looking ponies would reject her. Fine. They could all starve, then. But before she could turn away, another pony shuffled in closer. This pony looked older; but by the way he carried himself, he was clearly a leader. “Luna,” he said, his voice a bit shaky. “I am Arctic Night. We welcome you.” He exhaled. “But you will never leave this place.”